Inflatable down hole bag
AssigneeMti Group Pty Ltd
InventorsJames Matthew Richard Fitzsimons, Nicholas Bodley, Jamie Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inflatable down hole bag for insertion into a blast hole, comprising: a sealed inflatable body; a first substance within the sealed inflatable body; a plurality of tablets separated from the first substance within the sealed inflatable body; and a release for allowing the first substance to contact the tablets; wherein the tablets comprise a second substance, and wherein contact between the first substance and the second substance causes an inflation fluid producing reaction within the sealed inflatable body, thereby inflating the inflatable body, wherein the tablets are configured to fragment after contact with the first substance.
Claims16
An inflatable down hole bag for insertion into a blast hole, the inflatable down hole bag comprising:
- a sealed inflatable body;
- a first substance within the sealed inflatable body;
- a plurality of tablets separated from the first substance within the sealed inflatable body;
- and
- a release for allowing the first substance to contact the tablets;
- wherein:
- the tablets comprise a second substance, a third substance, and a binder;
- the inflatable down hole bag is configured to cause an inflation-fluid-producing reaction within the sealed inflatable body upon contact between the first substance and the second substance, thereby inflating the inflatable body;
- and
- the third substance is configured to cause the tablets to fragment.
An inflatable down hole bag for insertion into a blast hole, the inflatable down hole bag comprising:
- a sealed inflatable body;
- a first substance within the sealed inflatable body;
- a plurality of tablets separated from the first substance within the sealed inflatable body;
- and
- a release for allowing the first substance to contact the tablets;
- wherein:
- the tablets are configured to cause the bag to inflate according to a selected inflation profile defined by physical properties and composition of the tablets,
- the inflatable down hole bag is configured to start an inflation-fluid-producing reaction when the tablets contact the first substance,
- the tablets comprise at least two different types of tablets, wherein two types of the at least two different types have different inflation characteristics, and wherein the two types are selected according to a desired inflation profile of the bag;
- and
- the tablets further comprise a binder.
A tablet for use in an inflatable down hole bag for insertion into a blast hole, the tablet comprising:
- a reagent;
- and
- a disintegrant,
- wherein:
- the reagent is configured to cause an inflation fluid producing reaction upon contact with acid,
- the disintegrant is configured to causes the tablet to fragment,
- physical characteristics of the tablet are selected according to a desired duration between commencement of the reaction and commencement of the fragmentation of the tablet, and
- the tablet further comprises a binder for binding the reagent and disintegrant together.
A method of fabricating an inflatable down hole bag for insertion in a bore hole, the method comprising:
- at least partially filling the bag with a first substance,
- preparing a mixture, the mixture comprising a second substance, a third substance, and a binder,
- compressing the mixture in a die to form at least one tablet,
- locating the at least one tablet in the bag separated from the first substance, and
- sealing a sealed inflatable body of the inflatable down hole bag.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.