High-Force Stroker Tool With Hydraulic Anchor for Valve Sleeve Shifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shifting tools struggle to generate the high and reliable forces required for shifting valve sleeves in wellbores, particularly when greater forces are needed, and existing tools often require sealing sections of the wellbore to increase hydraulic pressure, which is inefficient and limited in capability.
Innovation Solution
A bottomhole assembly with an anchoring tool and actuator system that uses hydraulic pressure to generate high mechanical forces for shifting valve sleeves, including a hydraulic anchor that secures to the wellbore and a shifting tool connected via a mechanical brace, allowing for high force applications without sealing the entire wellbore.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional shifting tools are used with hydraulic pressure, then the tool can shift valve sleeves installed via interference fit, but the tool cannot generate sufficient force for high-force applications repeatedly or reliably
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is divided into distinct functional segments: an anchoring tool for securing to the wellbore, an actuator for force generation, and a shifting tool for valve sleeve manipulation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, with the anchoring tool providing stable attachment and the actuator delivering repeated high-force pulses.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring tool is deployed and secured to the wellbore casing before the shifting operation begins. This preliminary anchoring creates a stable base that allows the subsequent actuator to generate high forces without the entire tool string moving or slipping, enabling reliable repeated force application.
2Force
If hydraulic pressure is increased to generate higher forces, then more force can be applied to shift the valve sleeve, but the tool geometry and fluid pumping capacity become limiting factors
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the conventional hydraulic pressure system with a mechanical force generation system. Instead of relying on hydraulic pressure regulated by tool geometry and fluid pumping capacity, the actuator generates direct mechanical force through controlled expansion or contraction, bypassing the limitations of hydraulic system design.
3Force
If a mechanical brace is implemented to transmit downhole mechanical force, then high forces can be reliably transmitted to the valve assembly, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring tool, actuator, and shifting tool are merged into a single integrated bottomhole assembly. The mechanical brace is not a separate component but is formed by the coordinated arrangement of these integrated components, where the anchoring tool provides the fixed point and the actuator provides the force application point, creating the brace structure through their spatial relationship rather than through additional structural elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A high force stroker tool for integration within a wellbore string disposed along a wellbore defined within a subterranean reservoir is provided. The stroker tool includes a hydraulic anchor hydraulically operable to deploy slips securable to the wellbore and to define a mechanical brace, a shifting tool operatively coupled to the hydraulic anchor and comprising a mechanical anchor securable to a movable component, the shifting tool being mechanically operable to move the movable component; and an actuator coupled between the hydraulic anchor and the shifting tool, the actuator being hydraulically operable to brace against the mechanical brace and create a downhole mechanical force adapted to mechanically operate the shifting tool. A method of shifting downhole valve assemblies using the high force stroker tool is also provided.