Packer Release Compaction Joint for Wellbore Compression Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices in wellbores, such as packers, often become locked in place due to thermal, pressure, or mechanical forces, making it difficult or impossible to remove them without additional tools or processes, especially when the pipe below the packer expands or becomes fixed by sand, preventing the slip from releasing from the casing.
Innovation Solution
A packer release compaction joint that shifts a sleeve to create space for the pipe to move downward, allowing the slip to disengage from the casing, utilizing a shifting tool to relieve compression and facilitate the retrieval of the packer by shearing shear elements, with a load ring to absorb and transfer compressive loads, reducing the force required for movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a packer is set in the well by applying force to an elastomeric element, then the packer is locked in place and fluid flow is restricted, but the packer becomes difficult or impossible to remove due to thermal, pressure, or mechanical forces
Solution Approach 1:
The packer system is divided into multiple components including the packer body, elastomeric element, and a separate release tool. The release tool can be independently deployed to address the locking mechanism without requiring removal of the entire packer assembly, thereby maintaining reliable locking while enabling removal when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
A release tool acts as an intermediary device between the operator and the locked packer. This tool interfaces with the packer's locking mechanism to apply controlled forces that can overcome the thermal, pressure, or mechanical forces preventing removal, without requiring direct manipulation of the packer itself.
2Stability of the object's composition
If pipe below the packer is gravel packed or closely spaced, then the pipe cannot move or is fixed in place, but this prevents the slip from releasing from the casing when packer removal is needed
Solution Approach 1:
The release tool is designed to perform preliminary actions by first engaging with the packer's slip mechanism before attempting to move the pipe. This allows the slip to be released from the casing through controlled mechanical action on the slip teeth, creating the necessary clearance before any pipe movement is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static locked state to a dynamic release state through the application of controlled forces by the release tool. The tool can apply varying forces to overcome the friction and mechanical interlocking between the slip teeth and casing, enabling the pipe to move from its fixed position when removal is needed.
3Force
If forces are applied to the bottom of the packer to lock it in place, then the packer is securely positioned, but these same forces prevent the slips from releasing when removal is attempted
Solution Approach 1:
The release tool extracts or removes the locking force by applying counter-forces to the slip mechanism. By engaging with the slip teeth and applying forces in the opposite direction to the locking forces, the tool can overcome the mechanical interlocking and enable the slip to release from the casing.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying forces in the same direction as the locking mechanism, the release tool applies forces in the opposite direction. This inversion of the force application approach allows the tool to overcome the locking forces and enable slip release, effectively reversing the mechanical action that created the lock.
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
Enables successful retrieval of packers without the need for milling, providing certainty in the release process and reducing the risk of pipe buckling and compression issues, allowing for reliable operation even in deepwater completions with varying loads.
Implementation Method 1
A packer release compaction joint is provided below a packer in a wellbore. The packer release joint relieves compression in the pipe by shifting a sleeve that enables the device to scope inward and provide space for tubing movement to relieve pipe buckling and compression.
Implementation Method 2
with a load ring to absorb and transfer compressive loads, reducing the force required for movement
Implementation Method 3
allowing the slip to disengage from the casing, utilizing a shifting tool to relieve compression and facilitate the retrieval of the packer by shearing shear elements
Data Source
AI summary
Certain aspects are directed to a device designed to relieve compression in a length of pipe. The device provides a load ring that can absorb and isolate load until a shear sleeve is shifted and shear pins are sheared. A specific aspect provides a packer release compaction joint that has a shifting sleeve having a first internal shoulder configured to engage a shifting tool; a shear sleeve having a raised abutment; a load ring mounted on the shear sleeve, the load ring having an outer diameter and positioned forward of the first side of the raised abutment; a snap ring mounted around the outer diameter of the load ring. Action of a shifting tool against the first internal shoulder of the shifting sleeve causes the snap ring to move away from the load ring and move to the second side of the raised abutment.