Selective flow control using cavitation of subcooled fluid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11326432-B2
Application number	US-201916683781-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 14, 2019
Priority date	Nov 14, 2019
Publication date	May 10, 2022
Grant date	May 10, 2022

Abstract

A fluid control device includes a housing, a fluid channel defined within the housing, the fluid channel having an inlet, and a flow control body disposed in the fluid channel, the flow control body tapering towards the inlet. The flow control body, in use, causes a fluid flowing through the fluid channel to flow into an annular fluid flow path within the fluid channel. The annular fluid flow path has a geometry selected based on a subcool of the fluid at a pressure of the fluid entering the fluid channel, and the geometry is selected to induce cavitation of the fluid to choke fluid flow through the fluid channel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fluid control device comprising:
a housing;
a fluid channel defined within the housing, the fluid channel having an inlet; and
a flow control body disposed in the fluid channel, the flow control body having a diverging section tapering towards the inlet to a leading end facing upstream relative to a fluid flow direction, and a converging section between the diverging section of the flow control body and a trailing end of the body facing downstream relative to the fluid flow direction;
the flow control body, in use, causing a fluid flowing through the fluid channel to flow into an annular fluid flow path defined by the diverging section within the fluid channel, the annular fluid flow path having a geometry selected based on a subcool of the fluid at a pressure of the fluid entering the fluid channel, the geometry selected to induce cavitation of the fluid to choke fluid flow through the fluid channel.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the fluid channel and the diverging section are cylindrical and form a ring-shaped annular fluid path.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the diverging section includes an annular diverging section having a width that increases from the leading end facing upstream relative to the fluid flow direction toward the trailing end facing downstream relative to the fluid flow direction.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the diverging section of the flow control body has a conical shape.

5. The device of claim 3 , wherein the fluid channel has a first region that converges along the fluid flow direction to a throat region and decreases in area with decreasing distance from the throat region, and a second region that diverges from the throat region, the annular diverging section of the flow control body, in use, being positioned within the second region to cause the annular fluid flow path to increase in area with increasing distance from the leading end.

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein the diverging section of the flow control body is a conical diverging region, and the second region of the fluid channel has a conical shape.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the converging section has a convex conical shape.

8. The device of claim 7 , wherein the converging section of the flow control body includes at least one fluid control fin at the trailing end.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein the converging section forms an annular converging flow path in fluid communication with the fluid channel downstream of the flow control body.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of a surface of the fluid channel and a surface of the flow control body have a surface roughness that is less than a threshold roughness, the threshold roughness selected to maintain fluid velocity to a level sufficient to achieve cavitation.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the fluid control device is at least part of an inflow control device configured to be disposed in a borehole, the inflow control device configured to receive production fluid.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the inflow control device is part of at least one of a steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) system and a geothermal system.

13. A method of controlling fluid flow, comprising:
receiving fluid in a liquid state at an inlet of a fluid channel in a housing of a flow control device, the fluid channel defined within the housing, the flow device including a flow control body having a diverging section tapering towards the inlet to a leading end facing upstream relative to a fluid flow direction, and a converging section between the diverging section of the flow control body and a trailing end of the body facing downstream relative to the fluid flow direction;
causing, by the flow control body, fluid flowing through the fluid channel to diverge into an annular fluid flow path within the fluid channel, the annular fluid flow path defined by the diverging section and having a geometry selected based on a subcool of the fluid at a pressure of the fluid entering the fluid channel, the geometry selected to induce cavitation of the fluid to choke fluid flow through the fluid channel.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising causing, by the flow control body, the fluid in the annular fluid flow path to converge the fluid into the fluid channel downstream of the flow control body via an annular converging flow path, and outputting the fluid to a production conduit in a borehole.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the fluid channel and the diverging section are cylindrical and form a ring-shaped annular fluid path.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the diverging section of the flow control body has a width that increases from the leading end toward the trailing end.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the diverging section of the flow control body has a conical shape.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising directing the fluid to a first region of the fluid channel that converges the fluid along the fluid flow direction to a throat region, the first region decreasing in area with decreasing distance from the throat region, and subsequently causing the fluid to diverge from the throat region into an annular diverging fluid path that increases in area with increasing distance from the leading end.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the annular diverging fluid flow path is defined by second region and a conical diverging section of the flow control body.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising directing the fluid from the annular diverging fluid flow path to a converging flow path defined at least by a converging section of the flow control body, the converging section having a convex conical shape.

Assignees

• Stolboushkin Eugene
• Kendall Alexander
• Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations Llc

Inventors

• Stolboushkin Eugene
• Kendall Alexander

Classifications

• Y02E10/10

  Geothermal energy · CPC title

• E21B43/2406 Primary

  Steam assisted gravity drainage [SAGD] · CPC title

• E21B43/16 Primary

  Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons · CPC title

• E21B43/255

  including the injection of a gaseous medium as treatment fluid into the formation · CPC title

• E21B43/24

  using heat, e.g. steam injection · CPC title