New Materials — Expanding Metal Alloy for Downhole Seals and Anchoring

Advances in new materials often enable breakthroughs in completion design and construction. This webinar discusses the materials science of a new expanding metal alloy that enables a new class of wellbore isolation.

This uniquely engineered metal alloy expands downhole and chemically transforms from a metal alloy into a rock-like seal. This novel metallic sealing system combines the operational simplicity of swellable elastomers with the robustness of non-elastomeric seals. Unlike swellable elastomers, the expanding metal alloy further incorporates an anchoring capability into the seal.

This webinar discusses the development and initial testing of this new expanding metal and the process of forming a robust and reliable downhole seal with anchoring capabilities. Extensive small-scale and full-scale tests reliably and consistently mapped the metamorphosis from the engineered metal alloy into the rock-like material. Testing demonstrated sealing in smooth cylinders as well as in irregular shapes and with a wide range of brine types and brine concentrations. The result is an expanding engineered alloy that creates a robust and durable seal with anchoring capabilities across a wide range of downhole conditions. All content contained within this webinar is copyrighted by Michael Fripp and its use and/or reproduction outside the portal requires express permission from Michael Fripp.

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