US-12618478-B2 - Flow control valve with erosion protection

US12618478B2US 12618478 B2US12618478 B2US 12618478B2US-12618478-B2

Abstract

The disclosure herein generally relates to flow Flow control valves for preventing, inhibiting, reducing the likelihood or extent of, and/or protect against erosion or components are provided. The flow control valves provided include various mechanisms to prevent, inhibit, reduce the likelihood or extent of, and/or protect against erosion of components of the flow control valve, for example, due to the effects of leakage flow.

Inventors

Brad Swenson
David Clayton
David Gomez Ramirez
Oguzhan Guven
Cash Elston
Ivan Caliu Candiani
Bernardo Machado

Assignees

SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240819

Claims (12)

1 . A flow control valve comprising: a housing having a first orifice and a second orifice each extending through the housing, the first orifice being axially spaced from the second orifice; a choke sleeve disposed within the housing, the choke sleeve having: an opening extending through the choke sleeve and aligned with the first orifice of the housing; and a plurality of choking orifices extending through the choke sleeve and spaced axially from the opening, wherein each choking orifice of the plurality of choking orifices is radially aligned with the second orifice of the housing; a piston disposed within the choke sleeve, the piston slidable relative to the choke sleeve to selectively cover and uncover one or more choking orifices of the plurality of choking orifices of the choke sleeve and the opening of the choke sleeve, wherein: in response to the piston being moved to uncover select choking orifices, fluid is permitted to flow from outside the housing, through the second orifice of the housing, and through the select choking orifices; in response to the piston being moved to further uncover the opening of the choke sleeve, fluid is permitted to flow from outside the housing, through the first orifice, and through the opening of the choke sleeve; and in a given position of the piston, fluid communication is established via the one or more choking orifices; and a leakage flow inhibition mechanism configured to prevent or restrict fluid flow through a leakage gap formed annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston, wherein the leakage flow inhibition mechanism includes a retractable sleeve disposed radially or annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston and in contact with an inner surface of the choke sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap, wherein the retractable sleeve includes a body and a nose extending axially from the body, the nose having a smaller thickness than a thickness of the body, wherein the body is disposed within a recess in an outer surface of the piston, and wherein the nose is disposed between the outer surface of the piston and the choke sleeve.
2 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein the leakage flow inhibition mechanism comprises one or more flow restriction rings disposed on or in the inner surface of the choke sleeve and in contact with an outer surface of the retractable sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap.
3 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein the leakage flow inhibition mechanism comprises one or more flow restriction rings disposed on or in an outer surface of the retractable sleeve and in contact with the inner surface of the choke sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap.
4 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein the piston comprises a main body and a retainer coupled to the main body.
5 . The flow control valve of claim 1 , wherein the leakage flow inhibition mechanism comprises a flow restriction ring disposed on an outer surface of the retractable sleeve and in contact with the inner surface of the choke sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap, the flow restriction ring comprising: a first C-ring; a second C-ring; and an inner ring disposed between the first and second C-rings.
6 . A choke for a flow control valve, the choke comprising: a housing having a first orifice and a second orifice each extending through the housing, the first orifice being axially spaced from the second orifice; a choke sleeve disposed within the housing, the choke sleeve having: an opening extending through the choke sleeve and aligned with the first orifice of the housing; and a plurality of choking orifices extending through the choke sleeve and spaced axially from the opening, wherein each choking orifice of the plurality of choking orifices is radially aligned with the second orifice of the housing; a piston disposed within the choke sleeve, the piston including a main body and a retainer coupled to an end of the main body, and the piston slidable relative to the choke sleeve to selectively cover and uncover one or more of the plurality of choking orifices of the choke sleeve and the opening of the choke sleeve, wherein: in response to the piston being moved to uncover select choking orifices, fluid is permitted to flow from outside the housing, through the second orifice of the housing, and through the select choking orifices; in response to the piston being moved to further uncover the opening of the choke sleeve, fluid is permitted to flow from outside the housing through the first orifice and the opening of the choke sleeve; and in a given position of the piston, fluid communication is established via the one or more of the plurality of choking orifices; a flow restriction ring positioned at least partially annularly between the piston and the choke sleeve and configured to prevent or restrict fluid flow through a leakage gap formed annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston, wherein the flow restriction ring is disposed about the retainer; and a gap radially between the flow restriction ring and an outer surface of the piston when the flow restriction ring is in a free state, wherein as the piston moves toward a closed position in use and the flow restriction ring moves adjacent to or in contact with a choke seal, the flow restriction ring collapses into the gap and reduces in diameter.
7 . The choke of claim 6 , further comprising the choke seal disposed within the housing, wherein in response to the piston being moved to the closed position, the piston seals against the choke seal.
8 . The choke of claim 7 , wherein the choke seal is metal.
9 . The choke of claim 6 , wherein the flow restriction ring is metal.
10 . The choke of claim 6 , wherein the retainer comprises a captive feature at an end of the retainer, the captive feature extending radially outwardly from and/or having a greater outer diameter than the main body of the piston, and wherein the flow restriction ring is positioned axially between the captive feature and an end of the main body of the piston.
11 . The choke of claim 6 , the flow restriction ring comprising: a first C-ring; a second C-ring; and an inner ring disposed between the first and second C-rings, the inner ring comprising a first anti-rotation key extending into a gap in the first C-ring and a second anti-rotation key extending into a gap in the second C-ring.
12 . A method of operating a flow control valve, the flow control valve comprising a housing having a first orifice and a second orifice each extending through the housing, the first orifice being axially spaced from the second orifice, a choke sleeve disposed within the housing, the choke sleeve having an opening extending through the choke sleeve and aligned with the first orifice of the housing and a plurality of choking orifices extending through the choke sleeve and spaced axially from the opening, wherein each choking orifice of the plurality of choking orifices is radially aligned with the second orifice of the housing, and a piston disposed within the choke sleeve, the piston slidable relative to the choke sleeve, and an internal surface of the piston at least partially defining a flow passage through the flow control valve, the method comprising: sliding the piston relative to the choke sleeve to selectively uncover one or more select choking orifices of the plurality of choking orifices of the choke sleeve, thereby permitting fluid communication between an outside of the housing and the flow passage through the second orifice of the housing and the select choking orifices; inhibiting leakage flow through a leakage gap formed annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston, wherein inhibiting leakage flow through the leakage gap includes slowing a flow rate of the leakage flow by passing the leakage flow through narrow flow passages formed between the piston and a flow restriction ring disposed about the piston and in contact with the choke sleeve; and collapsing the flow restriction ring to reduce a diameter of the flow restriction ring as the piston slides toward a closed position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57. The present application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 17/758,998 filed Jul. 18, 2022, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 12,066,122, which is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/US2021/014159, filed Jan. 20, 2021, which claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/963,361, filed Jan. 20, 2020, the entirety of each of which is incorporated by reference herein and should be considered part of this specification. BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure generally relates to flow control valves, and more particularly to systems and methods for preventing or reducing erosion of flow control valves. Description of the Related Art Oil and gas wells can include one or more downhole flow control valves (FCVs). FCVs can control the flow of fluid (e.g., hydrocarbons) from the exterior of the FCV to the interior of the FCV and into the production tubing string and/or the flow of fluid (e.g., injection fluid) from the interior of the FCV to the exterior of the FCV. FCVs typically include a choke that is adjustable to adjust fluid flow through the valve. SUMMARY The present disclosure describes new concepts for the choking mechanism of a flow control valve to advantageously help prevent, inhibit, reduce the likelihood or extent of, and/or protect against erosion of components of the flow control valve, for example, due to the effects of leakage flow. In some configurations, the present disclosure provides a mechanism to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap. In some configurations, a flow control valve includes a housing having at least one orifice; a choke sleeve disposed within the housing, the choke sleeve having a plurality of choking orifices aligned, e.g., radially and/or axially aligned, with the orifice of the housing; a piston disposed within the choke sleeve, the piston slidable relative to the choke sleeve to selectively cover and uncover one or more of the choking orifices of the choke sleeve, wherein when the piston is moved to uncover select choking orifices, fluid can flow from outside the housing, through the orifice of the housing, and through the select choking orifices; and a leakage flow inhibition mechanism configured to prevent or restrict fluid flow through a leakage gap formed annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston. The leakage flow inhibition mechanism can include one or more flow restriction rings disposed on or in an inner surface of the choke sleeve and in contact with an outer surface of the piston to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap. The leakage flow inhibition mechanism can include one or more flow restriction rings disposed on or in an outer surface of the piston and in contact with an inner surface of the choke sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap. The leakage flow inhibition mechanism can include a retractable sleeve disposed radially or annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston and in contact with an inner surface of the choke sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap. The leakage flow inhibition mechanism can include a flow restriction ring disposed on an outer surface of the piston and in contact with an inner surface of the choke sleeve to prevent or inhibit fluid flow through the leakage gap, the flow restriction ring comprising a first C-ring; a second C-ring; and an inner ring disposed between the first and second C-rings. The piston can include a main body and a retainer coupled to the main body. The flow restriction ring can be disposed on an outer surface of the retainer. In some configurations, a choke for a flow control valve includes a housing having at least one orifice; a choke sleeve disposed within the housing, the choke sleeve having a plurality of choking orifices aligned, e.g., axially and/or radially aligned, with the orifice of the housing; a piston disposed within the choke sleeve, the piston slidable relative to the choke sleeve to selectively cover and uncover one or more of the choking orifices of the choke sleeve, wherein when the piston is moved to uncover select choking orifices, fluid can flow from outside the housing, through the orifice of the housing, and through the select choking orifices; and a flow restriction ring positioned at least partially annularly between the piston and the choke sleeve and configured to prevent or restrict fluid flow through a leakage gap formed annularly between the choke sleeve and the piston. The choke can further include a choke seal disposed within the housing, wherein when the piston is moved to a closed position, the piston seals against the choke seal. The choke seal can be metal. The flow restriction ring can be m