Modular Reamer Shoe with Jarring Capability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional reamer shoes fail to provide complete circumferential coverage during wellbore deployment, leading to stuck casing or liner issues due to obstructions like hole cleaning challenges and formation instability, and lack the capability to apply upward and downward jarring forces to free stuck strings.
Innovation Solution
A modular reamer shoe system with a cylindrical body comprising two sections, where the lower section features a replaceable nose with preformed cutting elements and actuatable blades for reaming, and the upper section can provide axial movement for jarring forces, ensuring complete circumferential coverage and effective deployment through rotation and axial movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional reamer shoes use reaming members extending parallel to the shoe body, then the reaming members can contact the entire circumference of the bore on rotation, but complete circumferential coverage is not achieved when the shoe is reciprocated
Solution Approach 1:
The reaming members are designed to be movable relative to the shoe body, transitioning between retracted and extended positions. During reciprocation, the blades extend to engage obstructions, while during rotation, they remain retracted to allow smooth circumferential contact. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by adapting the reaming members' position to the specific operational phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs periodic extension and retraction of the reaming members synchronized with the reciprocation cycle. The blades extend during the upward stroke to cut obstructions and retract during the downward stroke and rotation to maintain circumferential coverage. This periodic action ensures both complete circumferential coverage and effective obstruction removal.
2Productivity
If a reamer shoe is used to remove obstructions from the wellbore wall, then the passage of the casing string is facilitated, but the casing or liner may still get stuck due to ledges, formation washouts, or debris
Solution Approach 1:
The reamer shoe performs preliminary reaming action ahead of the casing string, removing obstructions and preparing the wellbore path before the casing arrives. The movable blades extend to cut ledges and debris in advance, ensuring a clear passage and reducing the risk of the casing getting stuck during deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the reaming members by adjusting their extension position based on encountered resistance. When obstructions are detected, the blades extend to increase cutting action; when the wellbore is clear, they retract to minimize interference. This dynamic parameter adjustment optimizes both productivity and reliability.
3Device complexity
If the reamer shoe body is made as a single integrated structure, then the construction is simple, but the capability to provide upward and downward jarring forces to stuck casing is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The reamer shoe body is segmented into multiple sections: a fixed upper section, a movable intermediate section containing the reaming members, and a lower section. This segmentation allows the intermediate section to move independently for jarring operations while the other sections remain stable. The segmented design provides both the simplicity of a modular construction and the versatility of independent movement for stuck casing retrieval.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular reamer shoe for connection to an end of a tubular structure, such as a casing or liner, for deployment in a wellbore includes a body configured for connection to the tubular structure (casing or liner). The body includes a first section and an adjacent second section. The first section is connected to the second section such that torque can be transmitted between the first section and the second section. The first section defines a starter reamer defined by a plurality of first cutting elements and second cutting elements spaced from the first cutting elements. The reamer shoe has a plurality of actuatable blades disposed within the second area of the first section. The plurality of blades moves between extended positions and retracted positions. A nose is connected to the first section of the body. The second section is actuatable and can move in an axial direction so as to move the body, including the nose, in forward/rearward directions.