Drill cuttings agitator
In one embodiment, the drill cuttings agitator includes an elastomeric sleeve and a plurality of agitator members extending radially from the elastomeric sleeve.
1 . A drill cuttings agitator for agitating drill cuttings in a borehole, the drill cuttings agitator comprising:
an elastomeric sleeve; and
one or more agitator members extending radially from the elastomeric sleeve,
wherein the drill cuttings agitator is reconfigurable between a first configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve has a first inner diameter and a second configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve has a second, larger, inner diameter, the elastomeric sleeve being elastically deformable so as to facilitate reconfiguration of the drill cuttings agitator between the first configuration and the second configuration,
wherein the elastomeric sleeve is fully annular in the first configuration and in the second configuration such that the elastomeric sleeve is configured to extend fully circumferentially around an outside of a tubular body in both the first configuration and in the second configuration,
wherein reconfiguration of the drill cuttings agitator between the first configuration and the second configuration facilitates location of the drill cuttings agitator on the tubular body,
wherein the second configuration is configured to permit the drill cuttings agitator to traverse the tubular body,
wherein the elastomeric sleeve is configured to be biased towards the first configuration so as to secure the elastomeric sleeve on the tubular body, and
wherein the drill cuttings agitator is configured to rotate with rotation of the tubular body.
2 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric sleeve and the one or more agitator members are integrally formed and/or define a single piece, unitary construction.
3 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric sleeve and the one or more agitator members are formed from separate components.
4 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric sleeve is constructed from rubber, e.g. Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (HNBR), or urethane.
5 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein the one or more agitator members comprise or take a form of paddles.
6 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein the drill cuttings agitator comprises a plurality of the one or more agitator members.
7 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of agitator members are circumferentially arranged and/or spaced around the elastomeric sleeve.
8 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of agitator members define at least one slot between them.
9 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 8 , wherein the at least one slot is a blind slot.
10 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more agitator members is constructed from an elastomeric material.
11 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 10 , wherein the elastomeric material comprises or takes a form of rubber, e.g. Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (HNBR), or urethane.
12 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein the drill cuttings agitator comprises a tapered end portion.
13 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , further comprising a container configured to receive and/or releasably store an adhesive for bonding the elastomeric sleeve to the tubular body.
14 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 1 , wherein in the first configuration the elastomeric sleeve defines an inner diameter which is smaller than or equal to an outer diameter of the tubular body so that the elastomeric sleeve can define an interference fit with the tubular body.
15 . A method of installing a drill cuttings agitator onto a tubular body, comprising:
providing the drill cuttings agitator according to claim 1 ;
providing the tubular body,
reconfiguring the drill cuttings agitator from the first configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines the first inner diameter to the second configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines the second, larger, inner diameter, to facilitate location of the drill cuttings agitator onto the tubular body; and
reconfiguring the drill cuttings agitator from the second configuration to the first configuration to secure the drill cuttings agitator to the tubular body.
16 . A downhole tool comprising:
a tubular body; and
one or more of the drilling cuttings agitators according to claim 1 .
17 . The downhole tool of claim 16 , wherein the tubular body comprises or takes a form of a drill pipe.
18 . The downhole tool of claim 16 , wherein the elastomeric sleeve is secured to the tubular body.
19 . The downhole tool of claim 18 , wherein the elastomeric sleeve is bonded to the tubular body.
20 . The downhole tool of claim 16 , wherein the tubular body comprises one or more recesses, the one or more recesses configured to receive one or more of the drill cuttings agitators.
21 . The downhole tool of claim 16 , comprising a plurality of the drill cuttings agitators.
22 . A downhole system for agitating drill cuttings, the downhole system comprising one or more of the downhole tool according to claim 19 .
23 . A method of agitating a cuttings bed in a borehole using the downhole tool of claim 19 , the method comprising:
running the downhole tool or downhole tool system, on a drill string, to a vicinity of the cuttings bed in the borehole; and
rotating the tubular body such that the drill cuttings agitator agitates the cuttings bed.
24 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the drill cuttings agitator is deformed to its second configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines its second, larger, inner diameter when the elastomeric sleeve is around a tool connection joint upset of the tubular body.
25 . An assembly for installing the drill cuttings agitator according to claim 1 onto the tubular body, the assembly comprising a forcing cone configured for reconfiguring the drill cuttings agitator from the first configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines the first inner diameter to the second configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines its second, larger, inner diameter, to facilitate location of the drill cuttings agitator onto the tubular body.
26 . The assembly of claim 25 , wherein the assembly comprises a finger arrangement, and wherein the finger arrangement comprises a radial array of biased members configured to conform to the elastomeric sleeve as it expands and contracts during installation.
27 . The assembly of claim 26 , wherein the biased members are spring loaded, hydraulically loaded and/or pneumatically loaded.
28 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 13 , wherein the container is frangible, breakable and/or degradable.
29 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 13 , wherein the elastomeric sleeve comprises one or more grooves for communicating the adhesive.
30 . The drill cuttings agitator of claim 29 , wherein at least one of:
the one or more grooves are on an internal surface of the elastomeric sleeve;
the one or more grooves extend axially;
the one or more grooves are capillary grooves.
31 . A drill cuttings agitator for agitating drill cuttings in a borehole, the drill cuttings agitator comprising:
an elastomeric sleeve;
one or more agitator members extending radially from the elastomeric sleeve; and
a container configured to receive and/or releasably store an adhesive for bonding the elastomeric sleeve to a tubular body.
32 . An assembly for installing a drill cuttings agitator onto a tubular body,
the drill cuttings agitator comprising:
an elastomeric sleeve; and
one or more agitator members extending radially from the elastomeric sleeve;
the assembly comprising a forcing cone configured for reconfiguring the drill cuttings agitator from a first configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines a first inner diameter to a second configuration in which the elastomeric sleeve defines a second, larger, inner diameter, to facilitate location of the drill cuttings agitator onto the tubular body.