Thrust-Propelled Well Torpedo for Horizontal Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing techniques for deploying devices into hydrocarbon wells, such as wireline methods, face challenges in accessing horizontal wellbores due to limitations in traction and durability, leading to incomplete deployment and potential damage from friction.
Innovation Solution
The development of a thrust-propelled well torpedo (TPWT) system that uses a fiber optic umbilical to deploy devices like sensors into hydrocarbon wells, employing thrust-based propulsion and a dissolvable body to overcome these limitations, allowing deeper penetration and reducing the need for retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wireline methods are used to deploy devices into horizontal wellbores, then deployment can be achieved in vertical sections, but traction and durability are insufficient leading to incomplete deployment and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional wireline mechanical deployment system with a thrust-propelled torpedo system that uses controlled thrust generation to move through the wellbore. The torpedo uses an expansion mechanism (such as a shape memory alloy or piezoelectric actuator) to generate propulsive force, eliminating reliance on wireline traction which is insufficient in horizontal sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The deployment system is segmented into a self-contained torpedo unit that can independently navigate the wellbore. The torpedo is divided into functional segments including the payload compartment, thrust generation mechanism, and control system, allowing it to operate autonomously without continuous wireline support.
2Productivity
If traditional deployment methods are used, then devices can be deployed with retrieval capability, but friction causes potential damage and incomplete deployment in horizontal portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the wireline-mechanical-contact system that causes friction damage. Instead, the torpedo uses internal thrust mechanisms (expansion actuators, shape memory alloys, or piezoelectric elements) to propel itself through the wellbore, maintaining no continuous mechanical contact with the wellbore walls and thus avoiding friction-induced damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The torpedo is designed as a disposable or single-use device that is deployed into the wellbore, performs its deployment function, and is then abandoned or dissolved. This eliminates the need for retrieval operations that would subject the device to additional friction and mechanical stress, ensuring complete deployment without damage concerns.
3Ease of operation
If wireline methods are used, then devices can be deployed and retrieved, but the process is complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The torpedo is designed as a disposable device that is deployed once and then abandoned after completing its mission. This eliminates the entire retrieval process, significantly reducing operational time and complexity. The disposable nature allows for simpler deployment procedures without the need for complex retrieval mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the retrieval function from the deployment system entirely. By designing the torpedo as a disposable device that remains in the wellbore after deployment, the system eliminates the time-consuming retrieval operation. The payload is deployed and left in place while the torpedo body is abandoned or dissolved.
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 TPWT system effectively deploys devices into horizontal wellbores with reduced friction and damage, enabling deeper penetration and simplifying the retrieval process by dissolving the body, thus enhancing the deployment efficiency and reducing operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
releasing a torpedo into gravity-driven free-fall in a first portion of a wellbore of a well
Implementation Method 2
in response to determining that the torpedo has reached a trigger point within the wellbore, activating the engine to generate forward thrust to propel the torpedo in a second portion of the wellbore
Implementation Method 3
a DAS FO umbilical that is physically coupled to a surface component and adapted to unspool from the torpedo as the torpedo advances in the wellbore
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
Provided in some embodiments is a method of distributed acoustic sensing in a subterranean well. The method including advancing a torpedo into a first portion of a wellbore of a subterranean well (the torpedo including a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) fiber-optic (FO) umbilical that is physically coupled to a surface component and adapted to unspool from the torpedo as the torpedo advances in the wellbore, and an engine adapted to generate thrust to propel the torpedo), and activating the engine to generate thrust to propel advancement of the torpedo within a second portion of the wellbore such that at least some of the DAS FO umbilical is disposed in the second portion of the wellbore.