ACTIVE CONTROL AND/OR MONITORING OF EXPANDABLE TUBULAR DEVICES
An expandable swage including a swage body, at least one swage segment in operable communication with the swage body, and a position indicator in operable communication with the at least one swage segment; the position indicator capable of providing information related to an outside dimension of the at least one swage segment. An expandable tubing system for use in a wellbore including an expandable swage, a stroker in operable communication with the expandable swage, an anchor capable of anchoring the stroker, and a position indicator in operable communication with the expandable swage; the position indicator capable of providing information related to an outside dimension of the expandable swage. A method for determining a shape of an expanded tubular.
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In the hydrocarbon recovery industry, expandable tubular devices are increasingly used to enhance hydrocarbon recovery efforts. The devices allow, inter alia, the tripping of such devices through tubing strings that are smaller than the expandable tubular device will be when it is expanded. While in controlled conditions, expandables are very predictable in their geometric change, the downhole environment is far from controlled. Commonly expandable tubular devices will expand as much as is possible relative to the hole in which they are to be expanded. Sometimes the hole is smaller than anticipated from an operator's perspective due to things such as a hard feature in a formation that kicks a drill bit over and then rides up a flute of the bit such that the full designed diameter is not reached. Other times, a portion of the borehole may partially collapse and thereby restrict the size of the bore in that location. The result of such conditions can restrict operations later in the life of the well including further completion operations with tools getting stuck and possibly not fitting through such a restriction. The art would well receive any apparatus and method that improves efficiency in hydrocarbon recovery.
SUMMARYAn expandable swage including a swage body, at least one swage segment in operable communication with the swage body, and a position indicator in operable communication with the at least one swage segment; the position indicator capable of providing information related to an outside dimension of the at least one swage segment.
An expandable tubing system for use in a wellbore including an expandable swage, a stroker in operable communication with the expandable swage, an anchor capable of anchoring the stroker, and a position indicator in operable communication with the expandable swage; the position indicator capable of providing information related to an outside dimension of the expandable swage.
A method for determining a shape of an expanded tubular including expanding an expandable swage, urging the expandable swage though an expandable tubular, and determining an outside dimension of at least one segment of the expandable swage.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several Figures:
Referring to
It will be appreciated that the action of the anchor 18 and the stroking device are known to the art and need not be described in detail. The swage 22 however is distinct thereby providing it with the ability noted above.
In one embodiment, referring to
In each embodiment, a position indicator 60 in incorporated into the swage 22. Suitable position indicators include potentiometers, magnetostrictive elements, hall effect sensors, etc. The position indicator 60 is positioned relative to swage 22 in order to be capable of measuring the effective outside dimension of the at least one segment 42. In so doing and with the provision of a recording implement within in the downhole environment or at the surface or even at a remote location, a map of the dimension of the borehole through which the swage has been driven is available in real time and later if recorded. In the normal course the measurements should be recorded as they are of assistance both in selecting an appropriate size tool for running later in the life of the well and for diagnosing potential problems that might be experienced during such running.
In one embodiment and as illustrated in
Communication with a remote location or the surface of the information gained by the swage 22 is in one embodiment done via a wired pipe such as that commercially available from Intelliserve. Alternately the information may be transmitted wirelessly through acoustic communication methods, wireless radio frequency methods, wireline or other methods capable of transmitting data to a remote location.
In another embodiment of swage 22, referring to
Determining the shape of an expanded tubular can be accomplished using one of the embodiments described herein by expanding the expandable swage, stroking it through the expandable tubular and gathering information from the position indicator that relates to an outside dimension of the swage. As the swage moves radially inwardly and radially outwardly during its trip through the expandable tubular, a database of the dimension of the swage may be recorded. Since the tubular is substantially the same size as the outside dimension of the swage, the measurements of the swage will provide a substantially accurate picture of the inside dimension of the expandable tubular. This information is usable for later operations as indicated above.
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. An expandable swage comprising:
- a swage body;
- at least one swage segment in operable communication with the swage body;
- a position indicator in operable communication with the at least one swage segment, the position indicator capable of providing information related to an outside dimension of the at least one swage segment.
2. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the swage further includes a drive system.
3. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 2 wherein the drive system includes a motor, lead screw, nut follower and a drive housing operably connected to impart longitudinal movement to the at least one swage segment.
4. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 2 wherein the drive system is at least one energizer.
5. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 4 wherein the at least one energizer is a biasing member.
6. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 5 wherein the biasing member is at least one spring.
7. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the position indicator is a hall effect sensor.
8. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the position indicator is a potentiometer.
9. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the position indicator includes a magnetostrictive element.
10. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the position indicator operates continuously.
11. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the position indicator operates intermittently.
12. The expandable swage as claimed in claim 1 wherein the position indicator operates upon a threshold compressive strain on the swage.
13. An expandable tubing system for use in a wellbore comprising:
- an expandable swage;
- a stroker in operable communication with the expandable swage;
- an anchor capable of anchoring the stroker;
- a position indicator in operable communication with the expandable swage, the position indicator capable of providing information related to an outside dimension of the expandable swage.
14. The system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the position indicator indicates longitudinal position of a drive housing relative to a swage body.
15. A method for determining a shape of an expanded tubular comprising:
- expanding an expandable swage;
- urging the expandable swage though an expandable tubular;
- determining an outside dimension of at least one segment of the expandable swage.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the urging includes:
- anchoring an anchor; and
- extending a stroker connected between the anchor and the expandable swage to urge the swage through the expandable tubular.
17. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the determining is in real time.
18. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the determining is continuous.
19. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the determining is intermittent.
20. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the determining is based upon a threshold compressive strain on the expandable swage.
21. The method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising:
- communicating the outside dimension of the at least one segment to a remote location.
22. The method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising recording the outside dimension of the at least one segment over a time consonant with an expanding operation.
23. The method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising building a database of dimensions of the expandable swage during passage through the expandable tubular.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 20, 2008
Publication Date: Feb 25, 2010
Applicant: BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED (Houston, TX)
Inventors: GERALD D. LYNDE (HOUSTON, TX), DOUGLAS J. MURRAY (MAGNOLIA, TX)
Application Number: 12/195,137
International Classification: E21B 43/10 (20060101); E21B 23/10 (20060101);