Disposable Gas-Actuated Well Tool Setting Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional well tool setting tools require hydraulic oil and complex rebuilding processes, making them costly and inefficient for repeated use in setting packers and frac plugs in oil and gas wells.
Innovation Solution
A disposable gas-operated setting tool with a mandrel and barrel piston design that uses a power charge to generate pressurized gas, eliminating the need for hydraulic fluid and allowing for single-use disposal without the need for oil recovery or rebuilding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hydraulic setting tools are used, then reliable power transmission is achieved, but the tools require complex rebuilding processes and hydraulic oil recovery, increasing operational complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the disposable principle by designing a setting tool that is intentionally designed for single-use only. The tool body, power charge chamber, and all components are configured to be discarded after one operation, eliminating the need for complex rebuilding processes, hydraulic oil recovery, and maintenance operations. This resolves the contradiction by accepting reduced device lifespan in exchange for dramatically simplified operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the hydraulic fluid system entirely from the setting tool design. By removing the hydraulic oil reservoir, seals, and fluid circulation system, the tool eliminates the need for oil recovery and complex rebuilding procedures while maintaining reliable power transmission through direct gas-actuated pistons, resolving the contradiction between reliability and operational complexity.
2Force
If conventional hydraulic setting tools are used, then powerful setting force is generated, but hydraulic oil must be recovered and tools rebuilt, increasing operational time and cost
Solution Approach 1:
By making the entire setting tool disposable, the patent eliminates the time-consuming processes of hydraulic oil recovery, component disassembly, cleaning, and rebuilding. The tool is deployed, used once to set the packer, and then discarded, reducing operational time significantly while maintaining the required setting force through direct gas-actuated pistons.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the hydraulic fluid system with a pneumatic system using a power charge (explosive) that generates high-pressure gas to drive pistons. This eliminates the need for hydraulic oil circulation and recovery, reducing operational time while maintaining or even increasing the power output for setting the packer.
3Ease of manufacture
If reusable setting tools are used, then equipment cost is reduced, but the rebuilding processes and oil recovery increase operational complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by making the tool inexpensive and disposable rather than expensive and reusable. The simplified single-use design eliminates all maintenance, rebuilding, and oil recovery operations, reducing operational complexity while keeping equipment costs low through the use of simpler, fewer-component construction.
Solution Approach 2:
By extracting and removing the hydraulic fluid system and associated maintenance requirements, the patent simplifies the tool to basic structural components and a power charge. This extraction reduces both manufacturing complexity and operational complexity while maintaining adequate performance for the intended single-use application.
4Use of energy by moving object
If hydraulic fluid is used in setting tools, then power transmission efficiency is improved, but environmental contamination and recovery requirements increase operational burden
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the hydraulic fluid system with a pneumatic power system using a power charge that generates high-pressure gas. This eliminates hydraulic oil entirely, preventing environmental contamination while maintaining power transmission efficiency through direct gas-actuated pistons that convert chemical energy to mechanical work with high efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful hydraulic oil system into a beneficial disposable design. By eliminating the oil and using a single-use approach, the tool prevents environmental contamination while the power charge provides efficient, clean energy conversion without the drawbacks of hydraulic fluid management.
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 disposable setting tool reduces costs and operational complexity by eliminating the need for hydraulic fluid and rebuilding, enabling efficient and cost-effective setting of well tools with each use.
Implementation Method 1
A power charge is disposed in the power charge chamber and ignited to generate pressurized gas and stroke the barrel piston over said lower section of the mandrel
Data Source
AI summary
A disposable setting tool (12) has a mandrel (18) and a barrel piston (16). The mandrel (18) has a power charge chamber (68), an intermediate section (76) having an exterior (80) of uniform circumference, and a lower section (96) having a lower exterior (98) of uniform circumference. The lower exterior (98) is in fluid communication with the power charge chamber (68). The barrel piston (16) has a tubular body (116) with an enclosed lower end (134), and a central portion (128) with a uniform interior circumference (130) for slidably receiving the intermediate exterior (80) and the lower exterior (98) of the mandrel (18). An annular-shaped space (94) is defined to extend between the central portion (128) of the barrel piston (16) and the lower exterior (98) of the mandrel (18). The enclosed lower end (134) of the barrel piston (16) has a bore (136) for slidably receiving the lower exterior (98) of said mandrel (18). The mandrel (18) and the piston barrel (16) are adapted for securing to respective ones of a setting sleeve (150) and a packer mandrel (156).