Changeable Well Seal Tool Polymer Stiffness Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing well tools often have limitations in their operational versatility, as they are typically designed for a single function and can become a restriction in the wellbore after completing that operation, constricting fluid flow and being unusable for subsequent operations.
Innovation Solution
The use of a high creep, high recovery polymer in well tools and components, such as drop plug elements and plug seats, which can modify stiffness in response to strain rate, pressure, temperature, fluid density, and flow rate, allowing for selective sealing and passing through well tools or components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a well tool is designed for a single operation, then it can reliably complete that specific operation, but it becomes a restriction in the wellbore after the operation is complete, constricting fluid flow and being unusable for subsequent operations
Solution Approach 1:
The well tool incorporates a polymer seal element that can dynamically change its physical state between a compressed configuration (for sealing during operation) and an expanded configuration (for allowing fluid flow after operation). This dynamic transformation enables the tool to transition from a restrictive state to a non-restrictive state, resolving the contradiction between reliable single-operation completion and subsequent operational versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The polymer seal element changes its physical parameters (shape, volume, stiffness) in response to changes in strain rate, pressure, temperature, fluid density, and flow rate. At high strain rates during operation, the polymer maintains a compressed sealing configuration. After operation, under different physical conditions, it transforms to an expanded configuration that allows fluid flow, thus enabling the tool to serve multiple operational stages.
2Reliability
If a polymer seal element is used to seal against wellbore walls, then effective sealing is achieved, but the polymer must be able to deform at different strain rates to allow passage and then seal
Solution Approach 1:
The polymer material exhibits strain-rate-dependent mechanical properties, changing its stiffness and deformability based on the applied strain rate. At high strain rates during passage, the polymer is deformable and flexible. At low strain rates during sealing, it becomes stiffer and maintains its sealing configuration. This parameter change capability allows a single material to perform multiple functions without increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The polymer undergoes a transition between different physical states or configurations based on environmental conditions (strain rate, pressure, temperature). This phase-like transition enables the polymer to switch between a deformable passage state and a rigid sealing state, achieving both passage and sealing functions with a single material system.
3Reliability
If metal balls are used to engage and plug a ball seat, then the operation is completed reliably, but the metal ball is unusable for another operation and may constrict a fluid flow path in the well
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a permanent metal ball that must be discarded or causes flow constriction, the invention uses a polymer seal element that can be transformed and reused. After completing the plugging operation, the polymer can be expanded or reconfigured to allow fluid flow, effectively recovering the wellbore for subsequent operations without permanent obstructions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces traditional metal ball material with a polymer material that combines the sealing effectiveness of solid materials with the flexibility and transformability of elastomeric materials. This composite approach allows the seal element to function as both a reliable plug and a flow-permissive component under different conditions.
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 the polymer to deform and seal effectively at different strain rates, enhancing the operational versatility of well tools by allowing them to adapt to various well operations and maintain fluid flow without constricting the wellbore, thus overcoming the limitations of single-function tools.
Implementation Method 1
a high creep, high recovery polymer in well tools and components, such as drop plug elements and plug seats, which can modify stiffness in response to strain rate, pressure, temperature, fluid density, and flow rate
Implementation Method 2
a high creep, high recovery polymer in well tools and components
Implementation Method 3
a high creep, high recovery polymer in well tools and components
Data Source
AI summary
A well seal tool includes a base tubing and a seal element carried on an exterior of the base tubing. The seal element includes a polymer changeable between a compressed state and a sealing state. The seal element has a first stiffness in response to a first strain rate of the polymer and a second, substantially higher stiffness in response to a second, higher strain rate of the polymer.