Methods of forming modified thermoplastic structures for down-hole applications, and related down-hole tools

Abstract

A method of forming a modified thermoplastic structure for a down-hole application comprises forming a thermoplastic structure comprising at least one thermoplastic material formulated for crosslinking using an electron beam process. The thermoplastic structure is exposed to at least one electron beam to crosslink polymer chains of the thermoplastic structure. Other methods of forming a modified thermoplastic structure, and a down-hole tool are also described.

1 . A method of forming a modified thermoplastic structure for a down-hole application, comprising:
 depositing a thermoplastic film over a structure, the thermoplastic film comprising at least one thermoplastic material comprising polymer chains that at least partially crosslink upon exposure to an electron beam; and   subjecting the thermoplastic film to an electron beam process to crosslink at least a portion of the polymer chains of the thermoplastic film.   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein subjecting the thermoplastic film to an electron beam process to crosslink at least a portion of the polymer chains of the thermoplastic film comprises crosslinking the polymer chains of the thermoplastic film to a depth less than a thickness of the thermoplastic film. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein subjecting the thermoplastic film to an electron beam process to crosslink at least a portion of the polymer chains of the thermoplastic film comprises substantially uniformly crosslinking the at least a portion of the polymer chains of the thermoplastic film. 
     
     
         5 . A down-hole tool comprising at least one modified thermoplastic structure comprising an electron beam irradiated material comprising one or more of polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyetherketoneetherketoneketone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyphenylsulfone, self-reinforced polyphenylene, a polyimide, and a polyamideimide. 
     
     
         6 . The down-hole tool of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one modified thermoplastic structure exhibits non-uniform crosslinking of polymer chains throughout a thickness thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The down-hole tool of  claim 5 , wherein the electron beam irradiated material further comprises at least one of a filler material and another polymeric material. 
     
     
         8 . The down-hole tool of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one modified thermoplastic structure comprises a film over another structure. 
     
     
         9 . The down-hole tool of  claim 8 , wherein the film only partially covers the another structure. 
     
     
         10 . The down-hole tool of  claim 5 , wherein the electron beam irradiated material comprises:
 polymer chains of the one or more of polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyetherketoneetherketoneketone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyphenylsulfone, self-reinforced polyphenylene, a polyimide, and a polyamideimide; and   functional groups of one of more crosslinking agents intervening between and crosslinking the polymer chains of the one or more of polyetherketone, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyetherketoneetherketoneketone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyphenylsulfone, self-reinforced polyphenylene, a polyimide, and a polyamideimide.   
     
     
         11 . The down-hole tool of  claim 10 , wherein the one of more crosslinking agents comprise one or more of an organic peroxide, an inorganic peroxide, sulfur, diallyl maleate, triallyl cyanurate, triallyl isocyanurate, n,n′-m-phenylene bismaleimide, a polyacrylate, a polymethacrylate, a trifunctional acrylate, a trifunctional methacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, allyl methacrylate, a liquid butadiene, and methacrylated polybutadiene. 
     
     
         12 . A method of forming a modified thermoplastic structure for a down-hole application, comprising:
 forming a material comprising a thermoplastic powder comprising thermoplastic particles comprising one or more of polyetherketone particles, polyetheretherketone particles, polyetherketoneketone particles, polyetherketoneetherketoneketone particles, polyphenylene sulfide particles, polyphenylsulfone particles, self-reinforced polyphenylene particles, and polyamideimide particles;   treating the material with at least one electron beam to crosslink at least a portion of polymer chains of at least a portion of the thermoplastic particles of the thermoplastic powder to form a modified material comprising a modified thermoplastic powder;   combining the modified material with at least one crosslinking agent to form a further modified material, the at least one crosslinking agent formulated for crosslinking polymer chains of the modified thermoplastic powder upon exposure to at least one additional electron beam;   depositing a film of the further modified material over another structure; and   treating the film of the further modified material with at least one additional electron beam to crosslink the polymer chains of the further modified material.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the material consist of the thermoplastic powder, the thermoplastic powder consists of the thermoplastic particles, and the thermoplastic particles are selected from the group consisting of the polyetherketone particles, the polyetheretherketone particles, the polyetherketoneketone particles, the polyetherketoneetherketoneketone particles, the polyphenylene sulfide particles, the polyphenylsulfone particles, the self-reinforced polyphenylene particles, and the polyamideimide particles. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein combining the modified material with at least one crosslinking agent comprises combining the modified material with one or more of an organic peroxide, an inorganic peroxide, sulfur, diallyl maleate, triallyl cyanurate, triallyl isocyanurate, n,n′-m-phenylene bismaleimide, a polyacrylate, a polymethacrylate, a trifunctional acrylate, a trifunctional methacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, allyl methacrylate, a liquid butadiene, and methacrylated polybutadiene. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein forming a film of the further modified material over another structure comprises only partially coating the another structure with the film of the further modified material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising selecting the another structure from the group consisting of a sensor, a ring, a seal, wiring, and cable. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein combining the modified material with at least one crosslinking agent comprises combining the modified material with the crosslinking agent at a ratio within a range of from about 0.05 parts to about 50 parts of the crosslinking agent per 100 parts of the modified material. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising adding at least one filler material to the further modified material prior to forming the film of the further modified material over the another structure. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein adding at least one filler material to the further modified material comprises adding one or more of carbon black, graphene, carbon nanofibers, single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, polytetrafluoroethene, an aromatic polyamide, a magnesium calcium aluminum silicate, cellulose, clay, glass, and silica. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising adding polymeric particles to the further modified material prior to forming the film of the further modified material over the another structure. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising selecting the polymeric particles to comprise non-crosslinked polymer chains of one or more polymers.