Capacitor device for a conductor loop in a device for the in-sity production of heavy oil and bitumen from oil-sand deposits

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9558889-B2
Application number	US-201214354037-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2012
Priority date	Oct 27, 2011
Publication date	Jan 31, 2017
Grant date	Jan 31, 2017

Abstract

The embodiments relate to a capacitor device for a conductor loop in a device for the in-situ production of heavy oil and bitumen from oil-sand deposits, characterized by a housing and a capacitor unit arranged therein to compensate for the inductive voltage drop along the conductor loop, wherein there are two connection interfaces, wherein each connection interface is designed for mechanical and electrically conductive connection between the capacitor unit and a conductor element of the conductor loop.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A capacitor device comprising:
a housing; and
a capacitor unit arranged within the housing for compensating for an inductive voltage drop along a conductor loop of a device for in situ production of heavy oil and bitumen from oil sands deposits,
wherein two connection interfaces are provided, wherein each connection interface of the two connection interfaces is configured for a mechanical and electrically conductive connection between the capacitor unit and a line element of the conductor loop,
wherein the capacitor device is mechanically rigid and each line element is flexible, and
wherein the capacitor device is connected to the line elements prior to insertion into a bore hole such that the line elements are subjected to tensile loading, while the capacitor device is not subjected to the tensile loading, during insertion into the bore hole.

2. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the capacitor unit comprises two capacitor plates with a dielectric layer arranged between the two capacitor plates, wherein the two capacitor plates are each in electrically conductive contact with a connection interface of the two connection interfaces.

3. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the capacitor unit comprises two plate carriers on which, for each plate carrier, at least one capacitor plate is arranged electrically conductively.

4. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 3 , wherein at least one plate carrier comprises, at least sectionally, a half-shell formation.

5. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each capacitor plate of the two capacitor plates comprises, at least partially, a coating as dielectric layer.

6. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein each capacitor plate of the two capacitor plates comprises, at least partially, a coating as dielectric layer.

7. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the dielectric layer is, at least partially, in fluid form.

8. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the capacitor unit, the housing, or the capacitor unit and the housing are filled with a free-flowing, curable material.

9. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the capacitor unit, the housing, or the capacitor unit and the housing are filled with a free-flowing, curable material.

10. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each connection interface of the two connection interfaces is configured for at least one of the following types of mechanical connection: (1) screwing, (2) welding, (3) riveting, or (4) fitting.

11. The capacitor device as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the fitting is a press fitting.

12. A conductor loop comprising:
a plurality of line elements for a device for in situ production of heavy oil and bitumen from oil sands deposits, wherein each line element is, at least sectionally, flexible; and
a plurality of mechanically rigid capacitor devices, wherein each capacitor device comprises a housing and a capacitor unit arranged within the housing for compensating for an inductive voltage drop along the conductor loop,
wherein each capacitor device of the plurality of capacitor devices is electrically conductively and mechanically connected to two adjacent line elements via connection interfaces prior to insertion into a bore hole such that the plurality of line elements is subjected to tensile loading, while the plurality of capacitor devices is not subjected to the tensile loading, during insertion into the bore hole.

13. The conductor loop as claimed in claim 12 , wherein a number of the plurality of line elements exceeds a number of the plurality of capacitor devices by more than 1.

14. The conductor loop as claimed in claim 12 , wherein each line element of the plurality of line elements comprises, at least partially, metallic pipe.

15. The conductor loop as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the metallic pipe is aluminum pipe.

16. The conductor loop as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the conductor loop is in the form of an inductor cable for inductively heating a heavy oil or oil sands deposit, wherein the inductor cable comprises:
one flexible metallic conductor in each first flexible section of a plurality of first flexible sections, and
at least one capacitor in each second flexible section of a plurality of second flexible sections for forming a series resonant circuit.

17. The conductor loop as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the flexible metallic conductor is in the form of a line element.

18. The conductor loop as claimed in claim 12 , wherein each capacitor device is 0.5-1 meter long, and each line element is 10-20 meters long.

19. A method for producing a conductor loop, the method comprising:
electrically conductively and mechanically connecting each capacitor device of a plurality of capacitor devices to two adjacent line elements of the plurality of line elements via connection interfaces prior to insertion into a bore hole, wherein each capacitor device of the plurality of capacitor devices comprises a housing and a capacitor unit arranged within the housing for compensating for an inductive voltage drop along the conductor loop, and wherein each capacitor device is mechanically rigid; and
inserting the connected capacitor devices and line elements into the bore hole,
wherein the plurality of line elements is subjected to tensile loading, while the plurality of capacitor device is not subjected to the tensile loading, during insertion into the bore hole.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the conductor loop is provided, at least sectionally, with an insulation layer.

Assignees

• Diehl Dirk
• Koch Andreas
• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Diehl Dirk
• Koch Andreas

Classifications

• E21B36/04 Primary

  using electrical heaters · CPC title

• Y10T29/43

  Electric condenser making · CPC title

• H01G4/38

  Multiple capacitors, i.e. structural combinations of fixed capacitors · CPC title

• H01G4/224

  Housing; Encapsulation · CPC title

• H01G4/04

  Liquid dielectrics · CPC title