US 11,753,905 B2
Downhole tool actuator with viscous fluid clearance paths
Ross Glen Dusterhoft, Carrollton, TX (US); Brad Richard Pickle, Pottsboro, TX (US); Leo Guadalupe Collins, Farmers Branch, TX (US); Adam Evan Beck, Flower Mound, TX (US); Matthew Lawrence Apiecionek, Frisco, TX (US); and Michael Wade Meaders, Pilot Point, TX (US)
Assigned to Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Houston, TX (US)
Filed by Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Houston, TX (US)
Filed on Mar. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/216,066.
Prior Publication US 2022/0307348 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. E21B 34/14 (2006.01); E21B 34/10 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 34/14 (2013.01) [E21B 34/10 (2013.01); E21B 2200/05 (2020.05)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A subsurface safety valve, comprising:
a tool body positionable in a wellbore and having an upper end for coupling to a tubing string, a lower end, and a through bore between the upper and lower ends for conveying fluid;
a valve closure element coupled to the lower end of the tool body and moveable between an open position and a closed position;
a flow tube disposed in the tool body and axially moveable between a first axial position putting the valve closure element in the open position and a second axial position allowing the valve closure element to move to the closed position, the flow tube including an interior flow bore for conveying the fluid from the tubing string; and
an external flow tube profile formed on the flow tube defining an annulus between the flow tube and tool body, the external flow tube profile including an upper shoulder for engagement with a wiper in the first axial position, a lower shoulder for engagement with the wiper in the second axial position, and a clearance path between the upper and lower shoulders for allowing a viscous fluid trapped in the annulus to flow past the wiper when the flow tube is in-between the first and second axial positions, wherein the clearance path is axially spaced from the valve closure element throughout a range of travel between the first and second axial positions.