Patents by Inventor James Kear

James Kear has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Hydraulic fracturing
    Patent number: 9222337
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for forecasting curving of an hydraulic fracture to be initiated in the vicinity of one or more previously placed fractures along a bore hole. Physical parameters that will affect the growth of the hydraulic fracture are received by a dimensionless parameter deriver which derives a series of dimensionless parameters as groupings of the physical parameters that are selected as similarity parameters with respect to the shape of the hydraulic fracture path. The dimensionless parameters may comprise a dimensionless viscosity parameter, a dimensionless confining stress parameter, a coefficient of friction parameter and a dimensionless deviatoric stress parameter. A comparator sequentially compares the determined dimensionless parameters with predetermined threshold values to provide an indication as to possible curving of the hydraulic fracture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
    Inventors: Andrew P. Bunger, Robert G. Jeffrey, Xi Zhang, James Kear
  • HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
    Publication number: 20130292124
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for forecasting curving of an hydraulic fracture to be initiated in the vicinity of one or more previously placed fractures along a bore hole. Physical parameters that will affect the growth of the hydraulic fracture are received by a dimensionless parameter deriver which derives a series of dimensionless parameters as groupings of the physical parameters that are selected as similarity parameters with respect to the shape of the hydraulic fracture path. The dimensionless parameters may comprise a dimensionless viscosity parameter, a dimensionless confining stress parameter, a coefficient of friction parameter and a dimensionless deviatoric stress parameter. A comparator sequentially compares the determined dimensionless parameters with predetermined threshold values to provide an indication as to possible curving of the hydraulic fracture.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2012
    Publication date: November 7, 2013
    Applicant: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
    Inventors: Andrew P. Bunger, Robert G. Jeffrey, Xi Zhang, James Kear