CN-121986206-A - Expandable liner hanger assembly with anchor key in dovetail groove on hanger body

CN121986206ACN 121986206 ACN121986206 ACN 121986206ACN-121986206-A

Abstract

An expandable liner hanger assembly is disclosed that may include a liner hanger body having a radially expandable tubular. The expandable liner hanger assembly may further include a groove formed in a radially outer surface of the liner hanger body, the groove configured to extend circumferentially around the liner hanger body. Additionally, the expandable liner hanger assembly may include at least one anchor key having a base portion disposed within the recess. Further, the engagement end of the at least one anchor key may extend radially outwardly from the recess. The engagement end is configured to engage a casing string to anchor into the casing string in response to expansion of the liner hanger body.

Inventors

M. N.A. Yuhari
Y.ZHAO
S. R. mcdoughs
Little smooth A clock
D. C. Newton

Assignees

哈利伯顿能源服务公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20241014
Priority Date: 20241011

Claims (20)

1. An expandable liner hanger assembly, comprising: a liner hanger body, wherein the liner hanger body comprises a radially expandable tubular; a groove formed in a radially outer surface of the liner hanger body, wherein the groove is configured to extend circumferentially around the liner hanger body, and At least one anchor key having a base portion disposed within the recess, wherein an engagement end of the at least one anchor key extends radially outward from the recess, wherein the engagement end is configured to engage a casing string to anchor into the casing string in response to expansion of the liner hanger body.
2. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the engagement end of the at least one anchor key extends radially outwardly from the recess via a key gap formed between an upper recess edge and a lower recess edge, and wherein at least a portion of the base portion of the at least one anchor key has a width greater than the key gap to hold the at least one anchor key and the recess together.
3. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the recess comprises a dovetail groove.
4. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the liner hanger body comprises a circumferential recessed land protruding radially outwardly from the radially outer surface of the liner hanger body, and wherein the groove is formed in the circumferential recessed land.
5. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 4 further comprising a spike ridge projecting radially outwardly from the radially outer surface of the liner hanger body, wherein the spike ridge extends circumferentially around the liner hanger body, wherein the spike ridge is axially offset from the circumferential groove ridge, and wherein the spike ridge is configured to engage the casing string in response to expansion of the liner hanger body to help anchor the liner hanger body to the casing string.
6. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein a cross-section of the spike ridge tapers in a radially outward direction to form a tip at a radially outer end of the spike ridge, and wherein the tip is configured to engage the casing string.
7. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein the spike ridge extends radially outwardly farther than a radially outer end of the circumferential groove ridge relative to the liner hanger body.
8. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 5 wherein the at least one anchor key extends radially outwardly farther than the spike ridge.
9. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the at least one anchor key comprises a plurality of anchor keys, wherein each anchor key is disposed within the recess, and wherein the anchor keys are positioned equidistant from each other within the recess.
10. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 9 wherein each of the plurality of anchor keys is configured to extend circumferentially between five and twenty degrees around a circumference of the liner hanger body.
11. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 further comprising a second groove formed in the radially outer surface of the liner hanger body, wherein the second groove is configured to extend circumferentially around the liner hanger body, and wherein the at least one anchor key comprises a first set of discrete anchor keys disposed with the groove and a second set of discrete anchor keys disposed within the second groove.
12. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 further comprising an inlet slot formed along the groove, wherein the inlet slot has a greater width than the base portion of the at least one anchor key, wherein the inlet slot is configured to provide a passageway for inserting the at least one anchor key into the groove.
13. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 12 further comprising a retainer system configured to block at least a portion of the inlet slot to restrict movement of the at least one anchor key through the inlet slot.
14. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the at least one anchor key has a minimum yield strength of at least one thousand two hundred ten megapascals (MPa).
15. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the at least one anchor key is configured to retract the casing string to form a recess corresponding to the at least one anchor key, and wherein an interface between the at least one anchor key and the recess formed in the casing string is configured to anchor the liner hanger to the casing string.
16. An expandable liner hanger assembly, comprising: a liner hanger body, wherein the liner hanger body comprises a radially expandable tubular; a circumferential groove ridge extending radially outwardly from a radially outer surface of the liner hanger body; a dovetail groove formed in the circumferential recessed land, wherein the dovetail groove is configured to extend circumferentially around the liner hanger body; At least one anchor key having a base portion disposed within the dovetail slot, wherein an engagement end of the at least one anchor key extends radially outward from the dovetail slot, wherein the engagement end is configured to engage a casing string to anchor into the casing string in response to expansion of the liner hanger body; An inlet slot formed along the dovetail slot, wherein the inlet slot has a greater width than the base portion of the at least one anchor key, wherein the inlet slot is configured to provide a passage for inserting the at least one anchor key into the dovetail slot, and A retainer system having a retaining feature securable over at least a portion of the inlet slot to constrain movement of the at least one anchor key through the inlet slot.
17. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 16 further comprising a spike ridge projecting radially outwardly from the radially outer surface of the liner hanger body, wherein the spike ridge extends circumferentially around the liner hanger body, wherein the spike ridge is axially offset from the circumferential groove ridge, wherein the spike ridge is configured to engage the casing string in response to expansion of the liner hanger body to help anchor the liner hanger body to the casing string, and wherein the spike ridge extends radially outwardly farther than a radially outer end of the circumferential groove ridge relative to the liner hanger body.
18. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 16 wherein the retention feature comprises a retention block securable within at least a portion of the inlet slot via a fastener.
19. The expandable liner hanger assembly of claim 16 wherein the at least one anchor key comprises a plurality of anchor keys, wherein each anchor key is disposed within the dovetail slot, and wherein the anchor keys are positioned equidistant from each other within the dovetail slot.
20. A method, comprising: Inserting an expandable liner hanger assembly into a wellbore, wherein the expandable liner hanger assembly comprises a liner hanger body, wherein the liner hanger body comprises a recess formed in a radially outer surface of the liner hanger body and at least one anchor key disposed within the recess, wherein the recess is configured to extend circumferentially around the liner hanger body, wherein a base portion of the at least one anchor key is disposed within the recess, and wherein an engagement end of the at least one anchor key extends radially outward from the recess, and Expanding the liner hanger body to drive the at least one anchor key to engage a casing string disposed within the wellbore and anchor the expandable liner hanger assembly to the casing string.

Description

Expandable liner hanger assembly with anchor key in dovetail groove on hanger body Background During wellbore operations, the liner is typically "hung" from the casing such that the liner supports the extension string below it. As used herein, "string" refers to a series of connected pipe sections, casing sections, joints, screens, blind plates, crossover tools, downhole tools, etc., inserted into a wellbore, whether for drilling, workover, production, injection, completion, or other processes. The tubing string may be run into and out of the casing, and similarly, the tubing string may be run into an uncased wellbore or section of wellbore. Further, in many cases, the tool may be run on a wireline or coiled tubing, rather than on a tubing string, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Expandable liner hangers are commonly used to secure liner within a previously positioned wellbore tubular (e.g., casing or liner string). The expandable liner hanger may be "set" by expanding the liner hanger radially outwardly into gripping and sealing contact with the wellbore tubular. For example, an expandable liner hanger may be expanded by driving an expansion cone, wedge, or "pig" through the liner hanger using hydraulic pressure. Other methods may be used such as mechanical swaging, explosive expansion, memory metal expansion, expandable material expansion, electromagnetic force driven expansion, and the like. The expansion process may typically be performed by a setting tool for delivering the liner hanger into the wellbore. The setting tool may be interconnected between a working string (e.g., a string of drill pipe or other segmented or continuous tubular elements) and a liner hanger. The setting tool may expand the liner hanger into anchoring and sealing engagement with the casing. Drawings These drawings illustrate certain aspects of some of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not to be considered limiting or limiting methods. Fig. 1 illustrates an elevation view of a wellbore completion system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an expandable liner hanger assembly of a wellbore completion system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a liner hanger body having at least one anchor key and at least one spike ridge in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of at least one anchor key engaged with a casing string in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a liner hanger body with grooves and corresponding anchor keys of various shapes in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a plurality of anchor keys disposed within corresponding grooves of a liner hanger body in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an inlet slot formed in a liner hanger body in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a retainer system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed Description An expandable liner hanger assembly is disclosed herein, and more particularly, an expandable liner hanger assembly is disclosed that mounts an anchor key (e.g., an anchor key) into a dovetail groove formed in a radially outer surface of a liner hanger body of the expandable liner hanger assembly. An anchor key may be used in combination with a spike ridge protruding from the radially outer surface of the liner hanger body to anchor the expandable liner hanger assembly to the casing string. That is, the anchor key and/or the spike ridge may be configured to engage the casing string in response to expansion of the liner hanger body to anchor the expandable liner hanger assembly to the casing string. Fig. 1 illustrates an elevation view of a wellbore completion system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, the wellbore completion system 100 may include a casing 102 (e.g., a casing string) disposed within a wellbore (e.g., wellbore 104). In particular, casing 102 may be lowered into the well to a desired location during a completion operation. Once in place, sleeve 102 may be consolidated or otherwise secured in place. Casing 102 may support surrounding downhole formation 118 during production operations. Further, casing 102 may provide a flow path for produced fluids (e.g., hydrocarbons) along wellbore 104. Further, as shown, the liner 106 may be secured to the downhole end 108 of the casing 102 via an expandable liner hanger assembly (e.g., liner hanger 110). In particular, the liner 106 may be secured to a liner hanger 110, and the liner hanger 110 may be anchored to the downhole end 108 of the casing 102. During installation, a liner han