An inflatable element is a hydro-mechanical sealing device to be conveyed on a wide range of tool configurations. Servicing the oil & gas, mining, water resource, and geotechnical industries IPI’s unique inflatable packer element technology incorporates elastomers, reinforcement layers, and external anchoring surface finishes (DuraGRIP®) within a single, vulcanised composite unit. This innovative contrawound design eliminates more typical inflatable packer components such as non-reinforced inflation bladders, exposed reinforcement layers, and separate rubber covers. IPI’s true composite design eliminates issues commonly associated with alternatives available in the market while increasing reliability and operational envelopes. Typically, IPI uses high tensile, steel wire for reinforcement but non-metallic materials, such as Carbon Fibre, Polyester and Kevlar™, are also available.

Unmatched Benefits of IPI’s Technology

IPI’s contra-wound inflatable element design, allows our element to exhibit the greatest recovery to original diameter over any other inflatable element available in the marketplace. This performance KPI allows our customers to achieve several operational and performance advantages including the deployment of larger OD packers through tighter annular clearances resulting in higher differential pressure ratings and increased puncture resistance. Not having metal ribs or slats eliminates plastic deformation issues seen in competitive products, maximizing retrieval through tight annular clearance restrictions, and all but eliminating the chances of leaving element seals within the restriction or wellbore.

Robust, Composite Design Enables Several Demonstrable Advantages

• Maximised number of sets. Multi-set capability exceeding 150 sets within a single trip, which can be reliably increased to several hundred cycles in certain applications. Case histories from Drill Stem Test (DST) operations have confirmed IPI inflatable packers to have up to 30 times the durability in comparison to conventional braided wire or slat reinforced inflatable packer elements.
• Optimal conformity in irregular borehole geometries, which is possible due to high density wire reinforcement embedded within the packer elastomer matrix and the composite rather than layered construction.
  • Open hole, swaging operations, perforations, milled windows, slotted liner, deformed tubulars, ovalities etc.
• True cased hole sealing and anchoring performance. Our DuraGRIP™ anchoring technology eliminates the need to use exposed reinforcing slats to enable anchoring in pipe. This means IPI’s inflatable element has a full-length element maintaining full bi-directional sealing and anchoring across the isolation unlike competitors whose products seal in only one direction.