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US 2014/0151998 A1Published application
Field Testable Instrument Housing Connection
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorMarion Robert Jahn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A field testable instrument housing connection for field testing of multiple seal connections between concentric metal tubes and hermetically sealed instrument housings.
Claims8
A field testable instrument housing connection for field testing of multiple parallel seal connections between outer (210) and inner (370) concentric tubes, the inner tubes carrying electrical and/or optical conductors to be connected to sealed instruments, and a hermetically sealed instrument housing (390) comprising:
- a. a modified reducing union (310) having a uphole portion and a downhole portion;
- with an uphole end metal tube seal (262) and a downhole end metal tube seal (272), providing both an annular seal and a seal of the instrument housing, with the uphole end metal tube seal having testable features;
- b. a concentric inner tube (370) passing from uphole to downhole completely through said modified reducing union;
- c. an outer concentric tube passing from uphole to downhole but terminating inside said modified reducing union;
- d. a compression nut portion (325) through which said modified reducing union is inserted;
- e. an instrument housing (390) having an uphole and a downhole portion, with said uphole portion having a mating seal geometry on its uphole end and said uphole end disposed over the downhole end of said modified reducing union and within said compression nut portion;
- f. a metal seal (340) against the modified reducing union body and located within said compression nut portion;
- g. wherein said mating seal geometry of said integral metal instrument housing mates with said metal seal against the modified reducing union body and said compression nut portion to form a metal hydraulic seal against the modified reducing union body;
- h. an uphole test seal element (320) and a downhole test seal element (360) positioned on either side of said metal seal against the modified reducing union body (340);
- i. a test port (330) positioned between said uphole test seal element and said metal seal (340) against the modified reducing union body.
7 more elements
A method for making an externally testable instrument housing connection for field testing of multiple parallel seal connections between outer (210) and inner (370) concentric tubes, the inner tubes carrying electrical and/or optical conductors to be connected to instruments, and a hermetically sealed instrument housing (390), the connection comprising a jam nut (325), a double jam nut (245), a modified reduction union (310), a compression nut (325) with a test port (330) a test port plug, and an instrument housing (390);
- wherein the method comprises the steps of:
- a. trimming back outer concentric tube (370) to expose sufficient length of the inner concentric tube (210) to pass completely through a reducing union (310) and to additionally provide sufficient length of conductors for connection to devices inside of said instrument housing (390);
- b. sliding a jam nut (225) over said outer tube;
- c. sliding ferrules (230) over said outer tube;
- d. sliding double jam nut (245) onto said outer tube, wherein the double jam nut comprises a test port (240) with a test port plug and a double jam seal (250);
- e. sliding a seal (262) over outer tube (210) on downhole end of double jam nut (245);
- f. inserting both inner and outer concentric tubes into said reducing union (310), passing said inner concentric tube completely through said reducing union, and terminating said outer tube inside said reducing union;
- g. threadably engaging double jam nut (245) into reducing union body (310), thus establishing compression seal (262) between the outside diameter of larger tube (210) and reducing union body (310);
- h. threadably engaging jam nut into the double jam nut while maintaining the ferrule between the jam nut and the double jam nut;
- i. sliding annular seal (272) over inner concentric tube;
- j. sliding threadably engageable smaller jam nut (365) over inner tube (370) and tighten into reducing union (310) to tightly squeeze seal (272) into the space between inner tube (370) and reducing union (310) body;
- k. installing upper test seal (320) between reducing union (310) body and compression nut (325);
- l. sliding compression nut (325) over end of modified reducing union (310);
- m. sliding metal seals (340) over the end of the modified reducing union (310) body;
- n. tightening the jam nut (365), compressing the ferrule, and deforming the ferrule into the double jam nut while deforming the ferrule into the tube creating a portion of a secondary seal;
- o. attaching the electrical and/or optical conductors inside the inner tube to instruments or other apparatuses to be contained in said instrument housing (390);
- p. installing a test seal (360) onto instrument housing (390);
- q. sliding instrument housing (390) over instruments and inner tube;
- r. engaging instrument housing (390) over the downhole end of modified reducing union (310) body and within compression nut portion (325);
- s. threadably engaging compression nut (325) over the instrument housing (390) and threadably engaging the double jam nut (245) into the female portion of reducing union (310) to deform the cone of the outer tube (210) while maintaining the ferrule between the jam nut and the double jam nut;
- t. removing the test port plugs of test ports (240) and (330);
- u. connecting a pressure generating device to each of the test ports;
- v. evaluating integrity of the primary seal and the secondary seal;
- w. bleeding the pressure;
- x. reinstalling the test port plugs;
- and
- y. running the complete testable instrument housing connection into the well.
24 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.