THERMAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WITH PHASE-CHANGE MATERIAL CAPSULES FOR PULSED-POWER SOURCE CONTROLLER IN EXTREME OIL-WELL THERMAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The application of a pulsed-power source controller provides high energy and strong penetrability, which can effectively improve the shale oil exploitation efficiency. However, the harsh high-temperature oil-well environment will significantly affect the safe operation of electronic devices. This study compares the thermal protection performance of the insulation layer with microscale phase-change material (PCM) capsules and macroscale PCM capsules composed of paraffin within a nylon shell and fabricated by 3D printing technology. Results show that the microscale PCM capsules demonstrate considerable thermal protection performance when operating under a high temperature of 100°C, which can prolong the operating time of the electronic device by only 64% in comparison to the case without the thermal protection strategy. However, the amount of PCM still shows dominant influence. On the other hand, the macroscale PCM capsules contain a relatively higher capacity of PCM, which can further extend the operating time by 84%, up to 92 min, within the maximum junction temperature of 80°C. In addition, a simplified numerical model was developed and validated with the experimental data. Eventually, the thermal protection performance of macroscale PCM capsules with orderly stacked configuration as well as the effect of thermal protection thicknesses are numerically investigated.