Downhole Bend Assembly With Depth-Activated Angle Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing downhole mud motors with adjustable deflection angles require retrieval to the surface for adjustments, which is time-consuming and inefficient for drilling deviated wellbores.
Innovation Solution
A downhole-adjustable bend adjustment assembly that allows in-situ adjustment of deflection angles within the wellbore, featuring a locking assembly that activates automatically at predefined depth and fluid conditions, enabling multiple deflection angles without surfacing the mud motor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the mud motor is retrieved to the surface for deflection angle adjustments, then the deflection angle can be changed, but drilling time is lost and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bend adjustment assembly is designed with movable components including a locking piston, locking pins, and a bendable section that can dynamically change between locked and unlocked states. The locking piston can move axially to engage or disengage locking pins, allowing the deflection angle to be adjusted in-situ without retrieving the mud motor to surface, thus maintaining adaptability while eliminating time loss
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates an automatic locking mechanism where the locking piston is biased by a spring to automatically engage locking pins at predetermined positions. The weight of the assembly itself activates the locking mechanism when the bendable section is deflected, allowing the system to lock and unlock configurations automatically during operation without requiring surface intervention
2Reliability
If the locking assembly is designed with multiple locking pins and a locking piston, then the bend adjustment assembly can be securely locked in multiple configurations, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a locking piston, multiple locking pins, and spring elements. Each component has a specific function - the piston provides actuation, the pins provide mechanical locking at discrete positions, and the spring provides biasing force. This segmentation allows for reliable multi-position locking while keeping each individual component simple and manufacturable
Solution Approach 2:
The locking pins are positioned within recesses in the bendable section, and the locking piston moves within a cylindrical bore to engage these pins. The components are nested within each other - the pins are recessed into the bendable section, the piston moves within the locking assembly housing, and the spring is contained within the piston assembly. This nesting reduces overall complexity by integrating multiple functions into a compact arrangement
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
Enables efficient drilling of deviated wellbores by allowing in-situ adjustment of deflection angles, reducing drilling time and operational complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a locking assembly configured to prevent the actuator assembly from shifting the bend adjustment assembly between the first configuration and the second configuration until the mud motor has reached a predefined depth in the wellbore
Implementation Method 2
a locking assembly configured to prevent the actuator assembly from shifting the bend adjustment assembly between the first configuration and the second configuration until a mud weight has reached a predefined mud weight threshold at a given depth
Data Source
AI summary
A downhole mud motor includes a driveshaft rotatably disposed in a driveshaft housing, a bearing mandrel coupled to the driveshaft, wherein the bend adjustment assembly includes a first configuration that provides a first deflection angle between the driveshaft housing and the bearing mandrel, wherein the bend adjustment assembly includes a second configuration that provides a second deflection angle between the driveshaft housing and the bearing mandrel, and a locking assembly including a locked configuration configured to lock the bend adjustment assembly into one of the first configuration and the second configuration until the downhole mud motor has at least one of reached a predefined depth in the wellbore, and a mud weight has reached a predefined mud weight threshold at a given depth, in response to which the locking assembly is configured to actuate from the locked configuration to an unlocked configuration.