WO2015054432A1 - Système de surveillance de dynamique pourvu d'un capteur de rotation - Google Patents

Système de surveillance de dynamique pourvu d'un capteur de rotation Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015054432A1
WO2015054432A1 PCT/US2014/059775 US2014059775W WO2015054432A1 WO 2015054432 A1 WO2015054432 A1 WO 2015054432A1 US 2014059775 W US2014059775 W US 2014059775W WO 2015054432 A1 WO2015054432 A1 WO 2015054432A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
dms
sensor
rotational
mems gyroscope
power
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2014/059775
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English (en)
Inventor
Joseph Lane
Tom Cahill
John J. Cooley
Riccardo Signorelli
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Fastcap Systems Corporation
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Filing date
Publication date
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Publication of WO2015054432A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015054432A1/fr

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
    • E21B47/02—Determining slope or direction
    • E21B47/024—Determining slope or direction of devices in the borehole

Definitions

  • various embodiments relate to a downhole dynamics monitoring system (DMS) that includes, in certain embodiments, a rotational sensor.
  • the DMS can log data.
  • the DMS may be configured, in some embodiments, to operate at high temperatures.
  • the DMS may also include or be coupled to an energy storage, such as a high temperature rechargeable energy storage device (HTRES).
  • HTRES high temperature rechargeable energy storage device
  • the energy storage may include at least one ultracapacitor.
  • the DMS may also include or be coupled to a modular signal interface device (MSID).
  • the modular signal interface device may be used, for example, to control DMS or the energy storage component, to log data from the DMS, or to facilitate communication with one or more additional instruments or tools, e.g., in a drill string assembly (DSA).
  • DSA drill string assembly
  • a dynamics monitoring system for downhole drilling applications, the DMS including at least one rotational sensor, where the DMS is capable of operating at temperatures throughout an operating temperature range comprising about 175 °C to about 210 °C.
  • the operating temperature range comprises about 150 °C to about 210 °C, about 120 °C to about 210 °C, about 0 °C to about 210 °C, -10 °C to about 210 °C, about -40°C to about 210 °C, about -10 °C to about 250 °C, or about -40 °C to about 250 °C.
  • the rotational sensor comprises a MEMS gyroscope, e.g., implemented as a monolithic integrated circuit.
  • a method of monitoring the dynamics of a drilling device used in a downhole environment including: selecting a dynamics monitoring system (DMS) for downhole drilling applications, the DMS comprising at least one rotational sensor, wherein the DMS is capable of operating at a temperatures throughout an operating temperature range; and using the rotational sensor to measure at least one dynamic quality of the drilling device in a downhole environment having an ambient temperature in the operating temperature range.
  • DMS dynamics monitoring system
  • the operating temperature range comprises about 150 °C to about 210 °C, about 120 °C to about 210 °C, about 0 °C to about 210 °C, -10 °C to about 210 °C, about -40°C to about 210 °C, about -10 °C to about 250 °C, or about -40 °C to about 250 °C.
  • the rotational sensor comprises a MEMS gyroscope, e.g., implemented as a monolithic integrated circuit.
  • FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a drill string that includes a DMS
  • FIG. IB illustrates an exemplary embodiment for well logging with an instrument including a DMS deployed by a wireline;
  • FIG. 3 illustrates aspects of an exemplary ultracapacitor
  • FIG. 4 depicts embodiments of primary structures for cations that may be included in an exemplary ultracapacitor
  • FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of a housing for an exemplary ultracapacitor
  • FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a storage cell for an exemplary capacitor
  • FIG. 7 depicts a barrier disposed on an interior portion of an exemplary body of a housing
  • FIGS. 8A and 8B depict aspects of an exemplary cap for a housing
  • FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary assembly of the ultracapacitor according to certain of the teachings herein;
  • FIG. 10 depicts the modular housing system, e.g., the 3 component housing in both assembled and disconnected views;
  • FIG. 11 depicts a barrier disposed about a storage cell as a wrapper, according to certain embodiments.
  • FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C depict exemplary embodiments of a cap that include multi-layered materials
  • FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view, according to some embodiments, of an electrode assembly that includes a glass-to-metal seal;
  • FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the exemplary electrode assembly of FIG. 13 installed in the exemplary cap of FIG. 12B;
  • FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary arrangement of an energy storage cell in process of assembly
  • FIGS. 16A, 16B and 16C collectively referred to herein as FIG. 16, depict certain embodiments of an assembled energy storage cell
  • FIG. 17 depicts use of polymeric insulation over an exemplary electrode assembly
  • FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C depict aspects of an exemplary template for another embodiment of the cap for the energy storage;
  • FIG. 19 is a perspective view of an electrode assembly, according to certain embodiments, that includes hemispherically shaped material
  • FIG. 20 is a perspective view of an exemplary cap including the electrode assembly of FIG. 19 installed in the template of FIG. 18C;
  • FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the cap of FIG. 20;
  • FIG. 22 is a transparent isometric view of an exemplary energy storage cell disposed in a cylindrical housing
  • FIG. 23 is an isometric view of an embodiment of an exemplary energy storage cell prior to being rolled into a rolled storage cell
  • FIG. 24 is a side view of a storage cell, showing the various layers of one embodiment
  • FIG. 25 is an isometric view of a rolled storage cell, according to some embodiments, which includes a reference mark for placing a plurality of leads;
  • FIG. 26 is an isometric view of the exemplary storage cell of FIG. 25 with reference marks prior to being rolled;
  • FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary rolled up storage cell with the plurality of leads included;
  • FIG. 28 depicts, according to certain emodiments, a Z-fold imparted into aligned leads (i.e., a terminal) coupled to a storage cell;
  • FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary ultracapacitor string, as described herein, highlighting certain components of assembly.
  • FIG. 30 depcits an depicts an exemplary ultracapacitor string in a 3 strand pack assembly of ultracapacitors.
  • FIG. 31 A depicts a cell assembly without excess internal space
  • FIG. 3 IB depicts a cell assembly with excess internal space
  • FIG. 32 depicts modular board stackers as bus connectors, comprising headers and receptacles
  • FIG. 33 depicts aspects of an ultracapacitor management system
  • FIG. 34 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a system disclosed herein
  • FIG. 35 depicts a flow diagram relating to communication protocols
  • FIG. 36 depicts a circuit model of a motor
  • FIG. 37 depicts a flow diagram relating to motor control
  • FIG. 38 depicts configurations of accelerometers
  • FIG. 39 depicts a downhole system with a cut away from the housing showing the internal components
  • FIGS. 40A and 40B depict exemplary current and voltage data illustrating the MSID-based devices, system, and methods disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 41 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary DMS;
  • FIG. 42 is a perspective view of an exemplary DMS;
  • FIG. 43 is a schematic view of an interface module for an exemplary DMS with a housing cut away to show internal components
  • FIG. 44 is a schematic view of a power module for an exemplary DMS
  • FIG. 45 is a schematic view of a rotational sensor module for an exemplary DMS
  • FIG. 46A is a top down view of a circuit board assembly for a rotational sensor module for an exemplary DMS
  • FIG. 46B is a side cross sectional view of a circuit board assembly of FIG. 46A taken through the dashed line in FIG. 46A;
  • FIG. 47A is a top down view of a circuit board assembly for a rotational sensor module for an exemplary DMS
  • FIG. 47B is a side cross sectional view of the circuit board assembly of FIG. 47A taken through the dashed line in FIG. 47A;
  • FIGS. 48A, 48B, and48C illustrate successive steps in a process for mounting a MEMS gyroscope on a circuit board.
  • FIG. 49 is a schematic view of a shock and vibration sensor module for an exemplary DMS
  • FIG. 50A is a top down view of a circuit board assembly for a shock and vibration sensor module for an exemplary DMS;
  • FIG. 50B is a side cross sectional view of a circuit board assembly of FIG. 50A taken through the dashed line in FIG. 50A;
  • a downhole system that includes an energy storage and, in certain embodiments, a modular signal interface device.
  • the modular signal interface device may be used, for example, to control the energy storage component.
  • the modular signal interface device can log data.
  • the energy storage and/or the modular signal interface device may be configured, in some embodiments, to operate at high temperatures.
  • the systems some of which may be power systems, provide users with greater capabilities than previously achieved downhole. Such systems, while shown specifically for use in downhole environments, may be used for any application where similar environments exist, such as engine compartments of planes, cars, etc, or energy production plants/turbines. However, in order to provide context for the downhole power systems and methods for use, some background information and definitions are provided.
  • FIG. 1 where aspects of an apparatus for drilling a wellbore 101 (also referred to as a "borehole") are shown.
  • a depth of the wellbore 101 is described along a Z-axis, while a cross-section is provided on a plane described by an X-axis and a 7-axis.
  • the wellbore 101 is drilled into the Earth 102 using a drill string 111 driven by a drilling rig (not shown) which, among other things, provides rotational energy and downward force.
  • the wellbore 101 generally traverses sub-surface materials, which may include various formations 103 (shown as formations 103 A, 103B, 103C).
  • formations the various geologic features as may be encountered in a subsurface environment
  • sub-surface materials the array of materials down the borehole (i.e., downhole) may be referred to as “sub-surface materials.” That is, the formations 103 are formed of sub-surface materials.
  • formation generally refers to geologic formations, and "sub-surface material,” includes any materials, and may include materials such as solids, fluids, gases, liquids, and the like.
  • the drill string 111 includes lengths of drill pipe 112 which drive a drill bit 114.
  • the drill bit 114 also provides a flow of a drilling fluid 104, such as drilling mud.
  • the drilling fluid 104 is often pumped to the drill bit 114 through the drill pipe 112, where the fluid exits into the wellbore 101. This results in an upward flow, F, of drilling fluid 104 within the wellbore 101.
  • the upward flow, F generally cools the drill string 111 and components thereof, carries away cuttings from the drill bit 114 and prevents blowout of pressurized hydrocarbons 105.
  • the drilling fluid 104 (also referred to as “drilling mud”) generally includes a mixture of liquids such as water, drilling fluid, mud, oil, gases, and formation fluids as may be indigenous to the surroundings. Although drilling fluid 104 may be introduced for drilling operations, use or the presence of the drilling fluid 104 is neither required for nor necessarily excluded from well logging operations. Generally, a layer of materials will exist between an outer surface of the drill string 111 and a wall of the wellbore 101. This layer is referred to as a “standoff layer,” and includes a thickness, referred to as “standoff, S.”
  • the drill string 111 generally includes equipment for performing
  • MWD measuring while drilling
  • LWD logging while drilling
  • Performing MWD or LWD generally calls for operation of a logging instrument 100 that in incorporated into the drill string 111 and designed for operation while drilling.
  • the logging instrument 100 for performing MWD is coupled to an electronics package which is also on board the drill string 111, and therefore referred to as “downhole electronics 113.”
  • the downhole electronics 113 provides for at least one of operational control and data analysis.
  • the logging instrument 100 and the downhole electronics 113 are coupled to topside equipment 107.
  • the topside equipment 107 may be included to further control operations, provide greater analysis capabilities, and/or log data, and the like.
  • a communications channel (not shown) may provide for communications to the topside equipment 107, and may operate via pulsed mud, wired pipe, and/or any other technologies as are known in the art.
  • data from the MWD apparatus provide users with enhanced capabilities.
  • data made available from MWD evolutions may be useful as inputs to geosteering (i.e., steering the drill string 111 during the drilling process) and the like.
  • FIG. 2 an exemplary logging instrument 100 for wireline logging of the wellbore 101 is shown.
  • a depth of the wellbore 101 is described along a Z-axis, while a cross-section is provided on a plane described by an X-axis and a 7-axis.
  • the wellbore 101 is drilled into the Earth 102 using a drilling apparatus, such as the one shown in FIG. 1.
  • the wellbore 101 has been filled, at least to some extent, with drilling fluid 104.
  • the drilling fluid 104 (also referred to as “drilling mud”) generally includes a mixture of liquids such as water, drilling fluid, mud, oil, gases, and formation fluids as may be indigenous to the surroundings.
  • drilling fluid 104 may be introduced for drilling operations, use or the presence of the drilling fluid 104 is neither required for nor necessarily excluded from logging operations during wireline logging.
  • a layer of materials will exist between an outer surface of the logging instrument 100 and a wall of the wellbore 101. This layer is referred to as a "standoff layer,” and includes a thickness, referred to as "standoff, 5.”
  • the logging instrument 100 is lowered into the wellbore 101 using a wireline 108 deployed by a derrick 106 or similar equipment.
  • the wireline 108 includes suspension apparatus, such as a load bearing cable, as well as other apparatus.
  • the other apparatus may include a power supply, a communications link (such as wired or optical) and other such equipment.
  • the wireline 108 is conveyed from a service truck 109 or other similar apparatus (such as a service station, a base station, etc,).
  • the wireline 108 is coupled to topside equipment 107.
  • the topside equipment 107 may provide power to the logging instrument 100, as well as provide computing and processing capabilities for at least one of control of operations and analysis of data.
  • the logging instrument 100 includes a power supply 115.
  • the power supply 115 may provide power to downhole electronics 113 (i.e., power consuming devices) as appropriate.
  • the downhole electronics 113 provide measurements and/or perform sampling and/or any other sequences desired to locate, ascertain and qualify a presence of hydrocarbons 105.
  • alkenyl and alkynyl are recognized in the art and refer to unsaturated aliphatic groups analogous in length and possible substitution to the alkyls described below, but that contain at least one double or triple bond respectively.
  • alkyl is recognized in the art and may include saturated aliphatic groups, including straight-chain alkyl groups, branched-chain alkyl groups, cycloalkyl (alicyclic) groups, alkyl substituted cycloalkyl groups, and cycloalkyl substituted alkyl groups.
  • a straight chain or branched chain alkyl has about 20 or fewer carbon atoms in its backbone (e.g., C1-C20 for straight chain, C1-C20 for branched chain).
  • cycloalkyls have from about 3 to about 10 carbon atoms in their ring structure, and alternatively about 5, 6 or 7 carbons in the ring structure.
  • alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, ethyl hexyl, cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl and the like.
  • the phrase "at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements.
  • This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.
  • At least one of A and B can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.
  • back EMF is art recognized and describes the induced voltage that varies with the speed and position of the rotor.
  • buffer when used in the context of a system as described herein, e.g. a power system as described herein, generally relates to a decoupling of an aspect (e.g., at least one aspect) of a first input or output of said system from one aspect of second input or output of said system.
  • exemplary aspects include voltage, current, power, frequency, phase, and the like.
  • buffering, buffer, power buffer, source buffer and the like as used herein generally relate to the concept of the buffer as defined above.
  • cell refers to an ultracapacitor cell.
  • Cladding refers to the bonding together of dissimilar metals. Cladding is often achieved by extruding two metals through a die as well as pressing or rolling sheets together under high pressure. Other processes, such as laser cladding, may be used. A result is a sheet of material composed of multiple layers, where the multiple layers of material are bonded together such that the material may be worked with as a single sheet (e.g., formed as a single sheet of homogeneous material would be formed).
  • a "contaminant” may be defined as any unwanted material that may negatively affect performance of the ultracapacitor 10 if introduced. Also note, that generally herein, contaminants may be assessed as a concentration, such as in parts-per-million (ppm). The concentration may be taken as by weight, volume, sample weight, or in any other manner as determined appropriate.
  • control generally relates to governing performance of the power supply.
  • control may be construed to provide monitoring of performance of the power supply. The monitoring may be useful, for example, for otherwise controlling aspects of use of the power supply (e.g., withdrawing the power supply when a state-of-charge indicates useful charge has been expended).
  • control controls
  • controlling should be construed broadly and in a manner that would cover such additional interpretations as may be intended or otherwise indicated.
  • cyano is given its ordinary meaning in the art and refers to the group, CN.
  • sulfate is given its ordinary meaning in the art and refers to the group, S0 2 .
  • sulfonate is given its ordinary meaning in the art and refers to the group, SO3X, where X may be an electron pair, hydrogen, alkyl or cycloalkyl.
  • downhole conditions or “downhole environments” may be used interchangeably herein to describe the general conditions experienced for equipment subjected to environments comprising high temperatures, e.g., greater than 75 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 100 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 125 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 150 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 175 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 200 degrees Celsius, and/or shock and vibrations greater than 5 G, e.g. greater than 10 G, e.g. greater than 20 G, e.g. greater than 50 G, e.g. greater than 100 G.
  • high temperatures e.g., greater than 75 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 100 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 125 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 150 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 175 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 200 degrees Celsius
  • shock and vibrations greater than 5 G, e.g. greater
  • dynamic quality refers to any time varying aspect of an object or system, such as rotational rate, acceleration, vibration, temperature, pressure, or the like.
  • Energy density is one half times the square of a peak device voltage times a device capacitance divided by a mass or volume of said device
  • hermetic refers to a seal whose quality ⁇ i.e., leak rate) is defined in units of "atm-cc/second,” which means one cubic centimeter of gas ⁇ e.g., He) per second at ambient atmospheric pressure and temperature. This is equivalent to an expression in units of "standard He-cc/sec.” Further, it is recognized that 1 atm-cc/sec is equal to 1.01325 mbar-liter/sec.
  • heteroalkenyl and “heteroalkynyl” are recognized in the art and refer to alkenyl and alkynyl alkyl groups as described herein in which one or more atoms is a heteroatom ⁇ e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and the like).
  • heteroalkyl is recognized in the art and refers to alkyl groups as described herein in which one or more atoms is a heteroatom (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and the like).
  • alkoxy group e.g., -OR
  • leakage current generally refers to current drawn by the capacitor which is measured after a given period of time. This measurement is performed when the capacitor terminals are held at a substantially fixed potential difference (terminal voltage). When assessing leakage current, a typical period of time is seventy two (72) hours, although different periods may be used. It is noted that leakage current for prior art capacitors generally increases with increasing volume and surface area of the energy storage media and the attendant increase in the inner surface area of the housing. In general, an increasing leakage current is considered to be indicative of progressively increasing reaction rates within the ultracapacitor 10. Performance requirements for leakage current are generally defined by the environmental conditions prevalent in a particular application. For example, with regard to an ultracapacitor 10 having a volume of 20 mL, a practical limit on leakage current may fall below 200 mA.
  • a “lifetime” for the capacitor is also generally defined by a particular application and is typically indicated by a certain percentage increase in leakage current or degradation of another parameter such as capacitance or internal resistance (as appropriate or determinative for the given application).
  • the lifetime of a capacitor in an automotive application may be defined as the time at which the leakage current increases to 200% of its initial (beginning of life or "BOL") value.
  • the lifetime of a capacitor in an oil and gas application may be defined as the time at which any of the following occurs: the capacitance falls to 50% of its BOL value, the internal resistance increases to 200% of its BOL value, the leakage increases to 200% of its BOL value.
  • the terms “durability” and "reliability” of a device when used herein generally relate to a lifetime of said device as defined above.
  • module bus is used herein as a convention to describe the protocol of board topology and pin assignment on each circuit board which supports the flow of power and that affords it the capability to communicate to the other circuits and/or external hardware through the aligned stackers connecting the boards.
  • An "operating temperature range" of a device generally relates to a range of temperatures within which certain levels of performance are maintained and is generally determined for a given application.
  • the operating temperature range for an oil and gas application may be defined as the temperature range in which the resistance of a device is less than about 1,000% of the resistance of said device at 30 degrees Celsius, and the capacitance is more than about 10% of the capacitance at 30 degrees Celsius.
  • an operating temperature range specification provides for a lower bound of useful temperatures whereas a lifetime specification provides for an upper bound of useful temperatures.
  • optimization and “optimize” are used herein to describe the process of moving a system or performance towards an improved system or performance as compared to a system or performance without the object or method that is being recited as causing the optimization.
  • optimization and “optimize” are used herein to describe the process of moving a system or performance towards an improved system or performance as compared to a system or performance without the object or method that is being recited as causing the optimization.
  • Peak power density is one fourth times the square of a peak device voltage divided by an effective series resistance of said device divided by a mass or volume of said device.
  • signal describes the transference of energy or data over time. Moreover, unless specified otherwise, the term signal will mean either energy transference over time, or data transference over time.
  • subsurface refers to an environment below the surface of the earth or an environment having similar characteristics.
  • system or “systems” are used herein to include power systems, data logging systems, or a combination thereof.
  • ultracapacitor describes an energy storage device exploiting art-recognized eletro lytic double layer capacitance mechanisms.
  • a "volumetric leakage current" of the ultracapacitor 10 generally refers to leakage current divided by a volume of the ultracapacitor 10, and may be expressed, for example in units of niA/cc.
  • a “volumetric capacitance” of the ultracapacitor 10 generally refers to capacitance of the ultracapacitor 10 divided by the volume of the ultracapacitor 10, and may be expressed, for example in units of F/cc.
  • “volumetric ESR" of the ultracapacitor 10 generally refers to ESR of the ultracapacitor 10 multiplied by the volume of the ultracapacitor 10, and may be expressed, for example in units of Ohms'cc.
  • a dynamics monitoring system for downhole drilling applications, such as oil and gas drilling, may include a variety of sensors. Sensors may be included to measure, for example, rotational rate, acceleration, centripetal force, torque, temperature, direction, and orientation.
  • the DMS may be configured to operate in downhole environments.
  • the DMS wherein the DMS is capable of operating at a temperatures throughout an operating temperature range comprising one or more of the following subranges: about 175 °C to about 210 °C, about 150 °C to about 210 °C, about 120 °C to about 210 °C, about 0 °C to about 210 °C, about -10 °C to about 210 °C, the operating about -40°C to about 210 °C, about -10 °C to about 250 °C, and -40 °C to about 250 °C.
  • the DMS may have a suitable form factor for use in a downhole application.
  • the DMS may be included in a drill string assembly (DSA) such as the drill string 1 11 shown in Fig. 1.
  • the DMS may be included in a wireline based logging instrument, such as the logging instrument 300 shown in Fig. 2.
  • the DMS may comprise a cylindrical housing or body.
  • the DMS may comprise an annular housing or body.
  • an axis of a DMS or a tool axis refers to the axis of the cylindrical or annular housing.
  • a DMS comprises at least one micro- electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor.
  • Example sensors include rotational rate sensors or gyros or gyroscopes.
  • Other example sensors include accelerometers, inertial measurement units, inertial sensors, torque sensors, microphones, and temperature sensors.
  • MEMS rotational rate sensor, rotational rate sensor, MEMS gyro, gyro, MEMS gyroscope, and gyroscope are interchangeable. They refer to a MEMS device designed to measure rotational rate.
  • Some configurations include those having at least one MEMS accelerometer disposed and oriented in such a way as to measure a centripetal acceleration effect caused by a rotation.
  • a plurality of MEMS accelerometers are used in order to improve performance aspects such as rejection of non-rotational acceleration measurements, rejection of noise, and rejection of offset or drift.
  • Some configurations employ one or more resonator gyroscopes, such as a hemispherical or disk resonator gyroscope.
  • a MEMS gyroscope is utilized to determine a rotational rate of a downhole tool, tool string, section of drill string, or of an entire drill string (collectively referred to herein as a "drill string assembly" or "DSA").
  • a MEMS gyroscope can be fashioned from separate MEMS accelerometers.
  • a MEMS gyroscope can be implemented as as a single monolithic part, e.g., a monolithic integrated circuit.
  • a MEMS gyroscope may be disposed in a DMS in a number of ways.
  • One example relies on at least one circular circuit board whose normal axis is parallel to the axis about which rotation will be sensed.
  • the circular circuit board may be used for mounting the gyroscope so that its sensing axis is substantially centered with the axis of the DMS.
  • the circular circuit board may also be purposed for providing electrical connection to said gyroscope.
  • a gyroscope has a surface mount package and may be populated on the circuit board so that its sensing axis is substantially close to the center of the circular circuit board.
  • a gyroscope has a through hole package and may be populated on the circuit board so that its sensing axis is substantially close to the center of the circular circuit board.
  • a sensing axis may be parallel to the plane of the circular circuit board and so the package must be modified.
  • the pins of the through hole package may be bent at 90 degrees so that the gyroscope lays flat on the circular circuit board, (e.g., as detailed in the examples below)
  • the vias for accepting the pins may be offset to allow for the gyroscope body to fall on the center of the circular circuit board.
  • the MEMS gyroscope may be mounted on a circuit board (e.g., a rectangular board) having a normal axis that is transverse to the axis of the tool.
  • the MEMS gyroscope may be mounted vertically on the circuit board (i.e., such that a major dimension of the gyroscope package extends transverse to a major surface of the board) such that the sensing axis of the gyroscope is transverse to the normal axis of the circuit board an parallel to (e.g., coincident with) the axis of the tool.
  • the MEMs gyroscope may be flat monted on a "daughter" circuit board extending transverse to the main circuit board (i.e., such that a major dimension of the gyroscope package extends parallel to a major surface of the daughter board), such that, again, the sensing axis of the gyroscope is transverse to the normal axis of the circuit board an parallel to (e.g., coincident with) the axis of the DSA.
  • a gyroscope is disposed in a
  • a gyroscope may be vertically mounted, or mounted by way of a "daughter board" in order to change its orientation relative to the tool axis if needed.
  • a gyroscope may already be configured with a sensing axis parallel to the tool axis when mounted to an axially disposed circuit board. For instance, a part whose sensing axis is in the plane of the circuit board to which it is mounted may be readily used to sense rotation about the tool axis when mounted to an axially mounted circuit board.
  • a sensing axis of a part may be arbitrarily defined for any type of package (surface mount, through hole or otherwise) but is typically normal to the board or parallel to the board on which the part will be mounted.
  • a staking material may be used to support said gyroscopes or to attach the body of said gyroscopes to the circular circuit board. Additional encapsulation by way of potting processes is also helpful for resisting failure under shock, vibration and temperature. Encapsulation is also helpful in reducing the linear acceleration that is sensed by the gyroscope in order to improve rejection of non-rotational acceleration.
  • a DMS should report a faithful representation of downhole conditions. Meanwhile, those downhole conditions may be damaging to the DMS itself - the DMS may be similar in construction to other components in the downhole system, the same components that the DMS's information may be useful for protecting. Therefore, it is desirable, in certain embodiments, that the DMS is protected from downhole conditions, but is simultaneously enabled to provide faithful representations of monitored conditions.
  • the DMS may employ a body of protection features, for instance damped mechanical coupling between relatively sensitive electronic components and the housing.
  • protection features may include dampening, mechanical energy dissipation and or soft coupling mechanisms.
  • dampening may be provided by an encapsulant, such as a potting compound surrounding the electronic components of the DMS or dampening pads or inserts disposed between relatively hard surfaces of an electronics system and a portion of a housing or the like, or combinations thereof.
  • a faithful representation of downhole conditions can be recovered by providing for a predetermined "map" between ambient conditions and measured conditions.
  • Said map may be measured, for example, in the form of a transfer function in the frequency domain, the transfer function describing the gain and perhaps phase contribution of the protection features to the ambient excitation signal as measured by the DMS.
  • Said map may be determined (calibrated) on the surface and then stored in memory.
  • Said map may be quantified for a variety of different operating conditions, for instance at a variety of temperatures or pressures or immersed in a variety of fluid types.
  • Said map may be stored locally (e.g. in a memory on the DMS), or remotely (e.g. in a memory accessible to a surface system). In the latter case, the DMS may be responsible for transmitting enough downhole parameters independent of the protection features such that the surface system may map measured conditions to downhole conditions.
  • a DMS includes sensors that can withstand high temperature environments encountered in downhole drilling applications, such as oil and gas drilling and geothermal drilling.
  • a DMS will employ one or more rotational sensors, e.g., MEMS gyros, that are capable of working over a wide range of temperatures, and particularly at temperatures of about 150 °C or higher, e.g., from about -40 °C to about 210 °C or -40 °C to about 250 °C
  • Exemplary commercial gyroscope parts include the ADXRS646
  • ADXR645 available from Analog Devices Inc., One Technology Way, Norwood, MA, 02062 USA. Many monolithic parts publish specified temperature ratings of about 105 °C to about 125 °C and storage temperature ranges beyond those, e.g., 150 °C (e.g. the ADXRS646). Primary challenges for achieving reliable operation at temperatures typical of oil and gas applications (150 °C, 175 °C, and up to about 210 °C or 250 °C) include packaging limitations and performance limitations. Off the shelf parts rated for storage up to about 150 °C can be further qualified in-house for reliable operation at or beyond those temperatures. The ADXR645 is particularly advantageous in that it has a published operational temperature range of -40 °C to 175 °C. Applicants have discovered tha the ADXR645 may be used reliably for temperatures up to and even above 210 °C.
  • the parts may be re -packaged by one of several re -packaging service providers to move the part into, for instance, a ceramic package with compatible wire bond and bond pad materials and also high temperature die attach material.
  • the offset of the output of a gyro may change with temperature.
  • the measured data may be used to directly inform a calibration algorithm that combines temperature measurements and the output of the gyro to form a new calibrated output.
  • the calibration data may be stored in memory, preferably nonvolatile memory and the algorithm implemented in firmware by a microcontroller.
  • a gyro such as the the ADXR645 may be combined with one or more calibration modules configured to calibrate the output of the ADXR645 at temperatures above a threshold temperature, e.g., above 150 °C or above 175 °C in order to deal with offset drift, nonlinear response, or similar calibration issues exhibited by the device at higher temperatures.
  • a threshold temperature e.g., above 150 °C or above 175 °C in order to deal with offset drift, nonlinear response, or similar calibration issues exhibited by the device at higher temperatures.
  • a typical useful range for rotational rate sensing in oil and gas applications is about 0 RPM to about 250 RPM. Higher ranges may also be useful for instance up to 1000 RPM, 1500 RM, 200 RM or higher. Meanwhile a typical useful resolution for rotational rate sensing in these applications is about 1 RPM.
  • wide temperature variations as may be typical in these applications may cause erroneous fluctuations or drift of the RPM measurement.
  • these sensors may have a minimum detectable signal based on wideband noise.
  • resolution is lower for higher range and vice versa.
  • the measured outputs of the two sensors may be "meshed" so that an aggregate output represents the output from either of at least the two sensors.
  • a DMS is able to determine a rotational rate of a tool string about an axis. In some embodiments, a DMS is able to account for the effect of gravity.
  • a DMS includes sensor circuit boards sufficient to measure accelerometer-based vibration detection and/or shock detection.
  • the DMS sensor circuit boards are configured for detection of acceleration, e.g. shock and vibration, among 6 degrees of freedom.
  • the DMS sensor circuit boards are configured for detection of shock, e.g., with the range of detectable shocks approximately less than about 1,000 G.
  • a DMS sensor circuit board may comprise one accelerometer. In certain embodiments a sensor circuit board may comprise multiple accelerometers.
  • a DMS comprises a combination of two sensor circuit boards, wherein one sensor circuit board comprises one accelerometer, and the second sensor circuit board comprises two accelerometers.
  • 3 accelerometers may be arranged in accordance with Figure 41.
  • This configuration of sensor circuit boards makes available six degrees of freedom (6- DOF), which are composed of three translational (axial or lateral) degrees of freedom, (x, y, and z) and three rotational degrees of freedom (the rotation around each of these axis, x r , y r , and z r ).
  • Translational acceleration can be measured by a single 3 -axis accelerometer.
  • a difference between two parallel axes of acceleration may be taken.
  • Figure 38A shows a sample orientation suited for measuring 6-DOF.
  • a system of the present invention comprises a configuration of sensors providing for 6 degree of freedom acceleration measurements.
  • the DMS comprises at least one sensor circuit board configured to measure rotation.
  • Figure 38A depicts that the rotation x r may be found through the difference of the y vectors of Al and A3; the rotation y r may be found through the difference of the x vectors of Al and A3; and the rotation z r may be found through the difference between the x acceleration vectors of Al and A2.
  • the rotational velocity of a DSA around the central z axis is directly related to the centripetal acceleration.
  • Centripetal acceleration may be measured by a sensor with at least one measurement axis having a component directed radially, for instance, A3 in Figure 38 A.
  • a radial acceleration measurement may be taken as the difference between radial components of Al and A2, as well as between the radial components of Al and A3. The orthogonal placement and redundant radial measurements enables separation of angular velocity around the z axis from the four acceleration components while providing less measurement uncertainty.
  • the invention provides a DMS configured for data logging and/or reporting comprising a configuration of accelerometers in a 3- axis orientation, wherein this 3 -axis orientation is comprised of a first sensor circuit board with at least one accelerometer electrically coupled to at least a second sensor circuit board, e.g. comprising two accelerometers, wherein one of the said two accelerometers on said second board is axially aligned with an accelerometer on the first sensor circuit board.
  • acceleration measuring units e.g. those used to measure rotational velocity, those used to measure vibration, and those used to measure shock.
  • these three examples generally differ in drilling applications in their typical ranges of acceleration, for instance, centripetal acceleration as may be used to determine rotational velocity may range from about 0 to about 5 G, vibration whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about 50 G, and shock, whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about several thousand G.
  • centripetal acceleration as may be used to determine rotational velocity may range from about 0 to about 5 G
  • vibration whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about 50 G
  • shock whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about several thousand G.
  • acceleration measuring units e.g.
  • accelerometers present tradeoffs between range and resolution, for instance an accelerometer having a range of 1,000 G may have a resolution of about 5 G, while an accelerometer having a range of 5 G may have a resolution of about 100 mG.
  • measurements requiring higher range also have relaxed requirements on resolution.
  • various accelerometers are characterized by various frequency response aspects, e.g. bandwidth specifications.
  • vibration and shock measurements generally require moderate to high bandwidth
  • moderate to high g accelerometers and in particular shock measurements generally require high bandwidth and high g accelerometers.
  • RPM measurements generally require low g accelerometers and do not need high bandwidth.
  • Low g accelerometers are useful in order to achieve high resolution analog-to-digital conversion across the expected range of radial accelerations. Greater power efficiency and signal to noise ratio can be achieved with low bandwidth accelerometers.
  • a low g, low bandwidth, but high resolution accelerometer useful for these measurements is the Analog Devices Inc. part number AD22293Z.
  • an accelerometer that presents a compromise between range and resolution for both shock and vibration is the Analog Devices Inc. part number ADXL377BCPZ-RL7. Analog Devices Inc. has offices Norwood, MA USA.
  • various accelerometers with various performance aspects may be employed to measure the various quantities or effects described herein. In some cases, at least one accelerometer is "dual-used", i.e. for measuring more than one quantity or effect.
  • a DMS may be used to provide a "rotation flag."
  • a rotation flag is a signal that sensing of a rotation related event.
  • a rotation flag may be useful for communicating to another aspect of a downhole tool string whether or not a rotation related event has occurred, e.g., whether the DSA is rotating or whether the DSA is rotating faster than a pre-determined value.
  • the rotation related event that results in a rotation flag varies according to the application requirements.
  • a DMS with a MEMS gyroscope provides a rotation flag based on a predetermined rotation related event.
  • a DMS may be used to provide for a "rotational downlink.”
  • a rotational downlink may be used to communicate from the surface to the tool.
  • Information communicated to the tool may include for instance, an indication to repeat a previous message sent by way of other telemetry systems, a power setting for an aspect of the tool string, or other mode or operational settings.
  • a simple rotational downlink may comprise a period of rotation with periods of non- rotation preceding and following it. Information may be conveyed simply by the fact that the DSA is rotating, by the rate of rotation, or by the duration of the rotation.
  • a more sophisticated rotational downlink may comprise varying rotation in time for instance by rotating for a pre-determined duration, the driller may communicate a logic "1" to the tool and by not rotating or rotating at a different rate for a predetermined duration, the driller may communicate a logic "0" to the tool. Extending this method, a digital communications channel may be had.
  • a DMS may provide an indication of "stick- slip" - i.e., a reaction to built up torsional energy along the length of the DSA.
  • Stick- slip is a parameter that indicates the variance of the rotational rate of an aspect of the DSA - usually the tool string. Stick-slip may be damaging to tools and may also indicate inefficient drilling. Thus, by reporting or logging stick-slip the DMS may enable the driller to protect assets and improve drilling efficacy.
  • stick-slip refers to the condition during which the RPM of the DSA differs from the RPM at the surface and periodically fluctuates between a maximum and a minimum value.
  • the torsional oscillation and stick slip measurements may be reported based on Stick Slip Index (SSI), which is calculated based on, e.g., a comparison of historical rotation rate information and current working rate information.
  • the SSI may compare the difference between the maximum rotational rate (Max RPM) and minimum rotational rate (Min RPM) of a tool during a recent working period to a baseline average rotational rate (Avg RPM) measured over a historical period that may be longer than the current working period.
  • the state of the tool may be categorized based on the SSI.
  • the categories may include a category indicative of stick slip, a category indicative of high torsional oscillation, a category indicative of moderate torsional oscillation, and a category indicative of normal operation.
  • the category indicative of normal operation may be selected regardless of the SSI when the measured rotational rate is below a threshold, indicating that the tool is starting or stopping rotation.
  • the DMS is able to account for the effect of
  • whirl the phenomena where a drilling tool or other obeject runs along the inner surface of a surrounding enclosure, such as a a borehole.
  • An exemplary device for detecting whirl is described in more detail below with reference to Figure 49.
  • both torsional acceleration and time-domain measurements of DSA rotation rate may indicate potentially hazardous downhole effects such as stick-slip and whirl.
  • stick-slip may be measured by a time- varying and somewhat periodic torsional acceleration by way of a radially offset accelerometer with at least one measurement axis having a component tangential to the DSA, e.g., the tool string or drill string.
  • stick-slip may be measured by a time-varying rotational rate (RPMs), for instance in a periodically varying rotational rate.
  • a rotational rate may be measured by a MEMs gyroscope, or by accelerometers configured to measure centripetal acceleration by way of a radially offset accelerometer with at least one measurement axis having a component radially to the DSA, e.g., the tool string or drill string.
  • a rotational rate may also be determined by an integration of torsional acceleration.
  • mild stick- slip may be indicated by a variation in rotational rate less than about the average rotational rate and may be termed moderate -to-pronounced torsional vibration in some instances.
  • more severe stick-slip may be indicated by a variation in rotational rate greater than about the average rotational rate and may be termed significant to severe stick slip in some instances.
  • torsional acceleration may be determined by way of tangential acceleration measurements and/or centripetal acceleration measurements (the latter requiring the effect of a time-derivative to determine torsional acceleration).
  • a DMS may provide a measurement of torsional acceleration, e.g., by way of MEMS sensors. For instance, a time-derivative of a rotational rate measurement will indicate torsional acceleration. Another method relies on measuring tangential acceleration about an axis by way of a linear accelerometer. This method is more direct. In any case, this measurement may be useful for identifying damaging conditions downhole. In some instance, those conditions are also related to stick-slip.
  • the systems of the present invention may be used in conjunction with technologies and instrumentation in support of resistivity, nuclear including pulsed neutron and gamma measuring as well as others, magnetic resonance imaging, acoustic, and/or seismic measurements, formation sampling tools, various sampling protocols, communications, data processing and storage, geo-steering, rotary steerable tools, accelerometers, magnetometers, sensors, transducers, digital and/or analog devices (including those listed below) and the like and a myriad of other systems having requirements for power use downhole.
  • a great compliment of components, including the DMS or components thereof, may also be powered by the power systems of the present invention.
  • Non-limiting examples include accelerometers, magnetometers, sensors, transducers, digital and/or analog devices (including those listed below) and the like. Other examples include rotary steerable tools. Other examples include telemetry components or systems such as mud-pulse telemetry systems. Non-limiting examples of mud pulse telemetry systems include rotary mud pulsers, solenoid driven mud pulsers, and motor driven mud pulsers. Other non-limiting examples of telemetry systems include EM telemetry systems, wired telemetry systems, fiber optic telemetry systems and the like.
  • the power source may include a variety of energy inputs.
  • the energy inputs may be generally divided into three categories.
  • the categories include batteries, remote systems, and generators.
  • the power source includes a primary battery.
  • Exemplary batteries include those that are adapted for operation in a harsh environment. Specific examples include various chemical batteries, including those with lithium. More specific examples include lithium-thionyl-chloride (Li-SOCl 2 ) and batteries based on similar technologies and/or chemistries. However, it is recognized that some of these technologies may not be capable of achieving the desired temperature ratings, and that some of these technologies may only support the energy storage on a short term basis (i.e., the energy storage may include, for example, elements that are not rechargeable, or that have a shortened life when compared with other elements). Other exemplary batteries that may be included include lithium-bromine-chloride, as well as lithium-sulfuryl-chloride and fused salt.
  • the power source may include at least one connection to a remote power supply. That is, energy may be supplied via an external source, such as via wireline. Given that external energy sources are not constrained by the downhole environment, the primary concern for receiving energy includes methods and apparatus for communicating the energy downhole. Exemplary techniques for communicating energy to the systems of the present invention include wired casing, wired pipe, coiled tubing and other techniques as may be known in the art.
  • the power source may include at least one generator.
  • Various types of energy generation devices may be used alone or in combination with each other, Exemplary types of energy generators include, without limitation, rotary generators, electromagnetic displacement generators, magnetostritive displacement generators, piezoelectric displacement generators, thermoelectric generators, thermophotovoltaic generators, and may include connections to remote generators, such as a wireline connection to a generator or power supply that is maintained topside.
  • Other types of generators include intertial energy generators, linear intertial energy generators, rotary inertial energy generators, or vibration energy generators.
  • generators include, without limitation, rotary generators, electromagnetic displacement generators, magnetostrictive displacement generators, piezoelectric displacement generators, thermoelectric generators, thermophotovoltaic generators, and may include connections to remote generators, such as a wireline connection to a generator or power supply that is maintained topside, and a radioisotope power generator.
  • Rotary types of generators may include, for example, generators that rely on fluid (liquid or gas or a mixture) induced rotation, a single-stage design, a multi-stage and may be redundant.
  • Electromagnetic displacement types of generation may rely upon, for example, DSA vibration (wanted or unwanted), acoustic vibration, seismic vibration, flow-induced vibration (such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.) and may include generation that is reliant upon reciprocating motion.
  • DSA vibration wanted or unwanted
  • acoustic vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • seismic vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • flow-induced vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • Magnetostrictive types of generation are reliant on magnetostriction, which is a property of ferromagnetic materials that causes them to change their shape or dimensions during the process of magnetization. Magnetostrictive materials can convert magnetic energy into kinetic energy, or the reverse, and are used to build actuators and sensors. As with electromagnetic displacement types of generation, magnetostrictive types of generation may rely upon, for example, DSA vibration (wanted or unwanted), acoustic vibration, seismic vibration, flow-induced vibration (such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.) and may include generation that is reliant upon reciprocating motion, as well as other techniques that generate or result in a form of kinetic or magnetic energy.
  • DSA vibration wanted or unwanted
  • acoustic vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • flow-induced vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • Piezoelectric types of generation are reliant on materials that exhibit piezoelectric properties. Piezoelectricity is the charge that accumulates in certain solid materials (notably crystals, certain ceramics, and the like) in response to applied mechanical stress. Piezoelectric types of generation may rely upon, for example, DSA vibration (wanted or unwanted), acoustic vibration, seismic vibration, flow- induced vibration (such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.) and may include generation that is reliant upon reciprocating motion, as well as other techniques that generate or result in a form of mechanical stress.
  • DSA vibration wanted or unwanted
  • acoustic vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • flow- induced vibration such as from mud, gas, oil, water, etc.
  • the piezoelectric effect can be utilized to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.
  • a piezoelectric element may be constructed in the form of a cantilevered beam, whereby movement of the end of the beam bends the beam under vibration.
  • the piezoelectric element may also be constructed as a platter, whereby vibration causes distortion in the center of the platter.
  • varying mass loads may be used to enhance the effect of the mechanical vibration. For instance, a mass may be placed on the end of the cantilevered beam to increase the level of deflection incurred on the beam caused by mechanical vibration of the system.
  • a piezoelectric electric generator includes one to many piezoelectric elements, each element provided to convert mechanical energy into electrical current.
  • the piezoelectric electric generator may also include one to many conducting elements to transfer the electrical current to energy conversion or storage electronics.
  • Each piezoelectric generator may be configured in plurality to enhance energy generation capabilities.
  • the piezoelectric generators may be placed in suitable directions to capture various modes of mechanical vibration. For instance, in order to capture three dimensions of lateral vibration, the piezoelectric generators may be placed orthogonal to each other such that each dimension of vibration is captured by at least one set of piezoelectric generators.
  • piezoelectric generators are useful for generating up to a watt of electric power. However, multiple generators may be used in parallel to generate additional power. In one embodiment, a single mass may be configured to deform multiple piezoelectric elements at a given time.
  • piezoelectric generators operate with a given natural frequency. The most power is generated when the mechanical vibration occurs at the natural frequency of the piezoelectric generator.
  • the natural frequency of the piezoelectric generator may be tuned, as previously discussed, by including varying load elements to the conducting material.
  • a rotation based piezoelectric generator may be used.
  • one to many piezoelectric elements may be deformed due to the rotation of a structure.
  • one to many piezoelectric beams may be bent by orthogonal pins attached to a rotating wheel. As the wheel rotates around its axis, the pins contact the piezoelectric elements and cause deformation of the elements as the wheel rotates.
  • piezoelectric elements are placed parallel to and adjacent to a rotating body of varying radii. As the rotating body rotates, the piezoelectric elements are compressed to varying degrees depending on the radius at the contact point between the rotating body and the piezoelectric element. In this embodiment, there may be piezoelectric elements also placed on the rotating body to produce additional electrical energy.
  • thermoelectric generators generally convert heat flow (temperature differences) directly into electrical energy, using a phenomenon called the "Seebeck effect" (or “thermoelectric effect”).
  • Exemplary thermoelectric generators may rely on bimetallic junctions (a combination of materials) or make use of particular thermoelectric materials.
  • a thermoelectric material is bismuth telluride (e.g., Bi 2 Te 3 ), a semiconductor with p-n junctions that can have thicknesses in the millimeter range.
  • thermoelectric generators are solid state devices and have no moving parts.
  • Thermoelectric generators may be provided to take advantage of various temperature gradients. For example, a temperature differential inside and outside of pipe, a temperature differential inside and outside of casing, a temperature differential along DSA, a temperature differential arising from power dissipation within tool (from electrical and/or mechanical energy), and may take advantage of induced temperature differentials.
  • thermophoto voltaic generators provide for energy conversion of heat differentials to electricity via photons.
  • the thermophoto voltaic system includes a thermal emitter and a photovoltaic diode cell. While the temperature of the thermal emitter varies between systems, in principle, a thermophotovoltaic device can extract energy from any emitter with temperature elevated above that of the photovoltaic device (thus forming an optical heat engine).
  • the emitter may be a piece of solid material or a specially engineered structure.
  • Thermal emission is the spontaneous emission of photons due to thermal motion of charges in the material. In the downhole environment, ambient temperatures cause radiation mostly at near infrared and infrared frequencies.
  • the photovoltaic diodes can absorb some of these radiated photons and convert them into electrons.
  • radioisotope power generation may be incorporated into the power supply, which converts ions into a current.
  • piezoelectric elements may be included into a design in order to supply intermittent or continuous power to electronics.
  • the down-hole environment offers numerous opportunities for piezoelectric power generation due to the abundance of vibration, either wanted or unwanted, through acoustic, mechanical, or seismic sources.
  • the instrument may be composed of separate sections that are directly connected through rigid supports, left connected through a flexible connection, or left unconnected by material other than piezoelectric elements.
  • a flexible connection may be comprised of a flexible membrane or pivoting rigid structure.
  • piezoelectric material can be placed vertically along the length of the instrument. Torsional stresses between sections of the instrument may cause the piezoelectric element to deform.
  • a conducting material can be placed along the piezoelectric element to carry generated current to energy storage or conversion devices.
  • piezoelectric material can be utilized to generate energy from axial vibration.
  • piezoelectric element can be placed between two or more compartments that are otherwise left unconnected or connected flexible connection. Each end of the piezoelectric element may be connected to the surface of the instrument orthogonal to the axial and tangential direction such that axial vibration will compress or extend the piezoelectric element.
  • piezoelectric material can be utilized to generate energy from lateral vibration.
  • piezoelectric element may be placed between two or more compartments that are otherwise left unconnected or connected via a flexible connection. The ends of the piezoelectric elements may be attached to the tangential walls of each compartment such that relative shear movement of each compartment bends the connecting piezoelectric elements.
  • the power supply may make use of any type of power generator that may be adapted for providing power in the downhole environment.
  • the types of power generation used may be selected according to the needs or preferences of a system user, designer, manufacturer or other interested party.
  • a type of power generation may be used alone or in conjunction with another type of power generation.
  • vibrational energy generator other forms of generators may also be controlled (i.e., tuned) to improve efficiency according to environmental factors.
  • tuning it is considered that "tuning" of the generator is designed to accomplish this task.
  • tuning is provided during assembly.
  • tuning is performed on a real-time, or near real-time basis during operation of the power supply.
  • Additional embodiments may employ a high temperature rechargeable energy source (HTRES), including, without limitation, chemical batteries, aluminum electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors, ceramic and metal film capacitors, hybrid capacitors magnetic energy storage, for instance, air core or high temperature core material inductors.
  • HTRES high temperature rechargeable energy source
  • Other types of HTRES that may also be suitable include, for instance, mechanical energy storage devices, such as fly wheels, spring systems, spring-mass systems, mass systems, thermal capacity systems (for instance those based on high thermal capacity liquids or solids or phase change materials), hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
  • HTRES high temperature rechargeable energy source
  • HTRES high temperature rechargeable energy source
  • Other types of HTRES that may also be suitable include, for instance, mechanical energy storage devices, such as fly wheels, spring systems, spring-mass systems, mass systems, thermal capacity systems (for instance those based on high thermal capacity liquids or solids or phase change materials), hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
  • One example is the high temperature hybrid capacitor available from Evans Capacitor Company
  • Another example is the high temperature tantalum capacitor available from Evans Capacitor Company Buffalo, RI USA part number HC2D050152HT rated to 200 degrees Celsius. Yet another example is an aluminum electrolytic capacitor available from EPCOS Kunststoff, Germany part number B41691A8107Q7, which is rated to 150 degrees Celsius. Yet another example is the inductor available from Panasonic Tokyo, Japan part number ETQ-P5M470YFM rated for 150 degrees Celsius.
  • HTRES devices e.g., inclduding one or more ultracapacitors
  • embosdiments of a DMS are descrined in greated detail below.
  • a power source for a DMS may include any type of technology practicable in downhole conditions.
  • an HTRES is configured for operation at a temperature greater than 75 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 75 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 85 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 95 degrees Celsius to about 100 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 75 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 110 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 120 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 130 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius
  • the DMS of the present invention may be useful as a component of a data system, e.g., configured for data logging and / or reporting, e.g., in MWD or LWD or other applications.
  • the data system may comprise a modular circuit boards selected from one or more sensor circuit boards, a junction circuit board, an EMS circuit, at least one memory or memory circuit, and any combination thereof, for example, wherein said junction circuit board may be adapted to communicate with external computers/networks.
  • a data system may further comprise circuits selected from an ultracapacitor charger, an HTRES, and a power interface for receiving power.
  • the data system monitors downhole conditions and can be configured to log in memory and/or communicate in real-time data and parameters, for instance, warning levels, levels of downhole shocks, vibrations, stick slip, temperature or other such measurements.
  • Certain advantages include, but are not limited to, the ability to prevent or mitigate the risk of tool string damage and failure downhole, the ability to log data for accountability purposes, the ability to log data for repair and maintenance or service purposes, the ability to affect drilling dynamics, e.g., in real-time, such that drilling may be performed with increased efficiency, reduced shock, increased rate of penetration (ROP), increased bit performance, reduction of non-productive time (NPT) costs; reduction of fluid kicks and fractures.
  • ROP rate of penetration
  • NPT non-productive time
  • the data system may monitor one or more conditions such as shock, vibration, weight on bit (WOB), torque on bit (TOB), pressure and temperature, and hole size, which, for example, may be the related to effects of underbalanced drilling or air drilling, i.e., in some cases certain conditions are amplified in underbalanced or air drilling, e.g. shock and vibration is generally less dampened in those cases.
  • shock, vibration, weight on bit (WOB), torque on bit (TOB), pressure and temperature, and hole size which, for example, may be the related to effects of underbalanced drilling or air drilling, i.e., in some cases certain conditions are amplified in underbalanced or air drilling, e.g. shock and vibration is generally less dampened in those cases.
  • the data system e.g., disposed inside a housing described herein, is positioned in a DSA, e.g., the tool string or the collar of the bit.
  • a data system configured for data logging may provide one or more of the following: increased reliability of downhole tools, improved directional service, and/or improved tracking of wear on tool for improved replacement economics.
  • the data system is configured to provide measurements based on the use of a unique configuration of sensor circuit boards that make available six degrees of freedom, which are composed of three lateral degrees of freedom, x, y, and z, and the rotation around each of these and z r .
  • the sensor circuit boards may comprise accelerometers and the unique configuration may be as described above.
  • the data system is configured to provide downhole RPM measurements, e.g., rotational velocity of a DSA, e.g., the tool string or bit, weight on bit measurements, and torque on bit measurements.
  • RPM measurements e.g., rotational velocity of a DSA, e.g., the tool string or bit, weight on bit measurements, and torque on bit measurements.
  • the data system is configured to provide downhole RPM measurements, e.g., rotational velocity of the DSA, such as the tool string or bit.
  • the data system is configured to provide weight on bit measurements, and torque on bit measurements.
  • the data system is configured to provide torque on bit measurements.
  • the power source used may include two batteries.
  • the data system may further comprise a cross over circuit board.
  • the data system further comprises a state of charge circuit board.
  • the power source comprises a wireline power source, and at least one battery, e.g., a backup battery.
  • the data system may further comprise a cross over circuit board.
  • the data system further comprises a state of charge circuit board electrically connected to junction circuit board.
  • a data system configured for data logging is disposed in ahousing alone, e.g., without an HTRES, e.g., one or more ultracapacitors described herein.
  • a data system configured for data logging is disposed in a housing along with an HTRES, e.g., one or more ultracapacitors described herein.
  • the data system may be disposed in a housing along with an ultracapacitor string described herein, e.g., for use as a backup power source.
  • the data system is connected to external components by a modular connection, e.g., a universal connector pin configuration.
  • the data system may be constructed using, stacked circuit boards, e.g., stacked circular circuit boards, and a modular bus.
  • the data system may benefit from potting or encapsulating, e.g., using the advanced potting techniques described herein.
  • the modular boards are circular, e.g., with a diameter of less than 1.5 inches, e.g. less than 1.49 inches, e.g. less than 1.48 inches, e.g. less than 1.475 inches, e.g. less than 1.4 inches, e.g. less than 1.375 inches, e.g. less than 1.3 inches, e.g. less than 1.275 inches, e.g. less than 1.251 inches.
  • a data system including or coupled to a DMS
  • the data system may then be readily disposed at various locations along a DSA e.g., a drill string or a tool string.
  • a plurality of modular sensor circuit boards and/or data systems may be employed to indicate, for instance, downhole conditions as they vary along the length of the DSA, e.g., the drill string or tool string.
  • Such spatial measurements may be useful for, among other things, locating, and making distinction of the source of a troublesome excitation, for example, whether it be an aspect of the DSA, e.g., the drill string or tool string, itself or an aspect of the formation or other well components, or an aspect of an interaction among said aspects, characterizing the spatial response of the tool string to various excitations, further identifying potentially hazardous downhole effects such as stick slip or whirl, or identifying weak aspects of a system.
  • each may be assigned an identification or address on a data bus and each may transmit its information in conjunction with said identification or address and/or in response to a request for information relating to said identification or address, or according to a schedule which allocates a certain time or frequency to each with said identification or address.
  • a data system may provide for logging and/or reporting of downhole conditions.
  • Logging generally entails storing of data or information in memory.
  • the data system may be configured to provide that the memory may be interrogated at a later time, for instance, once the data system is on surface.
  • reporting may entail transmitting data from a downhole environment to a remote location for instance to the surface. Said reporting may be accomplished effectively in near real-time, or with a delay.
  • Reporting features may exist in systems also having logging features. Reporting features may compliment logging features, e.g., reporting may interrogate a local memory while a system is still downhole to report information that had been previously logged.
  • a data system configured for data logging may be coupled with a tool string data bus.
  • the data system may provide for information to be transmitted to the surface, for example, using the transmission taking place by way of telemetry systems already or otherwise incorporated into the tool string.
  • a tool string microprocessor unit (MPU) module may interpret data bus signals originating from the data system and input those to a mudpulse telemetry system.
  • the mudpulse telemetry system and specifically the mudpulser may then transmit the data to a surface system by way of mudpulse telemetry known in the industry.
  • the information from the data system may utilize electromagnetic (EM) telemetry, also known in the industry.
  • EM electromagnetic
  • the data system may comprise a circuit useful for detecting a fault in any part of the tool string, e.g., in real-time.
  • a data system configured for data logging may be coupled with a tool string data bus to afford this detection of a fault.
  • a data system may provide for an "interrupt- style" telemetry scheme to the surface.
  • information may be transmitted to the surface for instance by methods leveraging tool string telemetry, e.g., well-known in the art or as described herein.
  • the interrupt style communication scheme may override usual data transmissions to the surface, e.g., data transmissions needed to continue drilling operations.
  • warnings of downhole conditions that should be addressed may force operators to stop drilling operations, e.g., by starving them of needed information or power. Drilling operators may remedy the situation leading to hazardous conditions and then continue drilling. In this way, an overall reliability of downhole systems may be improved.
  • a record of deviations from recommended practices may be logged.
  • data transmitted to the surface may comprise warning information or raw data that would indicate certain conditions, or data otherwise parameterized or configured in a manner deemed useful by the designer or user.
  • levels of continuous vibration may be mapped to warning levels or warning signals indicating a level of severity.
  • levels of shock, temperature, anomalies in torque on bit (TOB) or weight on bit (WOB) or other downhole effects that may be hazardous may be mapped to warning levels or warning signals. Examples of downhole effects that may be hazardous include stick-slip, whirl, or drill pipe bending, or other art-recognized downhole effects.
  • combinations of downhole conditions may contribute collectively to increased warning levels, for example a combination of relatively high temperature, e.g., greater than 150 degrees Celsius, and relatively high rate and magnitude of shocks, e.g., 100 counts per second (cps) greater than 50 G, may indicate a more severe warning level than either measurement alone.
  • a time integration of said measurements may also indicate an increasing warning level, for instance, 20 Grms (root mean square acceleration) of continuous vibration for a total of 100 hrs may indicate a more severe warning level than for instance 20 Grms of continuous vibration for a total of 10 hrs. As such, said warning levels may escalate over time.
  • an integer may be transmitted, for example, between 1 and 4 to indicate levels of severity, or more explicitly to indicate a recommended action such as to halt drilling operations. Warning levels may be interpreted for intuitive purposes by a surface system to indicate, for instance, “red”, “yellow”, or “green” warning levels corresponding to for instance "halt drilling", “proceed with caution”, or “proceed normally” respectively.
  • the data system configured for data logging may be used in any harsh environment, e.g., downhole environments, where the ability to measure vibration and shock is beneficial, for instance in heavy manufacturing equipment, engine compartments of planes, cars, etc., or energy production plants/turbines.
  • the data system configured for data logging may also be used in any other shaped housing that would be sufficient for use in the DSA, e.g., the tool string or the collar of the drill string.
  • a ring-shaped circuit board may be disposed in an annular cavity in a collar-mounted tool, a conventionally-shaped, e.g. rectangular, circuit board may be disposed in said cavity, in some instances axially.
  • Said circuit boards in some instances, may comprise a modular bus or components thereof. Said circuit boards may be stacked, for instance ring-shaped circuit boards may be stacked in an annular cavity.
  • a data system disposed in a collar may be particularly useful for accessing measurements helpful for determining TOB and WOB, for instance by disposing at least on strain gauge on a portion of a collar mounted housing, and coupling said at least one strain gauge to said data system for measurement purposes.
  • the DMS and/or data system comprising a
  • DMS may further comprise one or more sensor circuit boards for measuring downhole conditions or orientation of the downhole tools.
  • Such circuit boards may include or couple to one or more of the following components: at least one of an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a strain gauge, useful for measuring a downhole condition or orientation of a DSA, e.g., the tool string or the drill bit.
  • the sensor circuit board includes a magnetometer.
  • Said magnetometer may be useful for among other things, to determine a rate of rotation by way of a measuring a magnetic orientation relative to earth's magnetic field and/or to aide in a determination of direction, e.g., by providing a directional measurement which may be useful for among other things directional drilling operations.
  • a data system may be used for directional measurements.
  • Methods for converting measurements of acceleration in the presence of gravity to directional measurements are well known in the industry.
  • a magnetometer aids those measurements.
  • An example method provides for a directional measurement by way of coordinate system aspects sometimes called pitch and roll estimation through rotation matrices chosen to depend only on pitch and roll while the third degree of freedom, sometimes called yaw, is left to be determined by way of a magnetometer configured to detect earth's magnetic field.
  • Pitch, roll, and yaw are terms known in the industry, especially in avionics but more recently in the context of handheld devices comprising accelerometers for entertainment and the like.
  • a magnetometer may reside elsewhere in a DSA, e.g., a tool string or drill string, and the data system may access said magnetometer by way of a tool string or drill string signal or data bus. In those examples, readings from said magnetometer may be used by a data system for the purposes described above. [00210] In certain embodiments, it may be useful to convert analog measurements indicative of downhole conditions or orientation to digital signals, for instance for recording in memory, for communicating the signals to another digital system, for instance a tool string digital system by way of a digital bus, and / or a digital telemetry system.
  • acceleration signals are typically wideband and/or continuous, e.g., "continuous vibration," wherein an appropriate sampling rate of the acceleration signals can be selected to capture a substantial amount of the information therein, for example by setting the sampling frequency to be more than twice as the highest frequency aspect typically expected.
  • Choosing a frequency substantially higher is generally expected to increase power consumption, e.g. beyond about 1-5 mW, without providing for substantially more useful information.
  • Another example may involve temperature, which is expected to change slowly.
  • Other examples include shock.
  • acceleration signals typically change quickly and may be intermittent (as opposed to continuous).
  • the magnitude and rate of shocks are important. Moreover, they are relatively short in duration, e.g. less than about 500 ms in duration each. Reliable and accurate measurement of the important features of shocks requires a sample rate yielding several samples per shock, e.g. 100 samples. Sample rates of a single channel for shock measurement may be as high as about 50 or 100 ksps. However, due to the intermittency of some shock a continuously sampled signal, sampled at a relatively high rate, e.g. 100 ksps, is generally expected to increase power consumption, e.g. beyond about 1-5 mW, without providing for substantially more useful information on average.
  • One alternative solution is to provide for an analog detection circuit, which may draw relatively low power on average, e.g. less than 100 uW.
  • An example of such a circuit is a comparator configured to provide a signal transition or a logic level signal when an acceleration beyond a predetermined shock threshold, e.g. 20-50 G, is detected.
  • Said signal transition of logic level signal may be coupled to an input on a digital controller and said digital controller may be configured to treat said signal as an interrupt.
  • high resolution or high speed sampling of the relevant acceleration signal may commence only when shocks are present, while power consumption of the full solution is generally expected to be substantially less than full digital solutions.
  • the sensor circuit board may comprise a circuit board configured to receive data from sensors outside the DMS and/or data system comprising a DMS, e.g., from strain gauges, temperature sensors, or annular pressure, e.g., mounted along with the housing containing the DMS and/or data system comprising a DMS.
  • a DMS e.g., from strain gauges, temperature sensors, or annular pressure, e.g., mounted along with the housing containing the DMS and/or data system comprising a DMS.
  • the sensor circuit board is configured to determine torque on bit (TOB) by receiving data from one or more strain gauges coupled to the tool string.
  • TOB torque on bit
  • a collar-mounted version of the system in certain embodiments, may simplify the coupling to the drill string.
  • a strain gauge may be mounted so that its major axis is not aligned with the circumference of a drill string housing, such that the gauge is able to indicate a "twisting" of the drill string housing, e.g., by way of a change in its resistance.
  • the sensor circuit board is configured to determine weight on bit (WOB) by receiving data from one or more strain gauges coupled to the tool string.
  • WB weight on bit
  • a strain gauge may be mounted so that its major axis is substantially aligned with the major axis of the drill string, such that the gauge is able to indicate a compression of the drill string housing by way of a change in its resistance.
  • the sensor circuit board is configured to determine temperature by way of a temperature sensor, by receiving data from a resistance temperature detector (RTD) which indicates a temperature by way of changing resistance.
  • RTD resistance temperature detector
  • RTD cases may be measured in any number of ways, but one example includes providing for a fixed resistance in series with the strain gauge or the RTD the combination connected to a reference voltage and ground.
  • the node at the connection between the fixed resistance and the variable resistance will provide for a voltage indicative of the variable resistance. For example, as the strain gauge resistance decreases, said voltage will decrease. In some examples, it is then useful to read said voltage to a digital controller by way of an analog to digital conversion.
  • a data system comprising a DMS should report a faithful representation of downhole conditions.
  • those downhole conditions may be damaging to the data system itself - the data system may be similar in construction to other components in the downhole system, the same components that the data system's information may be useful for protecting. Therefore, it is desirable, in certain embodiments, that the data system is protected from downhole conditions, but is simultaneously enabled to provide a faithful representations of monitored conditions.
  • downhole shock and vibration may be damaging to systems including the data system.
  • the data system may employ a body of protection features, for instance damped mechanical coupling between relatively sensitive electronic components and the housing.
  • Dampening may be provided for by way of encapsulant such as a potting compound surrounding said electronic components, or dampening pads or inserts disposed between relatively hard surfaces of an electronics system and a portion of a housing or the like, or combinations thereof.
  • protection features may include dampening, mechanical energy dissipation and or soft coupling mechanisms.
  • a faithful representation of downhole conditions can be recovered by providing for a pre-determined "map" between ambient conditions and measured conditions. Said map may be measured, for example, in the form of a transfer function in the frequency domain, the transfer function describing the gain and perhaps phase contribution of the protection features to the ambient excitation signal as measured by the data system.
  • Said map may be determined (calibrated) on the surface and then stored in memory. Said map may be quantified for a variety of different operating conditions, for instance at a variety of temperatures or pressures or immersed in a variety of fluid types. Said map may be stored locally (e.g., in a memory on the DMS or other circuit boards within the data system) or remotely (e.g., in a memory accessible to a surface system). In the latter case, the data system may be responsible for transmitting enough downhole parameters independent of the protection features such that the surface system may map measured conditions to downhole conditions. [00218] Logging and Reporting
  • various parameters may be sensed, derived, reported and/or logged by a DMS and/or a data system comprising a DMS.
  • a high temperature memory is generally useful for logging parameters.
  • a high temperature FLASH memory is both non-volatile (retains its contents upon loss of power) and high density (contains a relatively large amount of memory in a relatively small envelope).
  • An exemplary high temperature memory is the TTZ2501 part available from TT Semiconductor with offices in Anaheim, CA USA. Reporting in a downhole configuration may also be useful for indicating real-time conditions to other aspects of the tool or to the surface.
  • telemetry channels are band-limited so that data rates are relatively low (about 1 to 50 bps).
  • a DMS may report a severity level of vibration corresponding to a time window of a pre-determined length, rather than the actual acceleration values across time in order to signal the vibration level to other aspects of the tool string or to the driller.
  • logging, and in certain cases, reporting may require a memory in one of the circuits of the data system, e.g., on the DMS or other sensor circuit board.
  • volatile and non-volatile memory may be employed for these purposes.
  • volatile memory In the case of volatile memory, a designer will enjoy a higher density of memory (more information may be stored in a comparable volume compared to in non-volatile memory).
  • volatile memory must be supported with a source of power in order to retain its stored data.
  • Several solutions for using volatile memory downhole are possible, including, but not limited to utilizing a backup high temperature primary cell, e.g. a lithium thionyl chloride cell.
  • Such a backup cell may be an explicit cell within the housing of the system, for instance, a coin cell, or it may be shared in a larger system.
  • a primary battery available to the system may also be used for this purpose so long as a connection to the primary battery may be maintained until memory can be downloaded.
  • said primary battery can be a primary battery otherwise used for power downhole or directional systems so long as the battery terminals are available to the system.
  • the battery terminals are available to the system by way of a drill sting or tool string electrical bus.
  • An alternative solution may be to employ high temperature rechargeable energy storage (HTRES) that is charged before disconnection of the system from a power source. Said HTRES may be charged by a downhole power source, e.g.
  • HTRES could provide enough useable energy to supply power to the volatile memory until memory can be downloaded.
  • a high temperature 16 Megabit SRAM Part number TTSlMX16LVn3 available from TT semiconductor, Inc. Anaheim, CA USA requires about 6 mA of data retention current at about 2 V or 12 mW of power. Therefore a HTRES having a stored energy of about 45 Joules would be capable of providing power to said volatile memory for data retention up to an hour.
  • Examples of HTRES, including ultracapacitors described herein, are described below with respect to the modular systems. However, said HTRES may be provided by way of a High temperature ultracapacitor available from FastCAP Systems Inc.
  • HTRES such as those available from FastCAP Systems Inc.
  • Said HTRES may be charged by a downhole power source and provide for the data retention power following disconnection for a downhole power source until memory can be downloaded.
  • the SRAM above is available in a 52 pin package having an edge length of about one inch and a temperature rating of 200 degrees Celsius making it suitable for use in downhole tools, such the DMS and/or data systems of the present invention.
  • Non-volatile memory may also be employed, albeit generally at lower densities. For instance 1Mbit EEPROM Part number TTE28HT010 available from TT semiconductor may be employed.
  • the EEPROM above is available in an LCC package having an edge length about one half of an inch and a temperature rating of 200 degrees Celsius making it suitable for use in downhole tools such as a DMS and/or a data system comprising a DMS.
  • volatile memory may also have a limit on the number of write cycles (the number of times one can write to memory) before it fails. Therefore, a designer may employ a scheme to buffer memory, for instance in a volatile memory and then periodically write that memory to a non- volatile memory.
  • certain monitoring data may be stored locally
  • the schemes generally employ a parameterization of the data that is recorded, for example, instead of recording all of the temperature data in an interval of one minute (a one minute window), the temperature data may be recorded over that minute in high resolution, for instance one sample per second (lsps) temporarily, and then the mean and standard deviation computed; then the mean and standard deviation may be stored instead of the raw temperature data.
  • the mean and standard deviation represent parameters of the data and so we consider the above a method of parameterization of the data.
  • the result, in this example is that most of the meaningful information is stored in a much smaller amount of memory, e.g., as 2 bytes or pieces of data, as opposed to the larger amount of memory for the entirety of the raw temperature data, e.g., 60 pieces of data.
  • the scheme for collecting and storing and/or parameterizing data may be informed by typical behavior relating to the signal to be recorded. For instance, temperature generally varies slowly in downhole environments and as the tool moves down the borehole. In contrast, vibration may have high frequency content, however the average power in the frequency spectrum may not vary faster than a timescale of about a minute. Mechanical shock on the other hand tends to be intermittent, short duration, and requires high resolution during the shock event to accurately measure its salient features.
  • An example of a shock and vibration logging scheme includes vibration logging parameterized by mean and standard deviation once per minute (1 spm) for each axis, shock count, peak shock magnitude and average shock magnitude parameterized at 1 spm; temperature averaged once every ten minutes (0.1 spm), stick slip index mean, standard deviation and peak, averaged at 1 spm, rotational rate (RPMs) averaged at 1 spm.
  • the logging scheme may be adjusted, for example even by the user. Resolution of the various quantities may be subject to trade off for longer record lengths and/or more resolution in measurement of other quantities.
  • a DMS 1000 may include an input module 1001, a power module 1002, a rotational sensor module 1003, and a shock and vibration sensor module 1004.
  • the modules 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004 may be contained in a housing 1005.
  • the modules 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004 may be operatively coupled to each other and, optionally, to one or more additional systems or devices either internal or external to the housing 1005.
  • the modules 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1004 are shown as separate units, it is to be understood that they may be implemented in any suitable fasion, combined or separate, in hardware, software, or a combination thereof.
  • 1003, and 1004 may be implemented as a separate circuit board in a stacked circuit board configuration within a cylindrical housing 1005 (e.g., included in a MSID described herein with reference to Figure 39). In various embodiments, any other suitable implementation may be used.
  • the input module 1001 may provide interfacing for the DMS 1000 (not shown) with power and signals from external deices (e.g., other devices in a drill string, such as an HTRES of the type described herein).
  • the input module 1001 may include one or more junction boards 1101, one or more external connections 1102 and one or more internal connections 1103 (e.g., to one or more of the other modules 1002, 1003, and 1004).
  • the junction board 1101 may include circuitry form input and output protection.
  • the junction board 1101 may include circuitry configured to prevent, for example, input overvoltage, input overcurrent, output overcurrent, output overvoltage.
  • the junction board 1101 may include circuitry configured to provide transient voltage suppression.
  • the junction board 1101 may include one or more of a fuse, a protective diode, a voltage snubber, and combinations thereof.
  • the power module 1002 includes, an input protection module 1201, a power regulation module 1202, a processor 1203, a data storage memory 1204, a communication module 1205, and a temperature sensor 1206.
  • the input protection module 1201 may receive input power and data signals.
  • the input protection module 1201 may include circuitry configured to prevent, for example, input overvoltage, input overcurrent, output overvoltage, and output overcurrent.
  • the junction board 1101 may include one or more of a fuse, a protective diode, a voltage snubber and combinations thereof.
  • the power regulation module 1202 receives power through the input protection module 1201 and regulates the input power to provide a desired output voltage.
  • the power regulation module 1202 may provide any of AC to AC, AC to DC, DC to AC, and DC to DC conversion, and may step up or step down voltage levels as needed.
  • the power regulation module 1202 may include any suitable power regulation circuitry, e.g., a buck regulator, a switched capacitor regulator, or any of the power regulators described herein.
  • the processor 1203 may include one or more microprocessors and may provide overall control and synchronization of the various componentes of the DMS 1000.
  • an external oscillator may be used to provide a clock signal to the microprocessor.
  • the oscillator may provide stable performance under downhole conditions. For example, an oscillator may be selected having a maximum error of less than about 200 parts per million, 100 parts per million, 50 parts per million, or less at temperatures greater than 150 °C, 175 °C, 200 °C, 210 °C, 250 °C, or more.
  • the oscillator may provide a clock signal with an error of less than about 100 seconds over 100 hours.
  • the DMS may communicate (periodically or continually) with an external time standard.
  • the DMS 1000 may receive an signal from a topside clock using any of the telemetry or downhole communication techniques described herein.
  • the data storage memory 1204 is operatively coupled to the processor
  • the memory may store software for operating the DMS 1000, and may be used to log measurement data generated by the DMS 1000.
  • the memory 1204 may include any of the memory types described herein suitable for use under under downhole conditions.
  • the communication module 1205 manages communication between the various components of the DMS 1000 and between the DMS 1000 and various external components.
  • the communication module may include any of the communication devices and implement any of the communications techniques described herein.
  • the communication module 1205 may include, e.g., a communications bus such as a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) bus.
  • UART universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter
  • the temperature sensor 1206 monitors the temperature of the DMS
  • Information from the temperature sensor 1206 may be logged in the memory 1204. Information from the temperature sensor 1206 may be used by the processor 1203 in controlling the DMS 1000 (e.g., for sensor calibration). In various embodiments, any temperature sensor suitable for use under downhole conditions may be used, e.g., a resistance temperature detector. In some embodiments, multiple temperature sensors (e.g., each suitable for operation at a sub-range of temperatures in the operating temperature range of the DMS may be used).
  • the rotational sensor module 1003 includes one or more rotational sensors of the type described herein.
  • Figure 45 shows an embodiment the rotational sensor module 1003 including a first MEMS gyroscope 1301, a second MEMS gyroscope 1302, and an accelerometer based rotational sensor 1303.
  • any suitable number and type of sensors may be used.
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 is implemented as a monolithic device such as a monolithic integrated circuit.
  • a monolithic sensing device advantageously reduces or eliminates measurement error due to misalignment of sensor components (as may occur when separate sensor components such as accelerometers are used), temperature variations across sensor components, electromagnetic interference, and similar effects
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 include a MEMS resonator gyroscope. In some embodiments, one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMS gyroscope 1302 are configured for use under downhole conditions.
  • At least one of the MEMS gyroscopes is rated to operate over a temperature range of -40 °C to 175 °C, and may be qualified to operate over a temperature range comprising, e.g., -40 °C to 200 °C, - 40 °C to 210 °C, or -40 °C to 250 °C.
  • at least one of the MEMS gyroscopes has an operational lifetime of at least 1000 hours at temperatures of at least 150 °C, 175 °C, 200 °C, 210 °C, 250 °C, or more.
  • At least one of the MEMS gyroscopes is configured to survive shocks of at up to 10,000 g or more. In some embodiments, In some embodiments at least one of the MEMS gyroscopes can measure rotational rates up to +/- 500 degrees/sec , +/- 1000 degrees/sec, +/- 2000 degrees/sec, +/- 3000 degrees/sec, +/- 4000 degrees/sec, +/- 5000 degrees/sec or more.
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 is characterized by an uncompensated temperature drift with a relative magnitude of about 5% or less when operating at temperatures in the range of about -40°C to about 150 °C.
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 is characterized by an uncompensated temperature drift with a relative magnitude of about 35% or less when operating at temperatures in the range of about 150°C to about 175°C.
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 is configured to measure a rotational rate along a sensing axis while rejecting noise from linear accelerations and/or vibrations.
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 includes or is coupled to a calibration unit (not shown) configured to calibrate the output of the first MEMS sensor at temperatures above a calibration threshold temperature.
  • the calibration unit may store a look up table of calibration values determined (e.g., experimentally determined prior to deployment of the gyroscope).
  • the threshold temperature is about 150°C or greater, or about 175°C or greater.
  • one or both of the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 includes an internal or external temperature sensor, e.g., used for calibration of the device.
  • the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 has a higher maximum operational temperature or better high temperature performance than the second MEMS gyroscope 1302. In some embodiments, wherein the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 is configured to sense higher rotational rates than the second MEMs gyroscope 1302. In some such embodiments, the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 has a higher measurement sensitivity than the second MEMs gyroscope 1302. Accordingly, the gyroscopes combine to measure rotational rates over a wide range of rotational rates with appropriate sensitivity (e.g., higher sensitivity for lower rotational rates, and lower sensitivity for higher rotational rates).
  • appropriate sensitivity e.g., higher sensitivity for lower rotational rates, and lower sensitivity for higher rotational rates.
  • the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 is selectively turned on only when the measured rotational rate is approaching the upper limit of the rotational rate sensing range of the second MEMS gyroscope 1302. In some embodiments, such selective use of the first MEMS gyroscope may advantageously limit power use.
  • the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 may produce an analog output while the second MEMS gyroscope 1302 produces a digital output (or vice versa).
  • an analog to digital converter (not shown) may be used to process the signal from the first MEMS gyroscope 1301.
  • both of the gyroscopes 1301 and 1032 may both produce digital signals, or both produce analog signals.
  • the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 com is an
  • Analog devices ADXRS6465 MEMS gyroscope and the second MEMS gyroscope is an Analog Devices ADXRS646 MEMS gyroscope as described above.
  • the rotational sensor module 1003 may include an accelerometer based rotational sensor 1303.
  • the accelerometer based rotational sensor 1303 may include at one or more linear accelerometers, each for detecting linear acceleration along a singles sensing axis.
  • the accelerometer based rotational sensor 1303 includes at least three transversely (e.g., orthogonally) oriented linear accelerometers 1304a, 1304b, and 1304c.
  • the linear accelerometers 1304a, 1304b, and 1304c may be arranged as shown in Figures 38A or 38B to provide rotational rate sensing.
  • At least two of the orthogonally oriented linear accelerometers 1304a and 1304b are mounted on a first circuit board 1401 and at least one of the orthogonally oriented linear accelerometers 1304c is mounted on a daughter circuit board 1402 extending substantially perpendicular to the first circuit board 1401.
  • the linear accelerometers 1304 are through hole mounted, but in various embodiments, any other suitable mounting configuration may be used.
  • two of the accelerometers 1304 may be mounted on the daughter circuit board 1402, with one accelerometer 1304 on the main circuit board 1401.
  • the accelerometer based rotation sensor 1303 may serve as a backup for one or both of the MEMS gyroscope sensors 1301 and 1302.
  • the accelerometer based rotation sensor 1303 may be shut off during normal operation, and activated only when a failure of one of the main sensors in detected.
  • MEMS gyroscope 1301 (or the second MEMS gyroscope 1302) may be vertically mounted on the first circuit board 1401 with a sensing axis (indicated with a dashed line) parallel to and displaced from a major surface of the first circuit board.
  • the circuit board 1401 may be axially aligned such that the sensing axis of the gyroscope is parallel to or even coincident with (i.e., centered on) the rotational axis of an item of interest (e.g., a drilling tool, drill string assembly, etc.)
  • the daughter board 104 provides mechanical support for the first MEMS gyroscope (e.g., by connection via an electrically insulating support member 1403).
  • MEMs gyroscope 1301 is mounted (e.g., vertically mounted) on the first circuit board 1401 and the second MEMs gyroscope 1302 is mounted (e.g., flat mounted) on the daughter circuit board 1402. Accordingly, in some embodiments the sensing axes of the MEMs gyroscopes 1301 and 1302 (indicated with a dashed line) may be parallel to or even, as shown, aligned with one another.
  • the circuit board 1401 may be axially aligned such that the sensing axis of one or both of the gyroscopes is parallel or even coincident with (i.e., centered on) the rotational axis of an item of interest (e.g., a drilling tool, drill string assembly, etc.).
  • an item of interest e.g., a drilling tool, drill string assembly, etc.
  • one of the MEMs gyroscopes 1301 and 1302 may be omitted (as shown the second gyroscope 1302 is omitted).
  • the first MEMS gyroscope 1301 is flat mounted on the circuit board 1401 with its sensing axis (indicated with a dashed line) extending perpendicular to the major surface of the circuit board 1401.
  • the circuit board 1401 may be arranged such that the sensing axis of the gyroscope 1301 is parallel or even coincident with (i.e., centered on) the rotational axis of an item of interest (e.g., a drilling tool, drill string assembly, etc.).
  • the circuit board 1401 may be a circular circuit board mounted perpendicular to and centered on the axis of a cylindrical device, e.g., as shown in FIG. 42.
  • FIGS 48A, 48B and 48C show an example of such a modification.
  • one of the MEMS gyroscopes 1301/1302 is constructed for vertical through hole mounting.
  • the gyroscope has three rows of pins 1501a, 1501b, and 1501c.
  • one row of pins 1501a are removed (e.g., where the pins are not used during the operation of the device).
  • Another row of pins 1501b are shortened, e.g., by clipping.
  • a third row of pins 1501c are bent over to extend past an opposing side of the gyroscope package.
  • the gyroscope 1301/1302 is flat mounted to the circuit board 1401.
  • a surface connection is provided between the row of pins 1501b and the circuit board.
  • a through hole connection is made between the bent row of pins 1501c and the circuit board 1401.
  • An electrically insulating material 1502 e.g. KAPTON tape
  • the MEMS gyroscope 1301/1302 is flat mounted on the circuit board 1401 with its sensing axis (indicated with a dashed line) extending perpendicular to the major surface of the circuit board 1401.
  • similar modifications may be used as is suitable to modify the mounting orientation of any sutable monolithic sensor device.
  • the rotational sensor module 1003 uses only MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers) the rotational sensor module 1003 may substantially insensitive to magnetic interference.
  • the rotational sensor module 1003 may operate without the use of a magnetometer, which may be disadvantageously impacted by magnetic interference, e.g., from magnetized material deposits in the downhole environment.
  • some embodiments of the DMS 1000 may include other sensor modules that do include magnetic sensors in addition to the magnetically insensitive rotational sensor.
  • the rotational sensor module 1003 will generate signals indicative of a rotational rate of an object of interest, e.g., a downhole drilling tool. Signals from the rotational sensor module 1003 may be sent to the processor 1203 for further processing. For example, the processor 1203 may use the signals from the rotational rate sensor module 1003 to generate a rotational flag, determine stick/slip information (e.g., by calculating a stick-slip index SSI as described above), to determine weight-on-bit for the tool, to determine torque-on-bit for the tool, or generate any other suitable information.
  • the DMS 1000 may log this information (e.g., in memory 1205) or transmit the information, e.g., to a topside receiver (e.g., using electromagnetic or mud pulse telemetry, wire line communication, or any other suitable communication technique).
  • the shock and vibration sensor module 1004 may include a vibration sensor 1601 and a shock detector 1602.
  • the vibration sensor 1601 may include at least one accelerometer, such as a linear accelerometer for detecting linear acceleration along a singles sensing axis.
  • the vibration sensor 1601 includes three orthogonally oriented linear accelerometers 1603a, 1603b, and 1603c.
  • the accelerometers 1603a, 1603b, and 1603c may be arranged e.g., as shown in Figures 38A or 38B, to provide vibration detection, e.g., in six degrees of freedom.
  • Some embodiments may include a fourth linear accelerometer 1603 d having a sensing axis transverse to the sensing axis of each of the other three orthogonally oriented linear accelerometers 1603a, 1603b, and 1603c.
  • This additional sensor may be used to generate a signal indicative of "whirl" the phenomena where a drilling tool or other object runs along the inner surface of a surrounding enclosure, such as a a borehole.
  • At least two of the orthogonally oriented linear accelerometers 1603a and 1603b are mounted on a first circuit board 1701 and at least one of the orthogonally oriented linear accelerometers 1603 c is mounted on a daughter circuit board 1702 extending substantially perpendicular to the first circuit board 1701.
  • the linear accelerometers 1603 are through hole mounted, but in various embodiments, any other suitable mounting configuration may be used. Note than in other embodiments, two of the accelerometers 1603 may be mounted on the daughter circuit board 1702, with one accelerometer 1603 on the main circuit board 1701.
  • the whirl accelerometer 1603d may be mounted on either the main circuit board 1701 (as shown) or the daughter circuit board 1702.
  • the shock detector 1602 may include circuitry configured to detect a peak of a signal from the at least one accelerometer 1603.
  • a peak detection circuit is provided for each of the accelerometers 1603.
  • the peak detector may be analog, digital, or a combination thereof.
  • the shock and vibration sensor module 1004 may send a signal indicative of vibration, shock, whirl, or other qualities of a drilling tool or other object of interest to the processor 1203 for logging (e.g. in memory 1204), further processing, or communication to one or more external devices (e.g., a topside receiver).
  • the DMS 100 may include additional sensor modules including various sensors such an accelerometer, an inertial measurement unit, an inertial sensor, a torque sensor, a vibration sensor, a shock sensor, a microphone, a temperature sensor, a battery level monitor, a magnetometer, a resistivity sensor, a pressure sensor, a communications bus monitor, or any other suitable sensor.
  • sensors such as an accelerometer, an inertial measurement unit, an inertial sensor, a torque sensor, a vibration sensor, a shock sensor, a microphone, a temperature sensor, a battery level monitor, a magnetometer, a resistivity sensor, a pressure sensor, a communications bus monitor, or any other suitable sensor.
  • the circuit boards described above may be combined into a multi-function circuit board.
  • the circuit boards may include may circuit components and electrical connections that have been omitted for clarity.
  • the circuit boards may include any suitable elements for improving the durability and performance of the circuit boards under downhole conditions.
  • the circuit boards may include any of the potting techniques described herein.
  • the DMS may be included in or coupled to power sources, signal interfaces, and other devices and systems as described below. Additional systems suitable for use with embodiments of the DMS are found in International Patent Pub. No. WO 2014/145259 published September 18, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
  • MSID Modular Signal Interface Devices
  • a modular signal interface device of the present invention.
  • this MSID may serve to (1) control an energy storage component of a high temperature power system, e.g., a downhole power supply system, affording benefits such as increased battery consumption efficiency, higher power capability, power buffering improved reliability through voltage stability, among other benefits, (2) offer a means of data logging, or (3) both.
  • This modular device may be fabricated from pre-assembled components, which may be attached in a modular fashion, and which may be selected from various combinations to provide desired functionality.
  • any energy storage component may include at least one high temperature rechargeable energy storage (HTRES) described herein, wherein any HTRES may comprise at least one high temperature ultracapacitor (HTUCap) described herein.
  • HTRES high temperature rechargeable energy storage
  • HTUCap high temperature ultracapacitor
  • the modular architecture of the MSID improves the ease of manufacturability, and as such, affords an accelerated rate of manufacture of the systems of the present invention, and therefore reduces cost of production.
  • the modular architecture of the MSID improves the ease of adding functionality as well as serviceability, which serves to reduce cost of maintenance or upgrading of functionality. Modularity also serves to reduce the design and debug cycle as circuits can be rapidly connected and disconnected for analysis.
  • new designs and functionality may quickly be added without the need for substantial changes in wiring, dimensioning, or circuit board layout.
  • a system of the present invention may comprise at least one, for instance, two modules, each designed to perform a certain function or to provide a certain aspect, and the modules may comprise distinct housings, and they may interface with each other at a connector interface.
  • said connector interface comprises a connector housing and a connector comprising one of pins or receptacles.
  • various modules are configured to connect with each other by way of mating connectors.
  • one module comprises an MSID comprising power system components and / or data system components, e.g. circuits and another module comprises an HTRES and a housing, e.g. wherein said HTRES comprises at least one ultracapacitor, e.g. an ultracapacitor string.
  • the modular design of the MSID derives at its core the use of a particular circuit board architecture, starting from the reduced sized circular circuit boards, that are electrically connected by stackers that afford a uniformity and modularity, wherein electrical communication is funneled through a modular bus, which in certain embodiments is connected to a junction circuit board that may aid in relating the MSID to external devices, the functions of each circuit may be locally controlled by a supervisor, which can simplify the interface between circuits interfacing the modular bus, and the total circuit board combination may be contained in a tool string space efficient housing designed to incorporate the MSID, or the MSID and any HTRES of a power system.
  • Circuit boards may comprise digital supervisors for simplifying or otherwise aiding the modular bus.
  • a circuit designed for a certain function may comprise components not easily adaptable to a standard assignment of signals on pins of a modular bus or several different circuits may comprise components that are not easily adaptable to one another on a shared modular bus.
  • a digital supervisor disposed on circuit boards interfacing a modular bus may serve to adapt said components to the shared modular bus.
  • digital supervisors may be assigned a digital identification and establish a shared communication on a modular bus.
  • Digital supervisors may receive instructions from other supervisors or from another controller and control the function of their respective circuits accordingly.
  • digital supervisors may interrogate or measure an aspect of their respective circuits and report that information to the shared modular bus as a digital signal. Examples of digital supervisors include microcontrollers, for instance the 16F series available from Microchip Technology Inc.
  • the modular signal interface devices of the present invention useful in power systems and/or data interfaces for data logging, may be comprised of the following components:
  • the modular design of the MSID generally incorporates circular shaped circuit boards, which allow for an increase in (or maximization of) circuit/power and signal density compared to that for common rectangular designs would provide for in a cylindrical volume, i.e., the cylindrical housing.
  • the boards may contain (4 or more) layers of copper to improve thermal performance.
  • the modular architecture utilizes board stackers as bus connectors, comprising headers and receptacles, as shown in FIG 32, which provide a way of easily and conveniently electrically connecting and disconnecting circuit boards.
  • the stackers are topologically positioned in the circuit architecture to afford alignment and repeatable positioning of the top and bottom stackers, such that all circuits abiding by the modular architecture are mechanically compatible and fit together.
  • the stackers are selected based on their utility at temperatures greater than 75 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater 125 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 150 degrees Celsius, and their ability to establish contact with the mating pin of the header without loss of structural strength, e.g., by the engagement of a spring clip or twist pin or the like into the mating receptacle.
  • the stackers are metallic and configured to provide structural strength when subjected to mechanical vibration and shock in addition to heat, as is the case in a downhole drilling.
  • the stacker connection apparatus is miniature to match relatively smaller sized circuit boards.
  • electrical redundancy is employed to mitigate the effects of a disconnection if one were to occur.
  • the power lines have multiple redundant lines in the stackers.
  • the capacitor string connection to the electronics may be carried over two pins for increased reliability, and reduced line resistance resulting in less energy loss and greater peak power.
  • the communication protocol that is incorporated in the MSID comprises a synchronous communication protocol that utilizes four lines that can address an unlimited number of peripherals: (1) Data: Binary signal; (2) Clock: Used to trigger data capture on the data line; (3) Poll: An additional signal to control data direction and simplify hardware; and (4) Ground: System-wide node common to all circuits.
  • the MSID is configured with standoffs disposed between the circuit boards for increased structural integrity.
  • the standoff supports provide a rigid support maintaining spacing between each circuit.
  • Each of the standoff supports may be fabricated from materials as appropriate, such as metallic materials and/or insulative materials, such as forms of polymers.
  • circuits of the present invention may be circular.
  • circuits of the present invention may be stackable.
  • circuits of the present invention may be stacked.
  • circuits of the present invention may be circular and stackable and / or stacked.
  • the MSID comprises a junction circuit board, which eases manufacturability and serviceability and may provide electrical protection.
  • the junction circuit board can provide for electrically connecting circuit boards to end connectors of the power system or the data logging system.
  • the junction circuit board may also connect the end connector wires or other wires to stackers that allow these signals to be accessed by the modular circuit boards.
  • junction circuit board also reduces the amount of cumbersome butt joints previously necessary in such electrical connections
  • all wiring needed to pass through all circuit boards a very delicate and tedious process, resulting in reduced usable surface area, decreased yield or quality of manufacturing and decreased reliability as well as longer manufacturing times.
  • the junction circuit board also includes ESD protection (TVS Diode and RC snubber) to protect the sensitive nodes of the electronics.
  • ESD protection TVS Diode and RC snubber
  • the junction circuit board may also be used to facilitate programming of the any individual circuits attached on the bus by multiplexing the programming lines and keeping the high voltage programming line separate.
  • the supervisor component can relate protocol commands to and from the additional circuit boards connected to the junction circuit board.
  • the housing that contains the MSID for use with downhole electronics may be disposed inside the tool string. While the housing may be any shape suitable for disposition of the systems of the invention, in certain embodiments, the housing is circular an conforms to the diameter of the circular circuit boards described herein.
  • the present systems of the present invention e.g. , power systems or data logging systems, are positioned in a housing that takes less of the valuable space in the tool string as compared with existing systems used for the same purpose.
  • Such additional space efficiency derives from the higher power and / or signal density achieved with the circuits and architecture that comprise the MSID; wherein the decreased inner diameter of the housing affords the ability to reduce the outer diameter housing while retaining sufficient thickness of the housing material; wherein such reduction in size of the operable circuits involved significant inventive design of the circuits.
  • additional embodiments of housing improvements, including increases to modular aspects of the housing for ease of serviceability and manufacture are shown herein below.
  • the system of the present invention comprises a modular signal interface device (MSID) configured as a component of a power system.
  • MSID may comprise various circuits. Non-limiting examples include a junction circuit, at least one sensor circuit, an ultracapacitor charger circuit, an ultracapacitor management system circuit, a changeover circuit, a state of charge circuit, and an electronic management system circuit.
  • the MSID comprises a junction circuit, an ultracapacitor charger circuit, an ultracapacitor management system circuit, a changeover circuit, a state of charge circuit, and an electronic management system circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises modular circuit boards.
  • the modular circuit boards are circular.
  • the modular circuit boards are stacked.
  • the modular circuit boards are circular and stacked.
  • the power source comprises at least one of a wireline power source, a battery, or a generator.
  • the power source comprises at least one battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit, particularly when the power source comprises more than battery.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit board.
  • the power source comprises a wireline, and at least one battery, e.g. , a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit.
  • the power source comprises a generator.
  • the power source comprises a generator, and at least one battery, e.g., a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit.
  • the circuit boards may be combined to provide multi-functional circuit boards.
  • the MSID comprises a power converter.
  • said power converter is a switched-mode power converter.
  • said power converter is regulated by way of feedback control.
  • Examples of power converters include inductor-based converters, for example, buck, boost, buck-boost, cuk, forward, flyback, or variants or the like as well as inductorless converters such as switched capacitor converters.
  • power systems of the present invention generally achieve efficiencies greater than 60%, e.g. greater than 70%), e.g. greater than 80%>, e.g. greater than 90%>, e.g. greater than 95%.
  • the MSID comprises a power converter.
  • the power converter is a UCC circuit.
  • the UCC circuit features high temperature operation, e.g., greater than 75 degrees Celsius, e.g., greater than 125 degrees Celsius, e.g., 150 degrees Celsius, adjustable charge current control, redundant over voltage protection for the capacitor bank, and a wide input/output voltage range.
  • the controller IC uses current mode regulation to mitigate the effect of the art-known right half plane (RHP) zero on output voltage during load transients..
  • RHP right half plane
  • the UCC circuit of the present invention provides an optimal range of operation whereby the converter is charging at a calibrated duty cycle to minimize overall losses, e.g., wherein the bus voltage is optimized.
  • the UCC circuit uses switch mode power conversion, wherein at low ultracapacitor charge, the IC uses the more efficient, i.e., less lossy, current mode control, and subsequently switches to voltage control mode at greater levels of ultracapacitor charge storage where such switching would result in more efficient charging of the ultracapacitor.
  • the MSID affords input current shaping, e.g., in applications where continuous and steady current draw from the energy source is desirable or a particular pulsed profile is best.
  • current shaping prevents undesirable electrochemical effects in batteries such as cathode freezeover effects or passivation effects.
  • the MSID affords input current smoothing, e.g., in applications where continuous and steady current draw from the energy source is desirable.
  • current smoothing reduces conduction losses in series resistances.
  • the UCC is capable of supplying a constant voltage in the event of a capacitor string disconnection.
  • the UCC can continue to source power into the load at a lower level.
  • the UCC controller is implemented digitally.
  • the advantages of such a system include component reduction and programmability.
  • the control of the switch network is performed by a microcontroller/microprocessor.
  • adjustable current may be established digitally with a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) control signal created by a supervisor and a low pass filter to produce an analog voltage that the controller IC interprets as the controller IC does not communicate digitally.
  • PWM Pulse Width Modulated
  • the controller IC is configured to regulate output current, e.g., the ultracapacitor charge current.
  • the UCC circuit is capable of regulating the voltage on the ultracapacitors, e.g. by hysteretic control wherein the voltage is kept within a voltage band by on-off control of the IC.
  • the UCC circuit in certain embodiments, may be digitally controlled.
  • the UCC circuit is digitally controlled by the electronics management system (EMS). In further embodiments, the UCC circuit can enter sleep mode to conserve energy and this aspect may be provided for by a digital control.
  • EMS electronics management system
  • the UCC controller can also be implemented in an analog fashion.
  • the feedback control would generally be carried out with the use of components such as operational amplifiers, resistors, and capacitors. While effective, a minor disadvantage of this configuration is the inherent lack of flexibility controlling charge current and output voltage.
  • the controller integrated circuit (IC) at the center of the Ultracapacitor Charger (UCC) is electrically connected by modular bus stackers to and programmed to communicate with the junction circuit, the EMS circuit, cross over circuit, and/or one or more energy sources (such as battery, generator, or wireline).
  • the UCC circuit may also comprise a resistor network for voltage sampling, a step down power section (e.g. , a Buck converter), a step up power section (e.g. , a boost converter), an inductor current sense resistor required for current mode control, and/or a charge current sense resistor required for regulating the charge current.
  • a power converter for charging an ultracapacitor is controlled hysteretically.
  • a charging current is regulated by the converter and a feedback control circuit.
  • a voltage of an ultracapacitor is measured by the power converter or a supervisor or the like.
  • the power converter may be disabled for instance when a voltage on an ultracapacitor reaches a certain threshold.
  • the charging current may be reduced when the voltage reaches a certain threshold.
  • a voltage set point and hysteresis band may be set in firmware or software, i.e. digitally, without a redesign of feedback control circuitry, e.g. redesign that may otherwise be required for stability and dynamics.
  • the output voltage is easily adjusted by a user or by a controller, e.g. in run-time.
  • a controller having a feedback control for regulating a charging current may be used to provide for a voltage chosen to fall within a range to operate a load properly.
  • the cross over circuit is a peripheral circuit board that can seamlessly be added into the modular architecture through stackers electrically connected and controlled by the junction circuit board to enable the use of multiple power sources.
  • the cross over circuit possesses autonomous capability.
  • the cross over circuit can be preprogrammed to switch from one power source to another after the initial source has been depleted.
  • the cross over circuit has the ability to parallel two sources together and to either increase the power capable of being delivered to the load, or to extract the very last remaining energy of the individual power sources where the individual, nearly depleted sources could not deliver enough power to drive the load alone.
  • the cross over circuit in certain embodiments, may be digitally controlled by the electronics management system (EMS) and can enter sleep mode to conserve energy.
  • EMS electronics management system
  • the cross over circuit may comprise a supervisor, and in certain embodiments is electrically connected by the modular bus stackers to, and programmed to communicate with: the junction circuit, the EMS circuit, state -of- charge circuit, and/or one or more energy sources (such as battery, generator, or ultracapacitor string) through the supervisor of the circuit.
  • the energy sources such as battery, generator, or ultracapacitor string
  • the cross over circuit may also comprise a current sense resistor; a resistor network for voltage sampling; a current sense resistor for state -of-charge measurements; a unidirectional primary disconnect that allows the BUS voltage to be bootstrapped to the primary source, where power is initially processed through a low forward voltage diode in parallel with the p-channel MOSFET to reduce dissipation during the bootstrapping operation and once voltage is established on the bus, the primary disconnect may be turned on (the p-channel MOSFET is enhanced) by a resistor-diode network and n-channel MOSFET; a bidirectional secondary disconnect that processes power from the secondary source to the BUS, where the secondary disconnect, unlike the primary disconnect, can fully disconnect the secondary source from the BUS; a resistor-diode network for biasing the gate of the p-channel MOSFET, sized to allow for low voltage disconnect operation (resistor divider) and high voltage disconnect operation (diode clamps the gate voltage to a safe operating voltage); and/or
  • the SoC circuit serves to provide for an estimate of the remaining and / or used capacity of a given energy source.
  • This circuit can combine measured current, temperature, the time domain shape of the current profile, and can produce a model to determine the remaining runtime for a given energy source.
  • Measurement of current is an important factor in determining the service time of an energy source, in particular, a battery.
  • current may be measured using an off-the-shelf IC that serves as a transconductance amplifier.
  • current may be measured using Hall Effect sensors/magnetometers, inductive sensors, magnetic sensors, or high-side or low side current sense resistors
  • Temperature may be measured using a resistance temperature detector
  • RTD temperature dependent resistance
  • the resistance is read through the use of a resistor divider tied to the output pin of a microcontroller. The resistor divider is pulled up to 5V when a measurement is to be taken. Turning the resistor divider on and off saves power and reduces self-heating in the resistance.
  • Other methods of measuring temperature include use of bi-metallic junctions, i.e thermocouples, or other devices having a known temperature coefficient transistor based circuits, or infrared detection devices.
  • the state of charge circuit may comprise a supervisor, and in certain embodiments is electrically connected by the modular bus stackers to, and programmed to communicate with: the junction circuit, the EMS circuit, the cross over circuit, and/or one or more energy sources (such as battery or ultracapacitor string) through the supervisor of the circuit.
  • the energy sources such as battery or ultracapacitor string
  • the state of charge circuit may also comprise an external comm bus implemented with pull up resistors; a voltage regulator used to establish an appropriate voltage for the supervisor and other digital electronics; a current sense circuit; unidirectional load disconnect, wherein a p- channel MOSFET is enhanced via a control signal to the pulldown n-channel MOSFET and a resistor divider ratio is chosen to allow proper biasing of the p- channel MOSFET at low voltage levels, while the zener diode serves to clamp the maximum source-gate voltage across the MOSFET; and/or resistor divider networks and ADC buffer cap necessary for analog voltage reading
  • the MSID comprises an ultracapacitor management system (UMS) circuit.
  • the ultracapacitor management system circuit has the primary purpose of maintaining individual cell health throughout operation.
  • the UMS circuit may measure individual cell voltages or voltages of a subset of cells within a string and their charge/discharge rates.
  • the UMS circuit supervisor uses these parameters in order to determine cell health which may be communicated to the electronics management system (EMS) circuit to be included in optimization algorithms and data logs.
  • EMS electronics management system
  • the UMS circuit is responsible for cell balancing and bypassing.
  • Cell balancing prevents ultracapacitors from becoming overcharged and damaged during operation.
  • Cell bypassing diverts charge and discharge current around an individual cell. Cell bypassing is therefore used to preserve efficient operation in the event that a cell is severely damaged or exhibiting unusually high equivalent series resistance (ESR).
  • ESR equivalent series resistance
  • the UMS circuit is capable of determining individual cell health through frequent cell voltage measurements and communication of the charge current with the EMS.
  • the cell health information may be relayed to the EMS circuit over the modular communication bus, e.g., through the modular bus stackers.
  • the cell health information can then be used by the EMS circuit to alter system behavior. For example, consider that the EMS circuit is supporting high output power to a load by regulating to a high output capacitor voltage. If however, the UMS circuit reports that one or multiple ultracapacitors are damaged, the EMS can choose to regulate to a lower output capacitor voltage. The lower output voltage reduces output power capabilities but helps preserve ultracapacitor health.
  • the UMS circuit offers a convenient method to independently control cell voltage levels while monitoring individual and ultracapacitor string cell health.
  • UMS circuit may communicate to the UMS core via an internal circuit communication bus.
  • data and command signals are transferred over the internal communication bus.
  • the supervisor controls the UMS core to measure each cell voltage. Depending on the state of charge, the supervisor commands the UMS core to balance each cell. In particular embodiments, the balance time and frequency is controlled via the supervisor to optimize cell health and to minimize heat increases that may arise during balancing. Cell health may be monitored by the supervisor and communicated by the supervisor to the EMS circuit via the modular bus. Additionally, in certain embodiments, through the use of external devices, e.g. MOSFETs, the supervisor can decide to bypass a given cell.
  • external devices e.g. MOSFETs
  • the UMS Core has circuitry that enables measuring the voltage of individual cells. Additionally, the UMS core is capable of removing charge from individual cells to reduce the cell voltage. In one embodiment, the UMS core balances individual cells by dissipating the excess energy through a passive component, such as a resistance. In another embodiment, charge can be removed from one cell with high voltage and transferred to another cell with low voltage. The transfer of charge can be accomplished through the use of external capacitors or inductors to store and release excess charge.
  • the UMS circuit may enter a low power sleep state.
  • an EMS circuit may control the UMS circuit via the modular communication bus so that: (1) when not in use, the UMS circuit can go to a low power consumption mode of operation and (2) when called upon, the EMS circuit can initiate cell monitoring and balancing via the UMS supervisor.
  • the modular bus enables bi-directional communication between the UMS circuit supervisor, EMS circuit, and other supervisor nodes on the communication bus. As shown in FIG. 33, power to the UMS circuit supervisor may also be provided through the modular bus.
  • balancing circuitry may automatically balance a cell when the cell voltage exceeds a set voltage. This behavior affords the capability to perform real-time adjustments to the ultracapacitor string voltage.
  • An UMS circuit may be configured to communicate on the modular bus thereby enabling real-time updates to cell balancing behavior.
  • communication on the modular bus enables data to be stored external to the UMS circuitry. This modularity enables the UMS circuit to have a wide range of applications.
  • the supervisor and modular bus allow for changes in the ultracapacitors and system requirements, such as logging resolution and lifetime, without requiring extensive revisions to UMS circuitry.
  • the cell health information can be stored locally on the UMS circuit or stored by the EMS after transmission over the modular bus.
  • the cell information can be useful in determining whether a bank of ultracapacitors needs to be replaced after usage or whether service is required on individual cells.
  • the cell health information can be stored locally on the UMS circuit or stored by the EMS after transmission over the modular bus. The cell information can be useful in determining whether a bank of ultracapacitors needs to be replaced after usage or whether service is required on individual cells.
  • UMS circuit is capable of discharging that cell to a lower voltage. By discharging the cell to a lower voltage, cell lifetime is improved. Maintaining balanced cell voltage over the entire string improves optimizes lifetime of the capacitor string.
  • the UMS circuit is capable of controlling the discharge current profile, by distributing discharge currents across a widely separated circuit area, enabling improved thermal management and cell health. For example, heat caused by a discharging event is often localized to a section of the UMS circuit. If multiple cells need to be balanced, it is advantageous in order to reduce temperature increases not to balance cells that would cause temperature increases in adjacent location on the UMS circuit. Therefore, the UMS circuit manages temperature increases by selecting which cells to balance based on their spatial location on the UMS circuit. These features may be managed my a supervisor and additionally may be managed by an EMS and / or a combination of the above.
  • the UMS circuit also manages temperature increases during balances by controlling the time of discharge. For example, instead of constantly discharging an ultracapacitor until the desired cell voltage is met, the supervisor chooses to start and stop charging periodically. By increasing the duty cycle between discharge events, temperature increases caused by cell discharge current can be mitigated.
  • a damaged cell may exhibit a decreased capacitance compared to surrounding cells. In this case, the cell will exhibit higher charge and discharge rates. Normal balancing operations will mitigate any damage to the cell in this case. Similarly, in certain embodiments, a cell may exhibit increased leakage current, causing a constantly dropping cell voltage. A decreased voltage on a cell will require other cells to maintain a higher average voltage. Again, normal balancing operations will mitigate damage to cells in this case.
  • a cell may be damaged to the point where it exhibits very high ESR, degrading the power handling of the entire capacitor string. In these cases, typical balancing operations will not fix the problem.
  • the UMS circuit can choose to bypass any given cell. Cell bypassing may be achieved via nonlinear devices such as external diodes that bypass charge and discharge current, such that every other cell must store a higher average voltage. However, power handling capability of string is maintained.
  • the UMS circuit comprises of necessary circuitry to monitor and balance a string of ultracapacitors while including additional functionality to improve efficiency, system health, and thermal management.
  • the UMS circuit in certain embodiments comprises a supervisor, is electrically connected by the modular bus stackers to, and programmed to communicate with: the junction circuit, the EMS circuit, the state of charge circuit, the cross over circuit, or other circuits in the MSID, and/or one or more energy sources (such as a battery, wireline or generator).
  • the UMS circuit may also comprise an integrated circuit (IC) or controller for performing the functions of the UMS, switch devices such as transistors or diodes, and various ancillary components.
  • the IC may be selected from off-the-shelf monolithic control IC's.
  • the MSID comprises an EMS circuit.
  • EMS circuit is a multifunctional device capable of one or more of the following: collecting and logging data of system performance and environment conditions; managing other circuits; and communicating to external systems for programming and data transmission.
  • the EMS circuit hardware is tightly integrated with surrounding hardware, enabling the control and monitoring of total system behavior.
  • the hardware may be complemented by intelligent firmware that manages the operation of several other microcontrollers, using external sensors and communication between the microprocessors to intelligently optimize system performance.
  • intelligent firmware that manages the operation of several other microcontrollers, using external sensors and communication between the microprocessors to intelligently optimize system performance.
  • the effect is an extremely versatile and capable system, one that can adapt in real-time to changes in the environment and requirements.
  • the EMS circuit collects and logs data of system performance and environmental conditions.
  • the EMS circuit e.g., via the EMS circuit supervisor, is responsible for recording sensor data directly from external sensors and through communication over the modular bus from other circuits. This data may be used to evaluate system performance for optimization. In general, significant events may also be logged for later evaluation.
  • the EMS circuit manages surrounding circuits for optimal system performance.
  • the EMS circuit may control the UCC circuit charging current.
  • the charging current may be selected based on the data collected throughout the system through sensors and communication with the circuits.
  • the EMS circuit can also put various circuit components into a low power sleep state to conserve power when possible.
  • the EMS circuit communicates to external systems for programming and / or data transmission.
  • the external communication bus on the EMS circuit enables communication to outside hardware and software. This connection enables the EMS circuit to be reprogrammed while disposed in the system. The EMS can then reprogram other supervisors or direct other supervisors on their operation, effectively reprogramming the entire system.
  • the external communication bus is also used to transmit data logs from internal memory to external software. In this way, data can be collected during operation and analyzed post-operation by external equipment, e.g., an external PC.
  • the Electronics Management System (EMS) circuit serves to collect information from available supervisors and sensors and dependently control system behavior.
  • the EMS also provides an interface to external electronics, such as PC software or firmware programmers. Through the external communication bus, it is possible to program the EMS circuit core, e.g., the EMS circuit supervisor, and consequently all other supervisors connected to the EMS circuit.
  • the EMS circuit core may be comprised of one or more digital circuits, e.g., microcontrollers, microprocessor, or field-programmable gate array (FPGA) units.
  • the EMS circuit core is connected to a load connect/disconnect circuit that allows the ultracapacitor string to be connected or disconnected to an external load.
  • the capacitor string may be disconnected from the load if, for example, the capacitor string voltage is too low or too high for the particular load.
  • the load is connected to the ultracapacitors through a load driver circuit.
  • the EMS circuit is connected to additional sensors that are not interfaced to other supervisors.
  • sensors may include one or more of the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a load current sensor, an input battery current sensor, an input voltage sensor, and a capacitor string voltage sensor.
  • the EMS circuit may be connected to other circuits.
  • the communication bus may comprise a data line, a clock line, and an enable line.
  • supervisors interface to the data, clock, and enable lines. Furthermore, each supervisor can be prescribed an identification address.
  • the EMS circuit to communicate over the internal communication bus, the EMS circuit, as shown in FIG 35, activates the enable line and sends over the data and clock lines the identification address of the target supervisor followed by the desired data command instructions.
  • the supervisors see the enable line activated, each supervisor will listen for its prescribed identification address. If a supervisor reads its identification address, it will continue to listen to the EMS circuit message and respond accordingly. In this way, communication is achieved between the EMS circuit supervisor and all other supervisors.
  • the EMS circuit interfaces with the UCC circuit and controls the UCC circuit charge current.
  • the charge current is controlled to regulate the output ultracapacitor voltage.
  • Feedback control and/or heuristic techniques are used to ensure safe and efficient operation of the electronics, ultracapacitors, and input battery stack.
  • the EMS circuit interfaces with the cross over circuit to record and potentially control the battery connection state.
  • the state of the cross over circuit and crossover events may be logged via the EMS and internal/external memory.
  • the EMS circuit interfaces with the UMS circuit in order to monitor and log cell health and/or discharge events.
  • the EMS circuit is capable of bringing supervisors into a low power state to decrease power consumption and optimize runtime behavior.
  • the EMS circuit has a unique hardware structure that allows communication to and from a large variety of sensors, lending itself to a variety of advantages that generally serve to optimize one or more performance parameters, e.g., efficiency, power output, battery lifetime, or capacitor lifetime.
  • the EMS circuit in certain embodiments comprises a supervisor, is electrically connected by the modular bus stackers, and programmed to communicate with: the junction circuit, the UMS circuit, the state of charge circuit, the cross over circuit, and/or one or more energy sources (such as battery or ultracapacitor string) through the supervisor of the circuit.
  • the EMS circuit may also comprise at least one digital controller, e.g. a microcontroller, a microprocessor , or an FPGA, and various ancillary components.
  • an MSID may comprise a load driver circuit.
  • the MSID may comprise a load driver circuit.
  • the load driver circuit acts as a power converter that may provide an aspect of regulation, for instance voltage regulation of the output of a power system despite another widely varying voltage aspect. For example, when a power source is intermittent, e.g. it provides power for several minutes and then ceases to provide power for several minutes, a power system may be required to provide power to a load when the power source is not providing power.
  • a HTRES may provide the stored energy for the supply of power during the period when the power source is not providing power. If the HTRES is an capacitor, for instance an ultracapacitor, a limited energy capacity of said HTRES may lead to a widely varying voltage of said HTRES during a period when the power system is providing power to a load, but the power source is not providing power.
  • a load driver may be employed in this example to provide for a regulated load voltage despite the widely varying HTRES voltage.
  • the load driver may function as a power converter so that it processes the power drawn from said HTRES and delivered to said load and so that it also incorporates said regulation aspects, i.e. a regulated power converter, in this example, an output voltage regulated power converter.
  • a regulation aspect is enabled by art-known feedback regulation techniques.
  • the controller integrated circuit (IC) at the center of the load driver circuit is electrically connected by modular bus stackers to and programmed to communicate with the remainder of the MSID.
  • the remainder of the MSID may comprise various circuits. Non-limiting examples include a junction circuit, at least one sensor circuit, an ultracapacitor charger circuit, an ultracapacitor management system circuit, a changeover circuit, a state of charge circuit, and an electronic management system circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises modular circuit boards.
  • the modular circuit boards are circular.
  • the modular circuit boards are stacked.
  • the modular circuit boards are circular and stacked.
  • the power source comprises at least one of a wireline power source, a battery, or a generator.
  • the power source comprises at least one battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit, particularly when the power source comprises more than battery.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit board.
  • the power source comprises a wireline, and at least one battery, e.g. , a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit.
  • the power source comprises a generator.
  • the power source comprises a generator, and at least one battery, e.g., a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit.
  • the circuit boards may be combined to provide multi-functional circuit boards.
  • the load driver circuit features high temperature operation, e.g., greater than 75 degrees Celsius e.g., greater than 125 degrees Celsius, e.g., 150 degrees Celsius, and may comprise any of an adjustable charge current control, redundant over voltage protection for the capacitor bank, and a wide input/output voltage range, and voltage mode regulation.
  • the load driver charges a capacitor, e.g. an ultracapacitor.
  • an adjustable current may be established digitally with a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) control signal created by a supervisor and a low pass filter to produce an analog voltage that the controller IC interprets as the controller IC does not communicate digitally.
  • the controller IC is configured to regulate output current, e.g., the ultracapacitor charge current.
  • the UCC circuit is capable of regulating the voltage on the ultracapacitors, e.g. by hysteretic control wherein the voltage is kept within a voltage band by on-off control of the IC.
  • the load driver circuit in certain embodiments, may be digitally controlled. In further embodiments, the load driver circuit is digitally controlled by the electronics management system (EMS). In further embodiments, the load driver circuit can enter sleep mode to conserve energy and this aspect may be provided for by a digital control.
  • EMS electronics management system
  • the load driver controller can also be implemented in an analog fashion. In such a configuration, the feedback control would generally be carried out with the use of components such as operational amplifiers, resistors, and capacitors. While effective, a minor disadvantage of this configuration is the inherent lack of flexibility controlling charge current and output voltage.
  • the controller integrated circuit (IC) at the center of the load driver circuit is electrically connected by modular bus stackers to and programmed to communicate with the junction circuit, the EMS circuit, cross over circuit, and/or one or more energy sources (such as battery, generator, or wireline).
  • the load driver circuit may also comprise a resistor network for voltage sampling, a step down power section (e.g. , a Buck converter), a step up power section (e.g. , a boost converter), an inductor current sense resistor required for current mode control, and/or a charge current sense resistor required for regulating the charge current.
  • the load driver circuit controller is implemented digitally.
  • the advantages of such a system include component reduction and programmability.
  • the control of the switch network is performed by a microcontroller/microprocessor.
  • the MOSFETs are not considered ideal switches, but rather power losses are mitigated through properly chosen switching frequencies and low loss components.
  • the above essentially describes the basic concepts associated with art-recognized switch-mode operation. When switched-mode operation is applied to amplifiers, those amplifiers are often termed class-D amplifiers.
  • a class D Amplifier enables significantly higher power capabilities when compared to existing solutions.
  • the amplifier comprises six main components connected in a Class D full bridge switching amplifier configuration, i.e., also together referred to as a Class D amplifier: (1) High voltage capacitor rail; (2) Modulator; (3) device drivers; (4) Switching Section; (5) Signal low pass filters; and (6) Load impedance.
  • the high voltage capacitor rail supplies a positive rail voltage to the output transistors. In order to deliver significant power to the load, it is important that the high voltage capacitor rail maintain low impedance, minimizing power losses under heavy loads.
  • the modulator has the function of modulating the signal provided to the load.
  • the modulator may function in a number of ways.
  • the modulator may modulate a number of quantities, e.g. power, voltage, current, frequency, phase.
  • An example open-loop method for modulating amplitude of the voltage presented to the load includes providing a time -varying analog signal as a time-varying reference input to a pulse-width modulator circuit, e.g. a comparator having two inputs one being said reference, the other being a triangle wave signal oscillating at the desired switching stage switching frequency, the pulse-width modulator circuit providing the pulse width modulated gate driver control signal.
  • a pulse-width modulator circuit e.g. a comparator having two inputs one being said reference, the other being a triangle wave signal oscillating at the desired switching stage switching frequency
  • the pulse-width modulator circuit providing the pulse width modulated gate driver control signal.
  • the duty ratio of the gate driver control signal is also varied, the duty cycle of said control signal in turn may control the instantaneous voltage presented to the load.
  • An example closed-loop method for modulating amplitude of the voltage presented to the load includes providing a time -varying analog signal as a time-varying reference input to a feedback control circuit, the feedback control circuit configured to regulate the voltage presented to the load by various methods known in the art.
  • the feedback circuit comprises measurement aspects of feedback signals, an error amplifier, a dynamic compensator, a pulse width modulator, a gate driver, which may comprise a dead-time circuit.
  • the dynamic compensator is generally designed to achieve a combination of closed-loop stability and closed-loop dynamics.
  • the device drivers generally provide current or voltage amplification, voltage level shifting, device protection and in some cases signal dead time generation in order to properly drive the transistor inputs.
  • Generally device drivers convert a low level control signal to a signal appropriate for controlling a device.
  • Example devices include bipolar junction transistors, MOSFETs, JFETs, Super junction transistors or MOSFETs, silicon-controlled rectifiers, insulated gate bipolar transistors and the like.
  • Gate drivers may be provided as discrete implementations or as off-the-shelf or monolithic integrated circuits.
  • the switching section comprising generally comprises output transistors switches processes input power to provide a transformed power to the load.
  • An example switching section is configured in a full bridge configuration such that the two of the transistors are on at any given time. In one state, two transistors are on, providing a current flow through the load in one direction. In the other state, the other two transistors are on, providing a current flow through the load in the opposite direction.
  • Each of the transistors are switched a frequency well above the bandwidth of the reference signal.
  • low pass filters are used to filter out the high frequency switching signal, ideally leaving only the low frequency reference signal transmitted through the load.
  • the low pass filters are reactive components to prevent losses that would other occur over resistance components. Filtering between the switching section and the load should pass the frequency content desired in the modulated signal to the load. Meanwhile, the filtering should be band-limited enough to reject unwanted frequency content.
  • the load impedance represents the medium over which the telemetry signal is being transmitted. Load impedances commonly contain high order behavior that determines how the signal will propagate through space. Simple models, however, are represented by a power resistor.
  • switching amplifiers may introduce switching artifacts in the output signal, in certain embodiments, these artifacts are minimized through the use of properly selected switching frequencies, and/or well-designed filtering.
  • the output filter preserves signal integrity by severely attenuating switching artifacts while preserving the information contained in the reference signal. The output filter may also contribute minimal power loss through having very low resistance components
  • BLDC brushless DC
  • MWD downhole Measurement While Drilling
  • conventional BLDC motors often include and rely on rotor position sensors.
  • a common example of a rotor position sensor is a Hall effect sensor.
  • Hall Effect sensors of a sensored motor present reliability limitations and are often damaged or fail.
  • the present invention provides a sensorless BLDC motor drive that may operate either a sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motor or a retro-fitted sensored BLDC (e.g. , one with either working or failed sensors) by using electronic commutation of a 3-phase BLDC (i.e., "wye") motor, wherein the BLDC motor drive is configured to operate the BLDC motor according to a sequential commutation algorithm.
  • BLDC sensorless brushless DC
  • wye 3-phase BLDC
  • a power system for high power applications coupled to the motor drive may be used to drive a mudpulser harder, , which translates to sharper pressure pulses and potentially faster data rates for transmission to the surface, e.g., up to twice the data rates while maintaining battery life and without compromising signal integrity, e.g., using mudpulse telemetry.
  • the configuration eliminates the use or need of Hall Effect sensors in downhole brushless DC motor drives; where the BLDC motor drive described herein enables the use of a reliable brushless DC motor in a downhole environment. Moreover, at least five required wires (5V, GND, HI, H2, H3) present on a conventional sensored BLDC motor can be eliminated, thereby increasing reliability, and reducing complexity.
  • another power system embodiment of the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, an optional load driver circuit, a sensorless brushless DC motor drive circuit, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius; and wherein the load comprises a brushless DC motor, e.g., a sensorless BLDC motor.
  • the controller is an MSID of the present invention.
  • the invention is directed to a sensorless brushless DC motor system comprised of a power source a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string ⁇ e.g., of 1-100 ultracapacitor cells) organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, an optional load driver circuit, a sensorless brushless DC motor drive circuit, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius; and wherein the load comprises a brushless DC motor.
  • the controller is an MSID of the present invention.
  • the sensorless brushless DC motor drive is configured to receive the filtered motor terminal voltages and compare them pair-wise using comparators whose outputs are utilized to generate commutation control signals. For example, when the positive input of the comparator goes below the negative input, the output of the comparator saturates to the negative power supply rail and to the positive power supply rail if the inputs are interchanged. The state of the rotor position can be determined from the state of the outputs of the outputs of the comparators.
  • a sensorless brushless DC motor e.g., a 3-phase motor, may be driven so that its phases are energized based on the position of the rotor.
  • stator coil As current passes through a stator coil, magnetic poles are created with polarity according to right hand thumb rule. As shown in FIG. 36, when two phases are energized at the same time, the current flowing in the two phases are in opposite directions to each other with respect to the source. Energized poles formed by the stator coils attract the rotor poles, and as the rotor is approaching those poles the corresponding stator coils may be de-energized and the next pair of coils energized to create rotor motion. When the rotor rotates, the back EMF of the inactive phase forces the comparator outputs to change state that triggers the controller to match the current state in the look up table and then move to the next state.
  • an algorithm such as that shown in FIG. 37, in the sensorless BLDC motor drive identifies the state of the rotor by rotating to a known position. As the rotor moves toward the new position, the movement of the permanent magnets relative to the stator windings generates sufficient back EMF such that the outputs of the comparators become valid. Having valid comparator outputs, the system has valid commutation control signals and can therefore determine both commutation timing and the next energizing step. From this point, the sensorless BLDC is able to continue sensorless operation, whereby the controller is able to look up the next state, for example, in a stored look-up table like the one shown below.
  • next energizing state depends on the desired rotational direction (clockwise or counterclockwise). Performance is comparable to that for a sensored method in that commutation signals become available immediately after the motor drive is powered on. This eliminates the need for start-up procedures that run the motor in synchronous mode to reach speeds when back EMF can be detected.
  • State (bit 2, bit 1, bit
  • the invention provides a method of operating a sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motor, e.g., a 3 phase BLDC motor, comprising a sensorless BLDC motor drive control circuit, a rotor, a stator coil, and three comparator outputs of the stator coil, wherein the steps of the method comprise rotating the rotor to align the rotor to one of a set of known states of excitation, which generates control signals at the comparators output; passing current through the stator coil such that only two comparator outputs are energized at the same time creating two phases directed in opposite directions; detecting sufficient back EMF to generate valid commutation control signals to determine both commutation timing and the next energizing step according to the known states of excitation; and performing said next energizing step according to the known states of excitation, such that rotor motion is produced in a single direction.
  • BLDC sensorless brushless DC
  • the known state of excitation is determined by comparison to a predefined standard stored in memory, e.g., locally or remotely, electrically coupled to the sensorless BLDC motor drive control circuit.
  • the known states of excitation are as provided in the Look-up Table.
  • the rotor is moved in one direction using the following energizing scheme:
  • Step 1 First output comparator (A) is driven Positive, Third output comparator (C) is driven negative and Second output comparator (B) is not driven;
  • Step 2 First output comparator (A) is driven Positive, Second output comparator (B)is driven negative and Third output comparator (C) is not driven;
  • Step 3 Third output comparator (C) is driven Positive, Second output comparator (B)is driven negative and First output comparator (A) is not driven;
  • Step 4 Third output comparator (C) is driven Positive, First output comparator (A) is driven negative and Second output comparator (B) is not driven;
  • Step 5 Second output comparator (B) is driven Positive, First output comparator (A) is driven negative and Third output comparator (C) is not driven;
  • Step 6 Second output comparator (B) is driven Positive, Third output comparator (C) is driven negative and First output comparator (A) is not driven;
  • the invention provides a sensorless brushless
  • BLDC battery DC
  • BLDC sensorless brushless DC
  • a sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motor e.g., a 3 phase BLDC motor, comprising a sensorless BLDC motor drive control circuit, a rotor, a stator coil, and three comparator outputs of the stator coil
  • the steps of the method comprise rotating the rotor to align the rotor to one of a set of known states of excitation, which generates control signals at the comparators output; passing current through the stator coil such that only two comparator outputs are energized at the same time creating two phases directed in opposite directions; detecting sufficient back EMF to generate valid commutation control signals to determine both commutation timing and the next energizing step according to the known states of excitation; and performing said next energizing step according to the known states of excitation, such that rotor motion is produced in a single direction.
  • BLDC sensorless brushless DC
  • the sensorless BLDC motor in contrast to sensored BLDC motors and other sensorless operation methods, which have compromised performance at low speeds and start-up, affords the same torque even at the start-up and the rotor picks up the speed almost immediately.
  • the bi-directional rotation of the sensorless BLDC motor, as actuated by the BLDC motor drive of the present invention, is immediate; which makes it suitable as an MWD tool, where opening and closing of the pressure valve is required.
  • the present invention which utilizes only three comparators provides for greater ease of implementation, manufacture, and serviceability as compared with the conventional sensored motor drives currently in use.
  • the sensorless brushless motor drive, and the associated motor may be used in all applications where BLDC motors are being used, including, but not limited to Automation, Automotive, Appliances, Medical, Aerospace and military applications.
  • the HTRES comprises an ultracapacitor string comprised of two or more ultracapacitor cells organized in a space efficient orientation, e.g., 1-100 ultracapacitor cells.
  • the ultracapacitors of the present invention may comprise an ultracapacitor pack wherein the capacitor assembly, e.g. , the ultracapacitor string, allows for more cells to be used in a smaller length of housing. In addition, it leaves room for electrical wires to run along the sides of the pack safely with room for potting to secure them in place.
  • the invention comprises a 3 strand pack assembly of ultracapacitors, e.g., which makes the system easier to assemble because it is easier to weld together cells in a smaller group of cells then to weld one long strand of cells.
  • an insulation technique described herein, provides security from short circuit failures and keeps the system rigid in its structure.
  • the potting secures the balancing and system wires in place and protects from unwanted failures, e.g., which is beneficial because more cells can now be fit in the same size ID housing tube ⁇ e.g., going from D sized form factor to AA) but in a significantly shorter housing tube.
  • the invention provides an ultracapacitor string prepared by connecting ultracapacitors in series to be used in the systems of the invention.
  • the cells ⁇ e.g., 12 or more
  • the cells may be insulated with tape, heat shrink, washers, potting compound and/or spacers.
  • the cell form factor is AA (-.53" in diameter) in which 3 strands of equal number of cells are used to minimize the length of the capacitor section.
  • D cells (-1.25" in diameter) are used, but are connected in one long strand instead of three shorter strands. The insulation and assembly differs slightly for different form factors.
  • the ultracapacitor assembly may also include capacitor balancing wires and system wires.
  • the AA pack allows the balancing wires to be safely wired to each cell and protected by potting and heat shrink.
  • heat shrink is applied around each strand, balancing wires and strand, and/or the entire pack of 3 strands of cells.
  • potting may then used between each pack of cells inside the heat shrink and between the cells.
  • the balancing wires may be positioned in between the void spaces of the AA strands and are encapsulated in the potting.
  • the system wires run along the void spaces between the capacitor strands and do not increase the outermost diameter of the capacitor pack.
  • each cell is insulated with different layers of protection.
  • a layer of high temperature insulation tape such as Kapton tape, may be placed on the top of each cell with the glass to metal seal, so only the pin (positive terminal) is exposed.
  • another piece of high temperature insulation tape may be wrapped around the top side edge of the can and folded back onto the top face of the can to hold down the first piece of tape.
  • a high temperature spacer disk such as Teflon
  • Teflon with the same OD as the can may be positioned around the glass to metal seal pin so only the pin is exposed.
  • he disk sits above the top height of the pin so that when connected in series the cans do not press down onto the glass to metal when stressed but rather on the spacer.
  • the capacitors may be connected in series using a nickel or similar tab 202.
  • the tab may be welded (resistance or laser) to the positive terminal (usually glass to metal seal pin) of the each capacitor.
  • the tab is run through the center of the spacer disk.
  • the tab may be insulated with high temperature tape or high temperature heat shrink except for where it is welded to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the next can.
  • the tab may be run flat across the spacer disk 203 and then welded to the bottom of the next can (negative terminal). In certain embodiments, the tab is then folded back so the one can is sitting on the spacer of the next and are in the same line.
  • the cell balancing wires may be attached by removing a piece of the heat shrink on each cell and welding the balancing wire to the side of the can.
  • a strip of heat shrink tubing is put around the weld to help secure and protect the wire to the can.
  • the balancing wires may be attached to each can so that they all run along the same side of the can.
  • tape is used to hold the wire in place after welding, and an additional layer of heat shrink can be used to keep all the wires in place and on the same side of the strand of cells.
  • an added benefit results from putting the three strands together in that the balancing wires can run in between the extra spaces between the cells of different strands and do not increase the pack diameter.
  • the three strands of cells are assembled to keep them all in series. For example, when using 12 AA cells there will be 3 strands of 4 cells each. One strand will have the positive terminal which will connect to the electronic system. The final negative tab of strand one will connect to the positive terminal of strand two, which will be in an opposite direction of strand one and the same will go for strand 3 so that all cells are connected positive to negative. In certain embodiments, all of the balancing wires are connected so they all come out the same end of the capacitor pack to make assembly easier. After welding together all 3 strands of cells a final layer of heat shrink may be used to keep all cells together in one rigid body. In between each cell strand, as well as slightly above the top and bottom of the pack, potting may be used to further protect the cell.
  • the wires On the outside of the final heat shrink there are a number of system wires that run from end to end. In certain embodiments that use the AA assembly method, the wires have plenty of room to run in between the spaces of the capacitors without increasing the diameter of the pack.
  • the system wires may be run from either of the positive terminal or negative terminal connectors.
  • the wires (both system and balancing) may be connected by using butt joints alongside the cell pack or all can be run to another circuit board sitting near the ultracapacitor pack.
  • the glass to metal seal in order to limit the excess space in the ultracapacitors can be flipped 180 degrees so the pin is outside of the can instead of inside. Reduction of this excess space in the ultracapacitor serves to limit the amount of electrolyte needed inside the capacitor.
  • FIGS. 31A and 3 IB show how excess space may be limited by flipping the glass to metal seal so that the side with the thicker housing is present on the outside of the cell rather than the inside. Such strategy may be used on any size can with any glass to metal seal that has a body housing that is thicker than the top cover being used in the can. 2. Housing of the Systems of the Invention
  • the various modular components including the circuits that comprise the MSID, and any HTRES, e.g., ultracapacitors of the present invention, have been assembled (i.e., interconnected), these may be installed/disposed within a housing.
  • the assembly may be inserted into the housing such as shown in FIG. 39 or FIG. 10.
  • encapsulant may be poured into the housing. Generally, the encapsulant fills all void spaces within the housing.
  • the housing size is selected to fit the MSID, e.g., the diameter of the MSID.
  • the dimensions of the outer diameter may be affected by circuit board diameter of the MSID.
  • the housing contains the MSID, e.g., electronics module only.
  • the housing contains the MSID and the
  • HTRES e.g., the ultracapacitors of the present invention, e.g., an ultracapacitor string of the present invention.
  • the housing comprises a 15 pin connector containment channel.
  • the 15 pin connector containment channel comprises a "through all pocket," or a cut out in the cap assembly of the housing design to provide a wide turning radius that reduces the stress concentration of the wire joint at the exit of the Micro-D connector. In this way wire contact with sharp edges and the wall is limited and reduces the risk of wire damage.
  • the housing affords concentric and decoupled mounting of the MSID to 15 pin connector containment channel.
  • the housing comprises an open wire containment channel that allows for the MSID and capacitor to be assembled independent from the housing, which significantly increases the manufacturability of the system.
  • the open wire containment channel provides for drop in place mounting of the 15 pin Micro-D connector.
  • the tapered entrance of the open wire containment channel limits the contact of the wires with edges and channel walls.
  • the housing further comprises a removable thin walled housing cover.
  • the removable thin walled housing chassis cover provides for unobstructed path for wires to be routed along side the MSID structure within the chassis.
  • a radial extrusion of the housing insert provides a mounting face for the removable thin walled cover.
  • the assembly of the MSID and any HTRES may further comprise a 37 pin connector as a removable interface between the electronics module, e.g., MSID, and HTRES module, e.g., capacitor module.
  • This removable interface creates the inherent modularity of the system.
  • the 37 pin connector may be disposed in a removable housing interface between separate housings containing the MSID and the HTRES, e.g., an ultracapacitor string described herein. This provides for seamless and repeatable connection disconnection of electronics module and capacitor module.
  • the 37 pin connection e.g., Micro-D
  • the dual open wire channel of the separate housing interface accommodates the routing of two sets of wires from the 37 pin Micro-D connector. "Through all pockets" in one or two sides of the housing interface provides for a wide turning radius for the wires from the connector into the open channel.
  • the housing is modular, and comprises a three component housing system to separately contain (1) the MSID, e.g., in an MSID housing, (2) the HTRES, e.g., the ultracapacitor strings described herein, e.g., in an HTRES housing, and (3) the connecting wiring between the two, e.g., in a wiring interface housing.
  • each component of the housing system may be separated into its own housing assembly that separately contains the MSID, the HTRES, or the wiring, e.g., in which each housing component is designed to interface with the other housing assemblies.
  • the connecting wiring between the MSID and the HTRES further comprises a connector, e.g., a 37 pin connector.
  • the separate wiring interface affords modularity to the housing, which may serve to increase serviceability, improve the ease of manufacture, and reduce costs of production and/or maintenance.
  • the system is a power system. In certain embodiments, the system is a data system.
  • high temperature chemical resistant O-rings e.g., viton O-rings
  • the O-rings are located at the base of the 15 and 37 pin connector housings, e.g., and provide for concentric mounting of the system housing within a pressure barrel.
  • the housing container further comprises an encapsulant that encapsulates the energy storage and the controller, such process also being known as "potting.”
  • the MSID and/or the HTRES may be immersed in an encapsulant for protection against vibration and shock in high temperature environments
  • the encapsulant provides for damping of mechanical shock as well as protection from electrical and environmental interferences.
  • the hosuing is filled with SYLGARD® 170 silicone elastomer (available from Dow Corning of Midland, Michigan) as the encapsulant.
  • Embodiments of the encapsulant may include, for example, a fast cure silicone elastomer, e.g., SYLGARD 170 (available from Dow Corning of Midland Michigan), which exhibits a low viscosity prior to curing, a dielectric constant at 100 kHz of 2.9, a dielectric strength of 530 volts per mil v/mil, and a dissipation factor at 100 Hz of 0.005, and a temperature range of about minus forty five degrees Celsius to about two hundred degrees Celsius.
  • Other encapsulants may be used.
  • An encapsulant may be selected, for example, according to electrical properties, temperature range, viscosity, hardness, and the like.
  • expansion voids e.g., at least one expansion void
  • the encapsulation material e.g. a silicone elastomer gel
  • the controller is potted in the housing, e.g., using the advanced potting method described herein, deformation of the circuit boards is reduced at high temperatures.
  • advanced potting methods may be utilized to prepare the systems of the present invention, e.g., in the fabrication process.
  • the advanced potting method comprises incorporating the use of removable inserts that are inserted, e.g., radially, through slots in the housing chassis wall.
  • the inserts are placed at high silicone elastomer volume regions (e.g., centered between boards) during the potting process. Once silicone within chassis has cured, inserts are extracted through the slots leaving an air void of equal volume to the insert.
  • the advanced potting methods provided herein serve to reduce or eliminate circuit board deformation due to the thermal expansion of the silicone elastomer potting compound.
  • Silicone elastomer has a particularly high coefficient of thermal expansion and as a result during high temperature conditions high stress concentrations develop on the circuit boards causing plastic deformation.
  • the advanced potting process creates air voids, e.g., at least one air void, at various high volume regions along the controller, e.g., MSID structure. During high temperature conditions these air voids provide an expansion path for the expanding silicone elastomer. As a result, stress concentrations are drawn away from circuit boards. Reduction in the stress concentrations on the circuit boards also reduces the stress on the solder joints of the surface mount components.
  • this process may be useful for any potted circuitry subjected to downhole high temperatures, such as those found in downhole conditions, wherein the high temperature encapsulating potting material Systems of the Present Invention
  • systems of the present invention are comprised of an MSID of the present invention, and a housing structure configured to accommodate the MSID for placement into a toolstring.
  • the system comprises an MSID of the present invention; a high temperature rechargeable energy storage device (e.g., an ultracapacitor described herein); and a housing structure in which the MSID and high temperature rechargeable energy storage device are both disposed for placement into a toolstring
  • a power system as described herein affords decoupling of an electrical aspect of a power source electrical, e.g. voltage, current, or instantaneous power from an electrical aspect of a load.
  • a power source electrical e.g. voltage, current, or instantaneous power from an electrical aspect of a load.
  • systems of the present invention are comprised of an MSID of the present invention, and a housing structure configured to accommodate the MSID for mounting on or in the collar.
  • the MSID may be configured for data logging alone.
  • the MSID may be configured as a data system.
  • the invention provides a data system (e.g., adapted for downhole environments) comprising a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured for data logging; one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • a data system e.g., adapted for downhole environments
  • a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured for data logging
  • one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data
  • the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the invention provides a data system (e.g., adapted for downhole environments) comprising a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured for drilling optimization; one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) drilling data in real-time, suitable for modification of drilling dynamics; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • a data system e.g., adapted for downhole environments
  • a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured for drilling optimization
  • one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) drilling data in real-time, suitable for modification of drilling dynamics
  • the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the invention provides a data system (e.g., adapted for downhole environments) comprising a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured to determine torque on bit (TOB); one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius. .
  • a data system e.g., adapted for downhole environments
  • TOB torque on bit
  • sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data
  • the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the invention provides a data system (e.g., adapted for downhole environments) comprising a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured to determine weight on bit (WOB); one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius. .
  • a data system e.g., adapted for downhole environments
  • a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured to determine weight on bit (WOB); one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the invention provides a data system (e.g., adapted for downhole environments) comprising a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured to determine temperature by way of a temperature sensor (e.g. , a resistance temperature detector (RTD) which indicates a temperature by way of changing resistance); one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • a temperature sensor e.g. , a resistance temperature detector (RTD) which indicates a temperature by way of changing resistance
  • RTD resistance temperature detector
  • a plurality of data systems may be employed to analyze downhole conditions, e.g., vibrations and shocks in multiple areas, as they vary along the length of the drill string or tool string.
  • such spatial measurements may be useful for, among other things, locating, and making distinction of the source of any problem detected by a sensor.
  • each may be assigned an identification or address on a data bus and each may transmit its information in conjunction with said identification or address and/or in response to a request for information from said identification, or according to a schedule which allocates a certain time or frequency to MSID with said identification.
  • a method of improving the efficiency of drilling dynamics comprising using any data system of the present invention.
  • the method comprises employing a plurality of data systems described herein disposed at different locations in the toolstring and/or collar.
  • the controller for data logging is an MSID configured for data logging.
  • the data may be selected from shock, vibration, weight on bit (WOB), torque on bit (TOB), annular pressure and temperature, and/or hole size.
  • configuring the controller for data logging comprises configuring the controller to be capable of monitoring, logging, and communication of system health, e.g., communicating downhole information in realtime, e.g., providing real-time monitoring and communication of shocks, vibrations, stick slip, and temperature.
  • the adaptation for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius comprises encapsulating the controller with a material that reduces deformation of the modular circuits at high temperatures, e.g. a silicone elastomer gel.
  • the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius by providing sufficient number of expansion voids, e.g., at least one expansion void, in the encapsulation material in which the controller is potted in the housing, e.g., using the advanced potting method described herein.
  • the data logging system further comprises electrically coupled data storage, e.g., locally or remotely.
  • the invention provides a method for data logging, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising electrically coupling a power source to any data system of the present invention, such that data logging is enabled.
  • a method for fabricating a data system of the present invention comprising: selecting a controller adapted to receive power from a power source and configured for data logging, one or more sensor circuits configured to receive (e.g., and interpret) data; and wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius; and incorporating controller and said sensor circuits into a housing, such that a data system is provided.
  • a reserve power source may be desirable.
  • the data system may also comprise a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a second controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the second controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to intermittently supply power to the data controller and sensor circuits when no power from the power source is detected; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the data interface system is configured to exhibit one or more of the performance characteristics provided in the following table. For clarity, this tabular listing is for convenience alone, and each characteristic should be considered a separate embodiment of the invention.
  • the system can safely and reliably operate -20°C to
  • the MSID may be configured as a power system.
  • the MSID may be configured as a power system and for data logging.
  • additional modular circuits comprised of circular circuit boards, may be added to provide additional functionality to the system.
  • additional circuits may be added via additional stackers, joining the modular bus, wherein the housing is configured/constructed to accommodate any increase in size of the MSID.
  • these additional circuits due to the modular nature of the MSID, do not add additional complication to manufacturing of the MSID other than the addition of stacked circular circuit board, and may easily be removed for service or removal of functionality without damage to the remainder of the MSID.
  • the systems of the present invention may include a High Temperature Rechargeable Energy Storage (HTRES).
  • the energy storage may include any type of technology practicable in downhole conditions.
  • the HTRES is configured for operation at a temperature greater than 75 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 75 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 85 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 95 degrees Celsius to about 100 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 75 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 110 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature that is within a temperature range of between about 120 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a
  • the energy storage, or HTRES includes at least one ultracapacitor (which is described below with reference to FIG. 3).
  • Additional embodiments of HTRES include, without limitation, chemical batteries, for instance aluminum electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors, ceramic and metal film capacitors, hybrid capacitors magnetic energy storage, for instance, air core or high temperature core material inductors.
  • chemical batteries for instance aluminum electrolytic capacitors, tantalum capacitors, ceramic and metal film capacitors
  • hybrid capacitors magnetic energy storage for instance, air core or high temperature core material inductors.
  • Other types of that may also be suitable include, for instance, mechanical energy storage devices, such as fly wheels, spring systems, spring-mass systems, mass systems, thermal capacity systems (for instance those based on high thermal capacity liquids or solids or phase change materials), hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
  • mechanical energy storage devices such as fly wheels, spring systems, spring-mass systems, mass systems, thermal capacity systems (for instance those based on high thermal capacity liquids or solids or phase change materials), hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
  • high temperature hybrid capacitor available from Evans Capacitor Company Buffalo, RI USA part number HC2D060122 DSCC10004
  • Another example is the high temperature tantalum capacitor available from Evans Capacitor Company Buffalo, RI USA part number HC2D050152HT rated to 200 degrees Celsius. Yet another example is an aluminum electrolytic capacitor available from EPCOS Kunststoff, Germany part number B41691A8107Q7, which is rated to 150 degrees Celsius. Yet another example is the inductor available from Panasonic Tokyo, Japan part number ETQ-P5M470YFM rated for 150 degrees Celsius.
  • the power systems of the present invention which comprise an MSID described herein, are useful for acting as a buffer for power supplied by a source to a load.
  • This buffering system comprises numerous advantages over the existing systems which typically use a direct connection of the power source to the load. Such advantages include the capability to optimize one or more performance parameters of efficiency, power output, battery lifetime, or HTRES (e.g., ultracapacitor) lifetime.
  • HTRES ultracapacitor
  • one embodiment of the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source to a load, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured for reducing battery consumption by greater than 30%, e.g., greater than 35%, e.g., greater than 40%>, e.g., greater than 45%, e.g., greater than 50% (e.g., as compared to the battery consumption with the power system); wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source to a load in a downhole environment comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured for increasing battery run time (i.e., battery life, or operational hours) by greater than 50%, e.g., greater than 60%, e.g., greater than 70%>, e.g., greater than 80%>, e.g., greater than 90%>, e.g., greater than 100% (e.g., as compared to the battery consumption with the power system); wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source to a load, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured for increasing the operating efficiency to greater than 90%, e.g., greater than 95%; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a battery power source to a load, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to draw a constant current from the battery and constant output voltage across the battery discharge; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the management of the constant current draw from the battery with a constant output voltage across the battery discharge serves to decrease the battery consumption rate by optimizing for the needs of a given battery.
  • the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source to a load, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to control the input current (e.g. , ranging from about 2 A to about 10A) from the power source and output HTRES voltage; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius. In certain embodiments, the voltage is selected based upon the load.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to control the input current (e.g. , ranging from about 2 A to about 10A) from the power source and output HTRES voltage; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about sevent
  • the load may vary, and the required voltage will also vary accordingly.
  • the power system is configured to adopt the optimum stable lowest voltage to reduce the current draw on the power source, e.g., the battery, wherein the voltage remains stable within plus or minus 2V, e.g., within plus or minus IV.
  • voltage stability increases the longevity of the load as well as the battery life.
  • the stable lowest voltage ranges from about 0V to about 10V; from about 10V to about 20V; from about 20V to about 30V; from about 30V to about 40V; from about 40V to about 50V; from about 50V to about 60V; or from about 60V to about 100V.
  • the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source to a load, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to control the input power (e.g. , ranging from about 0W to about 100W) from the power source and output HTRES voltage; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius. In certain embodiments, the voltage is selected based upon the load.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to control the input power (e.g. , ranging from about 0W to about 100W) from the power source and output HTRES voltage; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about
  • the load may vary, and the required voltage will also vary accordingly.
  • the power system is configured to adopt the optimum stable lowest voltage to reduce the power draw on the power source, e.g., the battery, wherein the voltage remains stable within plus or minus 2V, e.g., within plus or minus IV.
  • voltage stability increases the longevity of the load as well as the battery life.
  • the stable lowest voltage ranges from about 0V to about 10V; from about 10V to about 20V; from about 20V to about 30V; from about 30V to about 40V; from about 40V to about 50V; from about 50V to about 60V; or from about 60V to about 100V.
  • the invention provides a method for buffering the power from a power source to a load, e.g., in a downhole environment, comprising electrically coupling a power source to any power system of the present invention, and electrically coupling said power system to a load, such that the power is buffered from the power source to the load.
  • a method for fabricating a power system of the present invention comprising: selecting a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., at least one ultracapacitor described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured to control the buffering of power from a power source to a load; and incorporating the HTRES and controller into a housing, such that a power system is provided.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the power system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 80 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 90 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 100 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 110 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 120 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 125 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 130 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 140 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 150 degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 160 degrees Celsius
  • the power system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 100 degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius, e.g., between about 125 degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius.
  • the power system further comprises a housing, e.g., an advanced modular housing described herein, in which the controller ⁇ e.g., an MSID of the present invention) and any HTRES ⁇ e.g., an ultracapacitor string of the invention) are disposed, for example, wherein the housing is suitable for disposition in a tool string.
  • the controller is encapsulated with a material that reduces deformation of the modular circuits at high temperatures, e.g. a silicone elastomer gel.
  • the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius by providing sufficient number of expansion voids, e.g., at least one expansion void, in the encapsulation material in which the controller is potted in the housing, e.g., using the advanced potting method described herein.
  • the controller is an MSID of the present invention.
  • the MSID comprises a junction circuit board, e.g. , wherein said junction circuit board is adapted to communicate with external computers/networks.
  • the MSID comprises a cross over circuit board.
  • the MSID comprises an ultracapacitor charger circuit. In certain embodiments, the MSID comprises an ultracapacitor management system circuit. In certain embodiments, the MSID comprises an electronic management system circuit. In certain embodiments, the MSID comprises an ultracapacitor charger circuit. And in certain embodiments, the MSID comprises any combination of a junction circuit board electrically connected to a power source, an ultracapacitor charger circuit, an ultracapacitor management system circuit, and an electronic management system circuit.
  • the HTRES comprises a plurality of HTRES cells.
  • the HTRES is an ultracapacitor string described herein.
  • the power source comprises a wireline power source
  • the power source comprises two batteries.
  • the power source comprises a wireline power source, and one battery, e.g., a backup battery.
  • the load comprises at least one of electronic circuitry, a transformer, an amplifier, a servo, a processor, data storage, a pump, a motor, a sensor, a thermally tunable sensor, an optical sensor, a transducer, fiber optics, a light source, a scintillator, a pulser, a hydraulic actuator, an antenna, a single channel analyzer, a multi-channel analyzer, a radiation detector, an accelerometer and a magnetometer.
  • the controller circuit may also be configured to provide intermittent power pulses, e.g., between about 50W and 100W.
  • the power system provides voltage stability to the entire tool string and all associated electronics.
  • Such voltage stability affords a voltage stable micro-grid that that improves the lifetime of said electronics sensitive to voltage swings.
  • the power system may communicate downhole information in real-time.
  • the power system may provide real-time monitoring and communication of shocks, vibrations, stick slip, and temperature.
  • the power system may provide monitoring, logging, and communication of system health.
  • the power system may provide monitoring and communication of battery state of charge monitoring in real time or off line.
  • the power system may further comprise a surface decoding system.
  • the power system may directly drive motor pulsers
  • the power system increases safety by allowing moderate rate cells to be used where high rate cells were necessary.
  • the power system may provide increased reliability with less Lithium used downhole.
  • the power systems of the present invention may improve the reliability of the mud pulser, and/or improve signal integrity of the pulses.
  • the present invention provides a power source electrically coupled to any power system of the present invention, and a load adapted for operation in a downhole environment.
  • the MSID may be configured to afford efficiency optimization of the power system.
  • Efficiency of the power electronics can be generally described as the ratio between output power delivered to the load and input power being delivered by a power source, such as batteries, a wireline or a generator.
  • the EMS circuit is capable of measuring input voltage and input current directly, calculating input power as the product of the two measurements.
  • the EMS circuit is capable of measuring output voltage and current, calculating output power as the product of the two measurements.
  • EMS circuit is capable of commanding parameters such as charge current and charge time. This can enable control of both input current and output voltage. By varying the charge current and regulated output voltage, the EMS circuit is able to quantify the electronics power efficiency across the entire operating range of charge current and capacitor voltage.
  • the MSID optimizes power electronics efficiency, e.g., through the use of the EMS and through the use of hysteretic voltage regulation whereby the charge current is switched between a chosen high current level and zero current level.
  • power electronics operate most efficiency at the mid to upper range of their power capability range.
  • the power electronics when they are not processing a charge current, they can be put into a low power draw state. The low power state draws only the quiescent power of each circuit. Therefore, by configuring the power system through the EMS circuit for intermittently charging ultracapacitors at a high current level for a short period of time followed by a long, low power draw "off state, very high electronics efficiency can be achieved.
  • the EMS circuit through continuous measuring and control of charge current, is capable of modifying the behavior of the power electronics to, in certain embodiments, achieve maximum efficiency. This real-time adjustment capability is important in order to adjust to changes in temperature, output load, capacitor efficiency, and battery efficiency.
  • the overall electronics efficiency is dependent on many different factors that vary with such variables as temperature and input voltage.
  • the EMS circuit is able to accurately measure efficiency by calculating the ratio of output power to input power.
  • the hill climbing method involves creating frequent perturbations to the charge current and observations of system behavior. After each perturbation, or change of the charge current, the total efficiency is calculated. If the change in charge current resulted in higher efficiency, the charge current is further changed in the same direction. If the change in charge current resulted in less efficiency, the charge current is changed in the opposite direction. In this way, the hill climbing method targets an operating point at which the power electronics operate at or near peak efficiency.
  • the MSID also optimizes for efficiency by targeting low power modes of operation for the UCC circuit.
  • the UCC circuit functions as a buck and a boost power converter together.
  • the buckboost mode of operation four transistors are being switched to regulate the charge current.
  • either buck or boost modes of operation only two transistors are being switched to regulate the charge current. Therefore, buck-boost mode generally operates with lesser efficiency than either buck or boost modes. Transitions between buck, buck-boost, and boost modes are governed by the charge current and capacitor voltage. Since both the charge current and capacitor voltage may be measured by the other circuits, e.g. the EMS circuit, the MSID can control the UCC charge current and capacitor voltage to ensure that the UCC operates in the buck and boost modes for as long as possible for the best efficiency.
  • various circuits or sub circuits may enter a low power sleep state to conserve power.
  • said sleep states are activated locally by circuits or by a circuit's digital supervisor.
  • said sleep states are activated centrally, e.g. by an EMS circuit, e.g. by way of a modular bus, e.g. by way or an EMS circuit communicating over a modular bus to a digital supervisor.
  • a UMS circuit may not need to operate continuously, but only intermittently and, in some embodiments, only when balancing of capacitors is needed.
  • a UMS circuit may measure or report a substantially balanced state of a capacitor string and then enter a sleep state in methods as described above. Similar schemes may generally be applied to other circuits as well. For instance, if a capacitor string does not need to be charged, an ultracapacitor charger may enter a sleep state.
  • the MSID may be configured to afford power optimization of the power system.
  • the EMS circuit is capable of adjusting output power capabilities in real-time to accommodate for changing load requirements.
  • the ultracapacitors are able to safely store a range of voltage levels, e.g., further dependent on the number and size of the ultracapacitors. At high voltage levels, the output power capability of the ultracapacitors is increased. That is, the ultracapacitors can sustain high power output levels for a long period of time before being recharged. At lower voltage levels, the ultracapacitors cannot sustain as high of power levels but overall efficiency may be increased in order to extend battery lifetime.
  • the MSID may be configured to optimize a voltage presented to a load.
  • an MSID or a user may measure lower power draw at voltages within a certain range and choose to operate in said range to extend, for instance battery lifetime.
  • an MSID may control a power system to operate with a load voltage in a range from 50 to 100 V, from 40 to 50 V, from 30 to 40 V, from 25 to 30 V, from 20 to 25 V, from 15 to 20 V, from 10 to 15 V, from 0 to 10V.
  • the MSID may be configured to afford battery lifetime optimization. For example, under certain conditions a battery offers longer lifetime given a steady current draw as opposed to intermittent high current draw. Under other conditions, a battery offers longer lifetime given a pulsed current draw, a current draw having high frequency content, a mildly varying current draw, a combination of the above or the like. As such, in certain embodiments, these heuristics can be utilized to shape the battery current draw in order to optimize for battery lifetime. Further, these heuristics may be applied in run-time based on sensed parameters, i.e. having a determination of the conditions that determine the optimum battery current draw.
  • battery current is smoothed at high temperatures to decrease cathode freezeover in Lithium Thionyl Chloride cells, but includes pulses at low temperatures to encourage de-passivation of the same cells.
  • a hysteretic control scheme can be utilized with a non-zero low hysteresis level. By varying the charge current between two non-zero current states, capacitor voltage regulation may be achieved while reducing the negative effect of large, fast deviations in battery current draw on the health of the batteries, e.g., lithium thionyl chloride batteries.
  • a smoother current yields a more efficient extraction of energy from a source having a series resistance aspect due to the squared relationship between current and conduction loss.
  • a lithium Thionyl chloride battery pack was first drawn with an ON-OFF current scheme using a power system as disclosed herein. Said battery pack in said first test achieved a lifetime of about 256 hours. In a second test, an equivalent battery pack was drawn with a smoothed current scheme using a power system as disclosed herein. Said battery pack in said second test achieved a lifetime of about 365 hours.
  • the MSID by controlling an aspect of battery current, a battery lifetime may be extended.
  • a power system comprises said MSID and HTRES.
  • a battery current is controlled to fall within a range of less than +/- 51% of an average, e.g. less than 50%, e.g. less than 40%>, e.g. less than 30%>, e.g. less than 20 %, e.g. less than 20%>, e.g. less than 10%>.
  • a battery current is controlled to include pulses of less than about 1,000 ms and up to about 5 A peak, e.g. less than about 500 ms and up to about 2A peak, e.g. less than about 100 ms and up to about 1 A peak.
  • a battery current is controlled to change no faster than 1 A /sec, e.g. no faster than 0.5 A/ sec, e.g. no faster than 0.25 A /sec, e.g. no faster than 0.1 A/sec, e.g no fasteer than 0.01 A/sec.
  • a battery current is controlled to achieve one of smoothing, pulsing, or shaping. In further embodiments, said battery current is controlled according to measured ambient conditions.
  • the MSID by configuring the power system via the EMS circuit by narrowing the hysteresis range of the charge current, battery current may be made smoother, extending battery lifetime.
  • a smoother current yields a more efficient extraction of energy from a source, mathematically, due to the squared relationship between current and conduction losses.
  • the power system via the EMS circuit, is configured to operate using a linear feedback control scheme.
  • a damaged battery will exhibit high effective series resistance (ESR) that reduces its power capabilities.
  • ESR effective series resistance
  • battery state of charge circuit information can be logged.
  • battery ESR can be measured by the EMS circuit.
  • the EMS circuit can command the cross over circuit to switch the battery supply to improve power handling capabilities.
  • FIG. 40 An example of certain embodiments of the MSID-based devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein disclosed having advantageous power optimization and efficiency properties is shown by reference to FIG. 40.
  • FIG, 40A is a chart depicting the voltage and current (i .e., power) behavior of a typical downhole tool that does not incorporate the MSID based devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein.
  • the system depicted in FIG. 40A includes an exemplary downhole tool, such as the tools discussed above, connected to a battery pack, consisting of a bank of lithium-thionyl chloride batteries, such as the batteries discussed above, Voltage trace 401 shows the output voltage of the battery pack, which varies from a baseline of about 34 V dipping to about 26-28 V when the downhole tool draws current in pulses, Current trace 402 shows the current drawn from the batteries by the downhole tool, which varies from a baseline of about 50 mA to peak current pulses of about 2,3 A,
  • the pulsed power behavior shown in FIG. 40A which is typical of numerous exemplary downhole tools, damages lithium-thionyl chloride batteries, resulting in shorter battery lifetimes,
  • FIG. 40B presents two charts depicting voltage and current (i.e. power) behavior of an analogous system incorporating an MSID-based power system as disclosed herein, including an HTRES, specifically a bank of high temperature ultracapacitors disclosed herein.
  • the system depicted in FIG. 40B includes an exemplary downhole tool, such as the tools discussed above, connected to an MSID-based power system, including a bank of high temperatue ultracapacitors which is connected to a battery pack, consisting of a bank of lithium-thionyl chloride batteries, such as the batteries discussed herein.
  • Voltage trace 403 shows the output voltage of battery pack, which is consistently about 28 V and lacks the voltage dips corresponding to current drawn by the downhole tool.
  • current trace 404 depicts consistent output current drawn from the battery pack, which is about 200 mA
  • Current trace 406 shows the current drawn from the MSID-based power system by the downhole tool, whichnvaries from a baseline of about 50 mA to peak current pulses of about 2,3 A.
  • the output voltage from the MSID-based power system shown as voltage trace 405, is consistently about 26 V.
  • This example is representative of numerous embodiments of the MSID-based power devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein, providing numerous optimization and efficiency advantages over existing downhole power systems utilizing available downhole batteries, generators, and other power sources, as discussed herein.
  • the MSID may be configured to afford
  • the EMS circuit may be capable of communicating data and commands to the UMS circuit. This is beneficial for regulating each cell to the desired voltage level even as the regulated output voltage changes during optimization.
  • the UMS circuit reports cell health to the EMS circuit via the modular bus. If the UMS circuit reports that one or multiple capacitors are damaged, the EMS circuit can alter the control scheme to mitigate further damage and prolong system health.
  • a damaged cell may exhibit decreased capacitance, such that the cell will charge and discharge faster than surrounding cells.
  • a damaged cell may also exhibit high leakage currents, such that the cell will be constantly discharging, forcing other cells to obtain a higher voltage.
  • the power system is configured to exhibit one or more of the performance characteristics provided in the following table. For clarity, this tabular listing is for convenience alone, and each characteristic should be considered a separate embodiment of the invention.
  • Set output voltage can be configured based
  • Input Voltage Acceptable input voltage can vary widely 8 V to 28 V
  • the maximum charging current can be set to
  • the system length might varies depending on
  • the system can safely and reliably operate
  • the power systems described above may be configured to provide for relatively high power, e.g. more power than was practically available downhole in prior art.
  • high power may be provided in a pulsed or intermittent fashion, e.g. not indefinitely, because a power balance must be maintained between a source and a load and a source may not generally be capable of providing said relatively high power.
  • a power system of the present invention may charge a HTRES for a first length of time and provide high power by directing energy from said HTRES to a load for a second length of time.
  • Aspects that characterize a power system of the present invention specifically for relatively high power include high voltage and low resistnace.
  • a power system of the present invention may also benefit from a relatively high energy capacity HTRES.
  • a primary battery e.g. a lithium Thionyl chloride battery for downhole applications comprising 8 DD size cells of moderate rate configuration may provide for a maximum of about 10-50 W of power.
  • a power system of the present invention may provide for about up to 5,000 W of power.
  • a power system of the present invention equivalently provides for a voltage stabilization effect of a shared voltage in a larger system.
  • a high power capability is enabled by a low resistance output and a low resistance output enables a relatively high power output with a relatively low resulting voltage drop.
  • an HTRES of the present invention may comprise high temperature ultracapacitors as disclosed herein with a string voltage of about 28 V and a resistance of about 100 mOhms.
  • Said exemplary power system may provide for about 20 A of output current with a voltage deviation of only 2 V. The resulting power is approximately 520 W in this example.
  • Said voltage stabilization effect may be further benefited by the use of a regulated power converter, e.g.
  • the HTRES comprises one or more ultracapacitors described herein, e.g., ultracapacitor strings.
  • ultracapacitor strings are designed to fit within a housing structured with an inner diameter that is dictated by the outer diameter of the circular circuit boards, and wherein the outer diameter of the housing is designed to be accommodated by the tool string. Accordingly, in embodiments wherein the HTRES is comprised of the ultracapacitors of the present invention, and are organized in a space efficient ultracapacitor string orientation, as described herein, larger capacitances are produced by longer ultracapacitor strings.
  • the ultracapacitor strings are comprised of 12 capacitors
  • a power system of the present invention may provide for about up to 5,000 W of power, e.g. for about 1,000 - 5,000 W of power, e.g. for about 500 - 1,000 W of power, e.g. for about 250 - 500 W of power, e.g. for about 100 - 250 W of power, e.g. for about 51 to 100 W of power.
  • another power system embodiment of the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from a power source supplying about 1W to about 99 W in a downhole environment comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured for providing intermittent high-power pulses, e.g., between about 100W and 500W; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • HTRES high temperature energy storage
  • the HTRES is characterized by a capacitance of about 1-10,000 F.
  • the controller is configured to drive the output at a greater voltage than the input voltage. With the added power supplied by high-power pulses, it is possible to drive a load harder while maintaining battery life. For example, this configuration may be used to drive the mudpulser harder ⁇ e.g., a solenoid based or motor based mud pulser), which translates to sharper pressure pulses and potentially faster data rates for transmission to the surface, e.g., up to twice the data rates while maintaining battery life and without compromising signal integrity, e.g., using mudpulse telemetry.
  • the load on this power system may be an EM transmitter.
  • the load on this power system may be a motor drive, e.g. , a sensorless brushless DC motor drive.
  • the power source may be a battery or a turbine powered MWD/LWD toolstring.
  • the input power is about 1 W to about 20 W
  • the output is greater than 100 W, e.g., about 100 W to about 500 W.
  • the input power is about 20 W to about 50 W
  • the output is greater than 100 W, e.g., about 100 W to about 500 W.
  • the input power is about 50 W to about 99 W
  • the output is greater than 100 W, e.g., about 100 W to about 500 W.
  • a power system of the present invention provides for a voltage stabilization effect of a shared voltage in a larger system, by providing for up to about 500 W, e.g. up to about 250 W, e.g. up to about 100 W, while maintaining a voltage deviation of the shared voltage less than about 50%, e.g. less than about 40%, e.g. less than about 30%>, e.g. less than about 20 %, e.g. less than about 10 %.
  • a system of the present invention provides for
  • a system of the present invention provides for
  • a system of the present invention provides for mud pulse telemetry in a well at a depth of up to about 40,000 feet, e.g up to about 30,000 feet, e.g. up to about 20,000 feet, e.g. up to about 10,000 feet.
  • a system of the present invention provides for mud pulse telemetry in a well at a transmission frequency of up to about 40 Hz, e.g. up to about 30 Hz, e.g. up to about 20 Hz, e.g. up to about 15 Hz, e.g. up to about 10 Hz.
  • the power system is configured to exhibit one or more of the performance characteristics provided in the following table. For clarity, this tabular listing is for convenience alone, and each characteristic should be considered a separate embodiment of the invention.
  • Input Voltage Acceptable input voltage can vary widely 8 V to 28 V
  • the maximum charging current can be set to
  • Diameter 1.4 in - 1.5 in in is the diameter of the o-ring
  • the system length might varies depending on the
  • the system can safely and reliably operate for at -20°C to
  • the power systems of the present invention configured to supply power to a load may be configured to operate as an intermittent power source buffer by directing energy stored in a HTRES to the load.
  • a power system of the present invention may be aided by a relatively high energy HTRES, for instance one having about 1 to 5 Wh of energy storage. Such systems may be aided with the use of a load driver circuit.
  • another power system embodiment of the invention provides a power system adapted for buffering the power from an intermittent power source e.g., a power source that ceases to provide power for periods of time, by directing energy stored in the HTRES to the load comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, an optional load driver circuit, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • a high temperature energy storage e.g., an ultracapacitor string organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein
  • an optional load driver circuit e.g., an optional load driver circuit
  • a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and
  • the system of the present invention comprises a modular signal interface device (MSID) configured as a component of a power system.
  • MSID may comprise various circuits. Non-limiting examples include a junction circuit, at least one sensor circuit, an ultracapacitor charger circuit, an ultracapacitor management system circuit, a changeover circuit, a state of charge circuit, and an electronic management system circuit.
  • the MSID comprises a junction circuit an ultracapacitor charger circuit, and ultracapacitor management system circuit, and an electronic management system circuit.
  • the MSID comprises modular circuit boards.
  • the modular circuit boards are circular.
  • the modular circuit boards are stacked.
  • the modular circuit boards are circular and stacked.
  • the power source comprises at least one of a wireline power source, a battery, or a generator.
  • the power source comprises at least one battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit, particularly when the power source comprises more than battery.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit board.
  • the power source comprises a wireline, and at least one battery, e.g. , a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit.
  • the power source comprises a generator.
  • the power source comprises a generator, and at least one battery, e.g., a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit.
  • the circuit boards may be combined to provide multi-functional circuit boards.
  • the invention is directed to an intermittent power source buffer comprised of a power source supplying about 1W to about 500 W, e.g., a downhole turbine, a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string ⁇ e.g., of 1-100 ultracapacitor cells) organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, an optional load driver circuit , and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, the controller comprising at least one modular circuit configured for providing power; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • this power system may be considered to have generated electrical output that may be applied to the load.
  • the controller is an MSID of the present invention.
  • power may be supplied intermittently for greater than 500 hours, e.g., about 500 hours to about 1000 hours, e.g., about 1000 hours to about 1500 hours, e.g., for the life of the load.
  • the intermittent power source buffer may provide a range of voltage outputs, e.g. , selected based upon the requirements of the load.
  • the primary challenge of telemetry is maintaining high signal to noise ratio when transmitting over noisy or very lossy formations.
  • Lossy formations such as highly resistive formations, attenuate the signal as it propagates resulting in decreased signal amplitude and consequently smaller signal to noise ratio.
  • Excess external noise is summed with telemetry signal to increase the noise in a received signal.
  • a slower data bit-rate is often used, sometimes with additional parity or redundancy bits.
  • the receiver may be bandlimited to reduce an overall noise content, the bandlimit being lower bound by the data rate, so a lower data rate allows for lower overall noise content at an aspect of the receiver.
  • Other methods to compensate for decreased signal to noise ratio at the receiver include increasing a magnitude of an aspect of the transmitted signal.
  • the output telemetry amplifier in conjunction with a power system configured to supply high-power may be utilized as a general purpose amplifier in many different scenarios. In one particular embodiment, this configuration may be used for transmitting telemetry signals over a resistive load. In another application, the same power amplifier configuration could be utilized for an inductive load, such as a motor or linear actuator.
  • another power system embodiment of the invention provides a power system adapted for providing for high power or high voltage telemetry, by directing energy stored in the HTRES to the load comprising: a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, an optional load driver circuit, an amplifier circuit, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage, wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the amplifier circuit is a Class-D circuit known in the art.
  • the invention is directed to a telemetry device comprised of a power source, a high temperature energy storage (HTRES), e.g., an ultracapacitor string (e.g., of 1-100 ultracapacitor cells) organized in a space efficient orientation as described herein, an optional load driver circuit, an amplifier circuit, and a controller for controlling at least one of charging and discharging of the energy storage; wherein the system is adapted for operation in a temperature range of between about seventy five degrees Celsius to about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius.
  • the controller is an MSID of the present invention.
  • the amplifier is a class-D amplifier.
  • a class-D amplifier is coupled to a dipole antenna or at least one electrode configured to wirelessly transmit information to the surface.
  • the EM telemetry signal e.g. at 12 Hz, may be characterized by greater power, voltage and/or current as compared with signals generated with known linear amplifiers currently used for this purpose.
  • the power system comprising the amplifier is disposed physically in a tool string between an antenna and a conventional EM module.
  • the power system is also configured to receive a telemetry signal.
  • the controller and in further examples, specifically, the EMS circuit, is configured to interpret said received telemetry signal.
  • an overall tool string architecture may be simplified by way of an interrupted connection between the antenna and the conventional aspects of the tool string, e.g. the conventional EM modulator, the other modules within an MWD or LWD tool string.
  • the interrupted connection may comprise the power system comprising the amplifier.
  • the signal presented by the conventional EM module may serve as an input signal to the power system comprising the amplifier and the power system may provide for an amplified version of said input signal to the load, e.g. the antenna.
  • the power system is configured to receive a signal from a remote location, e.g. the surface, by way of the antenna, the power system may receive the signal directly from the antenna in this configuration. Further, if the signal received from the remote location is intended as a control directive an aspect of the power system comprising the amplifier, the power system can respond to said control directive in a fashion such that other aspects of the tool string are unaffected.
  • the amplifier circuit may be combined with the power converting load driver circuit to afford one combination circuit.
  • an amplified aspect of the telemetry signal may lead to a higher signal to noise ratio of the received signal. Given that higher signal to noise ratio, tradeoffs may be made until the signal falls to the minimum detectable signal.
  • an attenuation of the telemetry signal may increase with range or depth in the formation, with frequency, and with other complicated parameters that depend on formation makeup. For instance, the system may enable longer range transmission, e.g.
  • high power is achieved primarily through the use of a low impedance high voltage HTRES and efficient operation of the power electronics.
  • a power system comprising an amplifier may achieve high performance by way of two fundamental factors (1) the inclusion of relatively high power (low resistance) HTRES providing for high power buffering of the power source, and/or (2) the replacement of linear amplifiers with switched-mode amplifiers, the former typically exhibiting between about 20% and 40% overall efficiency, the latter typically exhibiting between about 80% and 98% overall efficiency.
  • the output of the amplifier is both high voltage and low impedance.
  • the amplifier provides for an adjustable aspect.
  • the adjustable aspect can be selected from voltage, current, power, frequency, phase and the like.
  • said aspect may be adjusted in run-time to optimize a condition, for instance, signal integrity at the receiver, or power consumption by the power system.
  • a system of the present invention provides for EM telemetry in a well at a depth of up to about 40,000 feet, e.g up to about 30,000 feet, e.g. up to about 20,000 feet, e.g. up to about 10,000 feet. [00552] In certain embodiments, a system of the present invention provides for
  • the modular signal interface device (MSID) of the present invention may be useful as component of a data system, e.g., configured for data logging and / or reporting, e.g., in MWD or LWD or other applications.
  • the data system may comprise an MSID that may comprise modular circuit boards selected from one or more sensor circuit boards, a junction circuit board, an EMS circuit, at least one memory or memory circuit, and any combination there of, for example, wherein said junction circuit board may be adapted to communicate with external computers/networks.
  • a data system may further comprise circuits selected from an ultracapacitor charger, an HTRES, and a power interface for receiving power.
  • the MSID monitors downhole conditions and can be configured to log in memory and / or communicate in real-time data and parameters, for instance, warning levels, levels of downhole shocks, vibrations, stick slip, temperature or other such measurements.
  • Certain advantages include, but are not limited to, the ability to prevent or mitigate the risk of toolstring damage and failure downhole, the ability to log data for accountability purposes, the ability to log data for repair and maintenance or service purposes, the ability to affect drilling dynamics, e.g., in real-time, such that drilling may be performed with increased efficiency, reduced shock, increased rate of penetration (ROP), increased bit performance, reduction of non-productive time (NPT) costs; reduction of fluid kicks and fractures.
  • ROP rate of penetration
  • NPT non-productive time
  • the MSID may monitor one or more conditions such as shock, vibration, weight on bit (WOB), torque on bit (TOB), pressure and temperature, and hole size, which, for example, may be the related to effects of underbalanced drilling or air drilling, i.e. in some cases certain conditions are amplified in underbalanced or air drilling, e.g. shock and vibration is generally less dampened in those cases.
  • shock and vibration is generally less dampened in those cases.
  • Monitoring such downhole conditions allows the driller to increase the effectiveness of drilling parameters and, for example, reduce the risk of toolstring fatigue, premature trips for failure, stuck pipe, kicks, downhole battery venting, lost circulation, etc.
  • the MSID e.g., disposed inside a housing described herein, is positioned in the toolstring or the collar of the bit.
  • the MSID configured for data logging may provide one or more of the following: increased reliability of downhole tools, improved directional service, and/or improved tracking of wear on tool for improved replacement economics.
  • the MSID is configured to provide measurements based on the use of a unique configuration of sensor circuit boards that make available six degrees of freedom, which are composed of three lateral degrees of freedom, x, y, and z, and the rotation around each of these 3-X IS, ⁇ , y r> and z r .
  • the MSID is configured to provide downhole rpm measurements, e.g., rotational velocity of the toolstring or bit, weight on bit measurements, and torque on bit measurements.
  • the MSID is configured to provide downhole rpm measurements, e.g., rotational velocity of the toolstring or bit.
  • the MSID is configured to provide weight on bit measurements, and torque on bit measurements.
  • the MSID is configured to provide torque on bit measurements.
  • the power source comprises a wireline power source.
  • the power source comprises a generator.
  • the power source comprises a battery.
  • the power source comprises two batteries.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit board.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit board.
  • the power source comprises a wireline power source, and at least one battery, e.g., a backup battery.
  • the MSID may further comprise a cross over circuit board.
  • the MSID further comprises a state of charge circuit board electrically connected to junction circuit board.
  • the MSID configured for data logging is disposed in a housing alone, e.g., without an HTRES, e.g., one or more ultracapacitors described herein.
  • the MSID configured for data logging is disposed in housing along with an HTRES, e.g., one or more ultracapacitors described herein.
  • the MSID may be disposed in a housing along with an ultracapacitor string described herein, e.g., for use as a backup power source.
  • the MSID is connected to external components by a modular connection, e.g., a universal connector pin configuration.
  • the MSID may be constructed using, stacked circuit boards, e.g., stacked circular circuit boards, and a modular bus.
  • the MSID may benefit from potting or encapsulating, e.g. , using the advanced potting techniques described herein.
  • the modular boards are circular, e.g., with a diameter of less than 1.5 inches, e.g. less than 1.49 inches, e.g. less than 1.48 inches, e.g. less than 1.475 inches, e.g. less than 1.4 inches, e.g. less than 1.375 inches, e.g. less than 1.3 inches, e.g. less than 1.275 inches, e.g. less than 1.251 inches.
  • an MSID ⁇ e.g., disposed in a housing may be relatively small compared to known standards, e.g., less than 12 inches long, e.g., less than 11 inches long, e.g., less than 10 inches long, e.g., less than 9 inches long, e.g., less than 8 inches long, e.g., less than 7 inches long, e.g., less than 6 inches long, e.g., less than 5 inches long, e.g., less than 4 inches long. Said MSID may then be readily disposed at various locations along a drill string or tool string.
  • a plurality of MSID's may be employed to indicate, for instance, downhole conditions as they vary along the length of the drill string or tool string.
  • Such spatial measurements may be useful for, among other things, locating, and making distinction of the source of a troublesome excitation, for example, whether it be an aspect of the drill string or tool string itself or an aspect of the formation or other well components, or an aspect of an interaction among said aspects, characterizing the spatial response of the toolstring to various excitations, further identifying potentially hazardous downhole effects such as stick slip or whirl, or identifying weak aspects of a system.
  • each may be assigned an identification or address on a data bus and each may transmit its information in conjunction with said identification or address and/or in response to a request for information relating to said identification or address, or according to a schedule which allocates a certain time or frequency to MSID with said identification or address.
  • an MSID may provide for logging and/or reporting of downhole conditions.
  • Logging generally entails storing of data or information in memory.
  • the MSID may be configured to provide that the memory may be interrogated at a later time, for instance, once the MSID is on surface.
  • reporting may entail transmitting data from a downhole environment to a remote location for instance to the surface. Said reporting may be accomplished effectively in near real-time, or with a delay.
  • Reporting features may exist in systems also having logging features. Reporting features may compliment logging features, e.g., reporting may interrogate a local memory while a system is still downhole to report information that had been previously logged.
  • the MSID configured for data logging may be coupled with a tool string data bus.
  • the MSID may provide for information to be transmitted to the surface, for example, using the transmission taking place by way of telemetry systems already or otherwise incorporated into the tool string.
  • a tool string microprocessor unit (MPU) module may interpret data bus signals originating from the MSID and input those to a mudpulse telemetry system.
  • the mudpulse telemetry system and specifically the mudpulser may then transmit the data to a surface system by way of mudpulse telemetry known in the industry.
  • the information from the MSID may utilize electromagnetic (EM) telemetry, also known in the industry.
  • EM electromagnetic
  • the MSID may comprise a circuit useful for detecting a fault in any part of the tool string, e.g., in real-time.
  • the MSID configured for data logging may be coupled with a tool string data bus to afford this detection of a fault.
  • an MSID may provide for an "interrupt-style" telemetry scheme to the surface.
  • information may be transmitted to the surface for instance by methods leveraging tool string telemetry, e.g., well- known in the art or as described herein.
  • the interrupt style communication scheme may override usual data transmissions to the surface, e.g., data transmissions needed to continue drilling operations.
  • warnings of downhole conditions that should be addressed may force operators to stop drilling operations, e.g., by starving them of needed information or power. Drilling operators may remedy the situation leading to hazardous conditions and then continue drilling. In this way, an overall reliability of downhole systems may be improved.
  • a record of deviations from recommended practices may be logged.
  • data transmitted to the surface may comprise warning information or raw data that would indicate certain conditions, or data otherwise parameterized or configured in a manner deemed useful by the designer or user.
  • levels of continuous vibration may be mapped to warning levels or warning signals indicating a level of severity.
  • levels of shock, temperature, anomalies in torque on bit (TOB) or weight on bit (WOB) or other downhole effects that may be hazardous may be mapped to warning levels or warning signals. Examples of downhole effects that may be hazardous include stick-slip, whirl, or drill pipe bending, or other art-recognized downhole effects.
  • combinations of downhole conditions may contribute collectively to increased warning levels, for example a combination of relatively high temperature, e.g., greater than 150 degrees Celsius, and relatively high rate and magnitude of shocks, e.g., 100 counts per second (cps) greater than 50 G, may indicate a more severe warning level than either measurement alone.
  • a time integration of said measurements may also indicate an increasing warning level, for instance, 20 Grms (root mean square acceleration) of continuous vibration for a total of 100 hrs may indicate a more severe warning level than for instance 20 Grms of continuous vibration for a total of 10 hrs. As such, said warning levels may escalate over time.
  • an integer may be transmitted, for example, between 1 and 4 to indicate levels of severity, or more explicitly to indicate a recommended action such as to halt drilling operations. Warning levels may be interpreted for intuitive purposes by a surface system to indicate, for instance, “red”, “yellow”, or “green” warning levels corresponding to for instance "halt drilling", “proceed with caution”, or “proceed normally” respectively.
  • the MSID configured for data logging may be used in any harsh environment, e.g., downhole environments, where the ability to measure vibration and shock is beneficial, for instance in heavy manufacturing equipment, engine compartments of planes, cars , etc, or energy production plants/turbines.
  • the MSID configured for data logging may also be used in any other shaped housing that would be sufficient for use in the tool string or the collar of the drill string.
  • an ring-shaped circuit board may be disposed in an annular cavity in a collar-mounted tool, a conventionally-shaped, e.g. rectangular, circuit board may be disposed in said cavity, in some instances axially.
  • Said circuit boards in some instances, may comprise a modular bus or components thereof. Said circuit boards may be stacked, for instance ring-shaped circuit boards may be stacked in an annular cavity.
  • An MSID disposed in a collar may be particularly useful for accessing measurements helpful for determining TOB and WOB, for instance by disposing at least on strain gauge on a portion of a collar mounted housing, and coupling said at least one strain gauge to said MSID for measurement purposes.
  • the MSID of the present invention comprises one or more sensor circuit boards for measuring downhole conditions or orientation of the downhole tools.
  • Such circuit boards may include or couple to one or more of the following components: at least one of an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a gyroscope, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a strain gauge, useful for measuring a downhole condition or orientation of a downhole tool, e.g. , the toolstring or the drill bit.
  • the MSID is able to determine a rotational rate of a tool string about an axis (e.g., using a DMS of the type described above).
  • the MSID is able to account for the effect of gravity in some embodiments.
  • the MSID is able to detect and account for the effect of "whirl," which is art-recognized as lateral downhole vibration, in some embodiments (e.g., using a DMS of the type described above).
  • both torsional acceleration and time-domain measurements of drill string rotation rate may indicate potentially hazardous downhole effects such as stick slip and whirl.
  • stick slip i.e., a reaction to built up torsional energy along the length of the drill string
  • a time- varying and somewhat periodic torsional acceleration by way of a radially offset accelerometer with at least one measurement axis having a component tangential to the tool string or drill string.
  • stick slip may be measured by a time- varying rotational rate (RPMs), for instance in a periodically varying rotational rate.
  • a rotational rate may be measured by accelerometers configured to measure centripetal acceleration by way of a radially offset accelerometer with at least one measurement axis having a component radially to the tool string or drill string.
  • a rotational rate may also be determined by an integration of torsional acceleration.
  • mild stick slip may be indicated by a variation in rotational rate less than about the average rotational rate and may be termed moderate -to-pronounced torsional vibration in some instances.
  • more sever stick slip may be indicated by a variation in rotational rate greater than about the average rotational rate and may be termed significant to severe stick slip in some instances.
  • the severity levels of stick slip and other effects may simply be indicated by a level of torsional acceleration.
  • torsional acceleration may be determined by way of tangential acceleration measurements and/or centripetal acceleration measurements (the latter requiring the effect of a time- derivative to determine torsional acceleration).
  • the MSID includes sensor circuit boards (e.g., (e.g., a DMS of the type described above) sufficient to measure accelerometer based vibration detection and/or shock detection.
  • the MSID sensor circuit boards are configured for detection of acceleration, e.g. shock and vibration, among 6 degrees of freedom.
  • the MSID sensor circuit boards are configured for detection of shock, e.g., with the range of detectable shocks approximately less than about 1,000 G.
  • a sensor circuit board may comprise one accelerometer. In certain embodiments a sensor circuit board may comprise multiple accelerometers.
  • the MSID comprises a combination of two sensor circuit boards (e.g., included in a DMS as described above), wherein one sensor circuit board comprises one accelerometer, and the second sensor circuit board comprises two accelerometers.
  • 3 accelerometers may be arranged in accordance with FIG 38B.
  • This configuration of sensor circuit boards makes available six degrees of freedom (6-DOF), which are composed of three translational (axial or lateral) degrees of freedom, (x, y, and z), and three rotational degrees of freedom (the rotation around each of these axis, x r , y r , and z r) .
  • Translational acceleration can be measured by a single 3 -axis accelerometer.
  • a difference between two parallel axes of acceleration may be taken.
  • FIG.38 shows a sample orientation suited for measuring 6-DOF.
  • a system of the present invention comprises a configuration of sensors providing for 6 degree of freedom acceleration measurements.
  • the MSID comprises at least one sensor circuit board configured to measure rotation (e.g., included in a DMS as described above).
  • FIG 38B depicts that the rotation x r may be found through the difference of the y vectors of Al and A3; the rotation y r may be found through the difference of the x vectors of Al and A3; and the rotation z r may be found through the difference between the x acceleration vectors of Al and A2.
  • the rotational velocity of a drill string around the central z axis is directly related to the centripetal acceleration.
  • Centripetal acceleration may be measured by a sensor with at least one measurement axis having a component directed radially, for instance, A3 in Fig. 38B.
  • Fig. 38 A Another example configuration suited for determining rotational velocity by way of centripetal acceleration is shown in Fig. 38 A.
  • a radial acceleration measurement may taken as the difference between radial components of Al and A2, as well as between the radial components of Al and A3.
  • the orthogonal placement and redundant radial measurements enables separation of angular velocity around the z axis from the four acceleration components while providing less measurement uncertainty.
  • the invention provides an MSID configured for data logging and / or reporting comprising a configuration of accelerometers in a 3 -axis orientation, wherein this 3 -axis orientation is comprised of a first sensor circuit board with at least one accelerometer electrically coupled to at least a second sensor circuit board, e.g. comprising two accelerometers, wherein one of the said two accelerometers on said second board is axially aligned with an accelerometer on the first sensor circuit board.
  • acceleration measuring units e.g. those used to measure rotational velocity, those used to measure vibration, and those used to measure shock.
  • these three examples generally differ in drilling applications in their typical ranges of acceleration, for instance, centripetal acceleration as may be used to determine rotational velocity may range from about 0 to about 5 G, vibration whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about 50 G, and shock, whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about several thousand G.
  • centripetal acceleration as may be used to determine rotational velocity may range from about 0 to about 5 G
  • vibration whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about 50 G
  • shock whether it be translational or rotational may range from about 0 to about several thousand G.
  • acceleration measuring units e.g.
  • accelerometers present tradeoffs between range and resolution, for instance an accelerometer having a range of 1,000 G may have a resolution of about 5 G, while an accelerometer having a range of 5 G may have a resolution of about 100 mG.
  • measurements requiring higher range also have relaxed requirements on resolution.
  • various accelerometers are characterized by various frequency response aspects, e.g. bandwidth specifications.
  • vibration and shock measurements generally require moderate to high bandwidth
  • moderate to high g accelerometers and in particular shock measurements generally require high bandwidth and high g accelerometers.
  • RPM measurements generally require low g accelerometers and do not need high bandwidth.
  • Low g accelerometers are useful in order to achieve high resolution analog-to-digital conversion across the expected range of radial accelerations. Greater power efficiency and signal to noise ratio can be achieved with low bandwidth accelerometers.
  • a low g, low bandwidth, but high resolution accelerometer useful for thesemeasurements is the Analog Devices Inc. part number AD22293Z.
  • an accelerometer that presents a compromise between range and resolution for both shock and vibration is the Analog Devices Inc. part number ADXL377BCPZ-RL7. Analog Devices Inc. has offices Norwood, MA USA.
  • various accelerometers with various performance aspects omay be employed to measure the various quantities or effects described herein. In some cases, at least one accelerometer is "dual-used", i.e. for measuring more than one quantity or effect.
  • torsional oscillation and stick slip refer to the condition during which the RPM of the BHA differ from the RPM at the surface and periodically fluctuates between a maximum and a minimum value.
  • the sensor circuit board includes a magnetometer.
  • Said magnetometer may be useful for among other things, to determine a rate of rotation by way of a measuring a magnetic orientation relative to earth's magnetic field and/or to aide in a determination of direction, e.g., by providing a directional measurement which may be useful for among other things directional drilling operations.
  • an MSID may be used for directional measurements.
  • Methods for converting measurements of acceleration in the presence of gravity to directional measurements are well known in the industry.
  • a magnetometer aids those measurements.
  • An example method provides for a directional measurement by way of coordinate system aspects sometimes called pitch and roll estimation through rotation matrices chosen to depend only on pitch and roll while the third degree of freedom, sometimes called yaw, is left to be determined by way of a magnetometer configured to detect earth's magnetic field.
  • Pitch, roll, and yaw are terms known in the industry, especially in avionics but more recently in the context of handheld devices comprising accelerometers for entertainment and the like.
  • a magnetometer may reside elsewhere in a tool string or drill string and access to said magnetometer may be had by an MSID by way of a tool string or drill string signal or data bus. In those examples, readings from said magnetometer may be used by an MSID for the purposes described above.
  • analog measurements indicative of downhole conditions or orientation to digital signals, for instance for recording in memory, for communicating the signals to another digital system, for instance a tool string digital system by way of a digital bus, and / or a digital telemetry system.
  • acceleration signals are typically wideband and/or continuous, e.g., "continuous vibration," wherein an appropriate sampling rate of the acceleration signals can be selected to capture a substantial amount of the information therein, for example by setting the sampling frequency to be more than twice as the highest frequency aspect typically expected.
  • Choosing a frequency substantially higher is generally expected to increase power consumption, e.g. beyond about 1-5 mW, without providing for substantially more useful information.
  • Another example may involve temperature, which is expected to change slowly.
  • Other examples include shock.
  • acceleration signals typically change quickly and may be intermittent (as opposed to continuous).
  • the magnitude and rate of shocks are important. Moreover, they are relatively short in duration, e.g. less than about 500 ms in duration each. Reliable and accurate measurement of the important features of shocks requires a sample rate yielding several samples per shock, e.g. 100 samples. Sample rates of a single channel for shock measurement may be as high as about 50 or 100 ksps. However, due to the intermittency of some shock a continuously sampled signal, sampled at a relatively high rate, e.g. 100 ksps, is generally expected to increase power consumption, e.g. beyond about 1-5 mW, without providing for substantially more useful information on average.
  • One alternative solution is to provide for an analog detection circuit, which may draw relatively low power on average, e.g. less than 100 uW.
  • An example of such a circuit is a comparator configured to provide a signal transition or a logic level signal when an acceleration beyond a predetermined shock threshold, e.g. 20-50 G, is detected.
  • Said signal transition of logic level signal may be coupled to an input on a digital controller and said digital controller may be configured to treat said signal as an interrupt.
  • high resolution or high speed sampling of the relevant acceleration signal may commence only when shocks are present, while power consumption of the full solution is generally expected to be substantially less than full digital solutions.
  • an MSID should report a faithful representation of downhole conditions. Meanwhile, those downhole conditions may be damaging to the MSID itself - the MSID may be similar in construction to other components in the downhole system, the same components that the MSID's information may be useful for protecting. Therefore, it is desirable, in certain embodiments, that the MSID is protected from downhole conditions, but is simultaneously enabled to provide a faithful representations of monitored conditions. For example, downhole shock and vibration may be damaging to systems including the MSID.
  • the MSID may employ a body of protection features, for instance damped mechanical coupling between relatively sensitive electronic components and the housing.
  • Dampening may be provided for by way of encapsulant such as a potting compound surrounding said electronic components, or dampening pads or inserts disposed between relatively hard surfaces of an electronics system and a portion of a housing or the like, or combinations thereof.
  • protection features may include dampening, mechanical energy dissipation and or soft coupling mechanisms.
  • a faithful representation of downhole conditions can be recovered by providing for a pre-determined "map" between ambient conditions and measured conditions. Said map may be measured, for example, in the form of a transfer function in the frequency domain, the transfer function describing the gain and perhaps phase contribution of the protection features to the ambient excitation signal as measured by the MSID.
  • Said map may be determined (calibrated) on the surface and then stored in memory. Said map may be quantified for a variety of different operating conditions, for instance at a variety of temperatures or pressures or immersed in a variety of fluid types. Said map may be stored locally (e.g. in a memory on the MSID), or remotely (e.g. in a memory accessible to a surface system). In the latter case, the MSID may be responsible for transmitting enough downhole parameters independent of the protection features such that the surface system may map measured conditions to downhole conditions.
  • logging, and in certain cases, reporting may require a memory in one of the circuits of the MSID, e.g., on the sensor circuit board.
  • Both volatile and non-volatile memory may be employed for these purposes.
  • volatile memory a designer will enjoy a higher density of memory (more information may be stored in a comparable volume compared to in non-volatile memory).
  • volatile memory must be supported with a source of power in order to retain its stored data.
  • Several solutions for using volatile memory downhole are possible, including, but not limited to utilizing a backup high temperature primary cell, e.g. a lithium thionyl chloride cell.
  • Such a backup cell may be an explicit cell within the housing of the system, for instance, a coin cell, or it may be shared in a larger system.
  • a primary battery available to the system may also be used for this purpose so long as a connection to the primary battery may be maintained until memory can be downloaded.
  • said primary battery can be a primary battery otherwise used for power downhole or directional systems so long as the battery terminals are available to the system.
  • the battery terminals are available to the system by way of a drill sting or tool string electrical bus.
  • An alternative solution may be to employ high temperature rechargeable energy storage (HTRES) that is charged before disconnection of the system from a power source. Said HTRES may be charged by a downhole power source, e.g.
  • HTRES could provide enough useable energy to supply power to the volatile memory until memory can be downloaded.
  • a high temperature 16 Megabit SRAM Part number TTSlMX16LVn3 available from TT semiconductor, Inc. Anaheim, CA USA requires about 6 mA of data retention current at about 2 V or 12 mW of power. Therefore a HTRES having a stored energy of about 45 Joules would be capable of providing power to said volatile memory for data retention up to an hour.
  • Examples of HTRES, including ultracapacitors described herein, are described below with respect to the modular systems. However, said HTRES may be provided by way of a High temperature ultracapacitor available from FastCAP Systems Inc.
  • An alternative solution would combine an MSID with a power system comprising HTRES such as those available from FastCAP Systems Inc.
  • Said HTRES may be charged by a downhole power source and provide for the data retention power following disconnection for a downhole power source until memory can be downloaded.
  • the SRAM above is available in a 52 pin package having an edge length of about one inch and a temperature rating of 200 degrees Celsius making it suitable for use in downhole tools such as an MSID.
  • Non-volatile memory may also be employed, albeit generally at lower densities. For instance 1Mbit EEPROM Part number TTE28HT010 available from TT semiconductor may be employed.
  • EEPROM electrically erasable read only memory
  • LCC low-density memory
  • MSID low-density memory
  • Generally volatile memory may also have a limit on the number of write cycles (the number of times one can write to memory) before it fails. Therefore, a designer may employ a scheme to buffer memory, for instance in a volatile memory and then periodically write that memory to a non-volatile memory.
  • certain monitoring data may be locally (e.g. in a memory on the MSID), and/or remotely (e.g. in a memory accessible to a surface system).
  • the schemes generally employ a parameterization of the data that is recorded, for example, instead of recording all of the temperature data in an interval of one minute (a one minute window), the temperature data may be recorded over that minute in high resolution, for instance one sample per second (lsps) temporarily, and then the mean and standard deviation computed; then the mean and standard deviation may be stored instead of the raw temperature data.
  • the mean and standard deviation represent parameters of the data and so we consider the above a method of parameterization of the data.
  • the result, in this example is that most of the meaningful information is stored in a much smaller amount of memory, e.g., as 2 bytes or pieces of data, as opposed to the larger amount of memory for the entirety of the raw temperature data, e.g., 60 pieces of data.
  • the scheme for collecting and storing and/or parameterizing data may be informed by typical behavior relating to the signal to be recorded. For instance, temperature generally varies slowly in downhole environments and as the tool moves down the borehole. In contrast, vibration may have high frequency content, however the average power in the frequency spectrum may not vary faster than a timescale of about a minute. Mechanical shock on the other hand tends to be intermittent, short duration, and requires high resolution during the shock event to accurately measure its salient features.
  • An example of a shock and vibration logging scheme includes vibration logging parameterized by mean and standard deviation once per minute (1 spm) for each axis, shock count, peak shock magnitude and average shock magnitude parameterized at 1 spm; temperature averaged once every ten minutes (0.1 spm), stick slip index mean, standard deviation and peak, averaged at 1 spm, rotational rate (RPMs) averaged at 1 spm.
  • the logging scheme may be adjusted, for example even by the user. Resolution of the various quantities may be subject to trade off for longer record lengths and/or more resolution in measurement of other quantities.
  • the sensor circuit board may comprise a circuit board configured to receive data from sensors outside the MSID, e.g., from strain gauges, temperature sensors, or annular pressure, e.g., mounted along with the housing containing the MSID.
  • the sensor circuit board is configured to determine torque on bit (TOB) by receiving data from one or more strain gauges coupled to the toolstring.
  • TOB torque on bit
  • a collar-mounted version of the system may simplify the coupling to the drill string.
  • a strain gauge may be mounted so that its major axis is not aligned with the circumference of a drill string housing, such that the gauge is able to indicate a "twisting" of the drill string housing, e.g., by way of a change in its resistance.
  • the sensor circuit board is configured to determine weight on bit (WOB) by receiving data from one or more strain gauges coupled to the toolstring.
  • a strain gauge may be mounted so that its major axis is substantially aligned with the major axis of the drill string, such that the gauge is able to indicate a compression of the drill string housing by way of a change in its resistance.
  • the sensor circuit board is configured to determine temperature by way of a temperature sensor, by receiving data from a resistance temperature detector (RTD) which indicates a temperature by way of changing resistance.
  • RTD resistance temperature detector
  • Said changes in variable resistance above may be measured in any number of ways, but one example includes providing for a fixed resistance in series with the strain gauge or the RTD the combination connected to a reference voltage and ground.
  • the node at the connection between the fixed resistance and the variable resistance will provide for a voltage indicative of the variable resistance. For example, as the strain gauge resistance decreases, said voltage will decrease. In some examples, it is then useful to read said voltage to a digital controller by way of an analog to digital conversion.
  • capacitors for use the present invention that provide users with improved performance in a wide range of temperatures.
  • Such ultracapacitors may comprise an energy storage cell and an electrolyte system within an hermetically sealed housing, the cell electrically coupled to a positive contact and a negative contact, wherein the ultracapacitor is configured to operate at a temperature within a temperature range between about -40 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius.
  • the capacitors for use in the present invention may comprise advanced electrolyte systems described herein, and may be operable at temperatures ranging from about as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius to as high as about 210 degrees Celsius. Such capacitors shall be described herein with reference to FIG. 3.
  • the capacitor of the present invention includes energy storage media that is adapted for providing a combination of high reliability, wide operating temperature range, high power density and high energy density when compared to prior art devices.
  • the capacitor includes components that are configured to ensure operation over the temperature range, and includes electrolytes 6 that are selected, e.g., from known electrolyte systems or from the advanced electrolyte systems described herein.
  • electrolytes 6 that are selected, e.g., from known electrolyte systems or from the advanced electrolyte systems described herein.
  • the combination of construction, energy storage media and electrolyte systems described herein provide the robust capacitors for use in the present invention that afford operation under extreme conditions with enhanced properties over existing capacitors, and with greater performance and durability.
  • the present invention may comprise an ultracapacitor comprising: an energy storage cell and an advanced electrolyte system (AES) within an hermetically sealed housing, the cell electrically coupled to a positive contact and a negative contact, wherein the ultracapacitor is configured to operate at a temperature within a temperature range ("operating temperature") between about -40 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -35 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -40 degrees Celsius to about 205 degrees Celsius; about -30 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -40 degrees Celsius to about 200 degrees Celsius; about -25 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -40 degrees Celsius to about 195 degrees Celsius; about -20 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -40 degrees Celsius to about 190 degrees Celsius; about -15 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -40 degrees Celsius to about 185 degrees Celsius; about -10 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius; about -40 degrees Celsius to about 180 degrees Celsius; about -5 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius
  • the capacitor is an "ultracapacitor 10."
  • the exemplary ultracapacitor 10 is an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC).
  • EDLC electric double-layer capacitor
  • the ultracapacitor 10 may be embodied in several different form factors (i.e., exhibit a certain appearance). Examples of potentially useful form factors include a cylindrical cell, an annular or ring-shaped cell, a flat prismatic cell or a stack of flat prismatic cells comprising a box-like cell, and a flat prismatic cell that is shaped to accommodate a particular geometry such as a curved space.
  • a cylindrical form factor may be most useful in conjunction with a cylindrical system or a system mounted in a cylindrical form factor or having a cylindrical cavity.
  • An annular or ring-shaped form factor may be most useful in conjunction with a system that is ring-shaped or mounted in a ring-shaped form factor or having a ring-shaped cavity.
  • a flat prismatic form factor may be most useful in conjunction with a system that is rectangularly-shaped, or mounted in a rectangularly-shaped form factor or having a rectangularly-shaped cavity.
  • the rolled storage cell 23 (referring to FIG. 25) may take any form desired.
  • folding of the storage cell 12 may be performed to provide for the rolled storage cell 23.
  • Other types of assembly may be used.
  • the storage cell 12 may be a flat cell, referred to as a coin type, pouch type, or prismatic type of cell. Accordingly, rolling is merely one option for assembly of the rolled storage cell 23. Therefore, although discussed herein in terms of being a "rolled storage cell 23", this is not limiting. It may be considered that the term "rolled storage cell 23" generally includes any appropriate form of packaging or packing the storage cell 12 to fit well within a given design of the housing 7.
  • an ultracapacitor 10 may be joined together.
  • the various forms may be joined using known techniques, such as welding contacts together, by use of at least one mechanical connector, by placing contacts in electrical contact with each other and the like.
  • a plurality of the ultracapacitors 10 may be electrically connected in at least one of a parallel and a series fashion.
  • an ultracapacitor 10 may have a volume in the range from about 0.05 cc to about 7.5 liters.
  • the electrolyte 6 includes a pairing of cations 9 and anions 11 and may include a solvent.
  • the electrolyte 6 may be referred to as an "ionic liquid" as appropriate.
  • Various combinations of cations 9, anions 11 and solvent may be used.
  • the cations 9 may include at least one of l-(3- Cyanopropyl)-3-methylimidazolium, 1 ,2-Dimethyl-3-propylimidazolium, 1 ,3-Bis(3- cyanopropyl)imidazolium, 1 ,3 -Diethoxyimidazolium, 1 -Butyl- 1 -methylpiperidinium, 1 -Butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium, 1 -Butyl-3 -methylimidazolium, 1 -Butyl-4- methylpyridinium, 1 -Butylpyridinium, l-Decyl-3 -methylimidazolium, l-Ethyl-3- methylimidazolium, 3 -Methyl- 1 -propylpyridinium, and combinations thereof as well as other equivalents as deemed appropriate.
  • Additional exemplary cations 9 include imidazolium, pyrazinium, piperidinium, pyridinium, pyrimidinium, and pyrrolidinium (structures of which are depicted in FIG. 4).
  • the anions 11 may include at least one of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate)imide, tris(trifluoromethanesulfonate)methide, dicyanamide, tetrafluoroborate, hexafiuorophosphate, trifiuoromethanesulfonate, bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonate)imide, thiocyanate, trifluoro(trifluoromethyl)borate, and combinations thereof as well as other equivalents as deemed appropriate.
  • the solvent may include acetonitrile, amides, benzonitrile, butyrolactone, cyclic ether, dibutyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, diethylether, dimethoxyethane, dimethyl carbonate, dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfone, dioxane, dioxolane, ethyl formate, ethylene carbonate, ethylmethyl carbonate, lactone, linear ether, methyl formate, methyl propionate, methyltetrahydrofuran, nitrile, nitrobenzene, nitromethane, n-methylpyrrolidone, propylene carbonate, sulfolane, sulfone, tetrahydrofuran, tetramethylene sulfone, thiophene, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycols, carbonic acid ester, a- butyrolactone, cyclic ether
  • FIG. 4 there are shown various additional embodiments of cations 9 suited for use in an ionic liquid to provide the electrolyte 6. These cations 9 may be used alone or in combination with each other, in combination with at least some of the foregoing embodiments of cations 9, and may also be used in combination with other cations 9 that are deemed compatible and appropriate by a user, designer, manufacturer or other similarly interested party.
  • 4 include, without limitation, ammonium, imidazolium, oxazolium, phosphonium, piperidinium, pyrazinium, pyrazinium, pyridazinium, pyridinium, pyrimidinium, pyrrolidinium, sulfonium, thiazolium, triazolium, guanidium, isoquinolinium, benzotriazolium, viologen-types, and functionalized imidazolium cations.
  • each branch groups (R x ) may be one of alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, halo, amino, nitro, cyano, hydroxyl, sulfate, sulfonate, or a carbonyl group any of which is optionally substituted.
  • any ion with a negative charge maybe used as the anion 11.
  • the anion 11 selected is generally paired with a large organic cation 9 to form a low temperature melting ionic salt.
  • Room temperature (and lower) melting salts come from mainly large anions 9 with a charge of -1. Salts that melt at even lower temperatures generally are realized with anions 11 with easily delocalized electrons. Anything that will decrease the affinity between ions (distance, delocalization of charge) will subsequently decrease the melting point.
  • possible anion formations are virtually infinite, only a subset of these will work in low temperature ionic liquid application. This is a non-limiting overview of possible anion formations for ionic liquids.
  • Common substitute groups (a) suited for use of the anions 11 provided in Table 1 include: -F “ , -CI “ , -Br “ , - ⁇ -OCH 3 “ , -CN “ , -SCN “ , -C 2 H 3 0 2 " , -CIO “ , -C10 2 “ , - C10 3 “ , -CIO 4 " , -NCO “ , -NCS “ , -NCSe “ , -NCN “ , -OCH(CH 3 ) 2 " , -CH 2 OCH 3 " , -COOH “ , - OH “ , -SOCH 3 " , -S0 2 CH 3 “ , -SOCH 3 " , -S0 2 CF 3 “ , -S0 3 H “ , -S0 3 CF 3 “ , - 0(CF 3 ) 2 C 2 (CF 3 ) 2 0
  • anions 11 suited for use in an ionic liquid that provides the electrolyte 6 various organic anions 11 may be used. Exemplary anions 11 and structures thereof are provided in Table 1.
  • exemplary anions 11 are formulated from the list of substitute groups (a) provided above, or their equivalent.
  • exemplary anions 11 are formulated from a respective base structure (Y 2 , Y 3 , Y 4 ,... Y n ) and a respective number of anion substitute groups (a ls a 2 , a 3 ,...
  • the respective number of anion substitute groups (a) may be selected from the list of substitute (a) groups provided above, or their equivalent.
  • a plurality of anion substitute groups (a) i.e., at least one differing anion substitute group (a)
  • the base structure (Y) is a single atom or a designated molecule (as described in Table 1), or may be an equivalent.
  • the base structure (Y 2 ) includes a single structure (e.g., an atom, or a molecule) that is bonded to two anion substitute groups (a 2 ). While shown as having two identical anion substitute groups (a 2 ), this need not be the case. That is, the base structure (Y 2 ) may be bonded to varying anion substitute groups (a 2 ), such as any of the anion substitute groups (a) listed above.
  • the base structure (Y 3 ) includes a single structure (e.g., an atom) that is bonded to three anion substitute groups (a ), as shown in case No. 3.
  • each of the anion substitute groups (a) included in the anion may be varied or diverse, and need not repeat (be repetitive or be symmetric) as shown in Table 1.
  • a subscript on one of the base structures denotes a number of bonds that the respective base structure may have with anion substitute groups (a). That is, the subscript on the respective base structure (Y n ) denotes a number of accompanying anion substitute groups (a n ) in the respective anion.
  • -Yeae Y 6 can be any of the following: P, S, Sb, As, N, Bi, Nb, Sb.
  • Exemplary anions include: -P(CF ) 4 F 2 ⁇ , -AsF 6 "
  • Exemplary ionic liquid [ ⁇ ][ ⁇ 6 ]
  • the advanced electrolyte systems that may be used in the capacitors of the present invention provide the electrolyte component of the ultracapacitors of the present invention, and are noted as “electrolyte 6" in FIG. 3.
  • the electrolyte 6 fills void spaces in and between the electrode 3 and the separator 5.
  • the advanced electrolyte systems of the invention comprise unique electrolytes, purified enhanced electrolytes, or combinations thereof, wherein the electrolyte 6 is a substance, e.g., comprised of one or more salts or ionic liquids, which disassociate into electrically charged ions (i.e., positively charged cations and negatively charged anions) and may include a solvent.
  • such electrolyte components are selected based on the enhancement of certain performance and durability characteristics, and may be combined with one or more solvents, which dissolve the substance to generate compositions with novel and useful electrochemical stability and performance.
  • the advanced electrolyte systems that may be used in the capacitors of the present invention afford unique and distinct advantages to the ultracapacitors over existing energy storage devices (e.g., energy storage devices containing electrolytes not disclosed herein, or energy storage devices containing electrolytes having insufficient purity). These advantages include improvements in both performance and durability characteristics, such as one or more of the following: decreased total resistance, increased long-term stability of resistance (e.g., reduction in increased resistance of material over time at a given temperature), increased total capacitance, increased long-term stability of capacitance (e.g. reduction in decreased capacitance of a capacitor over time at a given temperature), increased energy density (e.g.
  • performance characteristics relate to the properties directed to utility of the device at a given point of use suitable for comparison among materials at a similar given point of use, while durability characteristics relate to properties directed to ability to maintain such properties over time.
  • durability characteristics relate to properties directed to ability to maintain such properties over time.
  • the properties of the AES, or Electrolyte 6, may be the result of improvements in properties selected from increases in capacitance, reductions in equivalent-series-resistance (ESR), high thermal stability, a low glass transition temperature (Tg), an improved viscosity, a particular rhoepectic or thixotropic property (e.g., one that is dependent upon temperature), as well as high conductivity and exhibited good electric performance over a wide range of temperatures.
  • ESR equivalent-series-resistance
  • Tg glass transition temperature
  • an improved viscosity e.g., one that is dependent upon temperature
  • the electrolyte 6 may have a high degree of fluidicity, or, in contrast, be substantially solid, such that separation of electrode 3 is assured.
  • the advanced electrolyte systems of the present invention include, novel electrolytes described herein for use in high temperature ultracapacitors, highly purified electrolytes for use in high temperature ultracapacitors, and enhanced electrolyte combinations suitable for use in temperature ranges from -40 degrees Celsius to 210 degrees Celsius, without a significant drop in performance or durability across all temperatures.
  • the AES comprises a novel electrolyte entity (NEE), e.g., wherein the NEE is adapted for use in high temperature ultracapacitors.
  • the ultracapacitor is configured to operate at a temperature within a temperature range between about 80 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., a temperature range between about 80 degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius.
  • the AES comprises a highly purified electrolyte, e.g., wherein the highly purified electrolyte is adapted for use in high temperature ultracapacitors.
  • the ultracapacitor is configured to operate at a temperature within a temperature range between about 80 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius.
  • the AES comprises an enhanced electrolyte combination, e.g., wherein the enhanced electrolyte combination is adapted for use in both high and low temperature ultracapacitors.
  • the ultracapacitor is configured to operate at a temperature within a temperature range between about -40 degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius.
  • the advantages over the existing electrolytes of known energy storage devices are selected from one or more of the following improvements: decreased total resistance, increased long-term stability of resistance, increased total capacitance, increased long-term stability of capacitance, increased energy density, increased voltage stability, reduced vapor pressure, wider temperature range performance for an individual capacitor, increased temperature durability for an individual capacitor, increased ease of manufacturability, and improved cost effectiveness.
  • the energy storage cell comprises a positive electrode and a negative electrode.
  • At least one of the electrodes comprises a carbonaceous energy storage media, e.g., wherein the carbonaceous energy storage media comprises carbon nanotubes.
  • the carbonaceous energy storage media may comprise at least one of activated carbon, carbon fibers, rayon, graphene, aerogel, carbon cloth, and carbon nanotubes.
  • each electrode comprises a current collector.
  • the AES is purified to reduce impurity content.
  • the content of halide ions in the electrolyte is less than about 1,000 parts per million, e.g., less than about 500 parts per million, e.g., less than about 100 parts per million, e.g., less than about 50 parts per million.
  • the halide ion in the electrolyte is selected from one or more of the halide ions selected from the group consisting of chloride, bromide, fluoride and iodide.
  • the total concentration of impurities in the electrolyte is less than about 1,000 parts per million.
  • the impurities are selected from one or more of the group consisting of bromoethane, chloroethane, 1 -bromobutane, 1-chlorobutane, 1- methylimidazole, ethyl acetate and methylene chloride.
  • the total concentration of metallic species in the electrolyte is less than about 1,000 parts per million.
  • the metallic species is selected from one or more metals selected from the group consisting of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn.
  • the metallic species is selected from one or more alloys of metals selected from the group consisting of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn.
  • the metallic species is selected from one or more oxides of metals selected from the group consisting of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn.
  • the total water content in the electrolyte is less than about 500 parts per million, e.g., less than about 100 parts per million, e.g., less than about 50 parts per million, e.g., about 20 parts per million.
  • the housing comprises a barrier disposed over a substantial portion of interior surfaces thereof.
  • the barrier comprises at least one of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluoroalkoxy (PFA), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).
  • PTFE polytetrafluoroethylene
  • PFA perfluoroalkoxy
  • FEP fluorinated ethylene propylene
  • ETFE ethylene tetrafluoroethylene
  • the barrier comprises a ceramic material.
  • the barrier may also comprise a material that exhibits corrosion resistance, a desired dielectric property, and a low electrochemical reactivity.
  • the barrier comprises multiple layers of materials.
  • the housing comprises a multilayer material, e.g., wherein the multilayer material comprises a first material clad onto a second material.
  • the multilayer material comprises at least one of steel, tantalum and aluminum.
  • the housing comprises at least one hemispheric seal.
  • the housing comprises at least one glass-to-metal seal, e.g., wherein a pin of the glass-to-metal seal provides one of the contacts.
  • the glass-to-metal seal comprises a feed-through that is comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of an iron-nickel-cobalt alloy, a nickel iron alloy, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, tungsten, and a form of stainless and titanium.
  • the glass-to-metal seal comprises a body that is comprised of at least one material selected from the group consisting of nickel, molybdenum, chromium, cobalt, iron, copper, manganese, titanium, zirconium, aluminum, carbon, and tungsten and an alloy thereof.
  • the energy storage cell comprises a separator to provide electrical separation between a positive electrode and a negative electrode, e.g., wherein the separator comprises a material selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), aluminum oxide (AI 2 O 3 ), fiberglass, fiberglass reinforced plastic, or any combination thereof.
  • the separator is substantially free of moisture.
  • the separator is substantially hydrophobic.
  • the hermetic seal exhibits a leak rate that is no greater than about 5.0xl0 "6 atm-cc/sec, e.g., no greater than about
  • At least one contact is configured for mating with another contact of another ultracapacitor.
  • the storage cell comprises a wrapper disposed over an exterior thereof, e.g. , wherein the wrapper comprises one of PTFE and polyimide.
  • a volumetric leakage current is less than about 10 Amperes per Liter within the temperature range.
  • a volumetric leakage current is less than about 10 Amperes per Liter over a specified voltage range between about 0 Volts and about 4 Volts, e.g. between about 0 Volts and about 3 Volts, e.g. between about 0 Volts and about 2 Volts, e.g. between about 0 Volts and about 1 Volt..
  • the level of moisture within the housing is less than about 1,000 parts per million (ppm), e.g., less than about 500 parts per million (ppm), e.g., less than about 350 parts per million (ppm).
  • the moisture content in an electrode of the ultracapacitor that is less than about 1,000 ppm, e.g., less than about 500 ppm, e.g., less than about 350 parts per million (ppm).
  • the moisture content in a separator of the ultracapacitor that is less than about 1,000 ppm, e.g., less than about 500 ppm, e.g., less than about 160 parts per million (ppm).
  • the chloride content is less than about 300 ppm for one of the components selected from the group consisting of an electrode, electrolyte and a separator.
  • the volumetric leakage current (mA/cc) of the ultracapacitor is less than about lOmA/cc while held at the substantially constant temperature, e.g., less than about 1 mA/cc while held at the substantially constant temperature.
  • mA/cc volumetric leakage current
  • the volumetric leakage current of the ultracapacitor is greater than about 0.000 ImA/cc while held at the substantially constant temperature.
  • volumetric capacitance of the ultracapacitor is between about 6 F/cc and about 1 mF/cc; between about 10 F/cc and about 5 F/cc; or between about 50 F/cc and about 8 F/cc.
  • the volumetric ESR of the ultracapacitor is between about 20 mOhms'CC and 200 mOhms'Cc; between about 150 mOhms'CC and 2 Ohms'cc; between about 1.5 Ohms'cc and 200 Ohms'cc; or between about 150 Ohms'cc and 2000 Ohms'cc.
  • the ultracapacitor exhibits a capacitance decrease less than about 90 percent while held at a substantially constant voltage and operating temperature. In a particular embodiment, the ultracapacitor exhibits a capacitance decrease less than about 90 percent while held at a substantially constant voltage and operating temperature for at least 1 hour, e.g. for at least 10 hours, e.g. for at least 50 hours, e.g. for at least 100 hours, e.g. for at least 200 hours, e.g. for at least 300 hours, e.g. for at least 400 hours, e.g. for at least 500 hours, e.g. for at least 1,000 hours.
  • 1 hour e.g. for at least 10 hours, e.g. for at least 50 hours, e.g. for at least 100 hours, e.g. for at least 200 hours, e.g. for at least 300 hours, e.g. for at least 400 hours, e.g. for at least 500 hours, e.g. for at least 1,000 hours.
  • the ultracapacitor exhibits an ESR increase less than about 1,000 percent while held at a substantially constant voltage and operating temperature for at least 1 hour, e.g. for at least 10 hours, e.g. for at least 50 hours, e.g. for at least 100 hours, e.g. for at least 200 hours, e.g. for at least 300 hours, e.g. for at least 400 hours, e.g. for at least 500 hours, e.g. for at least 1,000 hours.
  • the advanced electrolyte systems (AES) of the present invention comprise, in one embodiment, certain novel electrolytes for use in high temperature ultracapacitors.
  • AES advanced electrolyte systems
  • electrolytes exhibit good performance characteristics in a temperature range of about 80 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 200 degrees Celsius, e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 190 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 180 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 170 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 160 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius e.g., about 85 degrees Celsius to about 145 degrees Celsius e.g., about 90 degrees Celsius to about 140 degrees Celsius e.g., about 95 degrees Celsius to about 135 degrees Celsius e.g., about 100 degrees Celsius to about 130 degrees Celsius e.g., about 105 degrees Celsius to about 125 degrees Celsius e.g., about 110 degrees Celsius to about 120 degrees Celsius.
  • novel electrolyte entities useful as the advanced electrolyte system include species comprising a cation (e.g., cations shown in FIG. 4 and described herein) and an anion, or combinations of such species.
  • the species comprises a nitrogen-containing , oxygen-containing, phosphorus-containing, and/or sulfur-containing cation, including heteroaryl and heterocyclic cations.
  • the advanced electrolyte system include species comprising a cation selected from the group consisting of ammonium, imidazolium, oxazolium, phosphonium, piperidinium, pyrazinium, pyrazolium, pyridazinium, pyridinium, pyrimidinium, sulfonium, thiazolium, triazolium, guanidium, isoquinolinium, benzotriazolium, and viologen-type cations, any of which may be substituted with substituents as described herein.
  • a cation selected from the group consisting of ammonium, imidazolium, oxazolium, phosphonium, piperidinium, pyrazinium, pyrazolium, pyridazinium, pyridinium, pyrimidinium, sulfonium, thiazolium, triazolium, guanidium, isoquinolinium, benzotriazolium, and
  • the novel electrolyte entities useful for the advanced electrolyte system (AES) of the present invention include any combination of cations presented in FIG. 4, selected from the group consisting of phosphonium, piperidinium, and ammonium, wherein the various branch groups R x (e.g., R ls R 2 , R 3 ,...R x ) may be selected from the group consisting of alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, halo, amino, nitro, cyano, hydroxyl, sulfate, sulfonate, and carbonyl, any of which is optionally substituted, and wherein at least two R x are not H (i.e., such that the selection and orientation of the R groups produce the cationic species shown in FIG. 4); and the anion selected from the group consisting of tetrafluoroborate, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)
  • the AES may be selected from the group consisting of trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1 -butyl- 1 - methylpiperidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, and butyltrimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the AES is trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the AES is 1 -butyl- 1 -methylpiperidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the AES is butyltrimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • novel electrolyte entities useful for the advanced electrolyte system (AES) of the present invention include any combination of cations presented in FIG. 4, selected from the group consisting of imidazolium and pyrrolidinium, wherein the various branch groups R x (e.g., Ri, R 2 , R 3 ,...R X ) may be selected from the group consisting of alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkenyl, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, heteroalkynyl, halo, amino, nitro, cyano, hydroxyl, sulfate, sulfonate, and carbonyl, any of which is optionally substituted, and wherein at least two R x are not H (i.e., such that the selection and orientation of the R groups produce the cationic species shown in FIG.
  • R x e.g., Ri, R 2 , R 3 ,...R X
  • the anion selected from the group consisting of tetrafluoroborate, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, tetracyanoborate, and trifluoromethanesulfonate.
  • the two R x that are not H are alkyl.
  • the noted cations exhibit high thermal stability, as well as high conductivity and exhibit good electrochemical performance over a wide range of temperatures.
  • the AES may be selected from the group consisting of 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate; l-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate; 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate; 1 - hexyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate; 1 -butyl- 1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide; 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate; 1 -butyl- 1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl
  • the AES is 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetrafiuoroborate .
  • the AES is 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the AES is 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetrafiuoroborate .
  • the AES is 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate .
  • the AES is 1 - hexyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate .
  • the AES is 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the AES is 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate.
  • the AES is 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate .
  • the AES is 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate .
  • one of the two R x that are not H is alkyl, e.g. , methyl, and the other is an alkyl substituted with an alkoxy.
  • cations having an ⁇ , ⁇ -acetal skeleton structure of the formula (1) in the molecule have high electrical conductivity, and that an ammonium cation included among these cations and having a pyrrolidine skeleton and an ⁇ , ⁇ -acetal group is especially high in electrical conductivity and solubility in organic solvents and supports relatively high voltage.
  • the advanced electrolyte system comprises a salt of the following formula: (1) wherein Rl and R2 can be the same or different and are each alkyl, and X- is an anion.
  • Ri is straight-chain or branched alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms
  • R 2 is methyl or ethyl
  • X " is a cyanoborate-containing anion 11.
  • X " comprises [B(CN)] 4 and R 2 is one of a methyl and an ethyl group.
  • Ri and R 2 are both methyl.
  • Novel Electrolyte Entity of formula (1) and which are composed of a quaternary ammonium cation shown in formula (I) and a cyanoborate anion are selected from N- methyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium (N-methoxymethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium), N-ethyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium, N-methoxymethyl-N-n- propylpyrrolidinium, N-methoxymethyl-N-iso-propylpyrrolidinium, N-n-butyl-N- methoxymethylpyrrolidinium, N-iso-butyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium, N-tert- butyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium, N-ethoxymethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium, N- ethyl-N-ethoxymethylpyrrolidinium (N-ethoxymethyl-N-ethylpyrrolidin
  • N-methyl-N- methoxymethylpyrrolidinium N-methoxymethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium
  • N-ethyl- N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium N-ethoxymethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium
  • Additional examples of the cation of formula (1) in combination with additional anions may be selected from N-methyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate (N-methoxymethy-N-methylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate), N- ethyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate, N-ethoxymethyl-N- methylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate, N-methyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium bistrifluoromethanesulfonylimide, (N-methoxymethy-N-methylpyrrolidinium bistrifluoromethanesulfonylimide), N-ethyl-N-methoxymethylpyrrolidinium bistrifluoromethanesulfonylimide, N-ethoxymethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bistrifluoromethanesulfonylimide, N-ethoxy
  • the quaternary ammonium salt may be used as admixed with a suitable organic solvent.
  • suitable organic solvents include cyclic carbonic acid esters, chain carbonic acid esters, phosphoric acid esters, cyclic ethers, chain ethers, lactone compounds, chain esters, nitrile compounds, amide compounds and sulfone compounds. Examples of such compounds are given below although the solvents to be used are not limited to these compounds.
  • cyclic carbonic acid esters are ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, butylene carbonate and the like, among which propylene carbonate is preferable.
  • chain carbonic acid esters are dimethyl carbonate, ethylmethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate and the like, among which dimethyl carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate are preferred.
  • Examples of phosphoric acid esters are trimethyl phosphate, triethyl phosphate, ethyldimethyl phosphate, diethylmethyl phosphate and the like.
  • Examples of cyclic ethers are tetrahydrofuran, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and the like.
  • Examples of chain ethers are dimethoxyethane and the like.
  • lactone compounds are a-butyrolactone and the like.
  • Examples of chain esters are methyl propionate, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, methyl formate and the like.
  • Examples of nitrile compounds are acetonitrile and the like.
  • Examples of amide compounds are dimethylformamide and the like.
  • sulfone compounds are sulfolane, methyl sulfolane and the like. Cyclic carbonic acid esters, chain carbonic acid esters, nitrile compounds and sulfone compounds may be particularly desirable, in some embodiments.
  • solvents may be used singly, or at least two kinds of solvents may be used in admixture.
  • preferred organic solvent mixtures are mixtures of cyclic carbonic acid ester and chain carbonic acid ester such as those of ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate, ethylene carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate, ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate, propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate, propylene carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate and propylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate, mixtures of chain carbonic acid esters such as dimethyl carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate, and mixtures of sulfolane compounds such as sulfolane and methylsulfolane. More preferable are mixtures of ethylene carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate, propylene carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate, and dimethyl carbonate and ethylmethyl carbonate.
  • the electrolyte concentration is at least 0.1 M, in some cases at least 0.5 M and may be at least 1 M. If the concentration is less than 0.1 M, low electrical conductivity will result, producing electrochemical devices of impaired performance.
  • the upper limit concentration is a separation concentration when the electrolyte is a liquid salt at room temperature. When the solution does not separate, the limit concentration is 100%. When the salt is solid at room temperature, the limit concentration is the concentration at which the solution is saturated with the salt.
  • the advanced electrolyte system may be admixed with electrolytes other than those disclosed herein provided that such combination does not significantly affect the advantages achieved by utilization of the advanced electrolyte system, e.g., by altering the performance or durability characteristics by greater than 10%.
  • electrolytes that may be suited to be admixed with the AES are alkali metal salts, quaternary ammonium salts, quaternary phosphonium salts, etc. These electrolytes may be used singly, or at least two kinds of them are usable in combination, as admixed with the AES disclosed herein.
  • Useful alkali metal salts include lithium salts, sodium salts and potassium salts.
  • lithium salts examples include lithium hexafluorophosphate, lithium borofluoride, lithium perchlorate, lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate, sulfonylimide lithium, sulfonylmethide lithium and the like, which nevertheless are not limitative.
  • useful sodium salts are sodium hexafluorophosphate, sodium borofluoride, sodium perchlorate, sodium trifluoromethanesulfonate, sulfonylimide sodium, sulfonylmethide sodium and the like.
  • Useful quaternary ammonium salts that may be used in the combinations described above (i.e., which do not significantly affect the advantages achieved by utilization of the advanced electrolyte system) include tetraalkylammonium salts, imidazolium salts, pyrazolium salts, pyridinium salts, triazolium salts, pyridazinium salts, etc., which are not limitative.
  • tetraalkylammonium salts examples include tetraethylammonium tetracyanoborate, tetramethylammonium tetracyanoborate, tetrapropylammonium tetracyanoborate, tetrabutylammonium tetracyanoborate, triethylmethylammonium tetracyanoborate, trimethylethylammonium tetracyanoborate, dimethyldiethylammonium tetracyanoborate, trimethylpropylammonium tetracyanoborate, trimethylbutylammonium tetracyanoborate, dimethylethylpropylammonium tetracyanoborate, methylethylpropylbutylammonium tetracyanoborate, N,N- dimethylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate, N-ethyl-N-methylpyrrol
  • imidazolium salts that may be used in the combinations described above (i.e., which do not significantly affect the advantages achieved by utilization of the advanced electrolyte system) include 1,3-dimethylimidazolium tetracyanoborate, l-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate, 1,3- diethylimidazolium tetracyanoborate, 1 ,2-dimethyl-3-ethylimidazolium tetracyanoborate and l,2-dimethyl-3-propylimidazolium tetracyanoborate, but are not limited to these.
  • pyrazolium salts are 1,2-dimethylpyrazolium tetracyanoborate, l-methyl-2-ethylpyrazolium tetracyanoborate, 1 -propyl -2- methylpyrazolium tetracyanoborate and l-methyl-2-butylpyrazolium tetracyanoborate, but are not limited to these.
  • Examples of pyridinium salts are N- methylpyridinium tetracyanoborate, N-ethylpyridinium tetracyanoborate, N- propylpyridinium tetracyanoborate and N-butylpyridinium tetracyanoborate, but are not limited to these.
  • Examples of triazolium salts are 1 -methyltriazolium tetracyanoborate, 1-ethyltriazolium tetracyanoborate, 1 -propyltriazolium tetracyanoborate and 1 -butyltriazolium tetracyanoborate, but are not limited to these.
  • pyridazinium salts are 1 -methylpyridazinium tetracyanoborate, 1- ethylpyridazinium tetracyanoborate, 1 -propylpyridazinium tetracyanoborate and 1- butylpyridazinium tetracyanoborate, but are not limited to these.
  • Examples of quaternary phosphonium salts are tetraethylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, tetramethylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, tetrapropylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, tetrabutylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, triethylmethylphosphonium tetrafluoroborate, trimethylethylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, dimethyldiethylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, trimethylpropylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, trimethylbutylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, dimethylethylpropylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, methylethylpropylbutylphosphonium tetracyanoborate, but are not limited to these.
  • the novel electrolytes selected herein for use the advanced electrolyte systems may also be purified. Such purification may be performed using art-recognized techniques or the techniques provided herein. This purification may further improve the characteristics of the Novel Electrolyte Entities described herein.
  • the advanced electrolyte systems of the present comprise, in one embodiment, certain highly purified electrolytes for use in high temperature ultracapacitors.
  • the highly purified electrolytes that comprise the AES of the present invention are those electrolytes described below as well as those novel electrolytes described above purified by the purification process described herein.
  • the purification methods provided herein produce impurity levels that afford an advanced electrolyte system with enhanced properties for use in high temperature applications, e.g., high temperature ultracapacitors, for example in a temperature range of about 80 degrees Celsius to about 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 200 degrees Celsius, e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 190 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 180 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 170 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 160 degrees Celsius e.g., about 80 degrees Celsius to about 150 degrees Celsius e.g., about 85 degrees Celsius to about 145 degrees Celsius e.g., about 90 degrees Celsius to about 140 degrees Celsius e.g., about 95 degrees Celsius to about 135 degrees Celsius e.g., about 100 degrees Celsius to about 130 degrees Celsius e.g., about 105 degrees Celsius to about 125 degrees Celsius e.g., about 110 degrees Celsius to about 120 degrees Celsius.
  • the present invention provides a purified mixture of cation 9 and anion 11 and, in some instances a solvent, which may serve as the AES of the present invention which comprises less than about 5000 parts per million (ppm) of chloride ions; less than about 1000 ppm of fluoride ions; and/or less than about 1000 ppm of water (e.g. less than about 2000 ppm of chloride ions; less than about less than about 200 ppm of fluoride ions; and/or less than about 200 ppm of water, e.g.
  • halide ions chloride, bromide, fluoride, iodide
  • a total concentration of metallic species e.g., Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn, including an at least one of an alloy and an oxide thereof, may be reduced to below about 1 ,000 ppm.
  • impurities from solvents and precursors used in the synthesis process may be reduced to below about 1 ,000 ppm and can include, for example, bromoethane, chloroethane, 1 -bromobutane, 1-chlorobutane, 1 -methylimidazole, ethyl acetate, methylene chloride and so forth.
  • the impurity content of the ultracapacitor 10 has been measured using ion selective electrodes and the Karl Fischer titration procedure, which has been applied to electrolyte 6 of the ultracapacitor 10.
  • the total halide content in the ultracapacitor 10 has been found to be less than about 200 ppm of halides (Cl ⁇ and F " ) and water content is less than about 100 ppm.
  • Impurities can be measured using a variety of techniques, such as, for example, Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS), or simplified solubilizing and electrochemical sensing of trace heavy metal oxide particulates.
  • AAS is a spectro-analytical procedure for the qualitative and quantitative determination of chemical elements employing the absorption of optical radiation (light) by free atoms in the gaseous state. The technique is used for determining the concentration of a particular element (the analyte) in a sample to be analyzed.
  • AAS can be used to determine over seventy different elements in solution or directly in solid samples.
  • ICPMS is a type of mass spectrometry that is highly sensitive and capable of the determination of a range of
  • This technique is based on coupling together an inductively coupled plasma as a method of producing ions (ionization) with a mass spectrometer as a method of separating and detecting the ions.
  • ICPMS is also capable of monitoring isotopic speciation for the ions of choice.
  • Ion Chromatography may be used for determination of trace levels of halide impurities in the electrolyte 6 (e.g., an ionic liquid).
  • IC Ion Chromatography
  • One advantage of Ion Chromatography is that relevant halide species can be measured in a single chromatographic analysis.
  • a Dionex AS9-HC column using an eluent consisting 20 mM NaOH and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile is one example of an apparatus that may be used for the quantification of halides from the ionic liquids.
  • a further technique is that of X-ray fluorescence.
  • X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instruments may be used to measure halogen content in solid samples.
  • the sample to be analyzed is placed in a sample cup and the sample cup is then placed in the analyzer where it is irradiated with X-rays of a specific wavelength. Any halogen atoms in the sample absorb a portion of the X-rays and then reflect radiation at a wavelength that is characteristic for a given halogen.
  • a detector in the instrument quantifies the amount of radiation coming back from the halogen atoms and measures the intensity of radiation. By knowing the surface area that is exposed, concentration of halogens in the sample can be determined.
  • a further technique for assessing impurities in a solid sample is that of pyrolysis.
  • Adsorption of impurities may be effectively measured through use of pyrolysis and microcoulometers.
  • Microcoulometers are capable of testing almost any type of material for total chlorine content.
  • a small amount of sample (less than 10 milligrams) is either injected or placed into a quartz combustion tube where the temperature ranges from about 600 degrees Celsius to about 1,000 degrees Celsius. Pure oxygen is passed through the quartz tube and any chlorine containing components are combusted completely. The resulting combustion products are swept into a titration cell where the chloride ions are trapped in an electrolyte solution.
  • the electrolyte solution contains silver ions that immediately combine with any chloride ions and drop out of solution as insoluble silver chloride.
  • a silver electrode in the titration cell electrically replaces the used up silver ions until the concentration of silver ions is back to where it was before the titration began.
  • the instrument By keeping track of the amount of current needed to generate the required amount of silver, the instrument is capable of determining how much chlorine was present in the original sample. Dividing the total amount of chlorine present by the weight of the sample gives the concentration of chlorine that is actually in the sample. Other techniques for assessing impurities may be used.
  • Electrode characterization and water content in the electrode 3 may be examined, for example, by infrared spectroscopy techniques.
  • iC O in
  • iC C in aryl
  • iO - H and iC - N respectively.
  • Raman spectroscopy Another technique for identifying impurities in the electrolyte 6 and the ultracapacitor 10 is Raman spectroscopy.
  • This spectroscopic technique relies on inelastic scattering, or Raman scattering, of monochromatic light, usually from a laser in the visible, near infrared, or near ultraviolet range. The laser light interacts with molecular vibrations, phonons or other excitations in the system, resulting in the energy of the laser photons being shifted up or down.
  • This technique may be used to characterize atoms and molecules within the ultracapacitor 10.
  • a number of variations of Raman spectroscopy are used, and may prove useful in characterizing contents the ultracapacitor 10.
  • the advanced electrolyte systems of the present comprise, in one embodiment, include certain enhanced electrolyte combinations suitable for use in temperature ranges from -40 degrees Celsius to 210 degrees Celsius, e.g., -40 degrees Celsius to 150 degrees Celsius, e.g., -30 degrees Celsius to 150 degrees Celsius, e.g., - 30 degrees Celsius to 140 degrees Celsius, e.g., -20 degrees Celsius to 140 degrees Celsius, e.g., -20 degrees Celsius to 130 degrees Celsius, e.g., -10 degrees Celsius to 130 degrees Celsius, e.g., -10 degrees Celsius to 120 degrees Celsius, e.g., 0 degrees Celsius to 120 degrees Celsius, e.g., 0 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius, e.g., 0 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius, e.g., 0 degrees Celsius to 90 degrees Celsius, e.g., 0 degrees Celsius to 80 degrees Celsius, e.g., 0 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees Celsius, without a significant drop in performance or durability.
  • a higher degree of durability at a given temperature may be coincident with a higher degree of voltage stability at a lower temperature. Accordingly, the development of a high temperature durability AES, with enhanced electrolyte combinations, generally leads to simultaneous development of high voltage, but lower temperature AES, such that these enhanced electrolyte combinations described herein may also be useful at higher voltages, and thus higher energy densities, but at lower temperatures.
  • the present invention provides an enhanced electrolyte combination suitable for use in an energy storage cell, e.g., an ultracapacitor, comprising a novel mixture of electrolytes selected from the group consisting of an ionic liquid mixed with a second ionic liquid, an ionic liquid mixed with an organic solvent, and an ionic liquid mixed with a second ionic liquid and an organic solvent:
  • each ionic liquid is selected from the salt of any combination of the following cations and anions, wherein the cations are selected from the group consisting of 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium, 1 -ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium, 1 - hexyl - 3 - methylimidazolium, 1 -butyl- 1-methylpiperidinium, butyltrimethyl ammonium, 1- butyl -1-methylpyrrolidinium, trihexyltetradecylphosphonium, and l-butyl-3-methylimidaxolium; and the anions are selected from the group consisting of tetrafluoroborate, bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, tetracyanoborate, and trifluoromethanesulfonate; and
  • organic solvent is selected from the group consisting of linear sulfones (e.g., ethyl isopropyl sulfone, ethyl isobutyl sulfone, ethyl methyl sulfone, methyl isopropyl sulfone, isopropyl isobutyl sulfone, isopropyl s-butyl sulfone, butyl isobutyl sulfone, and dimethyl sulfone), linear carbonates (e.g., ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, and dimethyl carbonate), and acetonitrile.
  • linear sulfones e.g., ethyl isopropyl sulfone, ethyl isobutyl sulfone, ethyl methyl sulfone, methyl isopropyl sulfone, isopropyl isobutyl
  • each ionic liquid may be selected from the group consisting of 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate; 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide; 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate; 1 - ethyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate; 1 - hexyl - 3 - methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate; 1 -butyl- 1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide; 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate; 1 -butyl- 1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethyl
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - butyl - 3 methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - butyl - 3 methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - ethyl - 3 methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - ethyl - 3 methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - hexyl - 3 methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - butyl - 1 methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate .
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - butyl - 1 - methylpyrrolidinium tetracyanoborate .
  • the ionic liquid is trihexyltetradecylphosphonium bis(trifiuoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the ionic liquid is 1 -butyl- 1- methylpiperidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
  • the ionic liquid is butyltrimethylammonium bis(trifiuoromethylsulfonyl)imide
  • the ionic liquid is 1 - butyl - 3 - methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate.
  • the organic solvent is selected from ethyl isopropyl sulfone, ethyl isobutyl sulfone, ethyl methyl sulfone, methyl isopropyl sulfone, isopropyl isobutyl sulfone, isopropyl s-butyl sulfone, butyl isobutyl sulfone, or bimethyl sulfone, linear sulfones.
  • the organic solvent is selected from polypropylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, dimethyl carbonate, ethylene carbonate.
  • the organic solvent is acetonitrile.
  • the enhanced electrolyte composition is an ionic liquid with an organic solvent, wherein the organic solvent is 55%-90%, e.g., 37.5%, by volume of the composition.
  • the enhanced electrolyte composition is an ionic liquid with a second ionic liquid, wherein one ionic liquid is 5%>-90%>, e.g., 60%>, by volume of the composition.
  • the enhanced electrolyte combinations of the present invention provide a wider temperature range performance for an individual capacitor ⁇ e.g. without a significant drop in capacitance and/or increase in ESR when transitioning between two temperatures, e.g. without more than a 90% decrease in capacitance and/or a 1000% increase in ESR when transitioning from about +30°C to about - 40°C), and increased temperature durability for an individual capacitor ⁇ e.g., less than a 50% decrease in capacitance at a given temperature after a given time and/or less than a 100% increase in ESR at a given temperature after a given time, and/or less than 10 A/L of leakage current at a given temperature after a given time, e.g., less than a 40% decrease in capacitance and/or a 75% increase in ESR, and/or less than 5 A/L of leakage current, e.g., less than a 30% decrease in capacitance and/or a 50% increase in ESR, and/or less
  • the combinations described above provide enhanced eutectic properties that affect the freezing point of the advanced electrolyte system to afford ultracapacitors that operate within performance and durability standards at temperatures of down to -40 degrees Celsius.
  • the advanced electrolyte system may be admixed with electrolytes provided that such combination does not significantly affect the advantages achieved by utilization of the advanced electrolyte system.
  • the enhanced electrolyte combinations are selected herein for use the advanced electrolyte systems may also be purified. Such purification may be performed using art-recognized techniques or techniques provided herein.
  • the EDLC includes at least one pair of electrode 3 (where the electrode 3 may be referred to as a negative electrodes 33 and a positive electrodes 34, merely for purposes of referencing herein).
  • each of the electrode 3 When assembled into the ultracapacitor 10, each of the electrode 3 presents a double layer of charge at an electrolyte interface.
  • a plurality of electrode 3 is included (for example, in some embodiments, at least two pairs of electrode 3 are included). However, for purposes of discussion, only one pair of electrode 3 are shown.
  • at least one of the electrodes 33/34 uses a carbon-based energy storage media 1 (as discussed further herein) to provide energy storage. However, for purposes of discussion herein, it is generally assumed that each of the electrodes includes the carbon-based energy storage media 1.
  • Each of the electrode 3 includes a respective current collector 2 (also referred to as a "charge collector”).
  • the electrode 3 are separated by a separator 5.
  • the separator 5 is a thin structural material (usually a sheet) used to separate the negative electrode 3 from the positive electrode 3.
  • the separator 5 may also serve to separate pairs of the electrode 3.
  • the carbon-based energy storage media 1 may not be included on one or both of the electrode 3. That is, in some embodiments, a respective electrode 3 might consist of only the current collector 2.
  • the material used to provide the current collector 2 could be roughened, anodized or the like to increase a surface area thereof. In these embodiments, the current collector 2 alone may serve as the electrode 3.
  • the term “electrode 3" generally refers to a combination of the energy storage media 1 and the current collector 2 (but this is not limiting, for at least the foregoing reason).
  • the energy storage media 1 is formed of carbon nanotubes.
  • the energy storage media 1 may include other carbonaceous materials including, for example, activated carbon, carbon fibers, rayon, graphene, aerogel, carbon cloth, and a plurality of forms of carbon nanotubes.
  • Activated carbon electrodes can be manufactured, for example, by producing a carbon base material by carrying out a first activation treatment to a carbon material obtained by carbonization of a carbon compound, producing a formed body by adding a binder to the carbon base material, carbonizing the formed body, and finally producing an active carbon electrode by carrying out a second activation treatment to the carbonized formed body.
  • Carbon fiber electrodes can be produced, for example, by using paper or cloth pre-form with high surface area carbon fibers.
  • an apparatus for producing an aligned carbon-nanotube aggregate includes apparatus for synthesizing the aligned carbon-nanotube aggregate on a base material having a catalyst on a surface thereof.
  • the apparatus includes a formation unit that processes a formation step of causing an environment surrounding the catalyst to be an environment of a reducing gas and heating at least either the catalyst or the reducing gas; a growth unit that processes a growth step of synthesizing the aligned carbon- nanotube aggregate by causing the environment surrounding the catalyst to be an environment of a raw material gas and by heating at least either the catalyst or the raw material gas; and a transfer unit that transfers the base material at least from the formation unit to the growth unit.
  • material used to form the energy storage media may be employed to provide the aligned carbon-nanotube aggregate.
  • the energy storage media 1 may include material other than pure carbon (and the various forms of carbon as may presently exist or be later devised). That is, various formulations of other materials may be included in the energy storage media 1. More specifically, and as a non-limiting example, at least one binder material may be used in the energy storage media 1 , however, this is not to suggest or require addition of other materials (such as the binder material). In general, however, the energy storage media 1 is substantially formed of carbon, and may therefore referred to herein as a "carbonaceous material,” as a “carbonaceous layer” and by other similar terms. In short, although formed predominantly of carbon, the energy storage media 1 may include any form of carbon (as well as any additives or impurities as deemed appropriate or acceptable) to provide for desired functionality as energy storage media 1.
  • the carbonaceous material includes at least about 60% elemental carbon by mass, and in other embodiments at least about 75%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 98% by mass elemental carbon.
  • Carbonaceous material can include carbon in a variety forms, including carbon black, graphite, and others.
  • the carbonaceous material can include carbon particles, including nanoparticles, such as nanotubes, nanorods, graphene sheets in sheet form, and/or formed into cones, rods, spheres (buckyballs) and the like.

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Abstract

La présente invention concerne de manière générale des systèmes et des procédés destinés à fournir de l'énergie à des instruments dans un environnement de fond de puits. Un système de surveillance de dynamique (DMS) pour des applications de forage de fond de puits est décrit, ledit DMS comprenant au moins un capteur de rotation, et ledit DMS étant capable de fonctionner à des températures situées dans une plage de température de travail allant d'environ 175 °C à environ 210° C
PCT/US2014/059775 2013-10-08 2014-10-08 Système de surveillance de dynamique pourvu d'un capteur de rotation WO2015054432A1 (fr)

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