Insert Safety Valve With Pressure-Balanced Piston for High Flow
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Safety valves in the oil and gas industry face inefficiencies due to wear and tear, leading to partial fluid flow even when closed, exacerbated by the limitations of conventional insert valves which reduce flow rates, wear similarly, and are impractical at greater depths.
Innovation Solution
An insert valve design that allows fluid to flow around the closure mechanism and into its internal volume, with a piston centered and exposed at both ends to neutralize pressure effects, and a pressure chamber to counteract spring forces, minimizing hydraulic seals and enabling operation at greater depths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional insert valve is used to replace a worn safety valve, then flow control is restored, but the flow rate is reduced due to the additional components consuming volume of the flow path
Solution Approach 1:
The insert valve is installed inside the existing safety valve body, nesting one valve mechanism within another. This allows the insert valve to restore flow control functionality in a worn safety valve while utilizing the existing outer housing to maintain adequate flow path volume, thereby minimizing the reduction in flow rate that would otherwise result from adding external valve components
2Ease of operation
If a conventional insert valve with complex hydraulic control is used, then valve operation is achieved, but the number of hydraulic seals increases leading to more wear and leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the hydraulic control mechanism from the traditional side-mounted configuration and relocates it to a position where the piston is centered on the valve stem axis. This extraction and repositioning eliminates the need for multiple radial seals and complex hydraulic connections, reducing the number of sealing surfaces and thereby reducing wear and leakage while maintaining full valve operation capability
3Reliability
If a safety valve with constant spring force is used, then the valve is normally closed for safety, but the spring wears and loses tension leading to partial fluid flow when closed
Solution Approach 1:
The insert valve incorporates its own independent spring mechanism that serves the insert valve itself, independent of the outer safety valve's spring. This self-service approach allows the insert valve to maintain its own closure force and sealing capability even when the outer safety valve spring has worn and lost tension, ensuring continued safety closure functionality without relying on the degraded outer spring
4Reliability
If conventional insert valves are used at greater depths, then flow control is provided, but the design becomes impractical due to hydrostatic head limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the dimensional arrangement of the piston from a traditional side-mounted configuration to a centered axial configuration. This dimensional change allows the piston to be exposed at both ends along the axial dimension, enabling it to counteract the hydrostatic head pressure from both directions simultaneously. This adaptation makes the valve design practical for greater depths where hydrostatic pressure is significantly higher, as the centered piston can effectively balance the increased pressure loads
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
Improves fluid flow and control by reducing wear, maintaining efficiency, and allowing operation at greater depths with a simplified design that minimizes maintenance and leakage.
Implementation Method 1
the piston rod comprises: an upper exposed piston area exposed to an internal volume of the insert valve; and a lower exposed piston area exposed to the internal volume of the insert valve
Implementation Method 2
The compression spring may be positioned downhole from the flow port and may exert an upward force on the poppet
Implementation Method 3
a first pressure in the upper piston bore causes a downward force on the piston rod greater than the upward force of the spring
Data Source
AI summary
An insert valve installed, at least partially, in a safety valve that includes a flow port disposed on an exterior of the insert valve, a poppet configured to control a fluid flow through the flow port, a piston rod, disposed uphole from the poppet, configured to move the poppet past at least part of the flow port, where the piston rod includes an upper exposed piston area exposed to an internal volume of the insert valve, and a lower exposed piston area exposed to the internal volume of the insert valve, and a hydraulic control port configured to control movement of the piston rod.