Methods of fabricating a thin-wall expandable well screen assembly
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsRalph H. Echols, Anthony D. Simone, Sam A. Hopkins
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Abstract
An expandable well screen has a desirable thin-wall construction together with a simplified fabrication method. In fabricating the screen, a flexible sheet of metal mesh filter media is diffusion bonded to an inner side of a perforated metal sheet which is then deformed to a tubular shape to form a filter structure having an outer perforated tubular shroud interiorly lined with the filter media. The tubular filter structure is telescoped onto a perforated base pipe and has its opposite ends sealingly secured thereto to complete the expandable well screen.
Claims23
A method of fabricating a filtration device, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a perforated plate member having a side;
- placing a sheet of filter media against the side of the perforated plate member in a parallel relationship therewith;
- and
- forming a tubular filter structure using the step of deforming the perforated plate member, and the sheet of filter media, to a tubular configuration in which the deformed perforated plate member circumscribes the deformed sheet of filter media.
A method of fabricating a well screen for use in a subterranean wellbore, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a perforated tubular base member;
- forming a tubular filter structure using the steps of:
- providing a perforated plate member,
- providing a sheet of filter media,
- placing the sheet of filter media against the perforated plate member in a side-to-side relationship therewith,
- deforming the perforated plate member, and the sheet of filter media, to a tubular configuration in which the deformed plate member circumscribes the deformed sheet of filter media, and
- retaining the deformed perforated plate member and sheet of filter media in their tubular configurations;
- telescoping the base member within the filter structure;
- and
- intersecuring the telescoped base member and filter structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.