Drill String Packer With Sliding Protective Sleeve
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Open hole packers used in subterranean well drilling operations face excessive abrasion and loss of sealing ability when encountering loss circulation zones with high permeability and pressure, leading to fluid cross-flow issues and uncontrollable losses, which existing technologies fail to address effectively without requiring additional specialty equipment.
Innovation Solution
A packer assembly with a sliding protective sleeve that covers the inflatable packer unit during drilling, centralizing the assembly with a stabilizer to direct debris radially outward and allowing for inflation to form a seal within the wellbore, enabling the treatment of loss circulation zones without pulling the drill string, using a radio frequency identification device to control the sleeve's position and inflation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a packer is used as part of a drilling sting in loss circulation zones, then the packer can seal the wellbore, but the packer experiences excessive abrasion and loses sealing ability
Solution Approach 1:
The protective sleeve is positioned in advance to cover the packer during drilling operations through the loss circulation zone. The sleeve is pre-configured to slide over the packer, providing preliminary protection before abrasion occurs, thereby preserving the packer's sealing ability for when it is needed to isolate the zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective sleeve acts as an intermediary element between the packer and the abrasive environment of the loss circulation zone. This intermediate component absorbs the harmful abrasive effects while allowing the packer to maintain its sealing function when activated.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the protective sleeve covers the packer unit during drilling, then the packer is protected from abrasion, but the packer cannot be inflated to form a seal
Solution Approach 1:
The protective sleeve is designed to be dynamic rather than fixed. It can slide along the packer assembly, transitioning from a covering position during drilling to a retracted position during inflation operations. This dynamic movement allows the system to adapt between protection mode and operation mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The packer assembly is segmented into functional zones: the protective sleeve that can move independently, the inflatable packer unit, and the stabilizer. This segmentation allows the protective sleeve to be positioned differently relative to the packer unit depending on the operational phase, enabling both protection and inflation capabilities.
3Productivity
If debris travels uphole during drilling, then normal drilling operations continue, but debris hits the packer assembly causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer with radially outwardly extending elements converts the harmful effect of upward-traveling debris into a beneficial flow pattern. By directing debris away from the packer assembly and toward the wellbore wall, the structure transforms a potential damage source into a harmless flow path that maintains drilling continuity.
4Reliability
If additional specialty equipment is used to isolate the loss circulation zone, then the zone can be treated, but the equipment complexity increases and drill string must be pulled
Solution Approach 1:
The packer assembly integrated into the drill string serves multiple functions: it acts as both a drilling component and a well isolation device. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate specialty equipment, allowing the loss circulation zone to be isolated and treated without pulling the drill string from the wellbore.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective sleeve, inflatable packer unit, and stabilizer are merged into a single integrated packer assembly that is part of the drill string. This combination consolidates multiple functions into one device, reducing overall equipment complexity and enabling in-situ isolation operations without requiring additional standalone equipment.
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 solution effectively isolates loss circulation zones, allowing for treatment without additional equipment, maintaining wellbore stability, controlling fluid losses, and preventing cross-flow, thus minimizing risks of stuck pipes and breakdowns, while enabling continued drilling operations.
Implementation Method 1
The protective sleeve is moved from the extended position to a retracted position where the protective sleeve is axially adjacent to the inflatable packer unit. The inflatable packer unit is inflated so that the inflatable packer unit is in an inflated condition, forming a seal with an inner diameter surface of the subterranean well
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
Methods and systems for isolating a loss circulation zone (28) of a subterranean formation (22) includes lowering a drill string (16) having a tubular member (18) from a surface into a subterranean well (10) and securing a packer assembly (34) to the tubular member (18), the packer assembly (34) having an inflatable packer unit (36) and a protective sleeve (38). The protective sleeve (38) is in an extended position and circumscribes the inflatable packer unit (36) and the inflatable packer unit is in a deflated condition. A stabilizer body (42) is secured to the tubular member (18) downhole of the packer assembly. The stabilizer body (42) is shaped to centralize the packer assembly and direct debris traveling uphole in a direction radially outward of the packer assembly. The protective sleeve (38) is moved from the extended position to a retracted position. The inflatable packer unit (36) is inflated to an inflated condition, forming a seal with an inner diameter surface of the subterranean uphole of the loss circulation zone.