One trip interventionless liner hanger and packer setting apparatus and method

The field of the invention is actuators and actuation methods for operating a subterranean tool and more particularly actuation of a too disposed about a tubular without a wall opening in the tubular using potential energy in the actuator.

Many operations in a subterranean borehole involve the setting of took that are mounted outside of a tubular string. A common example is a packer or slips that can be used to seal an annular space or/and support a tubular string from another. Prior mechanical actuation techniques for such devices, which used applied or hydrostatic pressure to actuate a piston to drive slips up cones and compress sealing elements into a sealing position, involved openings in the tubular wall. These openings are considered potential leak paths that reduce reliability and are not desirable.

Alternative techniques were developed that accomplished the task of tool actuation without wall openings. These devices used annular fluid that was selectively admitted into the actuator tool housing and as a result of such fluid entry a reaction ensued that created pressure in the actuator housing to operate the tool. In one version the admission of water into a portion of the actuator allowed a material to be reacted to create hydrogen gas which was then used to drive a piston to set a tool such as a packer. Some examples of such tools that operate with the gas generation principle are U.S. Pat. No. 7,591,319 and US Publications 2007/0089911 and 2009/0038802.

These devices that had to generate pressure downhole were complicated and expensive. In some instances the available space was restricted for such devices limiting their feasibility. U.S. Pat. No. 8,813,857 shows an actuator that goes in the hole, with stored potential energy that employs a variety of signaling techniques from the surface to actuate the tool and release the setting pressure/force. The preferred potential energy source is compressed gas. This design incorporated a magnet dropped or pumped into the borehole that communicated with a valve to initialize the pressure generation step to actuate the tool due to valve operation. This design required multiple deliveries of wiper plugs with magnets for actuation of more than a single tool. In the case of a liner hanger and liner top packer that is to be set after a cement job with the liner hanger already set, the design in this reference would require multiple darts which creates some uncertainty that the darts would reach their destination and actuate the respective tools. The present invention delivers multiple tools that need to be set at different times with a running tool that contains the trigger for actuation so that in a single trip multiple tools can be set in one trip into the hole at different times without wall openings in the tubular. Those skilled in the art will further understand the invention from a review of the description of the preferred embodiment and the associated drawings while further appreciating that the full scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims.

A liner hanger and packer are set at different times in a single trip without intervention. The running tool has a ball seat that accepts a ball for pressuring up which results in movement of a mandrel with a magnet mounted to it past a valve triggered by the magnetic field. Potential energy is released to set the liner hanger. Further mandrel movement then releases the running tool once the liner is supported by the hanger. After a cement job that starts with confirmation of release of the running tool, the same magnet is moved past another valve adjacent the liner top packer. Another valve is triggered open to release potential energy and move parts that set the packer. The running tool is removed from the liner and brought to the surface.

FIGS. 1 a -1 g show the liner supported by a running tool in the run in position;

FIGS. 2 a -2 g show the liner hanger set;

FIGS. 3 a -3 g show the running tool released;

FIGS. 4 a -4 g show the wiper plugs released depicting the condition at the end of cementing;

FIGS. 5 a -5 g show the setting of the liner packer with further movement of the running tool.

Referring to FIGS. 1 a -1 g a liner 10 has no wall penetrations and is supported by a running tool 12 at dogs 14 that extend into grooves 16 in the liner 10 . The running tool 12 is in turn supported from a remote location by a running string 15 to position liner 10 at a predetermined borehole location. The running tool 12 has a mandrel 18 and telescoping components 20 and 22 near a lower end thereof. Component 22 has a seat 24 that accepts a ball 26 as shown in FIG. 2 f . Pressure on seat ball 26 extends component 22 out from component 20 with the result that a magnet 28 moves past a sensor package 30 that is activated by the field moving past it as a result of axial movement of magnet 28 . The result of getting a signal allows the package 30 to open a valve (not shown) to the annulus pressure. A piston assembly 36 defines low pressure chambers 32 and 34 such that on opening of the valve that is not shown a net uphole force is created on the piston assembly 36 to drive slips 38 up a ramp 40 and into the wall of the surrounding tubular 42 .

At this point a larger ball 44 is dropped onto a seat 46 in the running tool 12 as shown in FIG. 3 b . Pressure is applied to shift a sleeve to release the dogs 14 out of the grooves 16 so that the running tool 12 is released from the surrounding tubular 42 . The actuation of the slips 38 into the surrounding tubular 42 now supports the liner 10 . The running tool 12 can now be picked up to ensure that it has fully released from the liner 10 before cement is delivered in a known manner and the leading and trailing wiper plugs 48 are released to push the cement into an annular space that is not shown that surrounds the liner 10 in the borehole also in a known manner as shown in FIG. 4 g . It should be noted that balls 26 and 44 get blown out through their respective seats into a ball catcher 50 .

After the cementing is completed and it is time to set the packer 54 the magnet 28 is picked up with the running tool 12 as shown in FIG. 5 d - e so that a sensor package 52 identical to the sensor package 30 is triggered to open a second valve that is not shown. Here again a net force results on a piston assembly 56 that defines chambers 58 and 60 initially at low pressure. As before with setting the hanger slips 38 the opening of the second valve puts an unbalanced force on the piston assembly 56 that breaks shear pins and releases dogs that allow movement of the piston assembly 56 in an uphole direction to compress the packer 54 into a sealing position against the surrounding tubular 42 . At this point the running tool can be pulled out of the hole.

Those skilled in the art will now appreciate that the present invention associates a signal device with the running tool and allows an initial movement to set a first tool, which in the preferred embodiment is a liner hanger. Subsequent movements of the running tool in the same trip then sets another tool, which in the preferred embodiment is a liner top packer. While the source of potential energy is described as using hydrostatic pressure or applied pressure on top of hydrostatic in the surrounding annulus, other pressure sources can be deployed for piston movement. For example, a reaction that generates gas as a result of valve opening can be the source of potential energy to set one or more pistons to operate tools in sequence. It should be noted that the liner has no wall openings that can present potential leak paths. While a magnetic field is preferred in the described embodiment, other triggering signals are contemplated such as vibratory, acoustic or mud pulses to name a few. The invention allows in a single trip the setting of multiple tools with a single triggering source that is sequentially brought into proximity with signal receivers to trigger a movement that applies force to a piston to set multiple tools sequentially without well bore intervention. In the preferred embodiment the triggering source is on a running tool for the tools ultimately set with the movement of the running tool that eventually comes out of the hole.

The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention whose scope is to be determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims below: