CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/380241 , which was filed on October 20, 2022 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

[0002] This patent application relates to equipment for hydrocarbon prospecting and production. Specifically, tools for controlling pressure during drilling operations are disclosed with components that are moved in an axial direction by an electric motor.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Oil and gas drilling equipment often uses equipment with components that must be moved in an axial direction of the drill string or well. One such tool is a blowout preventer, which is a valve assembly for restricting or stopping flow of fluid from a hydrocarbon well by remote operation. The valve assembly has an actuator that is usually manipulated using hydraulic thrusters, which are large and expensive. Smaller, more cost effective means of operating tools such as blowout preventers is needed.

SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments described herein provide a well valve assembly, comprising a housing; a component disposed within the housing, the component having a circular circumference and an opening for flowing well fluid through the component, the component having an outer wall with a circumferential thread on the outer wall; a rotor disposed within the housing and having a thread for engaging with the circumferential thread on the outer wall to provide axial force on the component when the rotor rotates; an electric motor outside the housing; and a transmission assembly coupling the electric motor to the rotor to transmit rotation energized by the electric motor to the rotor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Fig. 1 is a partial cutaway view of an electrically-actuated well valve assembly, according to one embodiment.

[0006] Fig. 2 is a partial elevation of an electrically-actuated well valve assembly, according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0007] The well valve assemblies described herein use electric drive mechanisms, rather than hydraulic mechanisms, to open and close. As mentioned above, such valve assemblies can be used in blowout preventers for hydrocarbon wells. Fig. 1 is a partial cutaway view of an electrically-actuated well valve assembly 100 according to one embodiment. The well valve assembly 100 comprises a housing 102 and an end closure cap 104 to confine the operative components of the well valve assembly 100. The housing 102 is a cylindrical body, and the cap 104 generally attaches to, or at, an end of the housing 102. The housing 102 has a body portion 106 which has an inner cylindrical axial passage 108 to permit fluid flow through the body portion 106 and through the valve assembly 100. The body portion 106 has a first portion 110 at a first axial location adjacent to the cap 104 and a second portion 112 at a second axial location distal to the cap 104. The first portion 110 has a first outer radius and the second portion 112 has a second outer radius, where the first outer radius is smaller than the second outer radius, the first portion 110 and second portion 112 joining at a ledge 114.

[0008] The housing 102 has an inner wall 116 that extends in an axial direction from the ledge 114, and that together with the first portion 110 defines an annular receptacle 118. A pushing member 120 is a component disposed in the annular receptacle 118. The pushing member 120 is a ring, or a ring-like body, that can move in an axial direction within the receptacle 118. A packer 125 is disposed within the housing 102 between an interior end of the passage 108, within the housing 102, and the cap 104. The cap 104 has a disk-like portion 176 and an annular portion 178 that extends from a periphery of the disk-like portion 176. The annular portion 178 defines a recess 180 of the cap 104. The disk-like portion 176 has an opening 177 that registers with the passage 108 to provide fluid flow through the cap 104. [0009] The packer 125 has an outer wall member 127 that is cylindrical in shape and has an inner surface 129 with a plurality of captures 133, each capture 133 receiving an iris member 123, such that each iris member 123 is partially embedded in the inner surface 129 of the outer wall member 127. The outer wall member 127 is made of a flexible, resilient material, such as an elastomeric material, and is configured, with the iris members 123, to be compressible so that radial compression of the compressible outer wall member 127 moves the iris members 123 radially inward to form a flow barrier, and so that relaxation of the radial compression on the outer wall member 127 allows the outer wall member 127 to expand, moving the iris members 123 radially outward to open the passage 108 for fluid flow.

[0010] A seal member 122 is disposed between an end of the pushing member 120 and the cap 104, in the axial direction of the assembly 100, so that axial movement of the pushing member 120 compresses the seal member 122 between the end of the pushing member 120 and the cap 104. The pushing member 120 can be a piston. The seal member 122 is disposed in contact with the cap 104 in the axial direction and also in an outward radial direction such that an outer radial surface of the seal member 122 is also in contact with an inner radial wall of the cap 104. The seal member 122 is also in contact with the outer wall member 127 of the packer 125 in an inward radial direction. Movement of the pushing member 120 toward the cap 104 thus squeezes the seal member 122 between the pushing member 120 and the cap 104 in the axial direction, and between the cap 104 and the outer wall member 127 of the packer 125 in the radial direction. Because the only freedom of movement is toward the inward radial direction, movement of the pushing member 120 causes the seal member 122 to deform in the inward radial direction. The seal member 122 thus compresses the outer wall member 127 radially inward, moving the iris members 123 radially inward to obstruct the passage 108 and stop fluid flow through the valve assembly 100.

[0011] The packer 125 and seal member 122 define a packing assembly 128 for the valve assembly 100 that is operated by movement of the pushing member 120 in the axial direction. Movement of the pushing member 120 toward the cap 104 causes the packing assembly 128 to close, and movement of the pushing member 120 away from the cap 104 causes the packing assembly 128 to open. The packing assembly 128 is disposed between the pushing member 120 and the cap 104 and is received within the recess 180 of the cap 104. The annular portion 178 of the cap extends around the seal member 122 of the packing assembly 128 to provide support for the packing assembly 128. The disk-like portion 176 of the cap 104 contacts the seal member 122 at one or more surfaces transverse and/or perpendicular to the axial direction of the well valve assembly 100. The annular portion 178 of the cap contacts the seal member 122 at an outer radius of the seal member 122.

[0012] The pushing member 120 has an outer wall 124, at least a portion of which is provided with a circumferential thread 126 formed in the outer wall 124. The circumferential thread 126 is configured to provide axial engagement force to the pushing member 120 from a threaded actuator engaged with the circumferential thread 126. The threaded actuator is a body having one or more threads that engage with the circumferential thread 126, and that is rotated by an external electric motor.

[0013] The housing 102 also has an outer wall 172 that extends the axial length of the assembly 100, receives the cap 104 at a first end thereof and, together with the inner wall 116, defines one or more cavities 170 between the inner wall 116 and the outer wall 172. There can be one annular cavity 170 that extends partially or completely around the circumference of the assembly 100, or there can be multiple cavities 170, which may be bores, partial annuli, or any combination thereof. The cavities 170 house a transmission assembly described below.

[0014] In Fig. 1 , a ring actuator 131 acts as the threaded actuator. The ring actuator 131 extends circumferentially around the pushing member 120, and has an inner circumferential thread 132 at an inner surface 134 thereof, to engage with the outer circumferential thread 126 of the pushing member 120. An outer surface 136 of the ring actuator 131 has teeth 138 oriented in the axial direction of the valve assembly 100 to provide a geared drive capability to rotate the ring actuator 131 about a central axis of the valve assembly 100. A roller 140 has a gear 142 at a first end 144 with teeth 146 oriented in the axial direction to engage with the teeth 138 of the ring actuator 131 to provide rotational motion to the ring actuator 131. The roller 140 extends in the axial direction beside the pushing member 120 between the inner wall 116 and the outer wall 172 of the housing 102. The roller 140 is rotatably disposed on a guide post or axle (not shown) fastened into the cap 104 to prevent unwanted motion of the roller 140 in an axial, radial, or circumferential direction. The roller 140 has a beveled head 148 at a second end 150 thereof with teeth (not shown) provided on the beveled edge of the beveled head 148 for engagement with a bevel gear 152. The bevel gear 152 is integrated with the shaft of an electric motor 154. The shaft extends in a linear direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the roller 140. The bevel gear 152 is driven by the electric motor 154. The roller 140 may be a jack shaft or a counter shaft.

[0015] The roller 140 is disposed in the cavity 170 of the housing 102 defined between the inner wall 116 and the outer wall 172 of the housing 102. The cavity 170 can be an axially oriented space that does not extend circumferentially around the housing 102, or the cavity 170 can be an annular space defined partially or completely around the housing 102 along the outer wall 172 thereof. The shaft of the electric motor 154 is disposed within the cavity 170, with the roller 140, while the electric motor 154 itself is external to the housing 102, so the shaft penetrates the outer wall 172 of the housing 102.

[0016] In operation, the electric motor 154 turns the bevel gear 152 which, by engagement with the beveled head 148 rotates the roller 140 and the gear 142. The gear 142, by engagement with the teeth 138 of the ring actuator 131 , rotates the ring actuator 131. The roller 140 and the bevel gear 152 thus define a transmission assembly that transmits rotational energy from the electric motor 154 to the ring actuator 131. The threaded engagement of the ring actuator 131 with the pushing member 120 exerts an axial force on the pushing member 120, causing the pushing member 120 to move in the axial direction, thus causing the packing assembly 128 to open or close. One or more guide members 156 are provided, each disposed in a slot 158 formed in a surface 160 of the first portion 110 at the outer radius thereof and extending in the axial direction, to guide motion of the pushing member 120. The guide members 156 are disposed between the pushing member 120 and the first portion 110 of the body portion 106, resting on the ledge 114, and function to constrain motion of the pushing member 120 in the axial direction and prevent unwanted lateral motion or rotation of the pushing member 120 in a radial direction. The pushing member 120 has at least one inner radial extension 162 that extends inward from an inner wall 164 of the pushing member 120 at the end of the pushing member 120 that engages with the seal member 122. The inner radial extension 162 can contact an end of a corresponding guide member 156 such that the guide member 156 constrains motion of the pushing member 120 in the axial direction. The inner wall 164 is in sliding contact with an outward facing surface 166 of the guide member 156 to constrain motion of the pushing member 120 in the radial direction.

[0017] As described above, when the pushing member 120 is moved axially toward the cap 104, the seal member 122 is deformed radially inward, compressing the outer wall member 127 and moving the iris members 123 radially inward, closing the packing assembly and stopping fluid flow through the valve assembly 100. When the pushing member 120 is moved axially away from the cap 104, by reverse operation of the electric motor 154, deformation of the seal member 122 relaxes, decompressing the outer wall member 127 and moving the iris members 123 radially outward, opening the packing assembly and opening the passage 108 for fluid flow through the valve assembly 100 and the opening 177 of the cap 104.

[0018] Two bevel gear assemblies, each driven by an external electric motor, are shown in Fig. 1 , for tandem operation to reduce the load experienced by each assembly. One such bevel gear assembly, appropriately sized and powered, could be used, or more than two such assemblies, for example three, four, or five bevel gear assemblies, each driven by an external electric motor, could be used. Thus, any reasonable number of external electric motors can be used to drive the ring actuator 131 .

[0019] In other embodiments, the external electric motors 154 can be aligned in the axial direction with a roller similar to the roller 140. In such embodiments, however, the roller would not have a beveled head with teeth and the shaft of the electric motor would not have a bevel gear. In such cases, the roller could be bolted to the shaft of the electric motor 154 at a flange, or the roller could be a simple extension of the shaft of the electric motor 154, such that the shaft of the electric motor 154 directly drives the gear 142. Other embodiments could use a torque multiplier, such as a gearbox, as part of the transmission assembly. In such embodiments, orientation of the electric motor 154 and the roller 140, in whatever form, could be tailored to any space constraints that might limit the ways the assembly 100 can be deployed.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a partial elevation of an electrically-actuated well valve assembly 200, according to another embodiment. The valve assembly 200 uses a housing 201 (shown in phantom for clarity) similar in many respects to the housing 102 of the assembly 100 of Fig. 1 , and the same cap 104, with the same pushing member (not shown), one or more guide members (not shown), and packing assembly (not shown). The valve assembly 200 uses a ring actuator 202, with inner circumferential thread (not shown) like that of the ring actuator 131 of Fig. 1 . The ring actuator 202 has an external circumferential engagement structure 204, instead of the axial teeth 138, that engages with a worm gear 206 driven by the external electric motor 154. The engagement structure 204 can be grooves, ridges, teeth, threads, or any suitable structure for engaging with the worm gear 206 to cause axial movement of the pushing member 120. In operation, rotation of the worm gear 206 by the electric motor 154 causes rotation of the ring actuator 202 by engagement of the worm gear 206 with the engagement structure 204. Rotation of the ring actuator 202 causes axial displacement of the pushing member 120 by threaded engagement of the circumferential threads 126 of the pushing member 120 with the inner circumferential threads of the ring actuator 202.

[0021] In general, the apparatus described herein can be used for any well tool, above or below ground, with a component that moves in an axial direction of the drilling assembly, the production assembly, or the well. The component can be provided with a circumferential thread like the thread 126 on an outer circumferential wall or portion of the component. A threaded rotor of the types described herein, or any other suitable type, can be engaged with the circumferential thread of the component to provide axial force on the component when the rotor rotates. An electric motor external to a housing of the tool can be coupled to the rotor by a convenient transmission assembly to transmit rotation energized by the electric motor to the rotor. Some examples of well or drilling-related applications include collet connectors where a collet is moved in the axial direction to engage a collet connection, and active drill pipe seals.

[0022] The preceding description has been presented with reference to present embodiments. Persons skilled in the art and technology to which this disclosure pertains will appreciate that alterations and changes in the described structures and methods of operation can be practiced without meaningfully departing from the principle, and scope of this present disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description should not be read as pertaining only to the precise structures described and shown in the accompanying drawings, but rather should be read as consistent with and as support for the following claims, which are to have their fullest and fairest scope.