Active Cooling and Thermal Management of a Downhole Tool Electronics Section

Stefano Soprani, Kurt Engelbrecht, Anders Just Nørgaard

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

High Temperature (HT) wellbores represent one of today’s biggest challenges for the oil and gas industry. The majority of well intervention wireline tools contain temperature sensitive electronics that are not able to withstand the high temperatures of HT wellbores (> 150 °C), for an extended period of time. This work presents the design and construction of an actively cooled laboratory prototype, which is able to operate at temperatures which are higher than the temperature limit of the electronics. A different concept of heat management, compared to prior works, is presented: the design combines active and passive cooling techniques, aiming at an efficient thermal management, preserving the tool compactness and avoiding the use of moving parts. Thermoelectric coolers were used to transfer the dissipated heat from the temperature-sensitive electronics to the external environment. Thermal contact resistances were minimized and thermally insulating foam protected the refrigerated microenvironment from the hot surroundings.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration
Number of pages8
PublisherInternational Institute of Refrigeration
Publication date2015
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Event24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration: Improving Quality of Life, Preserving the Earth - Yokohama, Japan
Duration: 16 Aug 201522 Aug 2015
Conference number: 24

Conference

Conference24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration
Number24
Country/TerritoryJapan
CityYokohama
Period16/08/201522/08/2015

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