Method and apparatus for autonomous downhole fluid selection with pathway dependent resistance system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9133685-B2
Application number	US-201213351087-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2012
Priority date	Feb 4, 2010
Publication date	Sep 15, 2015
Grant date	Sep 15, 2015

Abstract

An apparatus is described for controlling fluid flow in a downhole tubular. Fluid is flowed through a flow control system having a flow ratio control system and a pathway dependent resistance system. The flow ratio control system has a first and second passageway, where the ratio of fluid flowing through the passageways dependent on a characteristic of the fluid flow. The pathway dependent resistance system includes a vortex chamber with a first inlet directing flow primarily tangentially into the vortex chamber and the second inlet directing flow primarily radially into the vortex chamber. Undesired fluids, such as gas or water, in an oil well, are directed, based on their relative fluid flow characteristics, into the vortex primarily tangentially, thereby restricting flow when the undesired fluid is present.

First claim

It is claimed:

1. A device, comprising:
an inlet;
an outlet chamber;
a first passage in fluid communication with the inlet, terminating at the outlet chamber and having a first resistance to fluid flow of a viscosity;
a second passage in fluid communication with the inlet, terminating at the outlet chamber and having a second, different resistance to the fluid flow of the viscosity, the first and second passages oriented along different trajectories at the outlet chamber to form a combined flow in the outlet chamber and cause fluid flow from the first passage to influence which of a plurality of trajectories the resulting combined flow tends to flow; and
a third passage in fluid communication with the inlet, terminating at the outlet chamber and having a third resistance to the fluid flow of the viscosity different from both of the first and second resistances to the fluid flow of the viscosity, the third passage oriented along a different trajectory at the outlet chamber than the first and second passages and fluid flow.

2. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid diode in the first passage that provides the first resistance to fluid flow of the characteristic.

3. The device of claim 1 , where the first passage comprises a first flow restrictor and the second passage comprises a second, different type of flow restrictor.

4. The device of claim 3 , where the first and second flow restrictors are selected from a group consisting of a fluid diode, a tortious flow path, a surface texture, a material that swells when contacted with a certain fluid, and an orifice.

5. The device of claim 1 , where the first passage comprises a consistent diameter along its length and is longer than the second passage to provide more resistance to fluid flow than the second passage as the fluid viscosity increases.

6. The device of claim 1 , where the first passage is adapted to change the first resistance in response to changes in the viscosity differently than the second resistance changes in response to changes in the viscosity.

7. The device of claim 6 , where the second passage is adapted to provide a substantially constant resistance to fluid flow in response to changes in the viscosity.

8. The device of claim 6 , where the first passage provides a greater first resistance than the second resistance in response to increasing viscosity.

9. The device of claim 1 , where the second passage accommodates more fluid flow than the first passage.

10. The device of claim 1 , where the second passage accommodates more fluid flow than the first and third passages combined.

11. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a well tool and where the inlet, outlet chamber, first passage and second passage are provided in the well tool.

12. A device, comprising:
a flow system that divides flow among at least three passages at a common inlet shared by the at least three passages based on the viscosity of the fluid flow, and that recombines the flow at a common outlet shared by the at least three passages in a direction that depends on the viscosity of the fluid flow, wherein the at least three passages having first, second and third resistances to the fluid flow, each of the first, second and third resistances to the fluid flow distinct from the other two of the first, second and third resistances to the fluid flow.

13. The device of claim 12 , where the at least three passages comprise a first and a second passage both in communication with an inlet and an outlet, the first passage oriented in a first trajectory at the outlet and the second passage oriented in a second different trajectory at the outlet.

14. The device of claim 12 , further comprising a fluid diode in at least one of the passages.

15. The device of claim 12 , further comprising a first flow restrictor in one of the passages that is of a different type than a second flow restrictor in another of the passages, and where the first and second flow restrictors are selected from a group consisting of a fluid diode, a tortious flow path, a surface texture, a material that swells when contacted with a certain fluid, and an orifice.

16. The device of claim 12 , where one of the passages comprises a consistent diameter along its length and is longer than another of the passages to provide more resistance to fluid flow than the other passage as the viscosity increases.

17. The device of claim 12 , where the resistance to fluid flow of one of the passages changes in response to changes in the viscosity differently than the resistance to fluid flow of another of the passages changes in response to changes in the viscosity.

18. The device of claim 17 , where one of the passages provides a substantially constant resistance to fluid flow in response to changes in the viscosity.

19. The device of claim 17 , where one of the passages provides a greater resistance than the resistance of another passage in response to increasing viscosity.

20. The device of claim 12 , where the flow system is in a well tool.

21. A method, comprising:
dividing a fluid flow among first, second and third passages from an inlet to the first, second and third passages based on the viscosity of the fluid flow, the first, second and third passages having respective first, second and third resistances to the fluid flow which are distinct from one another; and
recombining the fluid flow from the first, second and third passages at a common outlet to flow in a direction dependent on the viscosity of the fluid flow.

22. The method of claim 21 , where dividing a fluid flow among first, second and third passages based on the viscosity of the fluid flow comprises resisting fluid flow through the passages differently in relation to the viscosity of the fluid flow.

23. The method of claim 22 , where resisting fluid flow comprises resisting fluid flow with a restrictor selected from a group consisting of a fluid diode, a tortious flow path, a surface texture, a material that swells when contacted with a certain fluid, and an orifice.

24. The method of claim 22 , where resisting flow through a passage comprises providing a substantially constant resistance to fluid flow in response to changes in the viscosity.

25. The method of claim 21 , where the dividing and the recombining are performed in a well tool.

26. A method of directing flow in a subterranean wellbore, comprising:
receiving first, second and third separate fluid flows in a well device, the received third flow smaller than either of the first or second flows, the received second flow smaller than the received first flow, and the first flow flowing in a first direction, the second flow flowing in a second direction, different than the direction of the first flow;
combining the first, second and third flows in a common outlet chamber, the first flow into the common outlet chamber oriented to direct the resulting combined flow more towards the first direction; and
generating a flow condition that increases the tendency of the combined flow to flow more towards the first direction.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein generating a flow condition comprises directing the combined flow against a surface extending in the first direction that increases the tendency of the combined flow to flow along the surface in the first direction.

28. The method of claim 26 , wherein the flow condition comprises a Coanda effect.

Assignees

• Fripp Michael Linley
• Dykstra Jason D
• Dejesus Orlando
• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Fripp Michael Linley
• Dykstra Jason D
• Dejesus Orlando

Classifications

• Y10T137/212

  System comprising plural fluidic devices or stages · CPC title

• E21B34/06

  in wells · CPC title

• E21B43/14

  Obtaining from a multiple-zone well · CPC title

• E21B43/08

  Screens or liners {(expandable screens or liners E21B43/108)} · CPC title

• E21B43/32

  Preventing gas- or water-coning phenomena, i.e. the formation of a conical column of gas or water around wells · CPC title