Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO2 Environment

Zhu, Zhenkun; Cai, Meng; Cui, Lining; Song, Xingliang; Xu, Xiaoyu; Cong, Chuanbo; Li, Haicheng; Gao, Qiming

doi:10.3390/en17133305

Open AccessArticle

Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO₂ Environment

by

Zhenkun Zhu

^1,2,

Meng Cai

^1,2,

Lining Cui

³,

Xingliang Song

^1,2,

Xiaoyu Xu

^1,2,

Chuanbo Cong

^4,*,

Haicheng Li

^1,2,* and

Qiming Gao

^1,2

¹

Daqing Oilfield Production Technology Institute, Daqing Oilfield Co., Ltd., Daqing 163453, China

²

Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Stimulation, Daqing 163453, China

³

Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China

⁴

College of New Energy and Materials, China University of Petroleum–Beijing, Beijing 102249, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Energies 2024, 17(13), 3305; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133305

Submission received: 20 May 2024 / Revised: 1 July 2024 / Accepted: 3 July 2024 / Published: 5 July 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Fields)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to solve the problems associated with the sealing and tearing failure of rubber packer cylinders during CO₂ downhole injection. Using Comsol Multiphysics 6.0 software, a rubber cylinder model in a supercritical CO₂ (SC–CO₂) environment was established. The thermal analogy method was used to simulate the CO₂ diffusion and rubber cylinder swelling process. We analyzed the deformation and stress of the rubber cylinder that was caused by temperature and pressure, with CO₂ as the swelling agent. The results show that in the SC–CO₂ environment, under the influence of CO₂ diffusion and the consequent swelling, the rubber cylinder body is prone to large deformations, and the maximum shear stress is significantly increased, leading to the shear failure of the rubber cylinder. Reducing the initial seating pressure can alleviate the impact of deformation, whereas reducing the maximum contact pressure can cause the rubber cylinder to lose its seal. We also analyzed the influence of various factors on the maximum contact stress of the rubber cylinder, providing a theoretical basis and technical support for improving the sealing performance of rubber packer cylinders in an SC–CO₂ environment.

Keywords: supercritical–CO₂; rubber packer cylinder; sealing performance; swelling

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhu, Z.; Cai, M.; Cui, L.; Song, X.; Xu, X.; Cong, C.; Li, H.; Gao, Q. Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO₂ Environment. Energies 2024, 17, 3305. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133305

AMA Style

Zhu Z, Cai M, Cui L, Song X, Xu X, Cong C, Li H, Gao Q. Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO₂ Environment. Energies. 2024; 17(13):3305. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133305

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhu, Zhenkun, Meng Cai, Lining Cui, Xingliang Song, Xiaoyu Xu, Chuanbo Cong, Haicheng Li, and Qiming Gao. 2024. "Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO₂ Environment" Energies 17, no. 13: 3305. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133305

APA Style

Zhu, Z., Cai, M., Cui, L., Song, X., Xu, X., Cong, C., Li, H., & Gao, Q. (2024). Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO₂ Environment. Energies, 17(13), 3305. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17133305

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Simulation of the Static Sealing Performance of Rubber Packer Cylinders in a Supercritical–CO₂ Environment

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