Downhole Tool Setting via Angled Surfaces and Fluid-Actuated Seals
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Solution Overview
Problem
The resource exploration and recovery industry faces high costs and complexity due to the use of drop balls and explosive charges for setting tools like packers and frac plugs, which require time-consuming and costly removal processes.
Innovation Solution
A downhole tool system featuring a tool member with an angled inner surface and a drive member with a radially outwardly disengagable seal element, activated by fluid pressure or flow, allowing for mechanical engagement with the wellbore annular wall without the need for special tools or explosive devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drop balls and explosive charges are used to set tools, then tool setting capability is achieved, but operational cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for separate setting mechanisms (drop balls, explosive charges) by integrating the setting function directly into the tool body. The tool is self-setting through its structural design, where the tool member automatically engages with the ball seat and annular wall upon deployment, removing the complexity of external setting devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool performs its own setting operation without requiring external assistance. The structural configuration enables the tool member to automatically engage with the ball seat and expand against the annular wall through the deployment process itself, making the tool self-setting and eliminating the need for separate setting procedures.
2Reliability
If drop balls and ball seats are used, then tool setting is achieved, but removal process becomes time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies the discarding principle by eliminating the need for recovery of setting components. Unlike traditional systems where ball seats must be carefully removed, this design allows the tool to be retrieved without recovering separate setting elements, as the setting function is integrated and the tool can be pulled free as a complete unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the setting function from separate removable components and integrates it into the tool body, eliminating the need for separate ball seat removal operations. The tool member itself performs the setting action, and the entire assembly can be retrieved without leaving components behind.
3Reliability
If explosive charges are used for setting tools, then tool activation is achieved, but transportation and handling costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces explosive charges with a purely mechanical activation system. The tool member engages with the ball seat through mechanical contact, and the angled surfaces convert the axial deployment force into radial expansion force, eliminating the need for explosive materials and their associated safety and handling requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool activates itself through the mechanical deployment process without requiring external explosive charges. The structural design enables automatic activation as the tool is deployed into the wellbore, with the ball seat and angled surfaces providing the mechanical means for tool setting without external assistance.
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 and cost-effective deployment and retrieval of downhole tools, reducing operational expenses by eliminating the need for drop balls and explosive charges, while allowing for precise tool placement and fluid flow management.
Implementation Method 1
a second portion that is radially outwardly disengagable from the radially outer surface portion in response to one of fluid pressure and fluid flow
Data Source
AI summary
A downhole tool includes a tool member having a radially outer surface and a radially inner surface. The radially inner surface includes an angled section. A drive member is axially spaced from the tool member. The drive member includes a radially outer surface portion and a radially inner surface portion. The radially outer surface portion includes an angled portion. A seal element is provided on the drive member. The seal element includes a first portion coupled to the radially outer surface portion and a second portion that is radially outwardly disengagable from the radially outer surface portion in response to one of fluid pressure and fluid flow.