Abstract
Though a relatively new development, swelling elastomers are now widely used in various difficult situations in the oil and gas industry such as water shutoff and other types of zonal isolation. Swell packers were initially used for repair of old and damaged wells, but they are now increasingly used for higher productivity and profitability through developments like slim well design and cementless completions. Current work employs finite element simulation to study tubular expansion and swelling elastomer packers in different downhole petroleum applications. This is the first study of its kind, investigating seal behavior based on material properties of expandable tubular and different swelling elastomers used in actual oil wells. Material properties of the un-expanded tubular and un-swelled elastomers are obtained through a series of tensile tests. Sealing pressure at the contact surface between elastomer and formation is studied for different parameters (elastomer material, tubular expansion ratio, seal length and thickness, formation type, etc). Higher values of elastomer stiffness, tubular expansion, and seal thickness result in higher seal contact pressure. Higher sealing pressure is also noted in the case when swell packer is expanding against a rigid rock formation. These predictions can be used for performance analysis and design improvement of solid expandable tubulars and swelling elastomer applications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Materials Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2014, MS and T 2014 |
| Publisher | Association for Iron and Steel Technology, AISTECH |
| Pages | 2051-2057 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Volume | 3 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781634397230 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
| Event | Materials Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2014, MS and T 2014 - Pittsburgh, United States Duration: Oct 12 2014 → Oct 16 2014 |
Other
| Other | Materials Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2014, MS and T 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| City | Pittsburgh |
| Period | 10/12/14 → 10/16/14 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Contact pressure
- Finite element simulation
- Seal behavior
- Swelling elastomer
- Tubular expansion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Materials Science(all)
Cite this
Numerical simulation of swelling elastomer seals in tubular expansion. / Qamar, S. Z.; Pervez, T.
Materials Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2014, MS and T 2014. Vol. 3 Association for Iron and Steel Technology, AISTECH, 2014. p. 2051-2057.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
}
TY - GEN
T1 - Numerical simulation of swelling elastomer seals in tubular expansion
AU - Qamar, S. Z.
AU - Pervez, T.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Though a relatively new development, swelling elastomers are now widely used in various difficult situations in the oil and gas industry such as water shutoff and other types of zonal isolation. Swell packers were initially used for repair of old and damaged wells, but they are now increasingly used for higher productivity and profitability through developments like slim well design and cementless completions. Current work employs finite element simulation to study tubular expansion and swelling elastomer packers in different downhole petroleum applications. This is the first study of its kind, investigating seal behavior based on material properties of expandable tubular and different swelling elastomers used in actual oil wells. Material properties of the un-expanded tubular and un-swelled elastomers are obtained through a series of tensile tests. Sealing pressure at the contact surface between elastomer and formation is studied for different parameters (elastomer material, tubular expansion ratio, seal length and thickness, formation type, etc). Higher values of elastomer stiffness, tubular expansion, and seal thickness result in higher seal contact pressure. Higher sealing pressure is also noted in the case when swell packer is expanding against a rigid rock formation. These predictions can be used for performance analysis and design improvement of solid expandable tubulars and swelling elastomer applications.
AB - Though a relatively new development, swelling elastomers are now widely used in various difficult situations in the oil and gas industry such as water shutoff and other types of zonal isolation. Swell packers were initially used for repair of old and damaged wells, but they are now increasingly used for higher productivity and profitability through developments like slim well design and cementless completions. Current work employs finite element simulation to study tubular expansion and swelling elastomer packers in different downhole petroleum applications. This is the first study of its kind, investigating seal behavior based on material properties of expandable tubular and different swelling elastomers used in actual oil wells. Material properties of the un-expanded tubular and un-swelled elastomers are obtained through a series of tensile tests. Sealing pressure at the contact surface between elastomer and formation is studied for different parameters (elastomer material, tubular expansion ratio, seal length and thickness, formation type, etc). Higher values of elastomer stiffness, tubular expansion, and seal thickness result in higher seal contact pressure. Higher sealing pressure is also noted in the case when swell packer is expanding against a rigid rock formation. These predictions can be used for performance analysis and design improvement of solid expandable tubulars and swelling elastomer applications.
KW - Contact pressure
KW - Finite element simulation
KW - Seal behavior
KW - Swelling elastomer
KW - Tubular expansion
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84925641282&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84925641282&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84925641282
SN - 9781634397230
VL - 3
SP - 2051
EP - 2057
BT - Materials Science and Technology Conference and Exhibition 2014, MS and T 2014
PB - Association for Iron and Steel Technology, AISTECH
ER -