Downhole steam generation: material studies
One enhanced oil recovery technique for extracting heavy crude from deep reservoirs by steam at the bottom of an injection well. Development of a downhole steam generator that will produce steam and inject it into formations at depths greater than 2500 feet is one objective of a Department of Energy/Sandia National Laboratories development effort - Project DEEP STEAM. Extensive material studies have been performed in support of Project DEEP STEAM; current efforts are devoted primarily to the selection and evaluation of materials for use in downhole steam generators. This paper presents observations of the performance of candidate metals and refractory ceramics (combustor liners) during tests of two prototypic, high pressure, diesel/air combustion, direct contact, downhole steam generators. The first downhole test of such a generator provides data on the performance of various metals (304L, 310 and 316S stainless steels and plain carbon steel) exposed for several weeks to a warm, aerated saltwater environment. A number of corrosion mechanisms acted to cause severely degraded perforance of some of the metals. Several refractory liner designs were evaluated during ground level tests of a generator having a ceramic-lined combustion chamber. Of the two refractories employed, alumina and silicon carbide, the alumina liners exhibited more serious surface degradation and corrosion.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 5269299
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-82-0078C; CONF-820510-1; ON: DE82006941
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Spring meeting for the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering, San Diego, CA, USA, 4 May 1982
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
PERFORMANCE TESTING
CARBON STEELS
OIL WELLS
STEAM INJECTION
SILICON CARBIDES
STAINLESS STEEL-304
STAINLESS STEEL-310
STAINLESS STEEL-316
STEAM GENERATORS
DESIGN
MATERIALS TESTING
CORROSION
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
LINERS
REFRACTORIES
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
BOILERS
CARBIDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM STEELS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
DATA
FLUID INJECTION
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
INFORMATION
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NICKEL ALLOYS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RECOVERY
SILICON COMPOUNDS
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
TESTING
THERMAL RECOVERY
VAPOR GENERATORS
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
360105 - Metals & Alloys- Corrosion & Erosion
360205 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Corrosion & Erosion