I-Corps: Autonomous electronic sentinel microsensors for monitoring and logging harsh environments

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为石油和天然气行业开发微传感器技术，包括监测生产压力和温度、管道/水泥完整性和废弃油井。与其他监测系统和基础设施相比，微型传感器可以在操作和维护的成本和后勤方面减少一个数量级。此外，大规模监测自然和/或工程环境创造了一个近乎即时的机会，在结构的预期寿命内以低成本应对损坏或灾难。提议的技术的其他应用包括国防、基础设施、交通和其他行业，而且有可能创建安全的网络来监控辐射、入侵或损坏等操作。这项技术还可以提供廉价的设备，用于监测应力/应变、腐蚀、化学检测、声学裂缝检测、加载和振动，以实现维护和维修优化。这些设备旨在漂浮在溪流、河流、下水道、城市供水、废水、管道和海流中，以监测系统完整性、污染和其他所需变量。这个i-Corps项目是基于微型自主电子微型传感器和系统的开发，用于监测和记录目前被排除在大小之外的恶劣环境、无线和有线环境。该技术已被用于测量恶劣环境中的温度和压力，如石油、天然气、钻井泥浆、水泥井和水力压裂液。测量结果存储在板载存储器中，并带有持续运行的时钟的时间戳。在返回地面后，这些设备将被无线读出。目前的原型直径为9毫米，最高可达125摄氏度和10K磅/平方英寸，并封装在两个聚合物层中。第一层聚合物层设计用于密封保护，第二层用于石油和天然气流体的浮力和从表面产生的流体中回收。到目前为止的研究表明，它们在实验室测试和井下野外测试中都能幸存下来。这些微型传感器基于井下系统(传感器、高温电池、通信、内存、微控制器和严苛的环保包装)的集成，创建了谨慎、无线、自主和毫米级的数据记录器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of microsensor technologies for the oil and gas industry including monitoring pressure and temperature of production, pipeline/cement integrity, and abandoned wells. Microsensors may provide an order of magnitude reduction in the cost and logistics of operations and maintenance as compared with other monitoring systems and infrastructure. In addition, monitoring natural and/or engineered environments at scale creates a near instantaneous opportunity to respond to damage or disaster at low cost for the expected lifetime of the structure. Other applications of the proposed technology include defense, infrastructure, transportation, and other industries, and it may be possible to create secure networks for monitoring operations such as for radiation, intrusion, or damage. This technology also may provide inexpensive devices for monitoring stress/strain, corrosion, chemical detection, acoustic crack detection, loading, and vibration to allow maintenance and repair optimization. The devices are designed to float in streams, rivers, sewers, city water supply, wastewater, pipelines, and sea currents to monitor system integrity, pollution, and other needed variables. This I-Corps project is based on the development of miniaturized autonomous electronic microsensors and systems for monitoring and logging harsh environments that are currently size excluded, wireless, and wire-denied environments. The proposed technology has been used to measure temperature and pressure in harsh environments such as oil, gas, drilling mud, well cement, and hydraulic fracturing fluid. Measurements are stored in onboard memory and timestamped with a continuously running clock. Upon return to the surface, the devices are read out wirelessly. Current prototypes are 9mm in diameter, may function up to 125C and 10k psi, and are packaged in two polymer layers. The first polymer layer is designed for hermetic protection, and the second for buoyancy in oil and gas fluids and recovery from fluids produced at the surface. Research to date has shown that they survive lab testing and field testing downhole. These microsensors are based on integration of downhole capable systems (sensors, high temperature battery, communications, memory, microcontroller, and harsh environmental protective packaging) creating discreet, wireless, autonomous, and millimeter-scale data loggers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.