Seal Arrangement for Expandable Tubulars

Abstract

An expandable tubular includes a tubular body and a sealing arrangement disposed on an external surface of the tubular body. The sealing arrangement includes a plurality of seals having a corrugation. A method of manufacturing a sealing arrangement for an expandable tubular includes arranging a plurality of seals about the circumference of an expandable tubular and forming corrugations in the plurality of seals such that the effective length of the plurality of seals is at least 5 percent greater than the circumference of the expandable tubular.

1 . An expandable tubular, comprising:
 a tubular body; and   a sealing arrangement disposed on an external surface of the tubular body, wherein the sealing arrangement comprises a plurality of seals having a corrugation.   
   
   
       2 . The expandable tubular of  claim 1 , wherein the corrugation is transverse with respect to the tubular body. 
   
   
       3 . The expandable tubular of  claim 3 , wherein the corrugation of at least one of the plurality of seals is nested in the corrugation of an adjacent seal. 
   
   
       4 . The expandable tubular of  claim 3 , wherein at least two of the plurality of seals are strips of sealing material wrapped around the tubular body and having a length at least about 5 percent greater than the circumference of the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       5 . The expandable tubular of  claim 4 , wherein opposing ends of each strip of sealing material are adhered to each other. 
   
   
       6 . The expandable tubular of  claim 5 , wherein the opposing ends of at least two adjacent strips are staggered about the circumference of the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       7 . The expandable tubular of  claim 1 , wherein the seal comprises a plurality of corrugations in a repeating pattern. 
   
   
       8 . The expandable tubular of  claim 7 , wherein the repeating pattern is sinusoidal. 
   
   
       9 . The expandable tubular of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing arrangement further comprises a protective ring disposed below the plurality of seals. 
   
   
       10 . The expandable tubular of  claim 9 , wherein the protective ring is configured to split during the expansion of the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       11 . The expandable tubular of  claim 1 , wherein the corrugation is radial with respect to the tubular body. 
   
   
       12 . The expandable tubular of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing arrangement comprises at least 50 seals disposed in a 2 feet interval along the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       13 . A method of manufacturing a sealing arrangement for an expandable tubular, comprising:
 arranging a plurality of seals about the circumference of an expandable tubular; and   forming corrugations in the plurality of seals such that the effective length of the plurality of seals is at least 5 percent greater than the circumference of the expandable tubular.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the arranging a plurality of seals comprises wrapping strips of sealing material about the circumference of the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the arranging a plurality of seals further comprises adhering opposing ends of each strip of sealing material together and staggering the location of the opposing ends of the strips of sealing material about the circumference of the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the corrugations are formed after the wrapping of the strips of sealing material about the circumference of the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of seals comprises at least 50 strips of sealing material disposed in a 2 feet interval along the expandable tubular. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 disposing a protective ring below the plurality of seals.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 configuring the protective ring to split during the expansion of the expandable tubular.   
   
   
       20 . A sealing assembly for an expandable tubular, comprising:
 a tubular body having an outer circumference; and   a seal disposed on the outer circumference and having a contracted state wherein a centerline of the seal is greater in length than the outer circumference of the tubular body.