Additive manufacture of wellbore lining
Provided are systems and methods for forming a casing liner in a wellbore of a hydrocarbon well. The forming including disposing a casing liner print head in an annular region located between a casing pipe disposed in a wellbore of a hydrocarbon well and a wall of the wellbore, conducting a downhole lining operation including operating the casing liner print head to eject casing liner integrated structure material into the annular region to form, in the annular region, a casing liner integrated structure including contiguous voids formed in the casing liner integrated structure material, and depositing a cementitious material into the contiguous voids formed in the casing liner material to form, in the annular region, a casing liner including the casing liner integrated structure material and the cementitious material.
1. A method of wellbore casing liner printing, the method comprising:
disposing a casing liner print system in an annular region located between a casing pipe disposed in a wellbore of a hydrocarbon well and a wall of the wellbore, the casing liner print system comprising:
a cylindrical collar disposed over the casing pipe;
a casing liner print head coupled to the cylindrical collar, the casing liner print head comprising a row of nozzles configured to eject casing liner integrated structure material into the annular region, the cylindrical collar and the casing liner print head configured to rotate together about the casing pipe, the row of nozzles arranged in series along a lateral axis extending radially from the cylindrical collar; and
a cementing system comprising a source of cementitious material configured to deposit cementitious material into the contiguous voids formed in the casing liner material;
operating the casing liner print system such that the cylindrical collar and the casing liner print head rotate together about the casing pipe and the row of nozzles eject casing liner integrated structure material into the annular region to form, in the annular region, a casing liner integrated structure comprising contiguous voids formed in the casing liner integrated structure material; and
operating the cementing system to deposit cementitious material into the contiguous voids formed in the casing liner material to form, in the annular region, a casing liner comprising the casing liner integrated structure material and the cementitious material.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the casing liner print head is advanced along a length of the wellbore and to eject the casing liner integrated structure material along a length of the annular region to form the casing liner integrated structure along the length of the annular region.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the casing liner integrated structure material comprises a polymer.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the casing liner integrated structure material has a Young's Modulus that is less than a Young's Modulus of the cementitious material.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the casing liner integrated structure comprises longitudinally oriented structural elements and corresponding longitudinally oriented void regions.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the casing liner integrated structure comprises a honeycomb shaped integrated structure having longitudinally oriented hexagonal structural elements and corresponding longitudinally oriented hexagonal void regions.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the casing liner integrated structure comprises a radially oriented hexagonal structural elements and corresponding radially oriented void regions.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the casing liner integrated structure comprises a honeycomb shaped integrated structure having radially oriented hexagonal structural elements and corresponding radially oriented hexagonal void regions.