Liner hanger having expandable sleeve
A variety of methods and apparatus are disclosed, including, an expandable liner hanger and deploying an expandable liner hanger. The expandable liner includes an expandable sealing sleeve attached to a body of the expandable liner hanger to engage a casing in a wellbore to form a seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing, the expandable sealing sleeve having hollow members to receive fluid from the wellbore to expand the expandable sealing sleeve.
1 . An expandable liner hanger comprising:
a raised portion as a sealing element to engage a casing in a wellbore to form a first seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing; and
an expandable sealing sleeve attached to a body of the expandable liner hanger to engage the casing to form a second seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing, the expandable sealing sleeve comprising hollow members to receive fluid from the wellbore to expand the expandable sealing sleeve, wherein the hollow members receiving the fluid pressurizes the expandable sealing sleeve to expand the expandable sealing sleeve, and wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises a microchannel to receive the fluid into an interior volume of the hollow members.
2 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , wherein the expandable sealing sleeve is attached to an outer diameter (OD) surface of the body, and wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises a pressure-energized sleeve.
3 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , wherein the microchannel comprises a diameter less than 100 microns.
4 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises at least one microchannel to fluidly couple the hollow members, wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises metal, and wherein the second seal comprises a metal-to-metal (MTM) seal.
5 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , wherein the expandable sealing sleeve is 3D printed onto the body.
6 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , wherein the expandable liner hanger is configured to form and maintain the second seal at a pressure of the fluid up to 17,000 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) and at least 17,000 psig.
7 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , wherein the raised portion comprises a rib, a spike, a ring, ridges, a band, or a rubber sleeve, or any combinations thereof.
8 . An expandable liner hanger comprising:
a raised portion as a sealing element to engage a casing in a wellbore to form a first seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing; and
an expandable sealing sleeve attached to a body of the expandable liner hanger to engage the casing to form a second seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing, the expandable sealing sleeve comprising hollow members to receive fluid from the wellbore to expand the expandable sealing sleeve, wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises three-dimensional (3D) printed material.
9 . A method of deploying the expandable liner hanger of claim 1 , comprising:
moving the expandable liner hanger of claim 1 to a selected position in the wellbore;
engaging the casing in the wellbore with the raised portion to form the first seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing; and
engaging the casing with the expandable sealing sleeve to form the second seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing.
10 . The method of claim 9 , comprising expanding the expandable sealing sleeve to maintain the second seal, wherein expanding the expandable sealing sleeve comprises receiving fluid from the wellbore into the interior volume of the expandable sealing sleeve, and wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises a pressure-energized sleeve.
11 . The method of claim 10 , comprising maintaining the second seal at a pressure in the wellbore up to and at least 17,000 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) acting against the second seal.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the expandable sealing sleeve is attached to an outer diameter (OD) of a body of the expandable liner hanger.
13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the expandable sealing sleeve is fabricated by additive manufacturing comprising three-dimensional (3D) printing.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the expandable sealing sleeve is 3D printed onto a body of the expandable liner hanger.
15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the raised portion comprises a rib, a spike, a ring, ridges, a band, or a rubber sleeve, or any combinations thereof.
16 . An expandable liner hanger comprising an expandable sealing sleeve attached to a body of the expandable liner hanger to engage a casing in a wellbore to form a seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing, the expandable sealing sleeve comprising hollow members to receive fluid from the wellbore to expand the expandable sealing sleeve, wherein the expandable sealing sleeve is attached to an outer diameter (OD) surface of the body, wherein the expandable sealing sleeve comprises a microchannel to receive the fluid, and wherein the seal comprises a metal-to-metal (MTM) seal.
17 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 16 , comprising a raised portion as a sealing element to engage the casing in the wellbore to form a second seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing.
18 . The expandable liner hanger of claim 16 , comprising a rubber sleeve as a sealing element to engage the casing in the wellbore to form a second seal between the expandable liner hanger and the casing, wherein the rubber sleeve is in addition to the expandable sealing sleeve.