Chapter VIII

Packer and Tubing

Forces
 Types of Packers

•Retrievable
• Packer body, slips and rubber
packing elements are rigidly
attached to the tubing string
• Can unseat and move
•Permanent
• Set into casing with wireline
• Sealing elements on tubing
 Retrievable Packers

•Weight set
•Tension set
•Hydraulically set
 Weight-set Packers

•Simplest
•Slips point down preventing
movement
•J-slot prevents movement until
at depth
•Rotate tubing to disengage J-
slot then apply downward force
(weight) to compress sealing
element
 Permanent Packers

•Run in on wireline
•Charge fired to set slips
•Slips point up AND down
preventing movement
•Can also be set using
tubing and hydraulic
pressure
•Tubing seals to inside with
sealing sub
 Forces acting on Packer-Tubing Systems
• Tubing movement occurs or forces are induced when the
following changes are made to the well
– Running the packer
– Placing the well on production
– Swabbing the well
– Acidizing the well
– Fracing the well
• After the packer is set each subsequent operation must be
evaluated against the original setting conditions
• Exceeding the original setting forces might cause:
– Retrievable packer to move
– Sealing sub to slide out of permanent packer
 Forces acting on Packer Body
• Pressure changes in the tubing or the annulus will result in
forces being applied to the packer body
• Pressure is the SAME at the packer (hydrostatic) BUT the
dimensions of the top and bottom of the packer body are
different.
• Let’s examine this condition:
– Assume a well with a weight-set packer is being acidized
– Packer was set with 7000 lbs of downward force (weight-set)
– Casing annulus pressure acts on the top of the packer cross-
section
– Tubing pressure acts on the bottom of the packer cross section
– See next slide/
Top of packer is 14.81 sq in
cross section
Bottom of packer is 16.11 sq in
cross section
 When the packer was set the tubing and annulus
contain 9 lb/gal saltwater

For a packer set at 6,500 ft this results in a

hydrostatic pressure in the annulus of 3042 psi

9 lb/gal X 0.052 X 6500 ft = 3042 psi

At this pressure the top of the packer has a force of:

3042 psi X 14.81 sq in = 45,052 lbs

At the same pressure the bottom of the packer has a force of

3042 psi X 16.11 sq in = 49,007 lbs

This 3,955 lb difference is buoyancy in the UP direction

When we acidize the well we pump acid down the tubing
with the packer set.

The acid weighs 6.9 lb/gal

The acid changes the tubing hydrostatic pressure to:

6.9 lb/gal X 0.052 X 6,500 ft = 2,332 psi

Assuming we pump the acid at 1000 psi at the surface the

total pressure at the bottom of the tubing is:

2,332 psi + 1000 psi = 3,332 psi.

The annulus remains unchanged at 3,042 psi because the

packer is set
Let’s now look at the force on the packer

DOWNWARD force is:

7,000 lbs + (3,042psi X 14.81sq.in.) =

7,000 + 45,050 = 52,050 lbs

UPWARD force is:

3,332 psi X 16.11sq.in. = 53,680 lbs

The resulting total force on the packer is the

DIFFERENCE and pointe UP = 1,630 lbs
BUT we set the packer with 7,000 lbs of DOWNWARD
force

Clearly the packer will UNSEAT at 1,630 lbs of UPWARD

FORCE

What can we do?

1)Apply 8,630 lbs in the downward direction from the
surface (might buckle the tubing) – BAD idea
2)Apply 583 psi to the casing annulus to achieve the same
8,630 lbs in the downward direction

583psi X 14.81 sq.in = 8,630 lb

 FORCES ACTING ON TUBING

Forces are caused by pressure and temperature changes

Four main causes of forces on tubing

•Piston Effect (pressure pushes sealing sub out of

permanent packer)
•Pressure (Helical) Buckling (Corkscrew of tubing shortens
length)
•Ballooning Effect (expansion of tubing diameter shortens
length)
•Temperature Effect (lower temp shortens tubing hotter
temps lengthen tubing)
Piston Effect and Pressure (Helical) Buckling
mainly concern Permanent Packers

Ballooning Effect and Temperature Effect

mainly concern Retrievable Packers
Forces change length of tubing

Same mechanism as a spring.

Pull on spring and it lengthens. Release tension
and spring returns to original length

Description of this effect is called:

Hooke’s Law

F = -kx where F is force, k is spring constant

and x is the length
This is for ONE DIMENSIONAL objects (long and
skinny)
Elastic and Plastic Deformation

Hooke’s Law only works for elastic deformation

Pull the spring too hard and it will NOT return to

original length = plastic deformation

plastic
F

elastic Pull too hard and break

Longer than before stretch

x
For three-dimensional solids Hooke’s Law
changes

STRESS = F/A (equivalent of force)

STRAIN = ∆L/L (fractional change in length)

STRESS = -E x STRAIN
(lbs) (in)

(sq.in.) (in)

E = Young’s Modulus (psi)

For steel = 3x107 psi
Example: 10’ long steel rod being pulled on with 1000 lbs
force that has a cross section of 1 sq. in. (about the size of
your index finger)

1000 ft rod pulled by 1000 lbs would stretch by 0.4”

If we look at the acidizing job described in the text
(Figure 8.9):

Initial conditions
Packer set at 14,400 feet
Tubing and annulus filled with 9 lb/gal saltwater
No PUMP pressure on either tubing or casing

Acidizing conditions
Annulus – no change to fluid – 2,500 psi pump
pressure
Tubing – 9.5 lb/gal acid pumped at 6,000 psi on
surface
Piston Effect

Change in length due to

pressure difference above
and below the packer:

-116.6”

About 10 feet.
Helical (pressure) Buckling

Change in length due to

“squirm” in the tubing

-33.1”

About 3 feet.
Ballooning

Change in length due to

“bulge” in the tubing (like a
balloon)

-24.3”

About 2 feet.
Temperature Effect (Thermal Expansion)

Where β is the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

For steel β = 6.9 x 10 -6

Take note of these expansion joints when
looking at piping runs
 Back to the acid job:
74 °F 70 °F We work with the AVERAGE
temperature of the tubing:

Before Tavg = 182 °F

After Tavg = 80 °F

= 10.1 feet = - 121.6 in

290 °F 90 °F
Before During
Total length change of tubing
during acid job:

= -111.6 – 33.1 – 24.3 – 121.6

= -290.6”

= -24.2 feet
 Anchored Tubing
Tubing is latched to the packer
Or
Packer is retrievable

In BOTH cases the length change you

calculate is converted into a FORCE using the
defining equation for the Young’s Modulus

PISTON EFFECT and HELICAL BUCKLING

are IGNORED
becomes
 Back to our Acidizing Example
If tubing is latched: Calculated change in length
(ignoring piston effect and helical bucking) is:

∆L = -29.3 -121.6 = -145.9

This means that the force on the tubing

(tension) is
 Back to our Acidizing Example
The weight of the tubing is given by:

W = 14,400ft x 6.5 lb/ft : (tubing weight from table)

= 93,600 lbs

The tension pulls UP on the tubing at the bottom

of the well BUT the tension pulls DOWN at the
tubing hanger

Recall that if this were a weight set packer set with a force of
7000 lbs the 45,000 tension force would pull the packer free of
the casing.
 Back to our Acidizing Example
At the tubing hanger then:

The total force on the tubing is:

45,900 + 93, 600 = 139,000 lbs

The yield strength is only 145,000 lbs which is too

close to the edge.
 Permanent Packer Calculations
1) If the tubing is NOT latched then ∆L must be
calculated to make sure you have enough
sealing sub length.
2) Temperature changes cause length changes
and all such changes need to be calculated
using ∆T expression
3) Prevent helical buckling by applying
pressure to the casing annulus