Titanium based gas reservoir for low power sealed tube neutron generators
OwnerLuke T. Perkins, Dylan Leberinventors
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Abstract
A pulsed neutron generator includes a sealed tube. a gas reservoir is disposed in the sealed tube and includes an electrically heatable filament disposed within a porous, sintered getter. The getter includes dispersed particles of a thermally reversible hydride-adsorptive material therein. The dispersed particles have deuterium and/or tritium adsorbed on them. A gas ionizer disposed in the sealed tube. A target is disposed in the sealed tube. The target includes adsorbed deuterium and/or tritium therein.
Claims31
A pulsed neutron generator, comprising:
- a sealed tube;
- a gas reservoir disposed in the sealed tube, the gas reservoir including an electrically heatable filament disposed within a porous, sintered getter, the getter comprising dispersed particles of a thermally reversible hydride-adsorptive material therein, the material particles having adsorbed therein deuterium and/or tritium;
- a gas ionizer disposed in the sealed tube;
- a target disposed in the sealed tube, the target including adsorbed deuterium and/or tritium therein.
A pulsed neutron well logging instrument, comprising:
- a pressure resistant housing configured to traverse a wellbore drilled through subsurface formations;
- a pulsed neutron generator disposed in the housing, the pulsed neutron generator including a gas reservoir having an electrically heated filament surrounded by a porous, sintered getter having therein dispersed particles of a thermally reversible hydride-adsorptive material;
- at least one radiation detector disposed in the housing axially spaced apart from the pulsed neutron generator;
- and
- a signal processor disposed in the housing, the signal processor configured to perform at least one of, quantifying numbers and/or energy levels of nuclear events resulting from interaction of neutrons from the neutron generator with formations adjacent the wellbore and encoding signals from the at least one radiation detector for transmission to the Earth's surface.
A method for generating neutrons, comprising:
- filling an evacuated, sealed envelope with deuterium and/or tritium gas to a selected pressure by heating a sintered, porous getter having deuterium and/or tritium adsorbed in thermally reversible hydride-adsorptive particles dispersed in the getter;
- ionizing the deuterium and/or tritium gas;
- and
- accelerating the ionized gas to strike a target in the sealed envelope, the target having adsorbed deuterium and/or tritium therein, whereby the accelerated ions react with the adsorbed deuterium and/or tritium in the target to release free neutrons.
A method for well logging comprising:
- moving a well logging instrument along an interior of a wellbore penetrating subsurface formations;
- emitting neutrons into the formations from a pulsed neutron source, the emitting neutrons comprising filling an evacuated, sealed envelope with deuterium and/or tritium gas to a selected pressure by heating a sintered, porous getter having deuterium and/or tritium adsorbed in thermally reversible hydride-adsorptive particles dispersed in the getter, ionizing the deuterium and/or tritium gas and accelerating the ionized gas to strike a target in the sealed envelope, the target having adsorbed deuterium and/or tritium therein, whereby the accelerated ions react with the adsorbed deuterium and/or tritium in the target to release neutrons;
- detecting radiation resulting from interaction of the neutrons with the formations;
- and
- making a record with respect to at least one of depth and time of the detected radiation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.