Disintegrable Ferrous Powder Compact for Wellbore Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wellbore components and tools require frequent replacement due to limited service life, with conventional removal methods like milling or drilling being time-consuming and expensive, and existing degradable materials lack the mechanical strength and durability needed for wellbore operations.
Innovation Solution
A disintegrable powder compact made from a ferrous alloy with carbon and a secondary element, where the matrix and dispersed particles have different standard electrode potentials, allowing for controlled disintegration in response to wellbore fluids, providing the necessary mechanical strength and durability for wellbore operations while enabling easy removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional degradable polymers are used for wellbore components, then the components can be removed by dissolution without milling or drilling, but the polymers lack the mechanical strength and fracture toughness necessary for wellbore operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite material system consisting of a ferrous alloy matrix combined with degradable secondary particles. The ferrous alloy provides the necessary mechanical strength and structural integrity for wellbore operations, while the degradable secondary particles enable controlled dissolution and removal. This composite approach allows both mechanical performance and degradability to coexist, resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of removal.
2Ease of manufacture
If degradable metal alloys are formed by melting and solidifying constituents together, then the materials can be formed into wellbore components, but the phase equilibria and solidification characteristics may not result in optimal alloy microstructures or mechanical properties
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of melting and solidifying all constituents together into a homogeneous alloy, the patent segments the material into distinct phases: a ferrous alloy matrix and discrete degradable secondary particles. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function, avoiding the microstructure control problems associated with conventional alloy solidification while maintaining manufacturability through powder metallurgy processes.
3Productivity
If certain reactive metals like aluminum are used as major portions of degradable alloys, then the materials can degrade and be removed from wellbores, but the formation process involves melting phenomena that may not produce desirable alloy structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a ferrous alloy matrix as an intermediary phase that does not degrade, while the degradable secondary particles (which may include reactive metals like aluminum) are dispersed within it. This intermediary matrix protects the degradable particles during handling and installation, allows for controlled degradation when exposed to wellbore fluids, and avoids the need to melt and solidify reactive metals directly into the final component structure, thereby preserving both productivity and manufacturing precision.
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 disintegrable powder compact offers high strength, ductility, and controlled disintegration rates, allowing for selective and tailorable removal from wellbores without mechanical intervention, reducing operational costs and environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
a ferrous alloy which comprises carbon and a secondary element, wherein the matrix and plurality of dispersed particles have different standard electrode potentials... configured to disintegrate in response to contact with a disintegration fluid
Data Source
AI summary
A process for preparing a disintegrable powder compact, the process comprises: combining: a primary particle comprising a ferrous alloy which comprises carbon; and a secondary particle to form a composition; compacting the composition to form a preform; and sintering the preform to form the disintegrable powder compact by forming a matrix from one of the primary particle or the secondary particle; and forming a plurality of dispersed particles from the other of the primary particle or the secondary particle, wherein the dispersed particles are dispersed in the matrix, the disintegrable powder compact is configured to disintegrate in response to contact with a disintegration fluid, and the primary particle and secondary particle have different standard electrode potentials.