CA2197260C - Electro hydraulic downhole control device - Google Patents
Electro hydraulic downhole control device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2197260C CA2197260C CA 2197260 CA2197260A CA2197260C CA 2197260 C CA2197260 C CA 2197260C CA 2197260 CA2197260 CA 2197260 CA 2197260 A CA2197260 A CA 2197260A CA 2197260 C CA2197260 C CA 2197260C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- downhole tool
- actuation device
- piston
- spool valve
- tool actuation
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
- E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
- E21B34/00—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells
- E21B34/06—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells
- E21B34/066—Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells in wells electrically actuated
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
- Y10T137/8593—Systems
- Y10T137/86493—Multi-way valve unit
- Y10T137/86574—Supply and exhaust
- Y10T137/8667—Reciprocating valve
- Y10T137/86694—Piston valve
- Y10T137/86702—With internal flow passage
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T137/00—Fluid handling
- Y10T137/8593—Systems
- Y10T137/86493—Multi-way valve unit
- Y10T137/86879—Reciprocating valve unit
Abstract
A downhole controller for a flow control device. The controller is responsive to commands from the surface or from downhole and controls the flow device using a four way solenoid actuated spool valve and a hydraulically actuated piston system connected to the flow control device.
Description
ELECTRO HYD1(tAULIC OWNHOi.P CONTROL DEVICE
~~cound o~q Inven 'on;
Field of the Invention Ths invention relates to re6w1ating flow of any given production zone into tire production tube. lklore particularly, the invention relates to selective actuation of a fyaw oamtrol device.
Prior art .As'one of skill in the art w~l readily recognise, flow sterol devices such as thB CM
eliding sleeve, commercially svas~able fraan Baker OM Tools, 6p23 Navigation Boulevard, ~Hoaetodi, Texas ??Ol l, have been known to the industry aid depended upon tb~by for a number of years. The tool ie very efYective but does requiare that a ahi~tuag tod be ran to open or close the CM sliding sleeve. Running a shititing tool is time consuming and incurs the characteristic six figure cost associated with any tool run. Moreover, it is sometimes desix'ed to change the positions of the closing sleeve w insert xs~ve to the s b~o~og iu metered increments thereby enabling a closer eontrd wer the fYow device;
doiag the game through the employment of a shifting tool is extremely difficult. Several miles of wireline, cod tubing, etc., to more in ordetr to actuate the tool makes small pasit~ion tharlges nearly impossible.
Due to advancements ire downhole electronic rictn$tors and sensors as well as sophi9ticated decision making electronics which may be either at the surfsoe or do~wnhole ouch as that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,732,776, impnovod co~roi apparad she moms f~'ble.
Summary ef the Invention:
2s The above-discussed and other dxawbacisss and de&ienci~ of the p~rios~ art are overcome or alleviated by the elecLrolhydraulic actuation of the t invention.
At least one pi~st~nn is mounted within a chamber, which piston bifurcates the chamber into two piston chambers. The piston is connected to an otherwise conventional flow control device and upon pressurization of one of the piston chambers and release of pressure on the other thereof the flow control device is actuated as desired The invention provides a spool valve having the ability to selectively channel pressurized fluid to a down stroke piston chamber or to an upstroke piston chamber while concurrently allowing pressure to bleed off the other of the two piston chambers. Pressure on the upstroke side of the piston closes the sleeve and pressure on the downstroke side of the piston opens the sleeve. As stated and in order to render selected movement easier, pressure is allowed to bleed off from the piston not being biased. The bled fluid tracks back through the supply line to that piston chamber and through the spool valve to a predetermined dump site. The location of the dump site to depends upon whether or not the embodiment being considered is a closed or open loop system.
Two unique embodiments are primarily contemplated herein although it will be understood that modifications are within the scope and spirit of the invention.
In the first preferred embodiment, the closed loop system, a downhole reservoir, pump and accumulator are provided such that the entire system is closed and is operable entirely downhole. Fluid is drawn from the reservoir into the pump which conveys the fluid to the accumulator under increasing pressure the accumulator releases fluid to the spool valve which directs the same to the desired piston chamber and also shunts fluid from the other piston chamber back to the reservoir.
2 o In the second embodiment the reservoir, pump and accumulator are eliminated downhole and a TEC wire and a hydraulic fluid line are strung from the surface down to the spool valve which actuates the tool as discussed. Bled off fluid is dumped either into the production tube or into the well annulus. It will be appreciated that dumping the fluid to the annulus is preferable in most circumstances because pressure in the production tube is 2 5 higher, thus requiring higher fluid pressures in the selected piston chamber to overcome the pressure acting on the other chamber from the fluid dump area.
The invention provides a significant advance to the industry in both of control of flow downhole in general and in micromanaging the same.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the present ixavention there is provided a dvwnhole tool actuation device comprising:
a) a housing having a spool valve mounted therein, said spool valve having at least one inlet and at least two operation outlets;
b) a hydraulic fluid source and a pressure source for the fluid, in fluid communication with said inlet;
c) a two-way piston system having a single pismn and a chamber bifurcated by said piston which creates two subchambers within said housing, said two subchambers each being associated with one of said two operation outlets; and t o d) a cotmector adapted to transfer movement tom said piston to a downholc tool attached to said housing.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer controlled dawahole tool actuation device comprising:
a) a housing having a spool valve mounted thereon, said spool valve having at least one inlet and at least two operation outlets;
b) a hydraulic fluid source and a pressure source for the fluid, in fluid oommunieation with said inlet;
c) a two-way piston system having a single piston and a chamber bifurcated by said piston which creates two subehambers within said housing, said two subehambers each z o being associated with one of said two operation outlets;
d) a cotutcctor adapted to transfer movement from said piston to a downhole tool attached to said housing tool; and e) a dawnhole processor and at least one sensor connected thereto, said processor being also connected to said spool valve.
3a The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawines:
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several FIGURES:
FIGURE 1 is a schematic transverse section of the spool valve of the invention wherein the open and close lines are isolated;
l0 FIGURE 2 is a schematic transverse section of the spool valve of the invention wherein the open line is activated and close line is in the bleed position;
FIGURE 3 is a schematic transverse section of the spool valve of the invention wherein the open line is in the bleed position and the close line is in the activated position;
FIGURES 4 and 5 are a schematic transverse section of the piston chambers and 15 open and close lines in the surface pressure open loop embodiment;
FIGURES 6-14 are a transverse view of the closed loop embodiment;
FIGURE 15 is a schematic flow chart representation of the closed loop embodiment.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments:
20 Referring to the open loop system first as illustrated in FIGURES 1-5, hydraulic fluid is supplied from the surface through hydraulic inlet 18. Power to the solenoid operated spool valve 10 is also from the surface or from a power source uphole from the valve 10 and is comprised preferably of 1/4 TEC O.D. wire which is a power conduit disposed within a steel sleeve and isolated therefrom by epoxy material. The solenoid operated spool valve 10 2 5 includes at least one winding but preferably two windings. Most preferred is a sleeve open winding 12 and a sleeve close winding 14. These are energized selectively to move armature 16 in a desired direction. When armature 16 is in the neutral position as in FIGURE 1, neither the open nor close lines are pressurized to move the sleeve. Fluid merely travels through spool valve 10 to the next arrangement through hydraulic outlet 26. A
benefit of the closing off of both the open line 20 and the close line 24 is that whatever pressure is in the piston chambers when the spool valve armature 16 is returned to neutral, is trapped in the respective chamber thus locking the sleeve in place. As is illustrated in FIGURE 2, having the armature uphole (or in the sleeve open position) connects the hydraulic fluid inlet 18 to the hydraulic sleeve open line 20 through annular fluid path 22;
moving the armature downward connects inlet 18 to hydraulic sleeve close line 24 through annular fluid path 22 (FIGUR,E 3). Hydraulic outlet 26 remains connected to the annular path 22 regardless of the position of the armature 16 to ensure that fluid continues to the next l0 sleeve arrangement.
As stated hereinbefore, it is advantageous to provide for the bleeding off of fluid from the piston chamber not being pressurized. As the selected piston chamber is pressurized, e.g., piston chamber 30 illustrated in FIGURE 4, the other chamber, 32 (FIGURES 4 and 5) in this example, will be compressed and will thus expel fluid back through its supply line, in this example, line 24. FIGURE 2 illustrates that when armature 16 is positioned to pressurize line 20, armature base 34 is uphole of port 36 which feeds line 24.
Thus, fluid previously trapped in chamber 32 will be able to pass through bleed chamber 38 into bleed off line 40 which is connected to bleed chamber 38 through port 39. Conversely and as shown in FIGURE 3, when the armature is in the downhole, sleeve close position and is thus allowing pressurized hydraulic fluid to flow through annular fluid path 22 to line 24 through port 36, a bleed annulus 46 is moved into fluid communication with through port 42 of line 20. This allows fluid from chamber 30 to flow back through line 20, through port 42, through bleed annulus 46 and port 44 into central bleed line 48 which with the armature 16 in the position of FIGURE 3, is connected to through port 39 enabling fluid flowing as 2 5 indicated to exit spool valve 10 through bleed off line 40. Bleed off line 40 may dump fluid into the production tube or into the annulus around the production tube. The annulus is a preferred dump site due to the lower ambient pressure therein than in the production tube.
This allows for a lower pressure input into the selected piston chamber in order to move the 21972b0 piston 50.
When the armature 16 is in the FIGURE 1 position, bleed is prevented by the armature 16. Instantly recognizable are the o-rings 17 employed in a conventional way to aid in sealing the system.
Referring to FIGURES 4 and 5, it will be easily understood by those of skill in the art that piston 50 is slidably disposed between hydraulic fluid chambers 30 and 32 and is connected to insert 54 by a release mechanism which is preferably a shear release and most preferably a shear ring 52 as shown. It will be appreciated that other arrangements are acceptable providing they are capable of operably connecting the piston 50 to the insert 54 of l0 the CM sliding sleeve such that the insert 54 is moved pursuant to pressure applied to one of chamber 30 or 32 while still being capable of facilitating a separation of the insert 54 from piston 50 in the event the solenoid actuated spool valve or connected components fail for some reason. It will be understood that other structures performing the same function are within the scope of the invention. Referring directly to the shear ring embodiment, ring 52 15 is secured by shear retainer 53 in a conventional way. In the event of failure, the CM
sliding sleeve 56 may be actuated through a conventional wireline or coil tubing process by employing a shifting tool (not shown) on the shifting profiles 58. A load placed on the profile of interest will shear the ring 52 and allow conventional operation of the flow control device.
For clarity, 53 refers to the opening in closing sleeve 54 whereas 55 refers to the opening in 2o the housing 57 of CM sliding sleeve 56. Flow is facilitated when 53 and 55 are aligned and choked when these are misaligned.
It is an important aspect of the invention that either fully open/fully closed operations may be preformed or metered open and close operations may be performed as desired.
25 In a second preferred embodiment of the invention, referring to FIGURES 6-14 a completely closed hydraulic fluid system is contemplated FIGURE 15 schematically illustrates fluid line connections. Power for this system may be locally disposed in a nearby atmospheric chamber or remote which includes a surface power source. Whether distant or local, if power is routed outside the housing of the tool then TEC wire 41 is the preferred medium because of the protective quality thereof. As will be appreciated, any wire outside of the housing is subject to being pinched against the casing of the borehole by a substantial amount of weight. TEC wire substantially protects against power failure from these impacts. The closed loop system is similar to the open loop system and will employ identical numerals for identical parts. Moreover, reference is again made to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 which are equally applicable in this embodiment except that bleed off line 40 leads to a reservoir discussed hereunder as opposed to the production tube or well annulus.
One of the benefits of the closed loop system is that piston chambers 30 and 32 are balanced to allow the operating pressure of the invention to be independent of the well pressure.
Referring to FIGURES 9 and 10, the additional elements not considered in the previous embodiment are illustrated. These are reservoir 60, section line 72, pump 62, feed line 74 and accumulator 64. Reservoir 60 serves both to supply a hydraulic fluid to pump 62 (which optionally includes motor 63) and to receive bleed off fluid from bleed off line 40. In this embodiment, fluid need not be pressurized from the surface, thus the system requires less hydraulic fluid; from the reservoir 60, fluid need only travel a short distance to the piston chamber to which it is directed, clearly a tremendous volume of fluid is avoided. An issue which is necessary to consider for all downhole closed systems is elevated temperature and pressure and the effects these have on pressure inside the tool Since the closed loop embodiment of this invention must consider this effect, several solutions are contemplated to construct the device of the invention. The most arduous method for avoiding ruptures due to pressure increase albeit effective involves careful analysis of downhole conditions and careful measurement of the volume of fluid deposited in the tool. The volume deposited will allow for expansion of the fluid under downhole conditions. Other options include bladder type and piston type gas caps. Preferred gas cap embodiments employ nitrogen as the gas.
The gas can compress to allow expansion of the fluid thus preventing a rupture.
In the present invention, the most preferred pressure relief arrangement is a piston chamber open to well fluid on one side of a piston and having hydraulic o~1 on the other side of the piston. As the tool is located into the well, the welllluid enters the chamber ttu~ough part 8 in FIGURE 7. Well fluid acts an balance piston 5 to vtxge it into hydr~mliC m19. As temperature aid puressure change the balance, piston 6 w~ oscillate to allow expanse df the oii in the otherwise closed chamber, thus equalising pressure.
k'luid is waved from reservonr 60 to pump 62 where iit is pressurized into aCCUatulatar 64. Then upon actuation of spool valve 10 by a oonoavand $rom a dawnbole camtmller cu: an uphale controller the fluid is directed to ate target chamber and the operation of shifting the flow obntrol device proceeds so di9cusaed above. it wr'll also be appxn~stiad that accumulator 6! allows pump G2 to be run without any pressure difference to the appal valve our piston cambers. Moreover, the accumulator remains charged with pressure until it is relea3ed via the spool valve. This is not to say however that socumnlaltdy 64 is critical to the .operation of the irwentaon. It is clearly possible to eliominate accumulator 64 and ebnpls~ allow pressure to asc~ate slightly in the piston cbambGc se the pump works I5 or to e~mplop a stepper motor pump which wx'll step the pressure into the target chamber. A
stepper motoac is particularly useful where metered.operation of the flow control device 3s desired since the aou»ts of the motox can be emp>ayed to provide proportional control and to communicate the position oi'the closing sleeve to the surface. ever, pasation seoso~ts are extraosel'~y helpful in providing information about where the closing sleeve is. This 8 p information aan be used uphole or downhole are desired.
It is important to note that while oontml cs;n be maintained aritLout dowrnhole intelligence, intelligent sensor arrangerpents, i.e., micropx~oceesors (~lustrsted in FI(~itTRE 6 as ?~, position sensors for ~unieating to the microproc~ar dawnhde (ox even to the surface it surface controlled), telemetry devices. power regulators, etc. are beneficial to the 25 system deserr'bed in both embodiments. Thus the doNnhade iinte>>igeuree systems des~,ed in U.S. Patern No. 5,732,776 arc desirable to monitor conditi~s including position of the olosn~g sleeve. It will be appreciated that the tools described heron are analogous ba the dowahole control devices zeferred to ix~ the incorporated application. By.monitoring conditions downhole, metered adjustments a~' the flaw control device cen be made to boost e~ciency and production o~ any given well.
It is also important to understand that any one ar move og the oo~ponents a~
each of s these embodiments can be moved to the surtsce. The only part of the invention necessary to ' . be doarnhoie is the piston arrangement. Other oo~aponeats may be mare desirably oos the sarFace to rend;ax repair more simple and cost effective. ' .
While preferred embodiments have been shown and desets~ed, various madifl~t~ss and substitutions may he made thereto without departing nom the sparit and eoope o~F toss to invention. Aaaordingly, it is to be understood that the present anrention has beat: deb by way o~ illuskratio~n and not limitation.
~~cound o~q Inven 'on;
Field of the Invention Ths invention relates to re6w1ating flow of any given production zone into tire production tube. lklore particularly, the invention relates to selective actuation of a fyaw oamtrol device.
Prior art .As'one of skill in the art w~l readily recognise, flow sterol devices such as thB CM
eliding sleeve, commercially svas~able fraan Baker OM Tools, 6p23 Navigation Boulevard, ~Hoaetodi, Texas ??Ol l, have been known to the industry aid depended upon tb~by for a number of years. The tool ie very efYective but does requiare that a ahi~tuag tod be ran to open or close the CM sliding sleeve. Running a shititing tool is time consuming and incurs the characteristic six figure cost associated with any tool run. Moreover, it is sometimes desix'ed to change the positions of the closing sleeve w insert xs~ve to the s b~o~og iu metered increments thereby enabling a closer eontrd wer the fYow device;
doiag the game through the employment of a shifting tool is extremely difficult. Several miles of wireline, cod tubing, etc., to more in ordetr to actuate the tool makes small pasit~ion tharlges nearly impossible.
Due to advancements ire downhole electronic rictn$tors and sensors as well as sophi9ticated decision making electronics which may be either at the surfsoe or do~wnhole ouch as that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,732,776, impnovod co~roi apparad she moms f~'ble.
Summary ef the Invention:
2s The above-discussed and other dxawbacisss and de&ienci~ of the p~rios~ art are overcome or alleviated by the elecLrolhydraulic actuation of the t invention.
At least one pi~st~nn is mounted within a chamber, which piston bifurcates the chamber into two piston chambers. The piston is connected to an otherwise conventional flow control device and upon pressurization of one of the piston chambers and release of pressure on the other thereof the flow control device is actuated as desired The invention provides a spool valve having the ability to selectively channel pressurized fluid to a down stroke piston chamber or to an upstroke piston chamber while concurrently allowing pressure to bleed off the other of the two piston chambers. Pressure on the upstroke side of the piston closes the sleeve and pressure on the downstroke side of the piston opens the sleeve. As stated and in order to render selected movement easier, pressure is allowed to bleed off from the piston not being biased. The bled fluid tracks back through the supply line to that piston chamber and through the spool valve to a predetermined dump site. The location of the dump site to depends upon whether or not the embodiment being considered is a closed or open loop system.
Two unique embodiments are primarily contemplated herein although it will be understood that modifications are within the scope and spirit of the invention.
In the first preferred embodiment, the closed loop system, a downhole reservoir, pump and accumulator are provided such that the entire system is closed and is operable entirely downhole. Fluid is drawn from the reservoir into the pump which conveys the fluid to the accumulator under increasing pressure the accumulator releases fluid to the spool valve which directs the same to the desired piston chamber and also shunts fluid from the other piston chamber back to the reservoir.
2 o In the second embodiment the reservoir, pump and accumulator are eliminated downhole and a TEC wire and a hydraulic fluid line are strung from the surface down to the spool valve which actuates the tool as discussed. Bled off fluid is dumped either into the production tube or into the well annulus. It will be appreciated that dumping the fluid to the annulus is preferable in most circumstances because pressure in the production tube is 2 5 higher, thus requiring higher fluid pressures in the selected piston chamber to overcome the pressure acting on the other chamber from the fluid dump area.
The invention provides a significant advance to the industry in both of control of flow downhole in general and in micromanaging the same.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the present ixavention there is provided a dvwnhole tool actuation device comprising:
a) a housing having a spool valve mounted therein, said spool valve having at least one inlet and at least two operation outlets;
b) a hydraulic fluid source and a pressure source for the fluid, in fluid communication with said inlet;
c) a two-way piston system having a single pismn and a chamber bifurcated by said piston which creates two subchambers within said housing, said two subchambers each being associated with one of said two operation outlets; and t o d) a cotmector adapted to transfer movement tom said piston to a downholc tool attached to said housing.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer controlled dawahole tool actuation device comprising:
a) a housing having a spool valve mounted thereon, said spool valve having at least one inlet and at least two operation outlets;
b) a hydraulic fluid source and a pressure source for the fluid, in fluid oommunieation with said inlet;
c) a two-way piston system having a single piston and a chamber bifurcated by said piston which creates two subehambers within said housing, said two subehambers each z o being associated with one of said two operation outlets;
d) a cotutcctor adapted to transfer movement from said piston to a downhole tool attached to said housing tool; and e) a dawnhole processor and at least one sensor connected thereto, said processor being also connected to said spool valve.
3a The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawines:
Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several FIGURES:
FIGURE 1 is a schematic transverse section of the spool valve of the invention wherein the open and close lines are isolated;
l0 FIGURE 2 is a schematic transverse section of the spool valve of the invention wherein the open line is activated and close line is in the bleed position;
FIGURE 3 is a schematic transverse section of the spool valve of the invention wherein the open line is in the bleed position and the close line is in the activated position;
FIGURES 4 and 5 are a schematic transverse section of the piston chambers and 15 open and close lines in the surface pressure open loop embodiment;
FIGURES 6-14 are a transverse view of the closed loop embodiment;
FIGURE 15 is a schematic flow chart representation of the closed loop embodiment.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments:
20 Referring to the open loop system first as illustrated in FIGURES 1-5, hydraulic fluid is supplied from the surface through hydraulic inlet 18. Power to the solenoid operated spool valve 10 is also from the surface or from a power source uphole from the valve 10 and is comprised preferably of 1/4 TEC O.D. wire which is a power conduit disposed within a steel sleeve and isolated therefrom by epoxy material. The solenoid operated spool valve 10 2 5 includes at least one winding but preferably two windings. Most preferred is a sleeve open winding 12 and a sleeve close winding 14. These are energized selectively to move armature 16 in a desired direction. When armature 16 is in the neutral position as in FIGURE 1, neither the open nor close lines are pressurized to move the sleeve. Fluid merely travels through spool valve 10 to the next arrangement through hydraulic outlet 26. A
benefit of the closing off of both the open line 20 and the close line 24 is that whatever pressure is in the piston chambers when the spool valve armature 16 is returned to neutral, is trapped in the respective chamber thus locking the sleeve in place. As is illustrated in FIGURE 2, having the armature uphole (or in the sleeve open position) connects the hydraulic fluid inlet 18 to the hydraulic sleeve open line 20 through annular fluid path 22;
moving the armature downward connects inlet 18 to hydraulic sleeve close line 24 through annular fluid path 22 (FIGUR,E 3). Hydraulic outlet 26 remains connected to the annular path 22 regardless of the position of the armature 16 to ensure that fluid continues to the next l0 sleeve arrangement.
As stated hereinbefore, it is advantageous to provide for the bleeding off of fluid from the piston chamber not being pressurized. As the selected piston chamber is pressurized, e.g., piston chamber 30 illustrated in FIGURE 4, the other chamber, 32 (FIGURES 4 and 5) in this example, will be compressed and will thus expel fluid back through its supply line, in this example, line 24. FIGURE 2 illustrates that when armature 16 is positioned to pressurize line 20, armature base 34 is uphole of port 36 which feeds line 24.
Thus, fluid previously trapped in chamber 32 will be able to pass through bleed chamber 38 into bleed off line 40 which is connected to bleed chamber 38 through port 39. Conversely and as shown in FIGURE 3, when the armature is in the downhole, sleeve close position and is thus allowing pressurized hydraulic fluid to flow through annular fluid path 22 to line 24 through port 36, a bleed annulus 46 is moved into fluid communication with through port 42 of line 20. This allows fluid from chamber 30 to flow back through line 20, through port 42, through bleed annulus 46 and port 44 into central bleed line 48 which with the armature 16 in the position of FIGURE 3, is connected to through port 39 enabling fluid flowing as 2 5 indicated to exit spool valve 10 through bleed off line 40. Bleed off line 40 may dump fluid into the production tube or into the annulus around the production tube. The annulus is a preferred dump site due to the lower ambient pressure therein than in the production tube.
This allows for a lower pressure input into the selected piston chamber in order to move the 21972b0 piston 50.
When the armature 16 is in the FIGURE 1 position, bleed is prevented by the armature 16. Instantly recognizable are the o-rings 17 employed in a conventional way to aid in sealing the system.
Referring to FIGURES 4 and 5, it will be easily understood by those of skill in the art that piston 50 is slidably disposed between hydraulic fluid chambers 30 and 32 and is connected to insert 54 by a release mechanism which is preferably a shear release and most preferably a shear ring 52 as shown. It will be appreciated that other arrangements are acceptable providing they are capable of operably connecting the piston 50 to the insert 54 of l0 the CM sliding sleeve such that the insert 54 is moved pursuant to pressure applied to one of chamber 30 or 32 while still being capable of facilitating a separation of the insert 54 from piston 50 in the event the solenoid actuated spool valve or connected components fail for some reason. It will be understood that other structures performing the same function are within the scope of the invention. Referring directly to the shear ring embodiment, ring 52 15 is secured by shear retainer 53 in a conventional way. In the event of failure, the CM
sliding sleeve 56 may be actuated through a conventional wireline or coil tubing process by employing a shifting tool (not shown) on the shifting profiles 58. A load placed on the profile of interest will shear the ring 52 and allow conventional operation of the flow control device.
For clarity, 53 refers to the opening in closing sleeve 54 whereas 55 refers to the opening in 2o the housing 57 of CM sliding sleeve 56. Flow is facilitated when 53 and 55 are aligned and choked when these are misaligned.
It is an important aspect of the invention that either fully open/fully closed operations may be preformed or metered open and close operations may be performed as desired.
25 In a second preferred embodiment of the invention, referring to FIGURES 6-14 a completely closed hydraulic fluid system is contemplated FIGURE 15 schematically illustrates fluid line connections. Power for this system may be locally disposed in a nearby atmospheric chamber or remote which includes a surface power source. Whether distant or local, if power is routed outside the housing of the tool then TEC wire 41 is the preferred medium because of the protective quality thereof. As will be appreciated, any wire outside of the housing is subject to being pinched against the casing of the borehole by a substantial amount of weight. TEC wire substantially protects against power failure from these impacts. The closed loop system is similar to the open loop system and will employ identical numerals for identical parts. Moreover, reference is again made to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 which are equally applicable in this embodiment except that bleed off line 40 leads to a reservoir discussed hereunder as opposed to the production tube or well annulus.
One of the benefits of the closed loop system is that piston chambers 30 and 32 are balanced to allow the operating pressure of the invention to be independent of the well pressure.
Referring to FIGURES 9 and 10, the additional elements not considered in the previous embodiment are illustrated. These are reservoir 60, section line 72, pump 62, feed line 74 and accumulator 64. Reservoir 60 serves both to supply a hydraulic fluid to pump 62 (which optionally includes motor 63) and to receive bleed off fluid from bleed off line 40. In this embodiment, fluid need not be pressurized from the surface, thus the system requires less hydraulic fluid; from the reservoir 60, fluid need only travel a short distance to the piston chamber to which it is directed, clearly a tremendous volume of fluid is avoided. An issue which is necessary to consider for all downhole closed systems is elevated temperature and pressure and the effects these have on pressure inside the tool Since the closed loop embodiment of this invention must consider this effect, several solutions are contemplated to construct the device of the invention. The most arduous method for avoiding ruptures due to pressure increase albeit effective involves careful analysis of downhole conditions and careful measurement of the volume of fluid deposited in the tool. The volume deposited will allow for expansion of the fluid under downhole conditions. Other options include bladder type and piston type gas caps. Preferred gas cap embodiments employ nitrogen as the gas.
The gas can compress to allow expansion of the fluid thus preventing a rupture.
In the present invention, the most preferred pressure relief arrangement is a piston chamber open to well fluid on one side of a piston and having hydraulic o~1 on the other side of the piston. As the tool is located into the well, the welllluid enters the chamber ttu~ough part 8 in FIGURE 7. Well fluid acts an balance piston 5 to vtxge it into hydr~mliC m19. As temperature aid puressure change the balance, piston 6 w~ oscillate to allow expanse df the oii in the otherwise closed chamber, thus equalising pressure.
k'luid is waved from reservonr 60 to pump 62 where iit is pressurized into aCCUatulatar 64. Then upon actuation of spool valve 10 by a oonoavand $rom a dawnbole camtmller cu: an uphale controller the fluid is directed to ate target chamber and the operation of shifting the flow obntrol device proceeds so di9cusaed above. it wr'll also be appxn~stiad that accumulator 6! allows pump G2 to be run without any pressure difference to the appal valve our piston cambers. Moreover, the accumulator remains charged with pressure until it is relea3ed via the spool valve. This is not to say however that socumnlaltdy 64 is critical to the .operation of the irwentaon. It is clearly possible to eliominate accumulator 64 and ebnpls~ allow pressure to asc~ate slightly in the piston cbambGc se the pump works I5 or to e~mplop a stepper motor pump which wx'll step the pressure into the target chamber. A
stepper motoac is particularly useful where metered.operation of the flow control device 3s desired since the aou»ts of the motox can be emp>ayed to provide proportional control and to communicate the position oi'the closing sleeve to the surface. ever, pasation seoso~ts are extraosel'~y helpful in providing information about where the closing sleeve is. This 8 p information aan be used uphole or downhole are desired.
It is important to note that while oontml cs;n be maintained aritLout dowrnhole intelligence, intelligent sensor arrangerpents, i.e., micropx~oceesors (~lustrsted in FI(~itTRE 6 as ?~, position sensors for ~unieating to the microproc~ar dawnhde (ox even to the surface it surface controlled), telemetry devices. power regulators, etc. are beneficial to the 25 system deserr'bed in both embodiments. Thus the doNnhade iinte>>igeuree systems des~,ed in U.S. Patern No. 5,732,776 arc desirable to monitor conditi~s including position of the olosn~g sleeve. It will be appreciated that the tools described heron are analogous ba the dowahole control devices zeferred to ix~ the incorporated application. By.monitoring conditions downhole, metered adjustments a~' the flaw control device cen be made to boost e~ciency and production o~ any given well.
It is also important to understand that any one ar move og the oo~ponents a~
each of s these embodiments can be moved to the surtsce. The only part of the invention necessary to ' . be doarnhoie is the piston arrangement. Other oo~aponeats may be mare desirably oos the sarFace to rend;ax repair more simple and cost effective. ' .
While preferred embodiments have been shown and desets~ed, various madifl~t~ss and substitutions may he made thereto without departing nom the sparit and eoope o~F toss to invention. Aaaordingly, it is to be understood that the present anrention has beat: deb by way o~ illuskratio~n and not limitation.
Claims (18)
- CLAIM 1. ~A downhole tool actuation device comprising:
a) ~a housing having a spool valve mounted therein, said spool valve having at least one inlet and at least two operation outlets;
b) ~a hydraulic fluid source and a pressure source for the fluid, in fluid communication with said inlet;
c) ~a two-way piston system having a single piston and a chamber bifurcated by said piston which creates two subchambers within said housing, said two subchambers each being associated with one of said two operation outlets; and d) ~a connector adapted to transfer movement from said piston to a downhole tool attached to said housing. - CLAIM 2. ~A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spool valve selectively operably connects said at least one inlet with at least one of said two operation outlets.
- CLAIM 3. ~A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spool valve further includes at least one winding associated with the interconnection of said at least one inlet with each of said two operation outlets.
- CLAIM 4. ~A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said at least one winding is at least two windings wherein one of said two windings is associated with each of said two operation outlets, said two windings individually positioning said spool valve to connect said inlet to one of said two operation outlets.
- CLAIM 5. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spool valve further includes a pass through line wherein hydraulic fluid is passed through said spool valve without being delivered to either of said two operation outlets.
- CLAIM 6. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said connector is shearable to restore conventional shiftability of said downhole tool.
- CLAIM 7. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said two subchambers are associated with said two operation outlets by hydraulic lines whereby pressure directed to one of said two operation outlets moves the piston in a direction to close the downhole tool and pressure directed to the other of said two operation outlets moves the piston in a direction to open the downhole tool.
- CLAIM 8. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inlet is supplied with hydraulic fluid from a downhole pump and accumulator system.
- CLAIM 9. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inlet is.
supplied with a hydraulic fluid from a surface location. - CLAIM 10. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spool valve further includes a bleed line for bleeding pressure off either of the two subchambers upon pressurization of the other.
- CLAIM 11. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 7 wherein said actuator is fluid lockable to maintain the piston in any desired position by preventing fluid movement in the two operation outlet lines.
- CLAIM 12. A downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said downhole tool is variably actuatable by said actuation device.
- CLAIM 13: A computer controlled downhole tool actuation device comprising:
a) a housing having a spool valve mounted thereon, said spool valve having at least one inlet and at least two operation outlets;
b) a hydraulic fluid source and a pressure source for the fluid, in fluid communication with said inlet;
c) a two-way piston system having a single piston and a chamber bifurcated by said piston which creates two subchambers within said housing, said two subchambers each being associated with one of said two operation outlets;
d) a connector adapted to transfer movement from said piston to a downhole tool attached to said housing; and e) a downhole processor and at least one sensor connected thereto, said processor being also connected to said spool valve. - CLAIM 14. A computer controlled downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 13 wherein at least one sensor is a plurality of sensors.
- CLAIM 15. A computer controlled downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 13 wherein said at least one sensor is a position sensor.
- CLAIM 16. A computer controlled downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 13 wherein said processor is further associated with a telemetry device capable of communication between itself and at least one of a surface location, another zone and another well.
- CLAIM 17. A computer controlled downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 13 wherein said processor is powered from a surface location.
- CLAIM 18. A computer controlled downhole tool actuation device as claimed in claim 13 wherein said processor is powered from a downhole location.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US1537596P | 1996-02-15 | 1996-02-15 | |
| US60/015,375 | 1996-02-15 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2197260A1 CA2197260A1 (en) | 1997-08-16 |
| CA2197260C true CA2197260C (en) | 2006-04-18 |
Family
ID=21771030
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2197260 Expired - Lifetime CA2197260C (en) | 1996-02-15 | 1997-02-11 | Electro hydraulic downhole control device |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5832996A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU728071B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2197260C (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2310228B (en) |
| NO (1) | NO313213B1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (41)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO1997030269A1 (en) * | 1996-02-15 | 1997-08-21 | Baker Hughes Incorporated | Motor drive actuator for downhole flow control devices |
| GB2348452B (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 2000-11-22 | Baker Hughes Inc | Downhole flow control devices |
| GB2320731B (en) * | 1996-04-01 | 2000-10-25 | Baker Hughes Inc | Downhole flow control devices |
| US6003834A (en) * | 1996-07-17 | 1999-12-21 | Camco International, Inc. | Fluid circulation apparatus |
| US6125938A (en) * | 1997-08-08 | 2000-10-03 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Control module system for subterranean well |
| US6269874B1 (en) * | 1998-05-05 | 2001-08-07 | Baker Hughes Incorporated | Electro-hydraulic surface controlled subsurface safety valve actuator |
| US6247536B1 (en) | 1998-07-14 | 2001-06-19 | Camco International Inc. | Downhole multiplexer and related methods |
| US6142229A (en) * | 1998-09-16 | 2000-11-07 | Atlantic Richfield Company | Method and system for producing fluids from low permeability formations |
| US7615893B2 (en) * | 2000-05-11 | 2009-11-10 | Cameron International Corporation | Electric control and supply system |
| DE20115474U1 (en) * | 2001-09-19 | 2003-02-20 | Biester Klaus | DC converter device |
| DE20115473U1 (en) * | 2001-09-19 | 2003-02-20 | Biester Klaus | Universal energy supply system |
| DE20018560U1 (en) * | 2000-10-30 | 2002-03-21 | Cameron Gmbh | Control and supply system |
| DE20115471U1 (en) * | 2001-09-19 | 2003-02-20 | Biester Klaus | Universal energy supply system |
| US6668936B2 (en) * | 2000-09-07 | 2003-12-30 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Hydraulic control system for downhole tools |
| US6523613B2 (en) | 2000-10-20 | 2003-02-25 | Schlumberger Technology Corp. | Hydraulically actuated valve |
| DE20102168U1 (en) * | 2001-02-08 | 2002-06-13 | Cameron Gmbh | valve assembly |
| DE20115475U1 (en) * | 2001-09-19 | 2003-02-20 | Biester Klaus | DC converter device |
| US7020271B2 (en) * | 2003-06-12 | 2006-03-28 | Barbara Isabel Hummel | Ring control device |
| US6722439B2 (en) * | 2002-03-26 | 2004-04-20 | Baker Hughes Incorporated | Multi-positioned sliding sleeve valve |
| US6837319B2 (en) | 2002-07-29 | 2005-01-04 | Caterpillar S.A.R.L. | Control system for, and a method of, disengaging a hydraulically-driven implement from a work machine |
| FI119667B (en) * | 2002-08-30 | 2009-01-30 | Pulse Finland Oy | Adjustable planar antenna |
| US7252152B2 (en) * | 2003-06-18 | 2007-08-07 | Weatherford/Lamb, Inc. | Methods and apparatus for actuating a downhole tool |
| GB2407595B8 (en) * | 2003-10-24 | 2017-04-12 | Schlumberger Holdings | System and method to control multiple tools |
| US7455114B2 (en) * | 2005-01-25 | 2008-11-25 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Snorkel device for flow control |
| US7331398B2 (en) * | 2005-06-14 | 2008-02-19 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Multi-drop flow control valve system |
| US7464761B2 (en) * | 2006-01-13 | 2008-12-16 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Flow control system for use in a well |
| US7635029B2 (en) * | 2006-05-11 | 2009-12-22 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Downhole electrical-to-hydraulic conversion module for well completions |
| US8757193B2 (en) * | 2006-08-07 | 2014-06-24 | Baker Hughes Incorporated | Control line reducing hydraulic control system and control valve therefor |
| US20080149349A1 (en) * | 2006-12-20 | 2008-06-26 | Stephane Hiron | Integrated flow control device and isolation element |
| US8104511B2 (en) | 2007-08-27 | 2012-01-31 | Parker Hannifin Corporation | Sequential stepped directional control valve |
| US8684096B2 (en) | 2009-04-02 | 2014-04-01 | Key Energy Services, Llc | Anchor assembly and method of installing anchors |
| US9303477B2 (en) | 2009-04-02 | 2016-04-05 | Michael J. Harris | Methods and apparatus for cementing wells |
| US8453729B2 (en) * | 2009-04-02 | 2013-06-04 | Key Energy Services, Llc | Hydraulic setting assembly |
| MY162236A (en) * | 2009-05-27 | 2017-05-31 | Schlumberger Technology Bv | Method and system of sand management |
| US9228423B2 (en) | 2010-09-21 | 2016-01-05 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | System and method for controlling flow in a wellbore |
| US9957776B2 (en) | 2014-10-27 | 2018-05-01 | Baker Hughes, A Ge Company, Llc | Control system including single line switches and method |
| WO2016171664A1 (en) | 2015-04-21 | 2016-10-27 | Schlumberger Canada Limited | Multi-mode control module |
| BR102015027504B1 (en) | 2015-10-29 | 2019-09-10 | Ouro Negro Tecnologias Em Equipamentos Ind S/A | all-electric equipment for downhole flow control system |
| US10253623B2 (en) | 2016-03-11 | 2019-04-09 | Baker Hughes, A Ge Compant, Llc | Diamond high temperature shear valve designed to be used in extreme thermal environments |
| BR102016029404B1 (en) | 2016-12-14 | 2023-01-24 | Ouro Negro Tecnologias Em Equipamentos Industriais S/A | EXCLUSIVELY ELECTRIC TOOL FOR CONTINUOUS FLOW CONTROL IN DOWNWELL |
| WO2019246501A1 (en) * | 2018-06-22 | 2019-12-26 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Full bore electric flow control valve system |
Family Cites Families (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3195559A (en) * | 1959-05-12 | 1965-07-20 | Parker Hannifin Corp | Spool valve assembly |
| GB956312A (en) * | 1961-03-03 | 1964-04-22 | Applic Mach Motrices | Improvements in hydraulic circuits and control valves |
| US3252482A (en) * | 1963-06-17 | 1966-05-24 | Koontz Wagner Electric Company | Solenoid structure |
| US4161215A (en) * | 1975-09-26 | 1979-07-17 | Continental Oil Company | Solenoid operated tubing safety valve |
| US4375239A (en) * | 1980-06-13 | 1983-03-01 | Halliburton Company | Acoustic subsea test tree and method |
| US4649993A (en) * | 1985-09-18 | 1987-03-17 | Camco, Incorporated | Combination electrically operated solenoid safety valve and measuring sensor |
| US4787446A (en) * | 1987-05-01 | 1988-11-29 | Atlantic Richfield Company | Inflatable packer and fluid flow control apparatus for wellbore operations |
| US4896722A (en) * | 1988-05-26 | 1990-01-30 | Schlumberger Technology Corporation | Multiple well tool control systems in a multi-valve well testing system having automatic control modes |
| US5127477A (en) * | 1991-02-20 | 1992-07-07 | Halliburton Company | Rechargeable hydraulic power source for actuating downhole tool |
| US5355960A (en) * | 1992-12-18 | 1994-10-18 | Halliburton Company | Pressure change signals for remote control of downhole tools |
-
1997
- 1997-02-11 CA CA 2197260 patent/CA2197260C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-02-12 AU AU12644/97A patent/AU728071B2/en not_active Expired
- 1997-02-12 GB GB9702854A patent/GB2310228B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-02-14 NO NO19970694A patent/NO313213B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1997-02-14 US US08/799,257 patent/US5832996A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| NO970694D0 (en) | 1997-02-14 |
| GB2310228A (en) | 1997-08-20 |
| CA2197260A1 (en) | 1997-08-16 |
| GB9702854D0 (en) | 1997-04-02 |
| AU728071B2 (en) | 2001-01-04 |
| NO970694L (en) | 1997-08-18 |
| NO313213B1 (en) | 2002-08-26 |
| GB2310228B (en) | 2000-08-16 |
| US5832996A (en) | 1998-11-10 |
| AU1264497A (en) | 1997-08-21 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CA2197260C (en) | Electro hydraulic downhole control device | |
| US4413642A (en) | Blowout preventer control system | |
| EP0500341B1 (en) | Downhole tool apparatus actuatable by pressure differential | |
| EP1394354B1 (en) | Hydraulic well control system | |
| AU761221B2 (en) | Computer controlled downhole safety valve system | |
| US4915168A (en) | Multiple well tool control systems in a multi-valve well testing system | |
| EP0604134B1 (en) | Control of well annulus pressure | |
| US5316087A (en) | Pyrotechnic charge powered operating system for downhole tools | |
| EP0466472B1 (en) | Annulus pressure responsive downhole testing tool | |
| US5127477A (en) | Rechargeable hydraulic power source for actuating downhole tool | |
| US5564501A (en) | Control system with collection chamber | |
| US7114571B2 (en) | Device for installation and flow test of subsea completions | |
| US6431276B1 (en) | Remote actuated plug apparatus | |
| GB2315508A (en) | Downhole circulation valve | |
| EP0604155A1 (en) | Remote control of downhole tool through pressure change | |
| EP0604156A1 (en) | Pressure signal for remote control of downhole tool | |
| WO1999019602A2 (en) | Downhole valve | |
| GB2393747A (en) | Fibre optic well control system | |
| US3463252A (en) | Automatic driller | |
| US5170844A (en) | Pressure responsive below-packer valve apparatus | |
| NL8006878A (en) | DEVICE FOR MOVING AN ELEMENT IN A LIQUID FILLED PIPE. | |
| WO1999047788A1 (en) | Well control | |
| CA2061571C (en) | Hydraulic system for electronically controlled downhole testing tool | |
| EP0923690B1 (en) | Integrated power and control system | |
| WO1997047852A1 (en) | Downhole lubricator valve |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 20170213 |