Frangible Bridge Plug Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bridge plugs, especially retrievable ones, face difficulties in removal due to debris accumulation, which complicates the retrieval process and increases costs, particularly in deviated or horizontal wellbores where traditional methods like weighted bars are ineffective.
Innovation Solution
A bridge plug system with a cylindrical body and a plug assembly that includes a housing, a frangible component, and a pin, allowing for selective extension and fracture of the frangible component to regulate flow and facilitate easy retrieval by breaking the seal and lifting debris to the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bridge plug is deployed to isolate wellbore sections, then fluid flow isolation is achieved, but retrieval becomes difficult due to debris accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge plug is segmented into multiple components: a bridge plug body, a separate plug assembly, and a frangible component. This segmentation allows the frangible component to be selectively fractured to restore flow while leaving the bridge plug body in place for potential retrieval, resolving the contradiction between maintaining reliable isolation and enabling easy retrieval.
Solution Approach 2:
The frangible component is extracted as a separate, removable element from the bridge plug assembly. This extracted component can be selectively removed by fracturing, allowing flow restoration without the need to retrieve the entire bridge plug body, thereby facilitating easier operation while maintaining isolation effectiveness during use.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional weighted bar methods are used to break seals, then seal fracture is achieved, but the method is ineffective in deviated or horizontal wellbores
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional weighted bar mechanical system is replaced with a frangible component designed to be fractured by a pin or other fracturing mechanism. This substitution eliminates the need for gravity-dependent weighted bars, making the seal fracturing method effective in vertical, deviated, and horizontal wellbore configurations, thereby improving adaptability while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Reliability
If bridge plugs are left in place for permanent barriers, then redundancy is achieved, but retrieval costs and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge plug system transitions from a static, permanently retained device to a dynamic system where the frangible component can be selectively fractured. This allows the system to adapt between maintaining isolation (when the frangible component is intact) and enabling flow restoration (when fractured), providing flexibility that reduces retrieval time and costs while maintaining barrier redundancy when needed.
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 reduces the time and cost associated with retrieving bridge plugs by effectively isolating wellbore sections and restoring fluid communication, enhancing the success rate of retrieval operations in various wellbore configurations, including vertical, deviated, and horizontal wells.
Implementation Method 1
a frangible component that creates a seal within the housing, and a pin disposed within the housing and designed to fracture the frangible component
Implementation Method 2
an engagement assembly mounted to an outer diameter of the cylindrical body and selectively extendible between a recessed position and an extended position
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a bridge plug for isolating a section of a wellbore. The bridge plug includes a cylindrical body and an engagement assembly mounted to an outer diameter of the cylindrical body and selectively extendible between a recessed position and an extended position. The system further includes a plug assembly for regulating flow through the cylindrical body of the bridge plug. The plug assembly includes a housing connected to the cylindrical body of the bridge plug, a frangible component that creates a seal within the housing, and a pin disposed within the housing and designed to fracture the frangible component.