Chemical Actuated Plug Setting Tool for Frac Plugs
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and complexity of installing fracture plugs in long wellbores for hydrocarbon extraction, due to the need for multiple stages and extensive use of installation tools, pose a challenge in efficiently stimulating formations to enhance hydrocarbon flow.
Innovation Solution
A plug setting tool that uses a power charge to generate pressurized gas, displacing a piston and setting sleeve to securely anchor and seal frac plugs in the wellbore, allowing for efficient and cost-effective placement of plugs along the wellbore.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional installation tools are used to set frac plugs in long wellbores, then the plugs can be securely installed to isolate stages, but the cost and complexity of installation increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical installation tools with a chemically-actuated setting mechanism. A power charge (chemical energy source) is used to generate gas pressure that automatically actuates the setting sleeve and slips, eliminating the need for complex mechanical drawworks, wireline equipment, or hydraulic pumping systems traditionally required to set plugs at depth.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the energy delivery parameter from mechanical force (traditional) to chemical energy conversion. The power charge converts chemical energy to gas pressure, which then converts to mechanical force for setting the plug. This parameter change simplifies the overall system by using a self-contained energy source rather than requiring external mechanical energy delivery systems.
2Productivity
If multiple installation tools are deployed for multiple stages in long wellbores, then complete formation stimulation is achieved, but the overall cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The setting tool is designed as a disposable, single-use device that is deployed with each plug. After setting the plug, the tool remains in the wellbore or is discarded, eliminating the need to retrieve, service, and redeploy expensive tools for each subsequent stage. This disposable approach reduces the cumulative cost of multiple stage installations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into individual plug-setting units, each self-contained with its own power charge and setting mechanism. This allows independent deployment and operation of each unit without requiring a centralized, complex tool system, thereby reducing the overall quantity and cost of installation equipment needed for multi-stage operations.
3Ease of operation
If conventional setting mechanisms are used, then plugs can be set, but extensive tooling is required increasing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The essential setting function is extracted from the complex external tool system and embedded within a simplified, self-contained unit. The power charge and gas-generation mechanism are integrated directly with the setting sleeve, eliminating the need for external hoses, pumps, or mechanical actuation systems, thereby reducing the amount of tooling required.
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
The tool enables efficient and cost-effective setting of frac plugs, reducing the need for extensive tooling and allowing for the economical disposal of the setting tool, thereby lowering the overall cost and complexity of hydrocarbon production.
Implementation Method 1
a power charge disposed in the chamber for emitting a pressurized gas upon ignition
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for setting a plug in a borehole penetrating a subsurface formation includes a tool mandrel defining a chamber having a port and a power charge disposed in the chamber for emitting a pressurized gas upon ignition. The apparatus also includes an outer sleeve at least partially surrounding the tool mandrel and defining an annulus between the outer sleeve and the tool mandrel where the annulus is in communication with the port. The apparatus further includes a piston disposed in the annulus and having an outer surface facing uphole within the annulus, the piston being in mechanical communication with a setting sleeve of the plug, wherein displacement of the setting sleeve causes setting of a slip and a seal of the plug.