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US 12,421,824 B2Granted
Using expandable metal as an alternate to existing metal to metal seals
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsRobert Travis Murphy, Terapat Apichartthabrut, Michael Linley Fripp
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Provided is a seal assembly, a method for sealing, and a well system. The seal assembly, in one aspect, includes a pipe having an outer tubular positioned thereabout, the outer tubular and pipe forming an enclosed seal gland. The seal assembly, according to this aspect, further includes expanded metal positioned within the enclosed seal gland, the expanded metal comprising a metal that has expanded in response to hydrolysis to assist in sealing the enclosed seal gland.
Claims13
A seal assembly, comprising:
- a pipe;
- an outer tubular positioned around the pipe, the outer tubular and pipe forming an enclosed seal gland;
- an I-shaped metal seal located within the enclosed seal gland, the I-shaped metal seal having pairs of arms separated by a central feature, the pairs of arms and central feature forming first and second recesses, the first and second recesses radially separated by the central feature, the I-shaped seal forming a footprint;
- and
- expanded metal positioned within the first and second recesses, the expanded metal comprising a metal that has expanded in response to hydrolysis to assist in sealing the enclosed seal gland, the expanded metal axially activating the pairs of arms against ones of the outer tubular or the pipe to seal the enclosed seal gland, without extending radially outside of the footprint of the I-shaped seal and without extending axially outside of the footprint of the I-shaped seal.
2 more elements
A method for sealing, comprising:
- providing a downhole tool, the downhole tool having a sealing assembly, including:
- a pipe;
- an outer tubular positioned around the pipe, the outer tubular and pipe forming an enclosed seal gland;
- an I-shaped metal seal located within the enclosed seal gland, the I-shaped metal seal having pairs of arms separated by a central feature, the pairs of arms and central feature forming first and second recesses, the first and second recesses radially separated by the central feature, the I-shaped seal forming a footprint;
- and
- pre-expansion expandable metal positioned within the first and second recesses, the pre-expansion expandable metal comprising a metal configured to expand in response to hydrolysis, the pre-expansion expandable metal configured to axially activate the pairs of arms against ones of the outer tubular or the pipe to seal the enclosed seal gland;
- and
- subjecting the pre-expansion expandable metal to reactive fluid to form an expanded metal in the enclosed seal gland and thereby assist in sealing the enclosed seal gland, wherein the expanded metal does not extend radially outside of the footprint of the I-shaped seal and does not extend axially outside of the footprint of the I-shaped seal.
5 more elements
A well system, comprising:
- a wellbore extending through one or more subterranean formations;
- and
- a downhole tool located within the wellbore, the downhole tool having a seal assembly, the seal assembly including:
- a pipe;
- an outer tubular positioned around the pipe, the outer tubular and pipe forming an enclosed seal gland;
- an I-shaped metal seal located within the enclosed seal gland, the I-shaped metal seal having pairs of arms separated by a central feature, the pairs of arms and central feature forming first and second recesses, the first and second recesses radially separated by the central feature, the I-shaped seal forming a footprint;
- and
- expanded metal positioned within the first and second recesses, the expanded metal comprising a metal that has expanded in response to hydrolysis to assist in sealing the enclosed seal gland, the expanded metal axially activating the pairs of arms against ones of the outer tubular or the pipe to seal the enclosed seal gland, without extending radially outside of the footprint of the I-shaped seal and without extending axially outside of the footprint of the I-shaped seal.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.