Expanding Metal Seal Project

铋及其合金在凝固时膨胀，其方式类似于水在冻结时膨胀形成冰的方式。其中一些合金具有高度的耐腐蚀性，结合合金膨胀极限寿命密封应用，可以科普恶劣的水环境。低熔点和随后在固化时膨胀的组合性质可被利用来铸造高完整性的原位密封件，甚至在水下环境中，包括海底（即熔化和水下铸造）、土壤内以及多孔岩石内（即控制气体和水的迁移）和有毒废物的容纳。该合金可用作水泥灌浆密封的可逆替代物。合金的耐腐蚀性允许使用数百年，并且如果需要，这种密封件可以重新熔化以获得先前密封的单元。扩展金属密封项目的总体目标是利用Rawwater在处理和部署低熔点金属方面的现有能力，在定义的光滑壁几何形状（即弃井套管塞）中开发工具，以在现有技术无法完美密封的未定义和/或粗糙壁几何形状中创建密封。

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.