Ball-seat apparatus and method
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsMohan L. Soni, Gaurav Agrawal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for restricting fluid flow includes: a ball receiving element disposed in a fluid conduit and configured to receive a ball that has been advanced through the fluid conduit and at least partially restrict fluid flow; and at least one seating element at least partially disposed within the fluid conduit, the at least one seating element including at least one of: a shape that extends radially into the fluid conduit and is contoured axially to reduce a rate of deceleration of the ball upon contact with the ball receiving element, and a radially compliant element configured to reduce an impact between the ball and the ball receiving element.
Claims20
An apparatus for restricting fluid flow, comprising:
- a ball receiving element disposed in a fluid conduit and configured to receive a ball that has been advanced through the fluid conduit and at least partially restrict fluid flow;
- and
- at least one seating element at least partially disposed within the fluid conduit, the at least one seating element including at least one of:
- a shape that extends radially into the fluid conduit and is contoured axially to reduce a rate of deceleration of the ball upon contact with the ball receiving element, and a radially compliant element configured to reduce an impact between the ball and the ball receiving element.
A method of restricting fluid flow, comprising:
- releasing a ball into a fluid conduit and receiving the ball in a ball receiving element disposed at the fluid conduit and at least partially restricting fluid flow;
- and
- reducing an impact between the ball and the ball receiving element by at least one seating element at least partially disposed within the fluid conduit, the at least one seating element including at least one of:
- a contour defining a shape that extends radially into the fluid conduit and is contoured axially to reduce rate of deceleration of the ball upon contact with the ball receiving element, and a radially compliant element configured to reduce an impact between the ball and the ball receiving element.
An apparatus for restricting fluid flow, comprising:
- a carrier configured to be disposed in a borehole in an earth formation, the carrier including a fluid conduit;
- a ball receiving element at least partially disposed in the fluid conduit and configured to receive a ball that has been advanced through the fluid conduit to at least partially restrict fluid flow, the ball receiving element including:
- a shape that extends radially into the fluid conduit and is contoured axially to reduce a rate of deceleration of the ball upon contact with the ball receiving element;
- and
- a damping assembly configured to reduce an impact between the ball and the ball receiving element, the damping assembly including a radially extending spring element operably connected to a damping element, the damping element configured to proportionally resist radial movement of at least one of the spring element and the ball receiving element.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the damping element includes a dashpot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.