Deformable Fin Centralizer for Drill Collar Vibration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing centralizers for wellbore drill collars often fail to maintain contact with the inner diameter of the drill collar, leading to vibrations and deviations from the intended drill path, especially when not appropriately sized, resulting in increased labor and replacement costs.
Innovation Solution
A centralizer design featuring deformable fins with chambers and a split-ring clamp that allows for compression to fit into a drill collar, maintaining contact with the inner diameter and reducing vibrations by coupling with drilling tools, thereby preventing accidental trimming and ensuring correct installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralizer is made rigid to maintain contact with the drill collar, then it can provide stable positioning, but it cannot adapt to different drill collar sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The centralizer transitions from a rigid structure to a dynamically adaptable one through deformable fins that can flex and adjust their radial position. The fins incorporate chambers that allow controlled deformation, enabling the centralizer to adapt to different drill collar inner diameters while maintaining reliable contact during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralizer's outer diameter parameter is made variable through the deformable fin structure. By changing the deformation state of the fins (compressed vs. expanded), the centralizer can accommodate different drill collar sizes. The chambers within the fins enable controlled parameter changes in response to installation forces.
2Ease of operation
If a centralizer is made too small to fit into a drill collar, then it can be installed easily, but it cannot maintain contact with the inner diameter
Solution Approach 1:
The centralizer is designed to be installed in a compressed state where the deformable fins are radially inward, allowing easy insertion into the drill collar. Once installed, the fins deform outward to contact the inner diameter, transitioning from an easy-to-install configuration to a reliable contact configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralizer is pre-configured with deformable fins that are initially positioned to facilitate easy installation (radially inward). This preliminary configuration prevents installation difficulties, and the fins are designed to automatically deform to the correct contact position once installed, preventing the harmful effect of poor contact.
3Reliability
If a centralizer is made too large to fit into a drill collar, then it provides good contact, but it requires trimming which increases labor costs and time
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring permanent modification through trimming, the centralizer uses dynamically deformable fins that can be compressed to fit any drill collar size. This eliminates the need for trimming operations, reducing labor costs and installation time while maintaining reliable contact through the deformable fin structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralizer's outer diameter parameter is made adjustable through the deformable fin mechanism rather than being fixed. This allows a single centralizer design to accommodate multiple drill collar sizes without requiring trimming or custom fabrication, significantly reducing manufacturing and installation costs.
4Ease of operation
If a centralizer is trimmed to fit a drill collar, then it can be installed, but it may be trimmed incorrectly requiring replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The deformable fin structure eliminates the need for trimming operations entirely. The fins can be compressed during installation to fit the drill collar and will naturally deform to the correct radial position, ensuring proper fit without requiring precision trimming or risking incorrect modification.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralizer's deformable fins automatically adjust to the correct position within the drill collar during installation. The structure self-regulates its outer diameter to match the drill collar inner diameter, eliminating the need for external trimming operations and the associated precision requirements.
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 centralizer effectively reduces vibrations and maintains contact with the drill collar, ensuring accurate drilling and reducing operational costs by preventing the need for frequent replacements and labor-intensive trimming.
Implementation Method 1
A compression force is applied to the one or more centralizer fins to deform the at least one of the one or more centralizer fins based on a position of one or more chambers in the one or more centralizer fins
Implementation Method 2
removing the compression force to allow the one or more centralizer fins to contact an inner surface of the drill collar
Data Source
AI summary
A centralizer includes one or more centralizer fins radially extending from a body of the centralizer. The centralizer fins may include one or more chambers extending through the outer surfaces of the centralizer fins. The one or more chambers may change shape in response to a compression force being applied to the centralizer fins to cause the centralizer fins to deform. The centralizer fins may be deformed for installation of the centralizer in a drill collar. The centralizer may also include a split-ring clamp for coupling the centralizer to a drilling tool positioned in a through-bore of the centralizer body. The split-ring clamp may apply a load on the drilling tool in response to an end cap being torqued to an end portion of the centralizer body.