Sealing Assembly for Expandable Segmented Cone
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing expandable segmented cones stall at the unexpanded end of a tubular and suffer from wear and leakage due to inadequate sealing, as the seal pops out or fails to maintain a fluid-tight seal.
Innovation Solution
An expandable segmented cone with a sealing assembly arranged at the large diameter bottom section, featuring a sealing ring or sealing lips that are deformed or aligned to provide a fluid-tight seal, allowing the cone to maintain a pressure difference and prevent leakage by engaging with the expanded tubular section.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a seal is arranged at a small diameter top end of the cone to engage an unexpanded tubular section, then the seal can initially engage the tubular, but the seal pops out when reaching the unexpanded end causing the cone to stall
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly is inverted from the conventional small-diameter top-end location to a large-diameter bottom-end location. This inversion allows the seal to engage the expanded tubular section at the bottom of the cone, preventing the seal from popping out and causing the cone to stall, thereby maintaining continuous hydraulic propulsion through the tubular.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing assembly is made expandable and dynamically adjustable to match the tubular diameter. The sealing elements can expand radially outward to engage the expanded tubular section at the large diameter bottom end, maintaining continuous contact and sealing pressure as the cone moves through the tubular, preventing stalling.
2Device complexity
If conventional seals are used in expandable cones, then the structure is simple, but the seals are prone to wear and leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing assembly parameters are changed to include multiple sealing elements arranged in series along the cone surface, with each element capable of independent radial expansion. This multi-element configuration distributes wear and maintains sealing effectiveness, preventing leakage while managing structural complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing elements utilize composite material construction combining resilient elastomeric materials with reinforcing structural layers. This composite approach enhances wear resistance and sealing durability while maintaining the flexibility needed for radial expansion and contraction during cone deployment and retrieval.
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 solution prevents stalling at the unexpanded end of the tubular and reduces wear and leakage, ensuring a robust and effective seal that maintains hydraulic propulsion and sealing performance.
Implementation Method 1
the sealing assembly comprises a sealing ring, which is upon expansion of the cone squeezed between the lower ends of the segments and the lower support shoulder and thereby deformed such that its outer diameter is increased
Implementation Method 2
a sealing assembly to move the expanded cone through the tubular by creating a pressure difference across the cone
Implementation Method 3
the sealing assembly comprises sealing lips arranged at or near the lower ends of segments such that upon expansion of the cone the sealing lips are circumferentially aligned and provide a fluid tight seal, which the sealing lips are upon expansion of the cone squeezed against the lower support shoulder
Data Source
AI summary
A well tubular is expanded using an expandable segmented cone (301-303) which is at a large diameter bottom or gauge section of the cone (301-303) provided with a robust sealing assembly (300A-C) comprising a sealing ring or sealing lips that engage(s) an expanded section of the tubular (307).