Multi-Stage Anchoring Contact Pad for Downhole Tools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing downhole anchoring designs for well interventions suffer from limited reach, insufficient anchoring force, large profile, lack of durability, and power loss/sticking issues.
Innovation Solution
A multi-stage anchoring design for downhole tools, featuring an integrated anchoring device with adjustable contact pads and linear actuators that provide radial and axial forces to secure the tool against borehole walls or tubulars, allowing for adjustable reach and grip, and minimizing the anchoring device profile when not in use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If existing anchor designs are used, then the tool can be anchored against borehole walls, but the anchoring reach is limited and the profile is large
Solution Approach 1:
The contact pad is divided into multiple stages with different thicknesses, allowing selective engagement of different anchor points along the tool body. This segmentation enables extended anchoring reach without requiring a single large-profile anchor structure, as each stage can be independently positioned against the borehole wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring system uses movable contact pads that can be dynamically positioned along the tool body using linear actuators. This dynamic positioning allows the tool to adjust its anchoring reach in real-time while maintaining a compact profile when anchors are retracted, resolving the contradiction between extended reach and small profile.
2Force
If existing anchor designs are used, then anchoring force can be applied, but insufficient grip is achieved in varying borehole conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Different stages of the contact pad have different thicknesses and engagement characteristics, allowing the system to optimize anchoring force for specific borehole conditions. The linear actuators can selectively engage stages with appropriate thickness to match the available clearance and borehole geometry, ensuring reliable grip across varying conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the engagement parameters by moving contact pads to different axial positions and engaging different stages with varying thicknesses. This parameter adjustment allows optimization of anchoring force magnitude and distribution, improving grip reliability in different borehole conditions such as varying clearance, wall roughness, and orientation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-stage anchoring design is implemented, then anchoring capability is enhanced and reach is adjustable, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The linear actuators serve multiple functions: they position contact pads axially, engage/disengage anchors, and adjust the selection of which stage contacts the borehole wall. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms for each operation, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity despite the multi-stage design.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact pads and linear actuators are integrated within the tool body structure, with components nested efficiently to minimize overall device volume and complexity. The multi-stage contact pad itself acts as a nested structure where multiple thickness levels are incorporated in a compact arrangement, allowing extended reach capability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A downhole tool includes a tool body and an anchoring device integrated with the tool body. The anchoring device includes a contact pad that is at least partially external to the tool body, the contact pad having multiple stages with different thicknesses. The anchoring tool also includes a first linear actuator and a second linear actuator. The first linear actuator is configured to move the contact pad axially with respect to the tool body to align one of the multiple stages with the second linear actuator. The second linear actuator is configured to apply a radial force to the contact pad.