ISOLATION DEVICES HAVING A NANOLAMINATE OF ANODE AND CATHODE

• US 20140284063A1
• Filed: 05/02/2014
• Published: 09/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Original Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services Incorporated (Halliburton Company)
• Inventors: FRIPP, Michael L., MURPHREE, Zachary R., WALTON, Zachary W., BAKER, Art
• Granted Patent: US 9,458,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 166/376
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 29/00 Cutting or destroying pipes, packers, plugs or wire lines, located in boreholes or wells, e.g. cutting of damaged pipes, of windows; Deforming of pipes in boreholes or wells; Reconditioning of well casings while in the ground
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/12 Packers; Plugs used for cementing E21B33/134, E21B33/16
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 33/1208 characterised by the construction of the sealing or packing means E21B33/1277 takes precedence

Abstract

A wellbore isolation device comprising: a nanolaminate, wherein the nanolaminate comprises two or more layers of a first material and two or more layers of a second material, wherein the first material and the second material form a galvanic couple, and wherein the first material is the anode and the second material is the cathode of the galvanic couple. A method of removing the wellbore isolation device comprises: contacting or allowing the wellbore isolation device to come in contact with an electrolyte; and causing or allowing at least a portion of the two or more layers of the first material to dissolve.

Claims

1. A method of removing a wellbore isolation device comprising:

contacting or allowing the wellbore isolation device to come in contact with an electrolyte,

wherein at least a portion of the wellbore isolation device comprises a nanolaminate, wherein the nanolaminate comprises two or more layers of a first material and two or more layers of a second material, wherein the first material and the second material form a galvanic couple and wherein the first material is the anode and the second material is the cathode of the galvanic couple; and

causing or allowing at least a portion of the two or more layers of the first material to dissolve.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte is selected from the group consisting of, solutions of an acid, a base, a salt, and combinations thereof.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the isolation device is capable of restricting or preventing fluid flow between a first wellbore interval and a second wellbore interval.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein isolation device is a ball, a ball seat, a plug, a bridge plug, a wiper plug, a frac plug, a packer, or a plug for a base pipe.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the isolation device is the mandrel of a packer or plug, a spacer ring, a slip, a wedge, a retainer ring, an extrusion limiter or backup shoe, a mule shoe, a ball, a flapper, a ball seat, a sleeve, or any other downhole tool or component of a downhole tool used for zonal isolation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first material and the second material are a non-metal, metal, or metal alloy, and wherein the metal or metal of the metal alloy is selected from the group consisting of magnesium, aluminum, zinc, cerium, beryllium, tin, iron, nickel, copper, titanium, oxides of any of the foregoing, and combinations thereof.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nanolaminate comprises a plurality of layers of the first material and a plurality of layers of the second material.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least the portion of the layers of the first material dissolve in a desired amount of time.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the desired amount of time is in the range from about 1 hour to about 2 months.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the thicknesses of the layers of the first and second materials are selected such that at least the portion of the layers of the first material dissolve in the desired amount of time.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nanolaminate further comprises at least one layer of a third material.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the layer of the third material is a bonding agent for bonding the layers of the first material to the layers of the second material.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the layer of the third material is a filler material.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of placing the isolation device into a portion of the wellbore, wherein the step of placing is performed prior to the step of contacting or allowing the isolation device to come in contact with the electrolyte.

15. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of removing all or a portion of the dissolved first material, wherein the step of removing is performed after the step of causing or allowing at least the portion of the layers of the first material to dissolve.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nanolaminate is a micro nanolaminate.

17. A wellbore isolation device comprising:

a nanolaminate, wherein the nanolaminate comprises two or more layers of a first material and two or more layers of a second material, wherein the first material and the second material form a galvanic couple, and wherein the first material is the anode and the second material is the cathode of the galvanic couple.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the nanolaminate comprises a plurality of layers of the first material and a plurality of layers of the second material.

19. The device according to claim 17, wherein at least the portion of the layers of the first material dissolve in a desired amount of time.

20. The device according to claim 19, wherein the desired amount of time is in the range from about 1 hour to about 2 months.

21. The device according to claim 19, wherein the thicknesses of the layers of the first and second materials are selected such that at least the portion of the layers of the first material dissolve in the desired amount of time.