Patent Publication Number: US-11391091-B2

Title: Modular reaming device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a national stage entry of PCT/US2016/047255 filed Aug. 17, 2016, said application is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety. 
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to reaming tools. In particular, the subject matter herein generally relates to reaming tools for tubular strings and insertion of the same into subterranean wellbores. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Subsequent to drilling a borehole into subterranean zones in the earth, a casing, production tubing, and/or other tubulars are inserted therein during various phases of hydrocarbon recovery. The casing is often cemented within the borehole to prevent contamination and also to provide greater control over processes in the wellbore. Additional production tubing can be provided within the casing or in uncased portions of the wellbore for withdrawing hydrocarbons or providing various fluids. 
     Despite the intention of drilling a clean cylindrical borehole, oftentimes the surfaces of the borehole are jagged or have doglegs along its path. Accordingly, when inserting casing or other tubulars, sometimes a reaming shoe is placed on an end thereof. The reaming shoe can have abrasive material on its outer surface to assist in removing or reducing any obstructions which may otherwise have impeded the progress of the casing or other tubular. Reaming tools can also assist in smoothing out or widening the borehole. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary modular reamer as disclosed herein; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary modular reamer as disclosed herein; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an exemplary modular reamer as disclosed herein; 
         FIG. 4  is a is a diagram illustrating an exemplary modular reamer coupled with casing tubulars as disclosed herein; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an environment for the use of an exemplary modular reamer disclosed herein; and 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a flow diagram for making and using the modular reamer disclosed herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure. 
     In the following description, terms such as “upper,” “upward,” “lower,” “downward,” “above,” “below,” “downhole,” “uphole,” “longitudinal,” “lateral,” and the like, as used herein, shall mean in relation to the bottom or furthest extent of, the surrounding wellbore even though the wellbore or portions of it may be deviated or horizontal. Correspondingly, the transverse, axial, lateral, longitudinal, radial, and the like orientations shall mean positions relative to the orientation of the wellbore or tool. 
     Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented. The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. 
     The present disclosure is directed to a modular reamer which is incorporable into a pipe string as a coupler (e.g., collar) or as an end shoe. The modular reamer may be a tubular body having cutting elements on its external surface. The modular reamer may have a coupling on both of its ends so that it may couple directly with a casing or pipe. In particular, by these couplings it may be easily incorporated into any tubular string, such as a casing string or production tubing string as they are assembled. The modular reamer may join any two tubulars together thereby serving as a coupling device. Additionally, it may be added to the end of a tubular string to act as a reamer shoe. 
     The modular reamer disclosed herein provides a flexible and versatile device which can be adapted for incorporation into various tubular strings and in multiple places along the length as desired to remove wellbore obstructions. Furthermore, standard equipment may be modified to prepare the device. For instance, a standard joint collar can be converted to the modular reamer device disclosed herein. Cutting elements can be cladded, brazed, deposited, or otherwise bonded onto the external surface of the collar, which can then be used to join two pipes, such as casing or production tubing. Alternatively, blank tubular bodies can be provided and converted on site to be adapted as needed. As a modular reamer is required, cutting elements can be cladded or blazed onto the external surface, and one or both ends of the tubular body modified to be a coupling, such as a desired threading. The converted modular reamer can then be incorporated or coupled as needed with various tubulars. 
     The following provides a more detailed discussion of the components herein. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary modular reamer  100 . The modular reamer  100  has a tubular body  105  with an inner bore  125  extending therethrough from a first end  115  to a second end  120 . The tubular body  105  has a first opening  130  at the first end  115  and a second opening  135  at the second end  120 , the inner bore  125  extending longitudinally between the first opening  130  and second opening  135 . A central axis  140  is shown extending longitudinally along the length of the tubular body  105 . 
     The tubular body  105  has an external surface  110  and an outer diameter. The outer diameter may vary depending on the size of the borehole as well as the diameter and size of the particular casing, tubing or other tubulars that are employed. A plurality of cutting elements  145  are provided extending from the external surface  110  of the tubular body  105 . The plurality of cutting elements  145  extend beyond the outer diameter of the tubular body  105 . Accordingly, the tubular body, alone or coupled with tubing, may engage with the surface of the borehole via cutting elements  145  to grind and cut the surface of the wellbore or degrade or break obstructions. The cutting elements  145  are made up of a hard or abrasive material or any hard durable wear-resistant materials such as tungsten carbide, polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC), particle-matrix composite material, or a combination or mixture thereof. Alternatively, the cutting elements  145  may be made up of the same material as the tubular body  105 , or may be metal, alloys of iron, steel, metal alloy, or composite of metal and non-metals. Exemplary steels include carbon steel, such as A34, SAE 1018, SAE 1020, and the like. 
     The cutting elements  145  as shown in  FIG. 1  are in the form of blades. The blades may extend along a length of the tubular body in the longitudinal direction of the tubular body. As also shown in  FIG. 1 , the blades may also extend diagonally with respect to the central axis  140 . The blades may be provided in any variety of shapes such as helical, curved, or zig zag. The cutting elements  145 , such as blades, may be provided circumferentially 360° around the tubular body  105 . Meaning that a portion of a cutting element  145  will be encountered at each point around the circumference of the tubular body at some point along its length longitudinally from the first end  115  to the second end  120 . Accordingly, the plurality cutting elements  145 , may be provided such that each element, or blade, are aligned (helically) and may overlap one another longitudinally such that a leading end of one cutting element overlaps longitudinally the trailing end of an adjacent blade. Further, partial coverage can be provided, such as less 360° or less, such as 270° or less, 180° or less, 90° or less, or at a range of from 270° to 360° coverage, or 180° to 360° coverage, or 90° to 360° coverage. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the cutting elements  145  may have cutters  150  thereon which may be polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) or other hard cutting material. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the cutting elements may be provided in a patched pattern, and may have a diamond shape. The cutting elements may have other shapes such as round, square, or any other polygonal shape, and may be provided as random or ordered patterns. As shown, each end of the blades in  FIG. 1  have a tapered end. The cutting elements  145  may have a first tapered end  150  and have a second tapered end  155 . 
     The tubular body  105  can be made of any hard, rigid material. The tubular body  105  may be made up of a metal, such as steel or other alloy, or other hard material able to withstand downhole conditions. The steel may be grade P110 or greater according to API 5CT. The tubular body  105  may be the same material as the downhole casing, pipe or other tubular to which it will be coupled, which may also be grade P110 or greater according to API 5CT. 
     The cutting elements  145  may be cladded or brazed, including laser cladding, or deposited, such as via laser metal deposition, direct metal depositions, additive manufacturing, or otherwise bonded or attached to the external surface  110 . By this method, standard equipment can be converted on site or beforehand to the modular reamer disclosed herein. For example a standard joint collar can be converted to a modular reamer by cladding or brazing cutting elements thereon. This permits those in the field to adapt a tubular string to include a reamer as needed. Alternatively, the cutting elements can be formed as part of the tubular body  105  during production or molding. 
     Each of the first and second ends  115 ,  120  have a coupling for coupling engagement with a tubular string. Such coupling may be any type sufficient to fix the modular reamer to a casing, pipe or other tubular. Tubulars can be coupled to both of the first and second ends  115 ,  120  thereby acting as a collar or coupling to form a tubular string. Coupling can include threaded engagement (threaded ends of tubulars engaging with the threaded ends of the modular reamer), or via welding, or by other coupling. The coupling on the modular reamer may be a male or female threaded end. For instance, as shown in  FIG. 1 , both the first and second ends  115 ,  120  may have first female threaded end  160  and second female threaded end  165 . Alternatively, both first and second ends  115 ,  120  may be male threaded ends. Alternatively, the first end  115  may be a male threaded and the second end  120  may be a female threaded end, or vice versa. In the context of casing or production piping, the reamer  100  may have two female threaded ends. 
     The modular reamer  100  may be employed to couple two tubulars together. Tubulars are defined herein to include, but not limited to, casings, tubing, production tubing, jointed tubing, coiled tubing, liners, as well as drill pipe, combinations thereof, or the like. Individual tubulars are sometimes referred to as joints, which may be a length of casing, pipe or other tubular. The length of tubulars may vary depending on the type of tubular or process being carried out. An exemplary casing joint may be for example about 40 feet in length, and a drill pipe may be about 30 feet in length. A length for an individual tubular or joint may be from about 20 to 50 feet, or alternatively from about 30 to 40 feet in length. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the modular reamer  100  is coupling together a first casing  400  and a second casing  405 . In particular, the first casing  400  is coupled to the first end  115  of the tubular body  105 , and the second casing  405  is coupled to the second end  120  of the tubular body  105 . The tubular body  105  has a female threaded end on each side. Accordingly, the thread is on the external surface of each of the first and second ends  105 ,  120  to form the first female threaded end  160  and second female threaded end  165 . Each of the first and second female threaded ends  160 ,  165  may also taper inwardly. The first and second threaded ends  160 ,  165  engage the first male threaded end  410  of casing  400  and the second male threaded end  415  of casing  415 . The coupling accordingly forms a tubular string. The first and second casings  400 ,  410  may be coupled to other casings (to form a longer tubular string), tools or reamer devices. Although a casing is employed as illustration in  FIG. 3 , any tubulars may be employed as disclosed herein. 
     Illustrated in  FIG. 5  is an exemplary environment  10  for employment of the modular reamer  100 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , there is a rig  20  having a borehole  60  which has been drilled into the earth  30 . The modular reamer  100  has coupled together casing tubulars  450 . The coupled components are together inserted into the borehole for placement. The modular reamer  100 , coupled with the first and second casing  400 ,  405 , acts to ream, cut, or otherwise assist entry through jagged or non-smooth portions of the borehole. Further, the modular reamer can be placed at the end of the very first casing or piping so as to serve as a reaming shoe. Moreover, the modular reamer can be coupled between a plurality of casings (or other tubulars), and so can be placed at numerous places in the string. Although a casing is employed in  FIG. 5 , the same can be employed with any tubular. For example, the modular reamer  100  can be employed to couple drill pipe or production tubing. 
     A method as illustrated in flow diagram  500  of  FIG. 5  can be implemented regarding the modular reamer as disclosed herein. As shown in  505 , the process can begin with a blank tubular body. This permits those in the field to modify as needed depending on the type of tubulars employed and the requirements of the hydrocarbon production process. Alternatively, these steps can be conducted off-site and once the modular reamer is prepared, it can be sent to the oil site for use. As shown in  510 , cutting elements may be formed on the tubular body. The cutting elements can be cladded on or brazed on the tubular body. In  515 , couplings can be added to both ends of the tubular body. Alternatively, if the tubular body is a standard joint collar, then the tubular body may already have threaded ends for coupling with various tubulars. Such couplings can be male or female threaded ends for instance. As shown in  520 , the modular reamer, once having couplings and cutting elements can be coupled with a tubular on one or both ends. Many tubulars can be coupled together to form a tubular string. Further a plurality of modular reamers can be coupled within the string, and/or on the end of the string as a shoe. 
     Numerous examples are provided herein to enhance understanding of the present disclosure. A specific set of statements are provided as follows. 
     Statement 1: A modular reaming device incorporable into a tubular string including a tubular body having a first end and a second end and an internal bore, the internal bore extending longitudinally through the tubular body from the first end to the second end, the tubular body having an external surface with an outer diameter; and cutting elements extending from the tubular body beyond the outer diameter of the tubular body for engagement with a bore hole sidewall, and wherein each of the first and second end have a coupling for coupling engagement with a tubular string. 
     Statement 2: The modular reaming device according to Statement 1, wherein the first and the second end are both threaded. 
     Statement 3: The modular reaming device according to Statement 1 or Statement 2, wherein the first and the second end are both female threaded, whereby the modular reaming device serves as a collar. 
     Statement 4: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-3, wherein the first end is female threaded, and the second end is male threaded. 
     Statement 5: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-4, wherein the tubular body is selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloy, alloys of iron, steel, or mixtures thereof. 
     Statement 6: The modular reaming device according to Statement 5, wherein the tubular body is steel and is grade P110 or greater according to API 5CT. 
     Statement 7: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-6, wherein the cutting elements are selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloy, alloys of iron, steel, composite or mixtures thereof. 
     Statement 8: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-7, wherein the cutting elements are cladded, deposited or brazed to the external surface of the tubular body. 
     Statement 9: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-8, wherein the cutting elements are a plurality of blades disposed on the external surface of the tubular body extending along a longitudinal length of the tubular body. 
     Statement 10: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-9, wherein the plurality of blades taper at each end. 
     Statement 11: The modular reaming device according to Statements 1-10, wherein the plurality of blades extend diagonally with respect to a longitudinal axis of the internal bore of the tubular body. 
     Statement 12: A method of making a modular reaming device including: forming cutting elements on an external surface of a tubular body, the external surface having an outer diameter and the cutting elements extending beyond the outer diameter, the tubular body having an internal bore extending longitudinally through the tubular body from a first end to the second end of the tubular body; and forming a coupling on at least one of the first or second end of the tubular body for coupling engagement with a tubular string. 
     Statement 13: The method according to Statement 12, wherein the coupling is a threaded end. 
     Statement 14: The method according to Statements 12 or 13, wherein both the first end and second end is threaded. 
     Statement 15: The method according to Statements 12-14, wherein both ends are female threaded ends. 
     Statement 16: The method according to Statements 12-15, further comprising coupling the modular reaming device to at least one of a casing or a drillpipe string. 
     Statement 17: The method according to Statements 12-16, further comprising coupling a first end to a first casing or first drillpipe and coupling the second end to a second casing or second drillpipe. 
     Statement 18: The method according to Statements 12-17, further comprising disposing the modular reaming device coupled to the first casing and second casing into a borehole. 
     Statement 19: The method according to Statements 12-18, wherein the tubular body is selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloy, alloys of iron, steel, or mixtures thereof. 
     Statement 20: A modular reaming system including: a tubular body having a first end and a second end and an internal bore, the internal bore extending longitudinally through the tubular body from the first end to the second end, the tubular body having an external surface with an outer diameter; and cutting elements extending from the tubular body beyond the outer diameter of the tubular body for engagement with a bore hole sidewall, and wherein each of the first and second end have a coupling for coupling engagement with a tubular string. 
     The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the attached claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.