Through-Tubing Bridge Plug with Electromechanical Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional through-tubing bridge plugs require explosive charges for setting, are costly, and have limited expansion due to small outer diameters, necessitating long setting tools with extensive strokes.
Innovation Solution
A low-cost, high-expansion through-tubing bridge plug design that uses a battery-powered electromechanical setting tool, featuring a slip section, petal section, and centralizer section with hinged petals and centralizers, allowing for radial expansion without the need for explosive charges, and can be deployed using shorter actuator strokes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional through-tubing bridge plugs are used, then they can seal off zones in the well, but they require explosive charges for setting and have limited expansion due to small outer diameter
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the explosive mechanical system with an electromechanical setting tool that uses a drawworks and cable to pull the bridge plug radially outward against the casing wall. This substitution eliminates the need for explosive charges while achieving the same sealing function through controlled mechanical tension applied to the actuator.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters by using a high-strength actuator that converts axial pulling force into radial expansion force. The bridge plug is designed with petals that fan outward when subjected to tensile load, transforming the setting mechanism from explosive-driven compression to tension-driven expansion, thereby achieving sealing without explosives.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional through-tubing bridge plugs are used, then they can provide temporary or permanent zone separation, but they require setting tools with long stroke of 75 inches or more
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic petal structure that remains compact during insertion and only expands radially when the actuator is pulled upward. The petals are hinged or articulated, allowing them to fold inward during running and fan outward during setting, enabling the bridge plug to achieve full expansion with a much shorter actuator stroke than conventional designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions the expansion mechanism from axial compression to radial tension. Instead of pushing the packing elements axially to force radial expansion, the actuator is pulled in the axial direction, which through the petal hinge mechanism converts to radial outward motion, achieving sealing with shorter stroke.
3Strength
If conventional through-tubing bridge plugs are used, then they can seal the wellbore, but they are costly and require powerful setting tools
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a disposable bridge plug design where the actuator is a simple, inexpensive component that is left in the wellbore after setting. The plug body and petals are designed as single-use elements that provide the sealing function and then remain as a permanent barrier, eliminating the need for expensive retrievable mechanisms or complex setting tool systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the expensive and complex explosive charging system from the bridge plug assembly. By using a separate electromechanical setting tool that operates through the tubing, the costly explosive charge and its associated safety infrastructure are removed, reducing overall system cost while maintaining sealing capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables high-expansion sealing with shorter actuator strokes, reducing tool size and cost, and allowing for the use of non-explosive setting tools, while supporting cement-based permanent plugs in well operations.
Implementation Method 1
battery-powered electromechanical setting tool
Implementation Method 2
axially compressing one or more packing elements on the bridge plug. The axial compression of the packing elements forces them to expand radially outward
Data Source
AI summary
A bridge plug for a well includes an actuator member that moves from a first position such that the bridge plug is in a retracted position and a second position such that the bridge plug is in a deployed position. The bridge plug includes a slip section comprising one or more slips that grip a surface radially outward of the bridge plug in the deployed position and a petal section positioned downward of and adjacent to the slip section, the petal section comprising a plurality of petals that fan radially outward from the bridge plug in the deployed position to catch a slurry. The bridge plug also includes a centralizer section positioned downward of and adjacent to the pedal section, the centralizer section having a plurality of centralizers that ramp outwardly in an upward direction in the deployed position for centralizing the bridge plug.