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US 12,427,559 B2Granted
Electromagnetic induction heater
AssigneeMcMillan-McGee Corporation
InventorsShiella Delos Reyes, Bruce C. W. McGee, David Nyarko, Edwin Walter Reid
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heating device for heating underground soil comprising a work-coil housed in a conductive casing, wherein when at least one driving current is supplied to the work-coil, whereby the work-coil generates at least one magnetic field that induces at least one induced current in the casing. The driving currents are of a frequency sufficiently high to cause the induced currents to generate resistance in the casing, thereby increasing the temperature of the casing. A plurality of the heating devices may be arranged in an array to facilitate the heating of a zone of soil.
Claims17
A method of heating one or more subterranean zones of soil, the method comprising:
- converting an alternating utility electric current to at least one direct current, and converting the at least one direct current into at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current;
- supplying the at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current to three or more work-coils housed inside a water-tight sealed conductive casing and being electrically insulated from the conductive casing, each work-coil being supported on a work-coil support positioned coaxially and concentrically inside the work-coil and the conductive casing by one or more centralizers, the work-coil support defining a plurality of perforations and being formed or coated with an electrically insulated material, wherein the work-coils, the work-coil support, and the conductive casing are configured to withstand an operating temperature over 1000° C., and the conductive casing being positioned in the one or more subterranean zones;
- and
- inducing at least one induced current in the conductive casing,
- wherein the high-frequency driving alternating current is selected to cause the at least one induced current to generate heat on the conductive casing caused by skin-effect resistance of the conductive casing to increase a temperature of the conductive casing;
- wherein each phase of the at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current is directed to a respective one of the three or more work-coils;
- and
- wherein the three or more work-coils are arranged axially in series and spaced apart to selectively heat the subterranean zones of the soil and form a temperature gradient;
- collecting temperature data from the conductive casing using one or more sensors positioned on the conductive casing;
- and
- a selectively modifying a frequency of the at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current in response to the collected temperature data.
8 more elements
A method of heating one or more subterranean zones of soil, the method comprising:
- converting an alternating utility electric current to at least one direct current, and converting the at least one direct current into at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current;
- supplying the at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current to three or more work-coils housed inside a water-tight sealed conductive casing and being electrically insulated from the conductive casing, each work-coil being supported on a work-coil support positioned coaxially and concentrically inside the work-coil and the conductive casing by one or more centralizers, the work-coil support defining a plurality of perforations and being formed or coated with an electrically insulated material, wherein the work-coils, the work-coil support, and the conductive casing are configured to withstand an operating temperature over 1000° C., and the conductive casing being positioned in the one or more subterranean zones;
- and
- inducing at least one induced current in the conductive casing,
- wherein the high-frequency driving alternating current is selected to cause the at least one induced current to generate heat on the conductive casing caused by skin-effect resistance of the conductive casing to increase a temperature of the conductive casing;
- wherein each phase of the at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current is directed to a respective one of the three or more work-coils;
- and
- wherein the three or more work-coils are interleaved;
- collecting temperature data from the conductive casing using one or more sensors positioned on the conductive casing;
- and
- selectively modifying a frequency of the at least one three-phase high-frequency driving alternating current in response to the collected temperature data.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.