Gauging the feasibility of a downhole energy harvesting system through a proof-of-concept study

Eric Kjolsing; Michael Todd

doi:10.1117/12.2219313

15 April 2016 Gauging the feasibility of a downhole energy harvesting system through a proof-of-concept study

Eric Kjolsing, Michael Todd

Proceedings Volume 9799, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2016; 97992K (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2219313
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2016, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Abstract

Hydrocarbon well operators deploy downhole reservoir monitoring equipment in order to optimize the rate at which hydrocarbons are extracted. Alternative power sources are sought that could be deployed in these harsh environments to replace or supplement standard power sources currently in use. To this end, a three phase proof-of-concept study was performed to gauge the feasibility of such a device. In the first phase a parametric study was performed to understand how high uncertainty variables affect the natural frequency of a producing hydrocarbon well. In a follow up study, the relationship between boundary conditions and system damping was investigated. In the second phase a structural housing was designed to satisfy American Petroleum Institute load cases. Using finite element models and standard tube/casing geometries, design pressures were iterated until a permissible housing design was achieved. This preliminary design provided estimates of the radial width and volume in which energy harvesting and storage elements may be situated. In the last phase a software program was developed to estimate the energy that might be harvested from user specified harvester configurations. The program is dependent on user input production tube accelerations; this permits well operators to use well-specific vibrational data as inputs to generate well-specific energy output estimates. Results indicate that a downhole energy harvesting tool is structurally feasible under reasonable operating conditions but no conclusions can be made as to the sufficiency of generated power as no in-situ acceleration time histories are available. Future work is discussed. Approved for publication, LA-UR-16-21193.

Citation Download Citation

Eric Kjolsing and Michael Todd "Gauging the feasibility of a downhole energy harvesting system through a proof-of-concept study", Proc. SPIE 9799, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2016, 97992K (15 April 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2219313

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
14 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Energy harvesting

Motion models

MATLAB

Software development

Structural design

Finite element methods

Lanthanum

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years