Rotatable Slurry Delivery Subassembly for Gravel Packing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In subterranean well gravel packing, sand bridges often form, preventing a complete gravel pack in long or inclined/horizontal production intervals, making it difficult and time-consuming to assemble the necessary fluid connections for effective gravel distribution.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable slurry delivery subassembly is mounted exteriorly on a sand control screen assembly, featuring transport tubes and ring assemblies for easy alignment and connection, allowing for bypassing sand bridges and ensuring a complete gravel pack by diverting the slurry through transport tubes and nozzles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tubing is positioned exteriorly to provide alternate path for slurry around sand bridge, then gravel distribution is improved, but assembly complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The transport tube is nested within the sand control screen assembly, with the slurry delivery subassembly rotatably mounted on the sand control screen assembly. This nested configuration allows the slurry to bypass sand bridges through the transport tube while avoiding the need for complex exterior tubing connections, thus maintaining reliability while reducing assembly complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The slurry delivery subassembly is made rotatable on the sand control screen assembly, allowing dynamic adjustment of the transport tube orientation. This rotational capability enables the transport tube to be aligned with jumper tubes during assembly, simplifying the connection process while maintaining the ability to deliver slurry around sand bridges
2Reliability
If numerous fluid connections are made on rig floor for alternate path tubing, then sand bridge bypass is achieved, but assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transport tube is integrated with the sand control screen assembly and the slurry delivery subassembly, merging multiple functions into a single integrated structure. This eliminates the need for numerous separate fluid connections on the rig floor, achieving sand bridge bypass capability while significantly reducing assembly time
Solution Approach 2:
The transport tube is pre-positioned within the sand control screen assembly during manufacturing, with the slurry delivery subassembly pre-mounted and configured. This preliminary action ensures that the sand bridge bypass pathway is already prepared, eliminating the need for time-consuming field assembly of multiple connections
Data Source
AI summary
A gravel packing assembly has first and second joints each including a sand control screen assembly having a filter medium positioned exteriorly of a base pipe and a slurry delivery subassembly rotatably mounted exteriorly on the sand control screen assembly. The slurry delivery subassembly includes at least one transport tube extending longitudinally along at least a portion of the sand control screen assembly. At least one jumper tube is coupled to and extends between the at least one transport tube of the first joint and the at least one transport tube of the second joint. The at least one transport tube of the first joint is axially aligned with the at least one transport tube of the second joint by rotating the slurry delivery subassembly of the first joint relative to the sand control screen of the first joint after the two joints are coupled together.