Split body swelling packer

A swelling packer system uses modules that can be joined together and mounted over a tubular using a vertical split that can be drawn closed with a tapered pin in overlapping loops. The pins are circumferentially spaced apart as between adjacent modules. End rings can protect the modules for run in and act as extrusion barriers during and after the swelling is complete. The module ends can be overlapped in an interlocking fashion which allows multiple elements to be joined together to make a packer assembly as long as desired with any combination of swelling elements in a single packer assembly. Optionally, interior grooves in the swelling material can hold split ring seals or o-ring type seals that are slipped over a tubular end before a module is clamped on. The sealing elements can be triggered with water or hydrocarbons or with other materials already in the wellbore or introduced to it or other surface or locally actuated triggers.

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

The field of this invention is downhole packers and more particularly those with elements that swell and that have a split body with a design allowing multiple elements to be joined together to make a packer assembly that can be mounted and secured over a tubular and seal a surrounding annular space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Packers are used for zone isolation downhole. They are available in a variety of designs and are integrated into a tubular string for proper positioning in a wellbore. Some are set with pressure and others with applied force from the tubular string to which they are attached. More recently packers have been developed that swell in the presence of fluids in or added to the wellbore. Some of these packers swell in the presence of water and others in the presence of hydrocarbons. Such packers can be used on casing or tubular strings running through casing.

These swelling packers are prefabricated into a pup joint that can be made part of a longer string. Generally the swelling element is wrapped around the pup joint, bonded and cured directly to the outer wall of the pup joint. Other designs have used a swelling material on a cylindrical housing that is slipped over the casing or tubing. However, such designs are a set length and do not provide a means of joining additional segments to make the packer longer or combine both water and oil swell elastomers in a single packer assembly. Also the rigid housing can cause problems running in the hole and can make sealing between the housing and the tubular difficult. In essence, they act as a barrier in the annulus but not as a pressure seal between wellbore sections. Clamp on pipe protectors which attach to drill pipe are used to protect the casing from wear caused by rotating and reciprocating the drill pipe. An example of such clamp type pipe protector is U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,578.

The present invention provides a swelling seal that has a split to allow encircling the tubular and securing it to the tubular. It is a modular design that can use an interlocking feature among sealing modules. Multiple element modules can be joined together to make a packer assembly as long as desired using all oil swell, all water swell, or a combination of oil and water swell elements. End rings can serve to protect the assembly during run in and to act as extrusion barriers once the packer is in position and the elements are swollen. The modules can have an embedded body that closes around a tubular with offset tapered loops that can be drawn together with a tapered pin that is driven into position to tighten the element onto the tubular. Excess length of the tapered pin is trimmed off to allow additional elements to be added which interlock with the previously installed element. The pins and the joints they close are circumferentially offset to prevent straight through leak paths among modules. The split design also allows these packer assemblies to be installed on tubulars other than casing such as sand screens, drill pipe, or other tools with a round profile. These and other features of the present invention will be more readily understood by those skilled in the art from a review of the preferred embodiment and the associated drawings while recognizing that the full scope of the invention is to be determined by the claims appended below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A swelling packer system uses modules that can be joined together and mounted over a tubular using a vertical split that can be drawn closed with a tapered pin in overlapping loops. The pins are circumferentially spaced apart as between adjacent modules. End rings can protect the modules for run in and act as extrusion barriers during and after the swelling is complete. The module ends can be overlapped in an interlocking fashion which allows multiple elements to be joined together to make a packer assembly as long as desired with any combination of swelling elements in a single packer assembly. Optionally, interior grooves in the swelling material can hold split ring seals or o-ring type seals that are slipped over a tubular end before a module is clamped on. The sealing elements can be triggered with water or hydrocarbons or with other materials already in the wellbore or introduced to it or other surface or locally actuated triggers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The packer of the present invention is preferably a modular design that can be clamped around a tubular. In a schematic presentation,FIG. 4illustrates the basic components. A body10can be made in two pieces12and14held together by a hinge16. Optionally, the pieces12and14can be an integral construction that can flex enough to get the body10around a tubular while eliminating the hinge16. Offset projections18and20are designed to nest when closed around a tubular. Progressively narrower aligned openings22,24and26nest with their counterparts that are not shown to allow tapered pin28to be driven home to a position where it tightens the body10as much as possible to the tubular, then the tapered pin is trimmed off flush with the end30. Preferably, the body10is surrounded by a swelling element32on the outside and34on the inside and going as far as spanning over offset projections18and20while still allowing them to approach each other and be firmly brought together when pin28is driven home. Use of swelling material34on the inside is also optional but is preferred for an enhanced sealing relation with the tubular to which it is being attached. Alternate designs can be used. For example, o-ring seals can be first advanced over an end of a tubular that is to be clamped with body10and body10can have internal grooves, such as36, that accept such pre-positioned seal rings to get an interior seal between the tubular and the body10. Optionally, if the body10is exposed, it can have one or more recesses38that are deeper than recesses36to allow control lines or other conduits to pass through the assembly when the element32has swelled. In that manner, the control lines or cable can be inside grooves38while still being sealed off against the tubular by virtue of seals in grooves36. Vertical grooves38will need to be aligned if several modules such as shown onFIG. 2are mounted together.

FIG. 2illustrates the modular approach of using multiple components that are connected of the type is shown schematically inFIG. 4. For clarity, the body10that is preferably embedded in a swelling material is not illustrated. Instead, what is shown are modules40and42. Module40has a ring44that fits into a groove in Module46to give the modules and overlapping and interlocking relation on assembly to the underlying tubular. Preferably, each module has this end connection feature so that two or more modules can be mounted in an interlocking relationship on the underlying tubular. At the ends of the module assembly is preferably an end ring such as50and52. A ring54on Module42engages a groove56on module50. Preferably, the same arrangement is to be found at the connection between end ring52and module40. The end rings50and52preferably have an interior tooth profile58for a better grip of the underlying tubular and one or more rings60in a corresponding groove62to close off any leak path along the underlying tubular. Again, these features are optional and can be placed at one end or both ends or eliminated altogether. As another option a vertical groove can be put into the end rings50and52to allow control lines and cables of all types to pass through the assembly along the underlying tubular while isolated so as not to form a leak path for well fluids.

Each module40or42for example can have a circular groove64that can clamp over a seal ring66that has been split and placed around the tubular or stretched and applied over the end of the tubular and strategically located in position so that groove64will close over it when a module is fitted to the underlying pipe.

FIG. 1shows that adjacent vertical closures68and70are circumferentially offset, akin to the splits in a stack of piston rings in a cylinder, to prevent an aligned path from existing and to further reduce the possibility of leakage under differential pressure.FIG. 1also shows how the swelling material32on the exterior covers the offset projections18and20and dovetails into itself when the module such as40or42is secured to the underlying tubular.

FIG. 3shows that end rings50and52can be a split ring or in two or more pieces that are hinged to make assembly to the underlying tubular go faster.FIG. 1shows how external clamps72and74are preferably circumferentially offset from an adjacent vertical closure such as68or70.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the swelling material32in each module such as for example40and42and another module (not shown) on the other side of40from42need not be identical. The swelling material in the modules may be responsive to water or hydrocarbon or some other common stimulus. The materials can also be formulated such that swelling happens faster at the middle of a bunch of modules such as at40and goes to the uphole and downhole ends such as at42in a manner to displace well fluids so as not to trap them during the swelling. In a given stack of modules, some can respond to different stimuli than others. In each module, it is preferred to have the swelling material positioned on the exterior and the interior of a body10such that swelling makes the material grow in opposed directions to seal against the casing or tubing or open hole on the exterior and against the internal tubular over which the module has been secured.