Abstract
The typical liquid damper forces a viscous liquid through a small orifice and its damping is dominated by viscous losses that convert mechanical energy to heat and such dampers can be used in drill strings. In this disclosure, the liquid damping is dominated by energy absorbed when a high-surface-tension liquid is nebulized into a mist of many fine droplets that, taken together, have far higher surface area than the original liquid. Here, the preferred high-surface-tension liquid is gallium both for its surface tension and its density. Gallium’s surface tension is 11 times that of water (which must be kept pressurized if the drill string gets above 100 C), and 11 times that of glycerin (which boils at 290 C). However, the viscosity of Gallium at room temperature is only about 2 cP or twice the viscosity of water at room temperature so it flows easily.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Baker Hughes Company, "Vibration damping by nebulizing a liquid into an aerosol mist", Technical Disclosure Commons, (March 30, 2025)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/7950