Abstract
A while-drilling energy harvesting device is designed in this paper to recovery energy along with the longitudinal vibration of the drill pipes, aiming to serve as a continuous power supply for downhole instruments during the drilling procedure. Radial size of the energy harvesting device is determined through the drilling engineering field experience and geological survey reports. A piezoelectric coupling model based on the selected piezoelectric material was established via COMSOL Multiphysics numerical simulation. The forced vibration was analyzed to determine the piezoelectric patch length range and their best installation positions. Modal analysis and frequency response research indicate that the natural frequency of the piezoelectric cantilever beam increased monotonously with the increase of the piezoelectric patch’ thickness before reaching an inflection point. Moreover, the simulation results imply that the peak voltage of the harvested energy varied in a regional manner with the increase of the piezoelectric patches. When the thickness of the piezoelectric patches was 1.2–1.4 mm, the designed device gained the best energy harvest performance with a peak voltage of 15–40 V. Works in this paper provide theoretical support and design reference for the application of the piezoelectric material in the drilling field.
Highlights
Human society’s demand for energy has been increasing since the 20th century
The electromagnetic measurement while drilling (MWD) system for gas drilling has made substantial progress in recent years [3]. These underground MWD systems and other downhole equipment are usually powered by lithium batteries at present [4]
A while-drilling energy harvesting device was designed to serve as a continuous power supply for downhole equipment by employing the piezoelectric energy collection approach to the drilling industry
Summary
Human society’s demand for energy has been increasing since the 20th century. Drilling engineering plays an important and irreplaceable role in the exploration and exploitation of coal, oil, geothermal and other energy resources. If the energy along with longitudinal vibration of the drill pipe could be harvested, it would be a new approach to provide power for the MWD system and the other downhole equipment. Employment of the piezoelectric energy collection approach to the drilling industry could solve the problem of continuous power supply of downhole instruments well and would develop a new application field and development space for the piezoelectric materials. From the above structural design and analysis, it is obvious that the proposed device improves the structure of the traditional piezoelectric vibration-energy collection device It adopted a plate-type energy-capture structure together with a barrel shell structure to make full use of the annular space of the borehole. The proposed device owns plenty of advantages, such as has a simple structure, dis-assembly and repair convenience, and could be adapted to the site’s complex working environment
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