Expandable Sleeve Grit Shielding Button Inserts
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Solution Overview
Problem
The 'plug and perf' method for creating openings in a production liner for fluid injection into a formation is time-consuming due to the individual operation of perforation guns and plugs, requiring extensive manual intervention and time for fracturing multiple zones in a well.
Innovation Solution
A downhole tool featuring an expandable sleeve with button inserts and grit material that expands radially without fracturing, allowing for efficient deployment and anchoring within the wellbore, enabling multiple zones to be fractured more quickly by expanding in stages to engage the surrounding tubular.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the plug and perf method is used with individual perforation guns and plugs operated sequentially, then the liner can be perforated and fractured zone by zone, but the process becomes extremely time-consuming and requires extensive manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions (perforation, plugging, and fracturing operations) into a single integrated downhole tool assembly. The expandable sleeve with multiple button inserts and grit material bands performs both anchoring and zone isolation functions simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate plug deployment and individual perforation gun operations for each zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable sleeve is divided into multiple expandable sections, each capable of engaging the surrounding tubular independently through button inserts and grit material bands. This segmentation allows each zone to be isolated and fractured independently while using a single tool assembly, maintaining the ability to treat multiple zones sequentially without requiring multiple tools.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple plugs are deployed and operated individually for each zone, then each zone can be isolated and fractured separately, but the process requires extensive time for deployment and removal of plugs
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple zone isolation functions are merged into a single expandable sleeve structure. The sleeve can be expanded to different configurations to isolate different zones, eliminating the need to deploy and remove multiple separate plugs. The grit material bands provide both anchoring and sealing functions simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The expandable sleeve transitions from a compact configuration during run-in to expanded configurations for zone isolation. This dynamic transformation allows the same structure to serve multiple functions (transport, anchoring, and zone isolation) without requiring physical deployment and removal of separate components for each zone.
3Strength
If button inserts extend outward to engage the tubular, then anchoring force is improved, but the button inserts are vulnerable to damage during run-in through the wellbore
Solution Approach 1:
Bands of grit material are positioned to extend outward and shield the button inserts during the run-in phase. This protective layer absorbs impacts and prevents damage to the button inserts before they engage the tubular, ensuring their integrity is maintained until anchoring is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The grit material bands serve as an intermediary protective layer between the button inserts and the external environment during run-in. This intermediary structure allows the button inserts to remain protected while still enabling the expandable sleeve to navigate the wellbore and engage the tubular when expanded.
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
This solution significantly reduces the time required for fracturing multiple zones by allowing the downhole tool to expand and engage the tubular in stages, enhancing the efficiency of the fracturing process and reducing the need for manual intervention in perforating and plugging.
Implementation Method 1
an expandable sleeve configured to expand radially outwards without fracturing apart
Implementation Method 2
a first band of grit material on the outer surface... to shield the plurality of button inserts during run-in
Data Source
AI summary
A downhole tool includes an expandable sleeve having an outer surface. The expandable sleeve is configured to expand radially outwards without fracturing apart. The tool also includes a plurality of button inserts positioned at least partially in the expandable sleeve and extending outward past the outer surface by a first distance, so as to engage a surrounding tubular when the expandable sleeve is expanded. The tool further includes a first band of grit material on the outer surface, adjacent to at least one row of the plurality of button inserts. The first band of grit material extends outward from the outer surface by at least the first distance, to shield the plurality of button inserts during run-in of the downhole tool.