Integrated heat-exchanging mold systems

Abstract

An example integrated heat-exchanging mold system for fabricating an infiltrated downhole tool includes a mold assembly that defines an infiltration chamber to receive and contain matrix reinforcement materials and a binder material used to form the infiltrated downhole tool. A heat-exchanging enclosure is disposed about at least a portion of an exterior of the mold assembly, and the heat-exchanging enclosure includes one or more component parts that include at least one sidewall extending along a height of the mold assembly. One or more thermal conduits are positioned within the one or more component parts, including the at least one sidewall, and thereby placed in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An integrated heat-exchanging mold system for fabricating an infiltrated downhole tool, comprising:
 a mold assembly that defines an infiltration chamber to receive and contain matrix reinforcement materials and a binder material used to form the infiltrated downhole tool;   a heat-exchanging enclosure disposed about at least a portion of an exterior of the mold assembly, the heat-exchanging enclosure comprising one or more component parts that include at least one sidewall extending along a height of the mold assembly; and   one or more thermal conduits positioned within the one or more component parts, including the at least one sidewall, and thereby placed in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the infiltrated downhole tool is selected from the group consisting of a drill bit, a cutting tool, a non-retrievable drilling component, a drill bit body associated with casing drilling of wellbores, a drill-string stabilizer, a cone for a roller-cone drill bit, a model for forging dies used to fabricate support arms for roller-cone drill bits, an arm for a fixed reamer, an arm for an expandable reamer, an internal component associated with expandable reamers, a rotary steering tool, a logging-while-drilling tool, a measurement-while-drilling tool, a side-wall coring tool, a fishing spear, a washover tool, a rotor, a stator, a blade for a downhole turbine, and a housing for a downhole turbine. 
     
     
         3 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more component parts further include at least one of a top plate positioned above the mold assembly and a bottom plate positioned below the mold assembly, and wherein the one or more thermal conduits are further positioned within at least one of the top plate and the bottom plate. 
     
     
         4 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits circulate a fluid through the one or more component parts, the fluid being selected from the group consisting of a gas, water, steam, an oil, a coolant, a molten metal, a molten metal alloy, a fluidized bed, a molten salt, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the one or more thermal conduits for thermally conditioning the fluid; and   a pump fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger and the one or more thermal conduits to circulate the fluid through the one or more component parts.   
     
     
         6 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprise a single thermal conduit that forms a spiral or helical array. 
     
     
         7 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprise at least a first set of thermal conduits and a second set of thermal conduits, and wherein the first set of thermal conduits is independently operable from the second set of thermal conduits. 
     
     
         8 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprise a plurality of individual thermal conduits, and wherein each individual thermal conduit is independently operable. 
     
     
         9 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , further comprising an outer insulation assembly disposed about at least a portion of an exterior of the heat-exchanging enclosure and including at least a sidewall insulator. 
     
     
         10 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 9 , wherein the outer insulation assembly further includes at least one of a top insulator positioned above the mold assembly and a bottom insulator positioned below the mold assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the heat-exchanging enclosure comprises a plurality of heat-exchanging modules and at least one of the one or more thermal conduits is positioned within each heat-exchanging module. 
     
     
         12 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one of the one or more thermal conduits is positioned within a cavity defined in one or more of the plurality of heat-exchanging modules. 
     
     
         13 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 11 , wherein each heat-exchanging module is made of at least one material selected from the group consisting of graphite, alumina, a metal, a ceramic, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprise one or more thermal heating elements selected from the group consisting of a heating element, a radiant heater, an electric heater, an infrared heater, an induction heater, one or more induction coils, a heating band, one or more heated coils, a resistive heating element, a refractory and conductive metal coil, strip, or bar, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more thermal heating elements comprise a single thermal heating element that forms a spiral array. 
     
     
         16 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more thermal heating elements comprises at least a first set of thermal heating elements and a second set of thermal heating elements, and wherein the first and second sets of thermal heating elements are controlled independent of each other. 
     
     
         17 . The integrated heat-exchanging mold system of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more thermal heating elements comprises a plurality of individual thermal heating elements that are each powered independent of each other. 
     
     
         18 . A method for fabricating an infiltrated downhole tool, comprising:
 arranging a heat-exchanging enclosure about at least a portion of an exterior of a mold assembly that defines an infiltration chamber, the heat-exchanging enclosure comprising one or more component parts that include at least one sidewall extending along a height of the mold assembly;   placing one or more thermal conduits in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber, the one or more thermal conduits being positioned within the one or more component parts including the at least one sidewall; and   actively manipulating a thermal profile of contents within the infiltration chamber with the one or more thermal conduits.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein actively manipulating the thermal profile of the contents within the infiltration chamber with the one or more thermal conduits comprises heating matrix reinforcement materials and a binder material disposed within the infiltration chamber so that the binder material liquefies and infiltrates the matrix reinforcement materials. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the contents within the infiltration chamber are molten contents and actively manipulating the thermal profile of the contents within the infiltration chamber with the one or more thermal conduits comprises:
 selectively cooling portions of the molten contents with the one or more thermal conduits; and   varying a thermal profile of the molten contents with the one or more thermal conduits and thereby facilitating directional solidification of the molten contents.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein selectively cooling portions of the molten contents with the one or more thermal conduits comprises generating a thermal gradient along an axial height of the mold assembly with the one or more thermal conduits. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more component parts further include at least one of a top plate positioned above the mold assembly and a bottom plate positioned below the mold assembly, and wherein placing the one or more thermal conduits in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber comprises placing the one or more thermal conduits positioned within at least one of the top plate and the bottom plate in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprises at least a first set of thermal conduits and a second set of thermal conduits, the method further comprising operating the first and second sets of thermal conduits independently. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprises a plurality of individual thermal conduits, the method further comprising operating each individual thermal conduit independently. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 arranging an outer insulation assembly about at least a portion of an exterior of the heat-exchanging enclosure, the outer insulation assembly including at least a sidewall insulator; and   insulating the mold assembly and the heat-exchanging enclosure with the outer insulation assembly.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the outer insulation assembly further includes a top insulator positioned above the mold assembly, the method further comprising:
 simultaneously raising the sidewall insulator and the top insulator and thereby exposing portions of the heat-exchanging enclosure; and   cooling the mold assembly as the sidewall insulator and the top insulator are raised.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the outer insulation assembly further includes a bottom insulator positioned below the mold assembly, the method further comprising:
 moving the bottom insulator laterally with respect to the mold assembly; and   arranging a thermal heat sink beneath the mold assembly.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits contain a fluid, and wherein placing the one or more thermal conduits in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber comprises circulating the fluid through the one or more thermal conduits and thereby placing the fluid in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more thermal conduits comprise one or more thermal heating elements, and wherein placing the one or more thermal conduits in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber comprises placing the one or more thermal heating elements in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber. 
     
     
         30 . A method, comprising:
 introducing a drill bit into a wellbore, the drill bit being formed in an integrated heat-exchanging mold system that includes a mold assembly defining an infiltration chamber, and a heat-exchanging enclosure having one or more component parts that include at least one sidewall, wherein forming the drill bit comprises:
 arranging the heat-exchanging enclosure about at least a portion of an exterior of the mold assembly, the at least one sidewall extending along a height of the mold assembly; 
 placing one or more thermal conduits in thermal communication with the infiltration chamber, the one or more thermal conduits being positioned within the one or more component parts including the at least one sidewall; and 
 actively manipulating a thermal profile of contents within the infiltration chamber with the one or more thermal conduits; and 
   drilling a portion of the wellbore with the drill bit.