Quartz thickness-shear mode pressure sensor design for enhanced sensitivity

Area of Science:

• Geosciences
• Materials Science
• Engineering

Background:

• Accurate downhole pressure data is vital for oil and gas reservoir management.
• Extreme well environments (high pressure, temperature, shock, vibration) challenge pressure transducer reliability.
• Key performance parameters for well-test pressure gauges include accuracy, sensitivity, resolution, and long-term stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a unique quartz thickness-shear mode sensor developed for downhole pressure measurements.
• To demonstrate that pressure transducers utilizing this sensor meet demanding downhole testing requirements.

Main Methods:

• Development of a unique quartz thickness-shear mode sensor.
• Integration of the sensor into pressure transducers for downhole applications.
• Evaluation of transducer performance against key parameters like accuracy, sensitivity, and resolution under simulated downhole conditions.

Main Results:

• The developed quartz thickness-shear mode sensor enables pressure transducers to meet stringent downhole testing requirements.
• Transducers exhibit reliable performance, addressing concerns of inaccuracy from nonlinearity, hysteresis, nonrepeatability, and temperature effects.
• The sensor design supports long-term operation, maintaining accuracy, sensitivity, and resolution for dependable reservoir resource management.

Conclusions:

• A novel quartz thickness-shear mode sensor provides a reliable solution for downhole pressure measurements.
• This technology enhances the accuracy and dependability of pressure data acquisition in extreme oil and gas well environments.
• The developed pressure transducers are suitable for critical reservoir management and dynamic well-test analyses.