Downhole logging monitors the strata in exploratory oil and natural gas wells. It is a critical element in the search for new hydrocarbon reserves. The temperatures in these wells often exceed 250'C which significantly limits the sensors, instrumentation, data storage, and data transmission components which can be used. This proposal addresses the application of our novel and proprietary MicroMiniature refrigeration technology to this high ambient temperature cooling problem. In a sense, we have miniaturized standard refrigeration plumbing to produce gas refrigerators which use a variety of refrigerants to provide cooling at temperatures ranging from 100'C down to -196'C. These refrigerators are currently limited to ambient temperatures below 150'C due to construction materials used in the compressors. Phase I of this proposal will be a study of possible alternative high-temperature materials from the compressor and then the development and evaluation of one or two high-temperature compressors. Phase II will entail the construction and testing of a complete single-stage, closed-cycle refrigerator for cooling -to normal ambient temperatures in a 300'C environment. A second multistage refrigerator for cooling specialized sensors down to -196'C will also be developed.The potential applications as described by the company:Phase III of development will be applications engineering and subsequent commercial production of a family of reliable, continuous operating refrigerators for cooling electronic components and instruments in high-ambient temperatures. These MicroMiniature refrigerators will provide significant cost savings in downhole logging operations, and they will also enable the use of microprocessors, specialized sensors, and data-transmitting fiberoptic lasers. Therefore, this refrigeration technology will be of significant commercial value to a multi-billion dollar industry. Also, these refrigerators will have numerous other applications in high-ambient temperature settings, such as in the steel industry, nuclear reactor instrumentation, and geothermal work.
