Apparatus and method for testing dynamic sealability of fluid in the downhole minor leaks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11674887-B2
Application number	US-202117388126-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2021
Priority date	Jul 29, 2021
Publication date	Jun 13, 2023
Grant date	Jun 13, 2023

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining the sealability of an oil & gas well sealant fluid, whereby a cylindrical cell assembly capable of withstanding high temperature and high pressure with an electromagnetic heater positioned radially outside the cell body while partly filled with the sealant fluid. A leakage assembly in connection to the cylindrical cell assembly allows the sealant fluid to continuously flow through a leakage element at a desired differential pressure, and the residual fluid is drained into said cell by a cycling pipeline system. The real-time pressure may be recorded and transmitted to a control system including data acquisition and control units so as to monitor and measure the sealability of fluid in the downhole leakage.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sealability testing apparatus, comprising a tester, wherein the tester comprises:
a leakage assembly having:
an upper cap provided with a fluid inlet and a pressure sensor on an upper end of the upper cap, wherein said pressure sensor is capable of recording and transmitting pressure data to a control panel by a pressure data wire;
a leakage element with different size of pores being secured into said upper cap for simulating downhole string leakage on-site;
a retainer being in connection with a lower end of said upper cap for fixing said leakage element; and
a visual bottom cup made of quartz glass, wherein a bottom of said visual bottom cup is open, and said visual bottom cup is temperature-resistant and pressure-resistant for observing a plugging process when sealant flows across said leakage element,
wherein the upper cap, the leakage element, the retainer and the visual bottom cup are arranged coaxially.

2. The sealability testing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a cylindrical cell assembly having a cover and a cell body,
wherein said cell body is partially filled with sealant fluid,
an inlet is provided in an upper part of said cell body for permitting the sealant fluid to circulate,
an outlet is provided in a bottom of said cell body and is connected with a pressurization pump;
an electromagnetic heater is positioned radially outside said cell body for heating the sealant fluid; and
a temperature sensor is aligned in said cell body for measuring and transmitting a temperature of the cell body.

3. The sealability testing apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
a cycling pipeline system having a fluid feeding pipeline, an overflow pipeline, and a fluid return pipeline,
wherein the fluid feeding pipeline comprises a pressurization pump, a pressure gauge, and a first stop valve and a third stop valve;
the pressurization pump is in contact with the outlet of said cell body and is applied as a pressurization tool to drive the sealant fluid to circulate in the cycling pipeline system;
the first stop valve and the third stop valve are arranged on the fluid feeding pipeline to control an injection pressure of the sealant fluid;
the overflow pipeline is in contact with said cell body for return of overflow fluid, which is helpful to control pipeline pressure; and
the fluid return pipeline is in contact with said cell body for return of the overflow fluid across said leakage element, wherein a flowmeter is arranged for measuring a flow rate of the sealant fluid.

4. The sealability testing apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising:
a measurement device being in contact with said pressurization pump for measuring a pressure of the sealant fluid before the sealant fluid circulates.

5. The sealability testing apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
a measurement device being in contact with said cell body for measuring a temperature of the sealant fluid when the sealant fluid circulates in said cycling pipeline system.

6. The sealability testing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a control panel incorporated into a data acquisition system and an operation software, wherein said data acquisition system is connected with said tester by means of a set of data wires.

7. The sealability testing apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the pressure sensor is in contact with said leakage assembly for measuring a pressure of a leak site when the sealant fluid flows through the leak site.

8. A method for determining plugging property of sealant fluid in a leak site, the method comprising the steps of:
pouring the sealant fluid into a cell body;
closing a stop valve before a leakage assembly starts to work;
pumping the sealant fluid in a fluid feeding pipeline to pressurize the sealant fluid;
opening said stop valve to allow sealant fluid circulatively flow through the leakage assembly at the desired fluid pressure;
observing seal formed in the leak site from a visual cup;
measuring pressures related to formation of the seal across at the leak site; and
analyzing dynamic plugging property of said sealant fluid.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of:
setting pressure of said sealant fluid in the fluid feeding pipeline.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of:
setting temperature of said sealant fluid in the fluid feeding pipeline.

11. A method for determining plugging property of sealant fluid in a leak site, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a sealability testing apparatus comprising:
a leakage assembly having an upper cap, a leakage element, a retainer, and a visual bottom cup, wherein said retainer fixes said leakage element, and said visual bottom cup is in connection with said upper cap;
a cylindrical cell assembly being in connection with said leakage assembly for returning the sealant fluid; and
a pressurization pump being in connection with said cylindrical cell assembly for circulating the sealant fluid in a cycling pipeline;
operating said pressurization pump to obtain a desired pressure;
circulating the sealant fluid to be tested under the desired pressure;
recording pressure variation when the sealant fluid flows through the leak site; and
analyzing dynamic plugging property of said sealant fluid.

Assignees

• Univ Zhejiang Ocean
• Univ Yangtze

Inventors

• Xu Lin
• Huang Xiaohe
• Huang Yue
• Xu Mingbiao
• Guo Yingying
• Feng Huanzhi
• Xing Xijin
• Xu Li
• Wang Lang

Classifications

• G01N19/04 Primary

  Measuring adhesive force between materials, e.g. of sealing tape, of coating · CPC title

• E21B47/117

  Detecting leaks, e.g. from tubing, by pressure testing · CPC title

• G01M3/38 Primary

  by using light (G01M3/02 takes precedence) · CPC title