Wire Plug Formation for Blowout Preventer Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current blowout preventers (BOPs) fail to effectively control uncontrolled fluid flows, leading to potential well damage and catastrophic leaks, as traditional methods like junk shots or relief wells are either ineffective or time-consuming and risky.
Innovation Solution
A machine and method that feed a continuous wire into the wellbore to entangle and increase flow resistance, using a proboscis feeder system and differential surface speed rollers to deform and curl the wire, ensuring it buckles inside the wellbore and forms a stable plug, while maintaining pressure equality to prevent external buckling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a junk shot is injected to plug the flow through the BOP, then the flow can be stopped, but it can generate a pressure wave that can break the casing, rupture disks, and fracture the formation thus damaging the well and the reservoir
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically controls the wire feeding rate to progressively build the plug rather than inserting it all at once. The controllable drive system adjusts the wire feed speed based on pressure differentials and flow conditions, allowing the plug to form incrementally and absorb pressure gradually, preventing catastrophic pressure waves that would occur with sudden plug insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of the wire as it is being fed into the wellbore. The controllable drive system varies the feed rate, and the system may alter wire configuration (coiled vs. straight) to optimize plug formation characteristics. These parameter changes allow the plug to form in a controlled manner that prevents pressure wave generation while maintaining flow control effectiveness.
2Reliability
If drilling a relief well is performed to seal the high pressure region, then the well can be sealed, but it can take months to complete, during which time the well continues to produce out of control
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary flow control actions by inserting and forming a wire plug within the existing wellbore infrastructure. This preliminary plug formation occurs immediately upon deployment, providing instant flow control without waiting for the months-long relief well drilling process. The wire plug serves as an immediate containment measure while longer-term solutions are developed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts the flow control function from the complex, time-consuming relief well process and implements it through a simplified wire plug insertion method. By removing the need for extensive drilling operations and extracting only the essential flow control requirement, the system achieves well sealing capability in hours or days rather than months.
3Productivity
If the wire is fed into the wellbore at high speed to quickly stop flow, then flow control is achieved faster, but the wire may buckle outside the wellbore before entering
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts wire feed speed based on real-time conditions. The controllable drive system monitors pressure differentials, flow rates, and wire insertion progress, then adjusts the feed speed accordingly. This dynamic control allows high insertion speeds when conditions permit while reducing speed when buckling risk increases, maintaining both productivity and wire configuration stability throughout the insertion process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor wire insertion progress and wellbore conditions. Based on this feedback, the controllable drive system adjusts feed speed to prevent buckling. The feedback loop ensures that wire configuration stability is maintained while achieving productive insertion rates, as the system responds to actual conditions rather than operating at fixed speed.
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 controllably reduces uncontrolled flow by incrementally increasing resistance within the wellbore, minimizing the risk of well damage and allowing for steady, controlled closure, thus preventing leaks and maintaining well integrity.
Implementation Method 1
feeding a wire (defined here to include braided or unbraided wire, ribbon, chain, or any type of structure(s) or material(s) that can be continually fed from a storage device through a small hole in the flow device) into the flow device where it entangles to form a plug
Implementation Method 2
a method for feeding the wire using differential surface speed rollers to impart curl to the wire as it is fed into the wellbore
Data Source
AI summary
A machine includes a spindle for storing wire, a wire passage structure having an interface coupline, a controllable drive system, a control system, and a pressure-resistant housing. The drive system is configured to feed the wire through the wire passage structure and through the interface coupling, under the control of the control system. The housing encloses the wire passage structure, the controllable drive system, and at least a portion of the control system.