Cutting tool and controls for downhole mechanical services

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12098608-B2
Application number	US-202217809056-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2022
Priority date	Jun 25, 2021
Publication date	Sep 24, 2024
Grant date	Sep 24, 2024

Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein provide for cutting in a borehole or casing. A cutting device can include a first arm having a cutting blade, wherein the cutting blade has side cutting teeth and an axis of rotation that is substantially at a right angle with respect to an axis of the tool body. The cutting device can also include a second arm with a bumper. The first and second arms articulate away from the elongate body in different directions to reduce vibrations while cutting. A control device can automate the cut based on hydraulic pressure measurements. Additionally, the cutting device can also be extended or rotated on a rotary index. The cutting device can rotate around a J slot, in an example.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cutting device for making cuts in a wellbore, comprising:
an elongate tool body for insertion into a borehole;
a first arm including a cutting blade, wherein the cutting blade comprises a side wall and side cutting teeth, wherein an axis of rotation of the cutting blade is substantially at a right angle with respect to an axis of the elongate tool body, and wherein the side cutting teeth protrude outwardly from the side wall in the direction of the axis of rotation; and
a second arm, wherein the first and second arms articulate away from the elongate tool body in different directions.

2. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein the second arm comprises a bumper that presses on an opposite side of the borehole relative to the cutting blade.

3. The cutting device of claim 1 , further comprising a collar around a portion of the elongate body, wherein the collar extends further than the cutting blade from the axis of the tool body when the first arm is retracted towards the tool body.

4. The cutting device of claim 3 , wherein the collar includes grooves on an outer surface for debris passage.

5. The cutting device of claim 3 , wherein the collar is located above the first and second arms, wherein the cutting device further comprises a second collar below the first and second arms.

6. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein the cutting blade includes a hub assembly for attachment to a gearbox on the first arm, wherein the cutting blade cuts to a depth based on a difference between a radius of the cutting blade and a radius of the hub assembly.

7. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein the cutting device comprises a communication module that provides real-time communication to a control device located outside of the wellbore, the real-time communication comprising at least one parameter associated with a cut performed by the cutting device.

8. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein the cutting device is coupled to a linear actuator to extend a cut by the cutting blade along a path parallel to the axis.

9. The cutting device of claim 8 , wherein the linear actuator is placed between the elongate body and an anchor.

10. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein a rotary actuator rotates the cutting device around the axis.

11. The cutting device of claim 10 , wherein the rotary actuator makes an angular position measurement to orient the cutting device radially in the borehole.

12. The cutting device of claim 1 , wherein a linear potentiometer measures linear displacement of the cutting device.

13. A method of controlling a downhole cutting tool, comprising:
receiving measurements of hydraulic pressure from a pressure sensor at the cutting tool, the measurement indicating a cutting force;
running a hydraulic pump to control hydraulic pressure to a target cutting pressure; and
when the pressure measurements are constant for a period of time, verifying a cut is complete.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
retracting an anchor of the cutting tool;
actuating a linear actuator of the cutting tool to move the anchor to a new location;
setting the anchor at the new location; and
running the hydraulic pump to perform a second cut.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
measuring linear displacement as part of determining blade progress of the cutting tool;
measuring current to the hydraulic pump; and
as part of verifying the cut is complete, determining the current is changing less than a threshold amount for a time period and determining that the linear displacement has substantially stopped.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
measuring blade torque of the cutting tool; and
adjusting a radial arm force and rotations per minute of the blade based on the measured blade torque.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining blade wear for the cutting tool based on arm force and rotations per minute measurements, wherein a graphical user interface alerts the user of a need to replace the blade.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein determining the blade wear includes determining that a period of time before repeating the stage of running the hydraulic pump has exceeded a time threshold.

19. The method of claim 13 , further comprising training a machine learning model based on measurements of arm force and rotations per minute, wherein the model is used to determine how much current to supply to the hydraulic pump.

20. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a downhole cutting tool, the instructions causing a processor to execute stages comprising:
receiving measurements of hydraulic pressure from a pressure sensor at the cutting tool, the measurement indicating a cutting force;
running a hydraulic pump to control hydraulic pressure to a target cutting pressure; and
when the pressure measurements are constant for a period of time, verifying a cut is complete.

Assignees

• Schlumberger Technology Corp

Inventors

• Casassa Joseph Matthew
• Sheiretov Todor
• Wurtz Joshua
• Dionisio Albert
• Wiesenborn Robert Kyle
• Stevenson Philip
• Engel David

Classifications

• E21B47/06

  Measuring temperature or pressure · CPC title

• E21B29/002 Primary

  Cutting, e.g. milling, a pipe with a cutter rotating along the circumference of the pipe · CPC title

• E21B29/06 Primary

  Cutting windows, e.g. directional window cutters for whipstock operations ({E21B29/005 and} E21B29/08 take precedence) · CPC title