Extendable Landing Dogs for Tubular Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The process of placing gravel around a tubular filter or screen in a wellbore for gravel packing is complex and requires sophisticated equipment to maintain well integrity and ensure efficient operation, with a need for improved methods and equipment that can be applied to various well types and operations.
Innovation Solution
A positioning tool with an engagement device and extendable landing dogs is used to securely position a service string relative to a completion assembly, allowing for precise placement of gravel by engaging internal profiles and maintaining stability during fluid flow and treatment operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a positioning tool is used to secure the service string, then positioning precision and stability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning tool is divided into distinct functional segments: engagement members for initial positioning, landing dogs for securing, and a mandrel for structural support. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while maintaining overall system manageability despite the increased complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement members and landing dogs are nested within or on the mandrel structure. The landing dogs can be positioned on the mandrel and engaged with the service string, creating a nested arrangement that achieves precise positioning while organizing the complex components in a compact, hierarchical manner.
2Reliability
If extendable landing dogs are used to engage internal profiles, then reliability of connection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The landing dogs are designed to be extendable rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and engagement state. This dynamic capability enables reliable engagement with internal profiles of the service string while the dogs can be retracted when not needed, managing the complexity through conditional deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning tool is designed to engage and secure itself to the service string through the self-actuating engagement members and extendable landing dogs that automatically engage with internal profiles when positioned correctly, reducing the need for additional complex control mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A positioning tool can include a mandrel and an engagement device reciprocably disposed on the mandrel. The engagement device can include at least one engagement member and at least one landing dog. The mandrel can displace relative to the engagement device in response to engagement between the engagement member and at least one internal profile in an outer tubular string, and the landing dog can extend outward in response to displacement of the mandrel in a selected longitudinal direction relative to the engagement device. A system for use in a well can include a tubular string and a positioning tool reciprocably disposed in the tubular string. The positioning tool can include a landing dog that extends outward from a retracted position to engage one or more internal profiles of the tubular string, in response to a pattern of reciprocation of the positioning tool in the tubular string.