Resilient Solid Propellant Fuel Source for Wellbore Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pressed powder fuel sources used in downhole operations often fracture or separate due to severe vibrations and stress in horizontal and vertical wellbores, leading to insufficient performance or lack of combustion, which prevents the desired operation of tools like packers and setting tools.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a primary charge and a secondary charge with a resilient solid propellant, including a flammable metal, is used to ensure reliable ignition and complete combustion, even in challenging wellbore conditions, by utilizing a secondary igniter or relying solely on the solid propellant's activation energy to initiate and sustain combustion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If pressed powder fuel sources are used in downhole operations, then the fuel sources can be easily manufactured and deployed, but they fracture or separate under severe vibrations and stress, leading to insufficient combustion performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining multiple fuel source components with different properties. The fuel source includes a resilient solid propellant (such as nitrocellulose-based material) combined with pressed powder fuel, creating a composite structure that maintains integrity under stress while enabling reliable combustion. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by using materials that individually provide ease of manufacture and reliability, which together create a fuel source that resists fracture while maintaining manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the fuel source by using a resilient solid propellant with specific properties (such as plasticized composition, controlled density, and elastic modulus) instead of conventional pressed powder alone. This parameter change allows the fuel source to maintain its structural integrity under severe vibrations and stress while remaining manufacturable through established propellant formulation processes.
2Device complexity
If pressed powder fuel sources are used, then the system structure can be kept simple, but combustion is insufficient or fails completely under severe vibrations and stress
Solution Approach 1:
The fuel source uses a composite material system consisting of a resilient solid propellant matrix combined with pressed powder fuel components. This composite structure maintains relative simplicity in device design while significantly improving combustion reliability under severe conditions. The resilient propellant acts as a binding matrix that holds the pressed powder components together, preventing separation and ensuring complete combustion even when exposed to severe vibrations and stress in horizontal and vertical wellbores.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional fuel sources are used, then the system can operate in various wellbore conditions, but they experience fractures or separations under severe vibrations, preventing desired tool operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials to create a fuel source that simultaneously achieves adaptability to various wellbore conditions and structural strength. The resilient solid propellant matrix provides elasticity and shock absorption, allowing the fuel source to adapt to different wellbore environments (horizontal, vertical, deviated) while maintaining structural integrity under severe vibrations. This composite structure prevents fracture and separation, ensuring the fuel source remains intact and functional across diverse downhole conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes key material parameters of the fuel source by incorporating a resilient solid propellant with specific mechanical properties (such as controlled hardness, elasticity, and tensile strength). These parameter changes enable the fuel source to withstand severe vibrations and stress without fracturing, while maintaining the adaptability to function in various wellbore configurations through proper formulation and design of the composite propellant system.
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 use of a resilient solid propellant in the secondary charge enhances the reliability and completeness of combustion, maintaining operation even under stress and vibration, ensuring the tool's desired functions are performed effectively in wellbore applications.
Implementation Method 1
a secondary charge associated with the primary charge and the tool, wherein the secondary charge includes a resilient solid propellant
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method and apparatus for providing a fuel source in a wellbore is disclosed. A tool is placed into a wellbore. A primary charge is associated with the tool. A secondary charge associated with the tool is provided. The secondary charge includes a resilient solid propellant.