CAPILLARY ACTUATOR DEVICE
A pressure storage device includes a porous material; and a non-wetting fluid having a glass transition temperature above a normal exposure temperature for the device and method.
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One of the facts of the hydrocarbon recovery industry is that tools used in the downhole environment are often there for a very long time, in very harsh conditions, and with very important jobs to do. Reliability is key with respect to many aspects of the industry. Some of the conditions that are so difficult on downhole tools relate solely to the temperature, pH, erosional factors due to flowing fluid, and other purely environmental issues. Other things that create problems for the industry relate to complexity of tools and cycle life. Yet other issues relate to the difficulty of actually fitting a tool that has the capability of doing what must be done into a borehole that is quintessentially too small to put much in. And this while the largest possible amount of patency is reserved for produced fluid flow. Because of these difficulties, the art is always in need of alternative arrangements that can reduce the problems associated with production.
SUMMARYA pressure storage device includes a porous material; and a non-wetting fluid having a glass transition temperature above a normal exposure temperature for the device.
A method for storing pressure for later use includes heating a non-wetting fluid above a glass transition or material melting temperature thereof; forcing the fluid into a porous material non-wettable thereby while maintaining the temperature of the fluid above the glass transition or material melting temperature; and reducing a temperature of the fluid to below the glass transition or material melting temperature thereof.
A downhole actuator device includes a porous material; and a non-wetting intrusion fluid introduced into the porous material under pressure and at a temperature above a glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid and retained in the porous material at a temperature below the glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid.
An actuation system includes a plurality of combinations of porous materials and non-wetting intrusion fluids introduced into the porous materials under pressure and at a temperature above a glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid and retained in the porous material at a temperature below the glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid.
An actuation system includes a plurality of combinations of porous materials and non-wetting intrusion fluids introduced into the porous materials under pressure and at a temperature above a glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid and retained in the porous material at a temperature below the glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures:
Capillary action can be used to benefit the hydrocarbon recovery industry when used in conjunction with a non-wetting intrusion fluid. This is because in such circumstances, the fluid, rather than being drawn into the capillary pore, is repelled from it. Forcing the fluid to occupy a space defined by one or more pores through the application of an externally applied pressure exerted on the fluid can be achieved if the pressure is above a threshold pressure for the particular combination of porous material and non-wetting fluid. Such a fluid is then resident in the pore space of the material until the pressure is removed whereupon the fluid is expelled from the material with substantially the same pressure that was required to force the fluid into the material initially, with some small amount of hysteresis being expected. Such a configuration is useful for a wide variety of spring force operations but is limited in that the external pressure must be maintained for the device to be useable. Incorporated by reference in its' entirety is co-pending and co-filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/948,369 by Xu and Richard, Attorney Docket Number 284-45836-US/BAO-0195, entitled and filed DOWNHOLE TOOL WITH CAPILLARY BIASING SYSTEM, which includes further information directed to a capillary spring and its use in the downhole environment.
The present inventors have devised a number of configurations in which a capillary spring type device can be configured as a pressure storage medium irrespective of the maintenance of an external applied pressure thereon. More specifically, it has been discovered that where a nonwetting fluid is forced to occupy the pores of a nonwettable porous material at a temperature above the fluid glass transition temperature and the temperature is then brought to below the glass transition temperature, the porous material becomes a pressure storage device. In other words, once the material and fluid are at a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the fluid, the pressure needed to force the fluid into the porous material may be removed without the fluid being expelled from the material. Rather, the pressure is stored in the porous material until the temperature is once again brought above the glass transition temperature of the fluid transforming the fluid from a solid to a liquid (or other fluid). For purposes of this disclosure, and in each of the embodiments exemplified herein, the porous material and intrusion fluid post being forced to intrude into the porous material and brought to a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the intrusion fluid is termed the actuator.
Materials contemplated for the porous material include silica, silicates, aluminosilicates, lithosilicates, titanosilicates, aluminogermanates and other natural and synthetic zeolite-like materials, with pore sizes ranging from about 3 nm to about 10 nm, and, in one particular embodiment, about 5 nm. Specifically included in these porous materials are those exhibiting microporosity, which includes those materials whose capillary characteristics are known to vary with temperature and pressure. Fluids include water, organo-liquids, metals and metal alloys, or any liquid exhibiting a high surface tension. As the range of potential fluids available for use may be either morphous or amorphous when in their solid form, a fluids “melting point” and “glass transition temperature” are considered to be synonymous for purposes of this teaching.
In one embodiment of an actuator, referring to
Returning more directly to the
Referring now to
A system 100 in
Each of the pressure devices feed into a chamber 160a-c, respectively, that is fluidly connected to runners 134, 136 and 138, respectively, through the associate check valve 140, 142 and 144. Thereby, when pressure is applied to any of the chambers 160a-c, that pressure is directed through runner 132 to area 152 and will have the desired effect when so doing. Activities can include but are not limited to opening sleeves, opening chemical injection lines, closing sleeves, etc.
Referring now to
Finally, due to the use of heaters in many of the foregoing embodiments, it is possible to increase the pressure that is available from the porous material. While in the described embodiments heating occurs until the intrusion fluid is brought to just above the glass transition temperature of the intrusion fluid, it is not necessary to shut down the heaters at that point. Rather, the heating may be continued. In such condition, the higher temperature of the fluid will increase its pressure, as is always the case with fluids raised to a higher temperature. The total pressure available from the device then is increased over that of the initial intrusion pressure.
While the foregoing embodiments utilize heaters to bring the solid phase intrusion fluid above the glass transition temperature or the melting temperature, heaters per se are not the only way to achieve the result. Rather, any source that is capable of causing the threshold temperature to be exceeded, thereby releasing the stored pressure is contemplated for use with the teaching hereof. In one alternate embodiment, the heat source can be the ambient temperature downhole. One possible alternate is to employ an insulator that insulates the capillary spring from the ambient temperature of the wellbore until a selected time when the insulator is defeated by moving the same, or dissolving the same (whether by the addition of a specific chemical or simply by time in the wellbore, etc.).
While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustrations and not limitation.
Claims
1. A pressure storage device comprising:
- a porous material; and
- a non-wetting fluid having a glass transition or material melting temperature above a normal exposure temperature for the device.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the porous material is silica-based.
3. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fluid is water, organo-liquid, metal or metal-alloy.
4. A method for storing pressure for later use comprising:
- heating a non-wetting fluid above a glass transition or material melting temperature thereof;
- forcing the fluid into a porous material non-wettable thereby while maintaining the temperature of the fluid above the glass transition or material melting temperature; and
- reducing a temperature of the fluid to below the glass transition or material melting temperature thereof.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the forcing is pressurizing the non-wetting fluid above a threshold intrusion pressure for the porous material.
6. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the method further comprises heating the fluid to above the glass transition or material melting temperature to release pressure stored.
7. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the method further comprises further heating the fluid after achieving the glass transition or material melting temperature to increase pressure of the fluid.
8. A downhole actuator device comprising:
- a porous material; and
- a non-wetting intrusion fluid introduced into the porous material under pressure and at a temperature above a glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid and retained in the porous material at a temperature below the glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid.
9. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 8 further comprising a heater in operable communication with the porous material.
10. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 8 further comprising a defeatable member having a pre-selected defeat pressure.
11. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the defeatable member is a rupture member.
12. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the defeatable member is positioned to retain pressure released from the porous material upon heating to above the glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid disposed therein, until the pressure reaches the pre-selected defeat pressure.
13. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the defeatable member enables a pressure pulse action from the actuator device.
14. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the heater is actuable selectively.
15. The downhole actuator device as claimed in claim 9 wherein the heater is electrically activated.
16. An actuation system comprising:
- a plurality of combinations of porous materials and non-wetting intrusion fluids introduced into the porous materials under pressure and at a temperature above a glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid and retained in the porous material at a temperature below the glass transition or material melting temperature of the fluid.
17. The actuation system as claimed in claim 16 wherein each combination of material and fluid is configured for a selected glass transition or material melting temperature.
18. The actuation system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the temperature selected is different for at least one combination than at least one other combination.
19. The actuation system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the temperature is selected among the plurality of combinations to enable sequential release of stored pressure.
20. The actuation system as claimed in claim 16 wherein at least one of the combinations further includes a defeatable member to resist pressure release until a threshold pressure is achieved.
21. The actuation system as claimed in claim 16 wherein the combinations create a wave effect in pressure profile released.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2007
Publication Date: Jun 4, 2009
Applicant: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED (Houston, TX)
Inventors: Terry R. Bussear (Spring, TX), Kerry D. Fellers (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 11/948,640
International Classification: E21B 36/00 (20060101);