Modular Annular Well Screen Elements for Local Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Well screens face challenges in design and construction due to precise tolerances and hostile downhole environments, leading to delays in delivery and the need for specialized manufacturing facilities, which increases costs and reduces flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A well screen design featuring a filter layer and a drainage layer with pre-formed annular elements, allowing for customizable assembly at various locations using locally sourced materials and enabling integration of sensing and inflow control devices, reducing manufacturing complexity and enhancing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If well screens are manufactured in highly specialized factories with precise tolerances and engineered structural capabilities, then manufacturing precision and reliability are improved, but delivery time increases and local warehouses must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage layer is divided into multiple stackable annular elements that can be manufactured separately and assembled locally. Each element is a complete functional unit with integrated cavities and flow passages, allowing modular construction that maintains precision while enabling local assembly and reducing delivery time.
Solution Approach 2:
The annular elements are pre-formed with integrated cavities and flow passages during manufacturing. This preliminary formation of complex features in individual elements allows for simplified local assembly while maintaining the precision of pre-manufactured components, eliminating the need for on-site construction of complex drainage structures.
2Manufacturing precision
If well screens are manufactured in highly specialized factories located great distances from installation locations, then manufacturing precision is improved, but delivery time and transportation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage layer is segmented into multiple annular elements that can be manufactured at specialized facilities and transported in compact forms. These modular elements reduce transportation volume and enable local assembly, effectively reducing the impact of delivery distance while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The annular elements are designed as universal modular units that can be stacked and configured for different well screen applications. This universality allows the same precision-manufactured elements to be used across multiple installation locations, reducing the need for location-specific custom manufacturing and minimizing delivery distances.
3Manufacturing precision
If custom well screen construction requires substantial advance planning, then manufacturing precision is improved, but flexibility and responsiveness to changing requirements decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The modular annular element design allows for flexible configuration by stacking different numbers and types of elements to meet varying well screen requirements. This segmentation enables rapid adaptation to changing design specifications while maintaining the precision of individually manufactured elements, eliminating the need for substantial advance planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The well screen design incorporates dynamic adaptability through the modular element system, where elements can be easily added, removed, or reconfigured based on changing operational requirements. This dynamic approach maintains manufacturing precision while providing flexibility in design and construction timing.
4Manufacturing precision
If well screens require specialized manufacturing facilities, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and construction costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage layer is segmented into standardized annular elements with integrated features. This segmentation reduces construction complexity by transforming a complex monolithic structure into simple, repeatable modular units that can be assembled using basic techniques, while the specialized manufacturing of individual elements maintains precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functions are merged into each annular element, including structural support, fluid flow passages, and integrated cavities for additional components. This merging reduces the overall complexity of the well screen construction by eliminating the need for separate components and assembly steps, while maintaining manufacturing precision through integrated design.
Data Source
AI summary
Construction of well screens utilizing pre-formed annular-shaped elements. A well screen includes a filter layer configured to filter fluid flowing through the well screen and a drainage layer which radially supports the filter layer, the drainage layer including multiple individual annular-shaped elements Another well screen includes a drainage layer configured to support the filter layer, with the drainage layer including at least one cavity molded therein. Another well screen includes a base pipe and a layer made up of multiple individual annular-shaped elements stacked coaxially on the base pipe. A cavity is formed in at least one of the elements.