US1495474A - Process of sampling - Google Patents

Description

'Hw. welcher,

H. W, FLETCHER PROCESS oF SAMPLING May 27 1924.

lled Aprll 14 AROLD W. FLETCHER', OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO HTI'GrI'lJS TOOLCOMPANY,

OF HOUSTON, TEXAS,

A coaronarron or Texas.'

PROCESS 0F SLING.

Application led April 14, 1922. Serial No. 552,645.

To all whom itmay concer'ni Beit known that I, HAROLD fW. Fm'rormn, a citizen of the United States, residingat Houston, Harris County, Texas, have 1n vented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes of Sampling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is for use in drilling wells and has particular application to the drilling of wells for oil, gas, sulphur, etc. It consists particularly in the process of obtaining a sample, of the material being Y drilled.

I end of the drill stem by The object of my invention is to provide a process of handling the drilling apparatus whereby a sample of the material may be obtainedwithout the usual objectionable washing away of the lco're as the pipe is withdrawn from the well.

Another object is to provide a process of core drilling by means of which the foreign material in the bottom of the well and the core drill may be efficiently flushed away before the sample is obtained.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the more detailed description which follows. In the drawing Fig. 1 illustrates a central longitudinal section through a" well' being bored, showing the arrangement of'the device used in obtaining the sample and Fig. 2 shows the core barrel y.; closed to engage the core.

-In carrying out my invention l contemplate securing a core barrel 1 of ordinary construction, tq the lowe'r end of a drill stem 2." Both the core barrel and drill stem will be of ordinary tubular pipe customarily 4 used for this purpose. l

The core barrel is joined to the lower means of a couling is threaded interpling 3. This cou e upper end forattachnally at4 toward t ment to the threaded at 5 for attachment to the core barrel. Between these points of attachment the interior diameter of the coupling is materially reduced to form a central 'passage 6 adapted to be closed at the upper end by means of the ball valve 7 To accommodate this ball valve lthe upper end of passage 6 is tapered and formed into a seat into which the Said. valve-is adaptedt0 lit. Above th@ forcing drill stem, and is similarly hole it is filled to a greater or less extent with gumbo Aand other formation scraped 'o the wall, and a suilicient amount of flushing fluid must be pumped down through the core barrel to clean out these accumulations,

and to wash all loose material from the bot-A tom of the hole. The core barrel is then allowed to rest firmly upon the bottom of the hole, and it'will be apparent that there will be no -foreign matter from the upper strata` within the core barrel at the timethe corel is started.

The ball valve 7 will then be inserted into the upper end of the drill stem at the surface of the ground to drop downwardly inside thereof. 4The action of the pumps in the flushing fluid downwardly will assist in The core barrely and drill steni thus bringing the ball down to its proper are perfoseat in the coupling 3 as shown in the drawt ing. The flushing fluid will thereby be :cut yoil from the upper end of the core barrel and will find an exit through the openings 8 above the barrel. of the fluid will then be .downwardly through the drill stem and the openings 8 and upwardly outside the vdrill stem to the surface of the ground. The rotation of the v drill stem and core barrel will serve to cut away the formation in the usual manner until the proper amount of ogre' or sample shown at 9 has been received within the core barrel. \It will be obvious that the uid'remaining in the core barrel above the bottom of the hole when the drilling operation is started will be trapped within rel above the upper end of the core. The force of the pumps and the size of the outlets 8 will be so adjusted asto exert enough pressure upon the valve 7 to retain it in its seat. The fluid in the up barrel will therefore be` orced downwardly through the space between the core barrel and the core into 'the lower end of the hole.

rlhe circulationthe core bar-` er end of the core This will serve to lubricate the surfaces both inside and outside the core barrel suciently to obtain the proper action.

' When the core has been obtained the drill stem will be used to force the core barrel downwardly against the bottom of the hole so as to bend the lower ends of the core barrel inwardly to grip the core as shown in Fig. 2. The assembled device will then be withdrawlrfrom the well carrying with it the core thus obtained.. `With the valve 7 in its seat above the core no fluid within the drill stem will find entrance into the core barrel to wash away any part of the core already obtained and the sample will thus be withdrawn from the well in its original form as cut from the strata.

The advantages of this process lie in the manner in which the apparatus is operated.

The valve 7 is omitted until the bottom of the well has been completely cleaned. This assures that when the apparatus is operated to obtain the core no foreign formation is within the core barrel or lying upon the bottom of the well. The valve is then used toclose olf the core barrel from the drill stem so that thereafter none of the Huslling fluid will be forced dowr Wardly into the core barrel by the pumps, orl by the withdrawal of the pipe from the Nell. This assures that a proper core will be obtained under all conditions and that when thus obtained it will not be washed away by the Huid in the drill stem.

`'Having thus described my a invention which ll claim is new and desire to protect by this patent is l:

'1. ln the drilling of wells, the process of obtaining a sample of the material, cornprising securing a corev barrel vto the forward end of the drill-stem, inserting said core barrel and drill stem downwardly into the hole, washing the-hole by pumpinguid downwardly through the drill stem and core barrel, then closing the upper nd of the meagre core barrel, circulating the fluid upwardly outside the drill stem above the core barrel, rotating the core barrel until a core has been cut and raising the core barrel and core from the well. t.

2. `lin the drilling of wells, the process of obtaining a sample of the material, comprising securing a core barrel to the forward end of the drill stein, inserting said core barrel and drill stem downwardly into the hole, pumping flushing fluid downwardly through said core barrel to clean the well, closing the lower end of the drill stem above the core barrel, providing an outlet from the drill stem for flushing fluid above said core barrel, rotating the core barrel and raising the core barrel and core from the well.

3. Tn the drilling of wells, the process of obtaining a sample of the materialcompris ing securing a length of pipe constituting a core barrel to the forward end of the drill stem, providing a passage from the drill.

stein through the core barrel, inserting the core barrel into the well, pumping fluid through said core barrel to clean the bottom of the well, closing the passage from the drill stem, rotating the core barrel and removing the core barrel and the sample from the well. f

4. lin the drilling of wells, the process of obtaining a sample of the material comprising securing a length of pipe constituting a core barrel to the forward end of the drill stem, providing a passage from the drill stem through the core barrel, inserting the core barrel into the well, pumping Huid through said core barrel to clean the well,

inserting a valve into said passage, rotating lsurnoms w.. rtnrcnnu.

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