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Design Optimization of Metal‑to‑Metal Sealing Packers for Geothermal Operations Through 3D‑Printed Prototyping
Jose ARAMENDIZ, Tayyab SHAHID, Khizar ABID, Leonardo ROCHA DE QUEIROZ, Alberto TOLEDO VELAZCO, Satish KUMAR, Yosafat ESQUITIN, Ricardo REVES VASQUES, Ramadan AHMED, Catalin TEODORIU
[University of Oklahoma, USA]
Geothermal energy is not only a source of renewable energy but also has a low CO₂ footprint. However, the extraction of heat energy from the geothermal well comes with its challenges. One such challenge is the operation of the isolation tool in the geothermal downhole environment, where temperature and pressure are usually very high. The use of conventional oil and gas packers has limitations when installed in the geothermal well. Therefore, specific isolation tools must be designed to withstand harsh downhole well conditions and ensure long-term durability and integrity. In that respect, packers with metal-to-metal sealing are gaining importance for geothermal operations. However, the manufacturing of metallic packers is not only expensive and time‑consuming, but also very demanding at the design stage. Therefore, it is preferable to develop small-scale prototypes, for which 3D printing can be a valuable tool to address design complexities, enabling rapid iterations and faster optimization. In that regard, Welltec designed a novel retrievable metallic packer and employed 3D printing to produce small-scale prototypes that allowed assembly evaluation and early detection of potential design challenges prior to full-scale manufacturing. This study presents the manufacturing and testing of different 3D designs prototypes that were designed, refined, and evolved based on performance feedback. The packer prototypes were printed using polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filaments and tested in a novel flow‑by setup using translucent polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe as a wellbore. Vegetable glycerin (VG) mixed with propylene glycol (PV) in liquid form was vaporized to simulate the working fluid while high‑speed video cameras recorded the process. In order to detect the leakage pathways, colored powder spray was utilized, which helps to analyze the fluid bypass and assist in analyzing sealing efficiency during tests. Additionally, differential pressure measurements provided insights into the sealing performance as the design cycle progressed. Overall, rapid prototyping with 3D printing demonstrated that iterative design process and component refinements can improve sealing capability at a small scale, providing critical insights to guide cost‑effective development of field‑scale metallic packers for geothermal applications.
Topic: FORGE