Geothermal elastomeric materials. Twelve-months progress report, October 1, 1976--September 30, 1977
Progress is reported on efforts to develop elastomers for packer seal element applications which will survive downhole geothermal well chemistry at 260/sup 0/C (500/sup 0/F) for 24 hours. To achieve this development, a three level elastomer testing and evaluation program was established. The first level Screening Tests is a broad screening of potential candidates and with the end objective to filter out the more promising candidates for more expensive subsequent testing. The battery of tests include standard ASTM tests and a special test developed to test extrusion resistance using specimens all made from sheet stock. The second level or Simulation Tests provide a laboratory equivalent of downhole conditions using synthetic geothermal fluid. Full scale packer seals are tested under simulated operational conditions by a test fixture. The third level or In-Situ Tests which are currently in the planning, provide for testing the most favored materials in-situ in the geothermal well. A test module provides for testing of the specimen without interfacing with the well casing. A test module freely hanging on a wireline has much lower probability of causing a problem, such as becoming lodged in the well, as compared to an operational casing packer. This maximizes the number of wells (hence geothermal environments) where access can be gained and In-Situ Testing performed. During this period commercially available polymers were investigated. Most of the work centered around formulating peroxide cured Vitons and some on EPDMs, butyls, and resin cured Vitons. Of the formulations tested to date the EPDMs appear most promising and the peroxide cured Vitons next most promising. However, data is too sparse to make any firm conclusions at this time. Minor tasks were performed evaluating current commercially available elastomers used in oil tools and conceptualization of casing packer for the geothermal application.
- Research Organization:
- L'Garde, Inc., Newport Beach, CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EG-77-C-03-1308
- OSTI ID:
- 6548208
- Report Number(s):
- SAN-1308-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Summary of first 12 months progress on geothermal elastomeric materials program
Related Subjects
ELASTOMERS
MATERIALS TESTING
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
SEALS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
BRINES
CORROSION
DIAGRAMS
GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS
HIGH TEMPERATURE
NITRILES
ORGANIC POLYMERS
SIMULATION
TABLES
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
TESTING
WELL CASINGS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DATA FORMS
FLUIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
POLYMERS
WELLS
Geothermal Legacy
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