Pressure-Actuated Object Carrier for Downhole Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the resource recovery and fluid sequestration industries, dropped objects often fail to reach their intended targets due to restrictions or smaller openings in strings, complicating operations and requiring careful object sizing, which increases design complexity.
Innovation Solution
An object carrier with a housing having diametrically larger and smaller portions, an actuator assembly that moves the object keeper's end from the smaller to the larger portion under pressure, allowing the object to be secured and released, facilitating object-based operations downhole despite restrictions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a dropped object is used to restrict or divert flow downhole, then the operation can be undertaken, but the object is prevented from reaching the intended target by restrictions or smaller openings in the string
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the object delivery function into two separate components: a carrier that navigates the string and an object that is released at the target location. This segmentation allows the carrier to pass through restrictions while the object is deployed beyond them, resolving the contradiction between reliable delivery and operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier acts as an intermediary between the surface operation and the downhole target. It transports the object through the restricted string geometry and then releases it at the intended location, enabling object delivery reliability without increasing operational complexity.
2Reliability
If different size objects are used to navigate restrictions, then objects can reach the target, but the design and execution of operations becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is designed as a universal platform that can transport various objects through restrictions. Instead of designing different sized objects for different restrictions, the same carrier can accommodate multiple object types and sizes, reducing operational design complexity while maintaining reliable passage.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier incorporates a movable object keeper that can transition between different positions within the carrier body. This dynamic mechanism allows the carrier to adapt to different object sizes and restriction geometries, enabling reliable object passage without increasing operational complexity.
3Reliability
If an object is secured in a carrier and moved through the string, then the object can be delivered downhole, but the object must be released from the carrier to function
Solution Approach 1:
The object release mechanism is activated by the downhole environment itself. The carrier's object keeper automatically releases the object when it reaches the target location, using the natural pressure differential or mechanical interaction with the downhole tool. This self-service approach enables reliable delivery without requiring complex automated release systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier uses fluid pressure to automatically release the object at the target location. Pressure differentials created during the carrier's movement through the string or upon reaching the target trigger the object keeper to release the object, providing reliable delivery with minimal automation complexity.
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 actuation of downhole tools and operations by providing significant back pressure and fluid flow, overcoming previous limitations of object passage through restricted diameters, allowing for efficient management and execution of object-based operations.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator assembly configured to move the first end of the object keeper from the diametrically smaller portion to the diametrically larger portion responsive to selected application of pressure
Data Source
AI summary
An object carrier including a housing having a bore with a diametrically larger portion and a diametrically smaller portion, an object keeper having a first and a second end, the first end being initially disposed in the diametrically smaller portion, an actuator assembly configured to move the first end of the object keeper from the diametrically smaller portion to the diametrically larger portion responsive to selected application of pressure, and an object disposed within the object keeper and secured within the object keeper while the first end of the object keeper is in the diametrically smaller portion, the object being released from the object keeper upon the first end of the object keeper moving to the diametrically larger portion. A method for managing an object-based operation downhole of a restriction including pressuring up on the object carrier, withdrawing the first end from the diametrically smaller portion, and releasing the object.