Rice Integrated Systems and Circuits (RISC) laboratory directed by Prof. Aydin Babakhani develops advanced sensors technologies for energy exploration and production. The RISC laboratory focuses on the fundamental sciences related to physics and electronics of silicon-based integrated sensors and antennas and takes the technology to oil fields after completing the research cycle. One of the focuses of the RISC laboratory is to eliminate the "valley of death" in deployment of university research.
The sensor research in the RISC laboratory covers two broad areas:
(1) permanent online monitoring sensors, and (2) miniaturized proppant-sized battery-less sensors with energy harvesting capability.
In the first category, the RISC laboratory has developed the world's first HPHT asphaltenes and corrosion sensor technology that can monitor paramagnetic chemicals such as asphaltenes in real-time. This is done all electronically and without using any chemicals or other consumables. The asphaltenes sensor technology was recently tested in a major oil field in Canada by one of largest Canadian energy producers. The second field trial was successfully completed in Permian Texas by one of the largest U.S. independent producers. This technology helps energy producers to significantly reduce the operating cost and minimize the environmental impacts by reducing the usage of chemical inhibitors for asphaltenes and corrosion. Another technology that is being developed in the first category is a sensitive THz gas spectrometer for on-line monitoring of H2S, CO2, and other polar molecular in surface facilities. In addition, the RISC laboratory is building a miniaturized mass spectrometer and a variety of microwave/radar sensors for online monitoring of chemicals in a multi-phase flow system.
In the second category, the RISC laboratory develops proppant-sized sensors than can be sent to reservoir during hydraulic fracturing jobs. These sensors aim to produce a high-resolution image of the fractures in the reservoir with spatial resolution of 1ft. They are also able to measure reservoir properties such as temperature, pressure, chemicals, stress, pH, etc. In addition to fracture mapping, the second category includes cement embedded sensors that are used to continuously monitor the quality of cement and report leakage of environmentally hazardous gases such as methane and CO2. These sensors can also be used to detect corrosion and water breakthrough in the cement.
