Expanding Metal Seal Project

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Bismuth and its alloys expand upon solidification in a similar manner to the way water expands upon freezing to form ice. Some of these alloys are highly resistant to corrosion, and combined with the alloy expansion extreme life sealing applications can cope with harsh aqueous environments. The combined properties of low melting point and subsequent expansion upon solidification can be exploited to cast high integrity, in-situ seals even in underwater environments, including subsea (i.e. melting and underwater casting), within soil and also within porous rock (i.e. control of gas and water migration) and containment of toxic wastes. The alloys can be used as a reversible replacement for cement grout seals. The corrosion resistance of the alloys permit many hundreds of years of service, and such seals can be remelted to gain access to the previously sealed unit, should the need arise. The overall objective of the Expanding Metal Seal Project is to take Rawwater's existing capabilities in the handling and deployment of low melting point metals in defined smooth wall geometries (i.e. well abandonment casing plugs) and to develop tools to create seals in undefined and/or rough walled geometries that cannot be perfectly sealed with existing technologies.