Compressible Rubber Plugging Agent for Drilling Leak Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plugging agents for drilling, such as those made from walnut shell and mica, are ineffective in sealing large-scale leaks, require excessive material and time, damage equipment, and are not suitable for hard formations with small to large cracks, leading to repeated leakage and economic losses.
Innovation Solution
A compressible and flexible plugging agent composed of 70-80% natural rubber, 0.5-1% polyacrylamide, 1.5-3% polyanionic cellulose, 0.5-1% biopolymer XC, and 10-15% ultrafine calcium carbonate, which is mixed, dried, and ground into particles for enhanced flexibility and resilience, allowing deep penetration and effective sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional plugging agents (walnut shell, mica sheet, husk) are used, then the drilling operation can be performed, but the plugging effect is bad and requires large quantity of material and long operation time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the plugging material by using rubber-based granules with controlled size distribution (0.5-50mm) and specific density characteristics. These parameter changes enable the material to achieve effective plugging in shorter time compared to conventional walnut shell and mica combinations
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite plugging agent combining rubber granules with specific additives and controlling the size distribution spectrum. This composite approach creates a material that simultaneously achieves fast plugging effect and adapts to different formation conditions, resolving the time-effect contradiction
2Reliability
If conventional plugging agents are used, then small and medium-sized cracks can be sealed, but large scale leakage cannot be effectively plugged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the plugging material into different size categories (0.5-50mm granules) within a single composition. This segmentation allows the material to adapt to various crack sizes simultaneously, achieving both small crack sealing and large scale leakage plugging that conventional single-size materials cannot accomplish
Solution Approach 2:
By controlling the size distribution parameters and density characteristics of the rubber granules, the invention creates a plugging agent that can effectively seal cracks across a wide range of dimensions, expanding the application range from only small/medium cracks to include large scale leakage scenarios
3Strength
If rigid walnut shell is used, then the material has high strength, but it gathers at the pipe entrance and causes repeat leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the plugging material by using rubber-based granules with elastic properties rather than rigid walnut shell. This parameter change allows the material to deform and adapt to pipe entrance conditions, preventing gathering and ensuring stable plugging without repeat leakage, while maintaining sufficient strength through the rubber matrix structure
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional plugging agents are used, then the material is available, but it damages pump parts and causes complex drilling troubles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material composition parameters by using rubber granules with controlled size (0.5-50mm) and specific physical properties. These parameter changes ensure the material is gentle enough to pump through the system without damaging pump parts, while still providing effective plugging, thus eliminating the harmful effects associated with conventional materials
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 agent provides a superior plugging effect, reduces drilling time, prevents equipment damage, and effectively seals both small and large cracks, including those in karst formations, while being non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
Implementation Method 1
The agent has good flexibility and resilience, can easily get into throat of the leaking hole for bridging when being pumped
Implementation Method 2
The natural rubber means concentrated latex-like rubber... The agent can be easily embedded into cracks due to its irregular deformation capacity
Implementation Method 3
The agent can get into the leaking pipe deeply due to good compressibility, thus providing better plugging effect
Data Source
AI summary
A compressible and highly flexible plugging agent comprises the following components in parts by weight: 70-80 parts of natural rubber, 0.5-1 part of polyacrylamide (PAM), 1.5-3 parts of polyanionic cellulose (PAC), 0.5-1 part of biopolymer XC and 10-15 parts of ultrafine calcium carbonate; and the preparation method thereof comprises the following steps: adding the components in the weight parts into the natural rubber in order according to the common preparing method at normal temperature and pressure, mixing and stirring evenly, drying and then grinding into particles of 0.05-50 mm. The plugging agent is characterized by wide raw material sources, simple process, safe application, high plugging ratio and high compressibility, which is suitable for oil recovering and geological drilling applications.