Design and parametric simulation of radially oriented electromagnetic actuators

This thesis presents the design and simulation of an electromagnetic actuator system capable of delivering large pulses of radial force onto a cylindrical surface. Due to its robust design, simple control scheme, and large output force capability, the actuator design is developed to be considered for wellbore manipulation and other downhole oil exploration and production activities. The complete simulation - including capacitor bank power supply, solid state switching circuit, transducer, and target formation - is a thirteen value lumped parameter model. The simulation was used heavily in the design and refining of two experimental prototype systems. These prototypes showed excellent model-experiment matching. The experimental prototypes are 2.5" radius, 12" length cylindrical transducers that exert nearly 10 psi onto a simulated rock formation with 2 MN/m radial stiffness, increasing the formation radius 3.5 mm during 5 ms pulse events. It is with this experimentally validated simulation that we project forward a manufacturable system capable of exerting pulses of hundreds of psi in magnitude over durations of 1 - 10 ms onto wellbore sized cylindrical surfaces.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Bosworth, William R., Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jeffrey H. Lang and Alexander H. Slocum.

• 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/1721.1/67792

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/67792