DOWNHOLE TOOL
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a downhole tool comprising an electronics
assembly comprising transistor elements for a downhole tool.
Background art
Downhole electronics, which are employed in the control systems for production
of hydrocarbon fluid in extraction wells, contain electronic power supplies and
components such as transistors that in use generate a substantial amount of
heat. The current requirement for more sophistication in the control and
monitoring of downhole tools in hydrocarbon wells has resulted in a significant
increase in power requirement, which creates the problem of having to remove
the heat to sustain sensible operating temperatures. Removal of heat is
dependent on its transfer to the housing, but due to the elevated temperatures
when working downhole, the electronics of the tools are typically thermally
insulated from the housing to protect the electronic components from elevated
temperatures. Therefore, the heat generating components such as transistors
may potentially overheat or cause other components to overheat. Furthermore,
transistors may suffer from a so-called thermal runaway, which is a transistor
starting to heat up, thereby dissipating more and more heat due to the increased
temperature, which then escalates the problem, which further increases a need
for protecting transistors and other electronic components adjacent to transistor
elements from obtaining elevated temperatures.
Summary of the invention
It is an object of the present invention to wholly or partly overcome the above
disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. More specifically, it is an object to
provide an improved electronics assembly with the ability to operate under
increased ambient temperatures in a downhole environment without the use of
active cooling such as liquid cooling, which for downhole equipment represents a
series of other and typically far worse technical problems.
The above objects, together with numerous other objects, advantages, and
features, which will become evident from the below description, are accomplished
by a solution in accordance with the present invention by a downhole tool
comprising:
- a tool housing, and
- an electronics assembly comprising:
- an electronic module located within the housing,
wherein the electronics assembly further comprises a plurality of transistor
elements being electrically connected with the electronic module and being
arranged on a thermal member which is thermally connected with the housing,
wherein the electronic module is thermally insulated from the thermal member.
Also, the present invention relates to a downhole tool comprising:
- a tool housing, and
- an electronics assembly comprising:
- an electronic module located within the housing,
wherein the electronics assembly further comprises a plurality of transistor
elements being electrically connected with the electronic module and being
arranged on a thermal member in direct connection with the housing.
In one embodiment, the thermal member may be a solid protrusion of the
housing.
Furthermore, the electronic module may be thermally insulated from the thermal
member.
Also, the electronic module may be connected to the housing and the transistors
may be connected to the thermal member.
In another embodiment, the housing may be a heat sink for the plurality of
transistor elements.
In yet another embodiment, a mating tool of the downhole tool comprising the
electronics assembly may be a heat sink for the plurality of transistor elements.
In addition, the thermal member may further comprise a compartment containing
a heat absorption material with a melting point below a critical breakdown
temperature of the plurality of transistor elements for providing an extra latent
heat of fusion fail-safe protection against temperatures above the melting point
of the heat absorption material.
Moreover, the plurality of transistor elements may be electrically insulated but
thermally connected to the thermal member through a plurality of insulation
members.
Further, the thermal member may comprise a compartment containing an active
cooling element such as a vapour compression refrigeration element, a magnetic
cooling element, an evaporative cooling element or a thermoelectric cooling
element.
The downhole tool comprising an electronics assembly according to the invention
may further comprise one or more operational units being a logging unit, such as
a thermal probe, an image generating unit, a measuring unit, such as a flow
velocity measuring unit, a positioning unit, such as a casing collar locator, or
similar operational unit.
Additionally, the downhole tool comprising an electronics assembly according to
the invention may further comprise a pump or a cleaning unit.
The present invention further relates to a downhole system comprising:
- a wireline,
- a tool string, and
- a downhole tool according to the invention.
Brief description of the drawings
The invention and its many advantages will be described in more detail below
with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, which for the purpose of
illustration show some non-limiting embodiments and in which
Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an electronics assembly,
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of thermal member and an electronic module,
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an electronic module, some parts being presented
transparently for illustrative purposes,
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a tool string, and
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an electronics assembly.
All the figures are highly schematic and not necessarily to scale, and they show
only those parts which are necessary in order to elucidate the invention, other
parts being omitted or merely suggested.
Detailed description of the invention
Fig. 1 shows an electronics assembly 1 for use in a downhole tool 100. A hollow
tool housing 2 comprises an electronic module 3 and a plurality of transistor
elements 4. The transistor elements 4 are arranged on a thermal member 5 for
dissipating heat generated by the transistor elements 4 directly to the tool
housing 2 and/or further away to a mating tool 6 of the downhole tool 100
comprising the electronics assembly 1. In some embodiments, the electronic
module 3 is mounted on the thermal member 5, as shown in Fig. 1, and in other
embodiments the electronic module is mounted on the thermal member 5 being
part of the tool housing 2, as shown in Fig. 5. The electronic module 3 may be
mounted with mounting means 8 having a specific thermal conductance designed
to meet certain thermal requirements of specific electronic elements 9 comprised
in the electronic module 3. If the requirements for thermal conductance are high
in order to expel heat from the electronic module 3, a material of high thermal
conductance is chosen for the mounting means 8. If on the other hand the
requirements for thermal conductance are low, a thermally insulating material
may be chosen. Typically, transistor elements are the primary heat generating
electronic components in an electronic assembly. However, other heat generating
electronic components may also be thermally separated from the electronic
module and arranged on the thermal member in electrical connection with the
electronic module.
Fig. 2 shows a close-up perspective view of the thermal member 5. As shown,
the thermal member 5 may have a circular end member 5a to accommodate
mounting in a cylindrically shaped downhole tool 100, which is the most typical
shape for downhole tools.
Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of an electronics assembly 1. Typically all
downhole tools 100 are fitted into cylindrical housings to optimise the special
spacial requirements when working downhole in a borehole. In order to optimise
the thermal dissipation away from the thermal member 5, the thermal member
may comprise an end member 5a with good thermally conducting properties such
that when being in direct contact with the tool housing 2 as shown in Fig. 3, heat
is effectively dissipated to the tool housing and/or to the mating tool 6 shown
Figs. 1 and 4. Furthermore, the end member 5a may comprise attachment means
11, such as threads, for fixating the electronics assembly 1 in the tool housing 2.
Fig. 4 shows a downhole system 200 comprising a tool string 12, a wireline 13, a
plurality of mating tools 6 and a downhole tool 100 comprising the electronics
assembly 1. The tool string 12 may be propelled in the borehole 15 by a driving
section 14 of a downhole tractor and retracted by the wireline 13.
Waste heat is produced in transistors due to the current flowing through them. If
a transistor becomes too hot, it needs to be cooled or it may, in the worst case,
be destroyed by the heat. The thermal member 5 helps to dissipate the heat by
transferring heat away from the transistor elements 4.
Use of thermal members 5 enables the downhole tool to enter wells or boreholes
15 having an ambient temperature of more than 25 degrees such as preferably
more than 50 degrees higher than if the transistors were not arranged on a
thermal member 5 in direct connection with the housing. Enabling the tool string
12 comprising an electronics assembly with transistor elements 4 to operate at
elevated temperatures is crucial when working in a downhole environment. Local
temperature changes in the earth crust, such as in the vicinity of magma, may
cause destruction of electronic elements such as transistors. Therefore, increased
ability to resist elevated temperatures is very valuable in downhole operations.
Furthermore, downhole equipment has the general problem that it is very
compact due to the spacial requirements and that it is in close proximity to the
surroundings, both leading to difficulties in expelling heat during operation.
Thermal grease may be utilised in order to obtain a good thermal conductance
between the transistor elements 4 and the thermal member 5. Additionally or
alternatively to thermal grease, the transistors may be clamped towards the
surface of the thermal member 5 again to ensure good thermal contact and
thereby good thermal conductance.
The thermal member 5 may advantageously be made from high thermal
conductance material such as a metal such as aluminium. However, since metals
are also electrical conductors, the transistors may short wire through the thermal
member 5, if they are in direct contact, leading to breakdown of the transistors.
Therefore, the transistor elements 4 and the thermal members 5 are typically
separated by an insulating member 7 as shown in Fig. 1, which has to be a
relatively good thermal conductor but a very poor electrical conductor, such as a
an aluminium oxide.
As shown in Fig. 1, the thermal member 5 may comprise a compartment 10
containing a heat absorption material with a melting point below a critical
breakdown temperature of the plurality of transistors for providing an extra
latent heat of fusion fail-safe protection against temperatures above the melting
point of the heat absorption material. Having the compartment 10 containing a
heat absorption material ensures that when the temperature of the thermal
member 5 exceeds the melting temperature of the heat absorption material, the
heat absorption material will absorb the extra heat in the latent heat of fusion or
so-called melting energy in order to melt the material without further increasing
the temperature, thereby providing a temperature limitation of the thermal
member 5 until the heat absorption material is entirely melted. The transistor
elements 4 are electrically connected with the electronic module 3 by electrical
wires 16.
Alternatively, the compartment 10 may contain an active cooling element. Active
cooling elements may be provided by well-known cooling systems such as vapour
compression refrigeration, magnetic cooling, evaporative cooling, thermoelectric
cooling or other cooling techniques. Also combinations of passive and active
cooling elements in the compartment may be used to prevent temperatures of
the electronic elements in the electronic assembly from exceeding critical
temperatures.
By providing passive or active cooling in the thermal member, fail-safe operation
of the electronic assembly may be ensured. Also, wear of the electronic
components used in the electronic assembly due to elevated temperatures is
diminished.
Depending on various parameters such as available power, available space,
required cooling capacity etc., specific active cooling elements may have
advantages such as e.g. thermoelectric cooling if space is very limited and power
is available, which is normally the case in downhole equipment.
As shown in Fig. 5, the thermal member 5 is a solid protrusion 4 1 of the tool
housing 2. Fig. 5 shows the thermal member 5 attached to the housing, but
alternatively the thermal member may be an integral part of the housing, which
may improve heat transfer but seriously challenge the construction of the
housing.
As also shown in Fig. 5, the electronic module 3 is attached to the tool housing 2
and the transistor elements 4 are attached to the thermal member 5 thereby
enhancing the thermal decoupling of electronic module 3 and transistor elements
4.
Fig. 2 shows a close-up perspective view of the thermal member 5. As shown,
the thermal member 5 may have a circular end member 5a to accommodate
mounting in a cylindrically shaped downhole tool which is the most typical shape
for downhole tools.
The thermal member 5 may be made from a highly thermally conductive material
such as preferably a metal, such as preferably aluminium.
The thermal member 5 may also act as a heat sink to absorb excessive heat and
not only transfer the heat away from the transistor elements 4. The housing
serves as a heat sink interacting with the surrounding well fluid in the borehole
15 or the casing in the event of a cased completion.
Transistor elements 4 need thermal stabilisation because the operating point of a
transistor junction, similar to a diode, is affected by temperature. In fact, this can
cause thermal runaway, and device destruction, if the design does not account
for this.
A direct connection will, in the present application, be considered to be a
connection between solid members. Even if the connection between two solid
members may be enhanced by a liquid thermal grease or the like, the connection
is still considered to be a direct connection.
Although the invention has been described in the above in connection with
preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be evident for a person skilled in
the art that several modifications are conceivable without departing from the
invention as defined by the following claims.
Claims
1. A downhole tool (100) comprising:
- a tool housing (2), and
- an electronics assembly (1) comprising:
- an electronic module (3) located within the housing,
wherein the electronics assembly further comprises a plurality of transistor
elements (4) being electrically connected with the electronic module and being
arranged on a thermal member (5) which is thermally connected with the
housing, wherein the electronic module is thermally insulated from the thermal
member.
2. A downhole tool according to claim 1, wherein the thermal member is a
solid protrusion (41) of the housing.
3. A downhole tool according to claim 2, wherein the electronic module is
connected to the housing and the plurality of transistor elements are connected
to the thermal member.
4. A downhole tool according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the housing is a
heat sink for the plurality of transistor elements.
5. A downhole tool according to any of claims 1-4, wherein a mating tool (6) of
the downhole tool comprising the electronics assembly is a heat sink for the
plurality of transistor elements.
6. A downhole tool according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the thermal
member further comprises a compartment (10) containing a heat absorption
material with a melting point below a critical breakdown temperature of the
plurality of transistor elements for providing an extra latent heat of fusion fail
safe protection against temperatures above the melting point of the heat
absorption material.
7. A downhole tool according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the thermal
member further comprises a compartment (10) containing an active cooling
element such as a vapour compression refrigeration element, a magnetic cooling
element, an evaporative cooling element or a thermoelectric cooling element.
8. A downhole tool according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the plurality of
transistor elements are electrically insulated but thermally connected to the
thermal member through a plurality of insulation members (7).
9. A downhole tool comprising an electronics assembly according to any of the
preceding claims, further comprising one or more operational units (40) being a
logging unit, such as a thermal probe, an image generating unit, a measuring
unit, such as a flow velocity measuring unit, a positioning unit, such as a casing
collar locator, or similar operational unit.
10. A downhole tool comprising an electronics assembly according to any of
the preceding claims, further comprising a pump or a cleaning unit.
11. A downhole system (200) comprising:
- a wireline (13),
- a tool string (12), and
- a downhole tool (100) according to any of claims 1-10.