Downhole sealing assembly with swellable seal
AssigneeSwellfix B.V.
InventorsGraeme McRobb, John Dewar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A downhole sealing assembly comprises a sleeve adapted to be mounted on a tubular body disposable within a bore, the sleeve (12) including a swellable material and defining a sealing arrangement comprising inner and outer seals. Swelling of the material radially extends the inner seal into contact with the tubular body and extends the outer seal into contact with the bore.
Claims39
A sealing assembly configured to be deployed downhole comprising a sleeve adapted to be mounted on a tubular body, both of which are disposable within a bore, the sleeve including a swellable sealing arrangement comprising a swellable material and inner and outer seals mounted, in a first configuration prior to swelling, on inner and outer surfaces of the sleeve respectively, wherein the inner seal extends along a partial axial length of the sleeve, and whereby the swellable sealing arrangement is configured such that, in a second configuration, swelling of the swellable material causes the inner seal to extend radially inwardly from the inner surface of the sleeve so as to make sealing contact with the mounted tubular body and establish a seal between the sleeve and the mounted tubular body, and further causes the outer seal to extend radially outwardly from the outer surface of the sleeve so as to make sealing contact with a wall of the bore and establish a seal between the sleeve and the wall of the bore.
A sealing assembly configured to be deployed downhole, the assembly comprising:
- a sleeve adapted to be mounted on a tubular body disposable within a bore;
- a swellable sealing arrangement comprising, in a first configuration, an outer seal mounted on an outer surface of the sleeve;
- and an inner seal mounted on an inner surface of the sleeve, wherein the inner seal extends along a partial axial length of the sleeve;
- and
- whereby the swellable sealing arrangement is configured such that, in a second configuration, swelling of the swellable material causes the inner seal to extend radially inwardly from the inner surface of the sleeve so as to make sealing contact with the mounted tubular body to establish a seal between the sleeve and the mounted tubular body, and further causes the outer seal to extend radially outwardly from the outer surface of the sleeve so as to make sealing contact with a wall of the bore and establish a seal between the sleeve and the wall of the bore.
A method of providing a downhole seal, the method comprising:
- mounting a sleeve over a tubular body, wherein the sleeve comprises a sealing arrangement having an outer seal mounted onto an outer surface of the sleeve and an inner seal mounted onto an inner surface of the sleeve facing the tubular body and the inner and outer seals comprise a swellable material, and wherein the inner seal extends along a partial axial length of the sleeve;
- and
- running the body and the sleeve mounted thereon downhole into a bore;
- activating the outer seal to swell to radially outwardly extend into sealing contact with a wall of the bore and to thereby form a seal between the sleeve and the wall of the bore;
- and
- activating the inner seal to swell to radially inwardly extend into sealing contact with the tubular body and to thereby form a seal between the sleeve and the body.
A sealing assembly configured to be deployed downhole comprising:
- a sleeve adapted to be mounted over an outer surface of a tubular body, wherein the tubular body and the mounted sleeve are configured to be disposed within a bore, wherein the sleeve having an inner surface which, when the sleeve is mounted over the tubular body, is configured to face the outer surface of the tubular body and be spaced apart therefrom, and the sleeve having an outer surface configured to face a wall of a bore;
- an inner swellable seal mounted to the inner surface of the sleeve, wherein the inner swellable seal extends along a partial axial length of the sleeve, and whereby the inner swellable seal has a thickness selected so that when the sleeve is mounted over the tubular body and the inner seal is exposed to an activator medium, the inner swellable seal is configured to swell radially inwardly from the inner surface of the sleeve on which it is mounted into sealing contact with the outer surface of the tubular body to thereby form a seal between the inner surface of the sleeve and the outer surface of the body;
- and
- an outer swellable seal mounted to the outer surface of the sleeve, the outer swellable seal having a thickness selected so that when the outer swellable seal is exposed to the activator medium, the outer swellable seal is configured to swell radially outwardly from the outer surface of the sleeve on which it is mounted into sealing contact with a wall of the bore to thereby form a seal between the outer surface of the sleeve and the wall of the bore.
A method of providing a seal configured to be deployed downhole, the method comprising:
- mounting a sleeve over an outer surface of a tubular body that is configured to be disposed within a bore, wherein the sleeve having an inner surface which, when the sleeve is mounted over the tubular body, is configured to face the outer surface of the tubular body and be spaced apart therefrom, and the sleeve having an outer surface configured to face a wall of a bore when both the body and the mounted sleeve are deployed downhole in the bore, the sleeve further comprising an inner swellable seal mounted to the inner surface of the sleeve wherein the inner seal extends along a partial axial length of the sleeve, the inner swellable seal having a thickness selected so that when the sleeve is mounted over the tubular body and the inner seal is exposed to an activator medium, the inner swellable seal is configured to swell radially inwardly from the inner surface of the sleeve into contact with the outer surface of the tubular body to thereby form a seal between the inner surface of the sleeve and the outer surface of the body, the sleeve further comprising an outer swellable seal mounted to the outer surface of the sleeve, the outer swellable seal having a thickness selected so that when the outer swellable seal is exposed to the activator medium, the outer swellable seal is configured to swell radially outwardly from the outer surface of the sleeve into contact with a wall of the bore to thereby form a seal between the outer surface of the sleeve and the wall of the bore;
- running the body with the sleeve mounted thereon downhole into a bore having a wall;
- exposing the outer seal to the activator medium to thereby cause the outer seal to swell radially outwardly into sealing contact with the wall of the bore to thereby form a seal between the outer surface of the sleeve and the wall of the bore;
- and
- exposing the inner seal to the activator medium to thereby cause the inner seal to swell radially inwardly into sealing contact with the outer surface of the body to thereby form a seal between the inner surface of the sleeve and the outer surface of the body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.