A New Non-Intrusive Condition Monitoring System Designed to Improve Reliability of the RCD

Managed pressure drilling (MPD) is a technology that allows for precise wellbore pressure control, especially in formations of uncertain geomechanics. The rotating control device (RCD) is a crucial part of the MPD equipment but is prone to failure. Therefore, a new condition monitoring system was developed to improve the reliability of RCDs and eliminate their catastrophic failures during MPD jobs. Non-intrusive sensors were selected during the design of this condition monitoring system. Sensors are measuring: vibrations, acoustic emissions, rotation, pipe movement, temperatures, and contamination level in the coolant fluid. The system can display the measurements in real-time to the operator, giving early warnings to prevent the RCD's catastrophic failures during the job. Additionally, the data is recorded to allow further processing and analysis using ML and AI techniques

Single-Layer Graphene as an Effective Mediator of the Metal–Support Interaction

Single-layer chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene was transferred onto a ZnO (0001) substrate forming a large-area, low-defect density, protective layer. The quality of the graphene layer and its effect on the interaction between the ZnO support and vapor-deposited cobalt particles was investigated by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. We demonstrate that the in-between graphene layer influences both the oxidation state and the morphology of cobalt upon annealing in vacuum. In particular, cobalt strongly interacts with the bare ZnO substrate forming flat particles, which are readily oxidized and redispersed upon annealing in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. In contrast, in the presence of the graphene interlayer, cobalt forms highly dispersed nanoparticles, which are resistant to oxidation, but prone to surface diffusion and agglomeration. The graphene layer exhibits remarkable stability upon cobalt deposition and vacuum annealing, while interaction with reactive gases can facilitate the formation of defects