A method of fabricating coated splices for oilfield applications

A method is needed to make a critical splice for a downhole tool in the petroleum industry. The goal is to connect two wires, cover the connection with a protective coating, and then assess the integrity of the finished splice. This project investigates how ultrasonic welding and injection molding can be employed in making the splice. After equipment and a process are designed, splices are produced and testing proceeds. Then an overall assessment of the method is made: connecting the wires in manufacturing should be done by ultrasonic welding and coating the wires using injection molding is a viable option. Further testing should investigate the reliability and failure modes of the coating at high pressures and temperatures along with how the coating method can be improved for quality assurance. Using the system designed during this project and the information gleaned, the plastic injection method should be compared with different methods, such as shrink-tubing, in order to make a final decision on the best coating method to be optimized for employment in manufacturing.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Killian, Lauren A. (Lauren Ashley), 1981-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kamal Youcef-Toumi.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32354

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/32354