Packing Element Timed Setting Sequence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packing elements in oil and gas exploration face challenges in maintaining sealability and pressure integrity, particularly due to their design and setting methods, which can lead to leaks and reduced sealing and gripping capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A packing element with a sealing element featuring cavities of different sizes, made from flexible and expandable materials, that expands to create a seal by applying compressive force using gauge rings and wedge rings, preventing extrusion and ensuring symmetrical setting without vent holes, thus enhancing sealability and pressure integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a packer is set using conventional setting methods, then the packer can be installed in the wellbore, but the sealability and pressure integrity are compromised due to asymmetric setting and extrusion
Solution Approach 1:
The setting process is divided into distinct sequential stages using multiple gauge rings (first, second, third gauge rings) that engage at different depths. Each gauge ring segment controls a specific phase of the setting sequence, ensuring systematic progression from initial contact to final symmetric compression of the sealing element, thereby preventing extrusion while maintaining sealability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element is pre-positioned on the mandrel before deployment into the wellbore. The gauge rings are pre-configured at specific locations along the mandrel to engage the sealing element at predetermined depths, ensuring that the symmetric compression and sealing action occur automatically upon reaching the target depth without requiring complex real-time control mechanisms.
2Reliability
If the sealing element is compressed asymmetrically, then setting can be achieved, but extrusion occurs reducing sealing capability
Solution Approach 1:
The gauge rings are positioned asymmetrically at different depths along the mandrel (first gauge ring at a first depth, second gauge ring at a second depth, third gauge ring at a third depth). This asymmetric positioning creates a controlled sequential compression sequence that transitions from initial contact to symmetric final compression, preventing extrusion while maintaining ease of operation through automatic depth-based activation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the sealing element are compressed at different times and with different forces during the setting sequence. The gauge rings apply localized compressive forces at specific depths, ensuring that each portion of the sealing element is properly positioned and compressed symmetrically against the wellbore wall, thereby preventing extrusion and maintaining pressure integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If vent holes are included in the sealing element, then manufacturing is easier, but leaks occur during hydrocarbon production
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful feature of vent holes is completely removed from the sealing element design. The sealing element is manufactured as a solid, continuous structure without any holes or openings, thereby eliminating the leak path while maintaining manufacturability through conventional molding or extrusion processes for elastomeric materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element is constructed from elastomeric materials that provide both the necessary flexibility for deployment and the inherent leak-tight properties required for hydrocarbon production. The material composition is optimized to achieve the desired balance of elasticity, compressibility, and impermeability without requiring vent holes or other structural compromises.
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
The packing element effectively seals between tubular strings and the wellbore surface, reducing pressure in the wellbore and preventing leaks during hydrocarbon production, while allowing for remote activation and reuse, thereby improving the reliability and efficiency of well operations.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing element (310) that includes a body (302) manufactured from an elastomer
Implementation Method 2
the first gauge ring (320) applies a compressive force to the first end (304) of the sealing element (310), and the second gauge ring (321) applies a compressive force to the second end (306) of the sealing element (310)
Data Source
AI summary
A packing element and a sealing element is disclosed. The packing element includes a sealing element positioned on an outer surface of a mandrel deployed in the wellbore, where the sealing element is disposed in an annulus between the mandrel and a portion of the wellbore. The sealing element includes a first cavity on an inner surface of the sealing element, where the first cavity has a first size and is positioned proximate a first end of the sealing element. The sealing element also includes a second cavity on the inner surface of the sealing element, where the second cavity has a second size that is different from the first size, and is positioned proximate a second end of the sealing element. The packing element also includes a first and second gauge rings positioned at first and second ends of the sealing element, respectively.