Degradable Perforation Balls for High-Temperature Well Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercially available perforation balls are inadequate for deep well applications due to limited temperature and pressure tolerance, often softening or transforming into undesirable materials, and failing to degrade predictably, which can lead to permanent plugging of perforation tunnels and complications in well operations.
Innovation Solution
Development of degradable perforation balls composed of carboxylic acids, fatty alcohols, fatty acid salts, or esters that can withstand high temperatures and pressures, allowing them to seal perforations effectively and degrade in situ, preventing residue formation and simplifying cleanup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If commercially available perforation balls are used in deep well applications, then they can seal perforations initially, but they soften or transform into undesirable materials due to limited temperature and pressure tolerance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the material composition of perforation balls to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures. The degradable materials are selected and formulated to maintain structural integrity at high temperatures while enabling controlled degradation after service, directly resolving the contradiction between temperature tolerance and material stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining degradable materials with specific physical and chemical properties that provide both high-temperature resistance and controlled degradability. These composite material formulations allow the perforation balls to maintain stability during operation while ensuring predictable degradation afterward, addressing the reliability issue under extreme conditions.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If commercially available perforation balls are used, then they can seal perforations, but they fail to degrade predictably, leading to permanent plugging of perforation tunnels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the disposable principle by designing perforation balls made of degradable materials that perform their sealing function temporarily and then degrade completely. This eliminates the need for retrieval and prevents permanent plugging, as the materials are designed to break down into harmless substances after serving their purpose in high-temperature environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes by selecting materials with specific degradation characteristics that allow them to remain stable during the sealing period but degrade predictably afterward. The material parameters are engineered to change from a stable, seal-maintaining state to a degradable state after a predetermined duration, ensuring complete breakdown without harmful residues.
3Reliability
If perforation balls are made to be chemically inert, then they can seal effectively, but they cannot degrade and require retrieval or cleanup operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by designing materials that transition from a chemically inert, stable state during operation to a reactive, degradable state after service. The materials dynamically adapt their chemical properties based on environmental conditions and time, maintaining sealing effectiveness when needed while enabling automatic degradation and simplifying cleanup operations afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by formulating degradable materials whose chemical stability parameters are time-dependent. The materials exhibit chemical inertness during the sealing phase to ensure effectiveness, then undergo controlled chemical changes to degrade and eliminate the need for complex retrieval or cleanup operations, resolving the contradiction between sealing reliability and ease of operation.
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 degradable balls effectively divert treatment fluids across multiple intervals, maintain structural integrity at high temperatures and pressures, and self-clean after service, reducing the need for retrieval and minimizing operational disruptions.
Implementation Method 1
The balls seat upon the opening to the perforations receiving the majority of fluid flow and, once seated, are held there by the pressure differential across the perforations.
Implementation Method 2
These materials have found use in degradable balls that are degradable in aqueous and hydrocarbon fluids under acidic, neutral, and basic pH environments by hydrolysis or other chemical breakdown.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of making a degradable ball composition comprising a carboxylic acid, a fatty alcohol, a fatty acid salt, a fatty ester, or a combination thereof comprising the steps of: forming a thermoplastic mass, and allowing the thermoplastic mass to cool as to form a degradable ball that is introduced in subterranean treatments by a carrier fluid.