Piezoresistive Metal Rubber Sensors for the Health Monitoring of Packer Materials for Geothermal Wells
- NanoSonic, Inc., Pembroke, VA (United States)
The overall goal of this Phase I Department of Energy SBIR program has been to investigate the feasibility of incorporating Metal Rubber sensors within packer materials to determine the long-term function of the packer at providing an adequate seal while supporting required mechanical load and deformation. The in-situ monitoring of the packer material during both the setting process and well operation would allow direct analysis of packer status, potentially avoid packer failure and associated completion disturbance and cost, and provide data that could be used to design and select proper packers for specific future uses. Research for this program would specifically develop sensor instrumentation tools to monitor the status of packers used in geothermal wells, allowing improved operation for geothermal energy production. Deeper geothermal wells and higher pressures require improvements in packer strength and capabilities, and instrumenting packers can provide insight into their performance under these harsh conditions Metal Rubber sensors capable of being deformed to large strains could also be used as embedded or attached large strain extensometers. Because they can be bent and flexed without permanent plastic deformation and damage, they would have application as strain sensors on and in flexible materials such as fabrics, clothing, tents, parachutes, deformable biomedical materials, and inflatable terrestrial and space structures.
- Research Organization:
- NanoSonic Inc., Pembroke, VA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0017045
- OSTI ID:
- 1423770
- Type / Phase:
- SBIR (Phase I)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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