Sandia National Laboratories is soliciting expressions of interest from potential partners to further develop and/or commercialize the technologies discussed below. Partnerships are anticipated to take the form of Cooperative Research & Development Agreements (CRADA) and/or commercial licenses. CRADAs are expected to include funds-in to the Labs and licensed rights may be up to exclusive in a field-of-use, depending on the business case. Sandia is seeking partners that have proven experience in translating technologies into market-driven products, have technical capabilities in the technical area(s) discussed below, are fiscally sound and well managed, and can commit to manufacturing the products in the U.S. A concept has been developed for reducing vibration in drillstrings while drilling in oil, gas, and geothermal reservoirs. The technology development uses Magneto-Rheological (MR) fluids, a suspension of micron–size iron particles within a carrier fluid such as water, oil, or silicone. These iron particles respond to a magnetic field by aligning themselves along magnetic flux lines. The stress necessary to displace the MR fluid is a function of the magnetic field strength in the fluid. The controllable MR fluid-based damping system is coupled with an appropriate spring stiffness within a drilling sub and inserted into the drillstring near the bit at the base of the drillstring. The system is autonomously powered and controlled by on-board electronics resident within the housing of the drilling sub. Vibration in the bit of a drillstring produces a wavy surface in the rock that feeds back into the interaction between the bit and drillstring. This system allows the reduction in vibrations in the drillstring through real–time control. Vibrations are controlled by altering the damping forces through variation in a control voltage to the coil that generates the magnetic field. Controlling the level of vibration reduces bit and drillstring and tool joint failures, increases drilling production rates, and reduces drilling costs. Existing systems incorporating dampers are passive and configured before the bit enters the hole. Accordingly, they are unable to respond to variability in drilling conditions. Prototype controllable dampers have been developed at Sandia using MR fluid technology and tested in the laboratory. They have shown that stable drilling conditions can be maintained when changes in the drilling lithology introduce vibrations into the drillstring. Intellectual property (US Patent No. 7,036,612 B1) pertaining to the application of MR fluid technologies to the problem of drillstring vibrations has been granted to Sandia Corporation. Interested parties may respond by contacting Teresa Garcia, Sandia Administration, Fax 505-844-8011; e-mail:
[email protected]. Please include a brief description of your proposed type of partnership (CRADA or license) and any details you can provide as to specific requirements.