Baker Hughes Corporation

Baker Hughes, a Ge Compnay, LLC

Gregory C Badke

Edward T Wood

Robert O Castillo

Anthony P Foster

Ammar A Munshi

Nervy Enrique Faria

Douglas James Murray

Amy L Farrar

Vel Berzin

Darwin D Arline

A method of making a downhole swellable seal with a passageway therethrough includes, perimetrically surrounding a first tubular with a first substantially nonswellable material, perimetrically surrounding at least one second tubular with a second substantially nonswellable material, positioning the at least one second tubular adjacent the first tubular, perimetrically surrounding the first tubular and the at least one second tubular with a swellable material, curing the first substantially nonswellable material, curing the second substantially nonswellable material, and curing the swellable material.

Method of making a downhole swellable seal with a passageway therethrough

A method and assembly for reducing a radial gap between radially proximate components including a setting member having a first dimension that partially defines the radial gap, the setting member including a circumferential groove extending radially from the first dimension, and a first toroid having a second dimension, the setting member operatively arranged to engage with the first toroid, wherein increasingly engaging the setting member with the first toroid enables a boundary dimension of the assembly to be extended toward the radial gap for reducing the radial gap, the circumferential groove operatively arranged to catch the first toroid when the setting member is fully engaged with the first toroid.

Borehole seal, backup and method

A swelling element on a packer has a trough formed on a longitudinal axis. The control line or cable or conduit that needs to run along the string where the packer is mounted is first wrapped in a preferably non-swelling underlayment that can be a loose scroll or have its seam sealed. A swelling cover is placed over the underlayment using a seam that can be longitudinal or spiral to allow rapid deployment. The covering assembly for the control line or conduit is placed in the slot of the swelling element of the packer. The line or cable continues out opposed ends and can be secured to the tubular string with clamps. The control line can be covered with a swelling material and forced into a groove that runs the length of the packer swelling element.

Sealing feed through lines for downhole swelling packers

A swelling element on a packer has a trough formed on a longitudinal axis. The control line or cable or conduit that needs to run along the string where the packer is mounted is first wrapped in a preferably non-swelling underlayment that can be a loose scroll or have its seam sealed. A swelling cover is placed over the underlayment using a seam that can be longitudinal or spiral to allow rapid deployment. The covering assembly for the control line or conduit is placed in the slot of the swelling element of the packer. The line or cable continues out opposed ends and can be secured to the tubular string with clamps. The control line can also be covered with a swelling material and forced into a groove that runs the length of the packer swelling element.

An inflatable features a swelling layer. The swelling layer can be made integral or attached to the element or it can be bonded or otherwise secured to the mandrel. Upon inflation with fluid, the element expands into sealing contact with a surrounding tubular or wellbore. The fluid is absorbed or otherwise interacts with the swelling layer so that, in a preferred embodiment, the total occupied volume of the swelling layer and fluid individually is retained after mixing with the swelling of the layer acting to hold the seal of the inflatable element even if a problem develops in the sealing element.

Swelling layer inflatable

Setting mechanisms for downhole tools are described that take advantage of hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore which is harnessed to set a tool after exposure to well fluids for a given time or temperature defeats a lock and allows hydrostatic forces to trigger the setting of the tool. Alternatively, some other biasing source is released to set the downhole tool after exposure to well fluids for a time or a temperature and time defeats a lock and allows the biasing source to set the tool. While applications to packers are preferred, other downhole tools can be set in his manner removing the need for an inner string, dropping a ball on a seat or pressurizing the wellbore to achieve the setting of the downhole tool.

Self-energized downhole tool

A setting mechanism is made to respond to hydrostatic pressure. Upon reaching a predetermined depth corresponding to a given pressure, a pilot piston is shifted to allow well fluids to bypass a first set of piston seals and reach a second set. A shear pin that held the pilot piston in position is broken as the hydrostatic pressure increases with greater depth attained. However, the shifting of the pilot piston does not cause the main piston in the assembly to set the downhole tool. The action of the well fluids on the secondary seal set on the pilot piston eventually fail the second seal set allowing hydrostatic pressure to bypass them and actuate the main piston that will set the downhole tool. Raising the tool from the wellbore allows the spring acting on the pilot piston to seal in a bore to isolate hydrostatic pressure from the operating piston.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Gregory C Badke