Patent ID: 7225880

Claim:
A liner hanger for use downhole in a wellbore to seal with a casing string and support a liner on the liner hanger, the liner hanger comprising: a tubular liner hanger removably supportable on a running tool for positioning the tubular liner hanger downhole, the tubular liner hanger having an initial hanger inner diameter, and having an initial hanger outer diameter less than an inner diameter of the casing string, the tubular liner hanger being expandable by the running tool to seal with the casing string, the liner hanger supporting the liner in the well; a tubular expander removably supportable on the running tool, the tubular expander having an expander outermost diameter greater than the initial hanger inner diameter; and the running tool including an actuator for forcibly moving the tubular expander axially from a position substantially axially spaced from the tubular liner hanger to a position substantially within the tubular liner hanger, thereby radially expanding the tubular hanger against the casing string to secure the tubular expander and the tubular hanger downhole when the running tool is retrieved, the running tool having an internal bore for passing cement through the running tool and out a lower end of the liner.