Fracturing apparatus
AssigneeOrbital ATK, Inc.
InventorsJoseph A. Alifano, Daniel Tilmont
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fracturing apparatus in a wellbore, having a housing with at least one injection port; an injection fluid supply interface to provide injection fluid for the fracturing apparatus; and at least one high pressure combustor received within the housing. The housing further includes a combustible medium interface that is in fluid communication with the at least one high pressure combustor, which is configured and arranged to provide repeated ignition cycles that include a combustion cycle that ignites the combustible medium and a fuel delivery cycle that delivers the combustible medium to the combustor, wherein pressure resulting from the combustion cycle forces the injection fluid out an injection port to cause fracturing in a portion of the earth around the wellbore.
Claims20
A fracturing apparatus comprising:
- a housing configured to be positioned down a wellbore and having at least one injection port at a distal end thereof;
- an injection fluid supply interface operably coupled to the housing to provide injection fluid for the fracturing apparatus to an interior of the housing;
- and
- at least one high pressure combustor received within the housing, the housing having a combustible medium interface in fluid communication with the at least one high pressure combustor, the at least one high pressure combustor configured and arranged to provide repeated ignition cycles, each ignition cycle including a fuel delivery cycle to deliver a combustible medium to the combustor and a combustion cycle to ignite the delivered combustible medium to generate pressure resulting from combustion of the combustible medium during the combustion cycle to force the injection fluid out the at least one injection port.
A fracturing apparatus comprising:
- a housing configured to be positioned down a wellbore, the housing having an injection fluid supply interface and a combustible medium interface proximate an end of the housing, a plurality of spaced injection ports proximate an end of the housing opposite the injection fluid supply interface and the combustible medium interface, and an injection volume holding chamber proximate the plurality of injection ports;
- the injection fluid supply interface in communication with the injection volume holding chamber through an injection fluid conduit;
- and
- at least one high pressure combustor located within the housing in communication with the combustible medium interface, the at least one high pressure combustor configured and arranged to provide repeated ignition cycles, each ignition cycle including a fuel delivery cycle to deliver a combustible medium to the at least one high pressure combustor and a combustion cycle to ignite the combustible medium and generate pressure resulting to force the injection fluid out of the injection volume holding chamber through the plurality of injection ports.
A method of downhole fracturing, the method comprising:
- cyclically combusting a combustible medium within a combustor located in a housing disposed in a well bore to pressurize an injection fluid contained within the housing;
- and
- cyclically exhausting the pressurized injection fluid from the housing into the wellbore in communication with a subterranean formation to cause micro fracturing therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.