This disclosure relates to remote laser heating in fluid and/or extreme environments.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In fluid and/or extreme environments, such as in a well or a nuclear power plant, construction, repairs, and other similar operations may be difficult. For example, to perforate a well, an operator may employ explosive devices that involve a special license. Moreover, some fluid and/or extreme environments may be difficult for a human to access. For instance, a human may not be able to enter certain areas of a nuclear power plant or fit inside a wellbore of a hydrocarbon well.
To weld or cut materials in these remote, difficult-to-reach locations, a variety of systems have been developed. In one example, a remote operated vehicle (ROV) may robotically weld and/or cut materials under water. These ROVs, however, may be unable to fit in certain narrow spaces. Laser welding and/or cutting systems may also have been developed that are intended to enable laser welding and/or laser cutting in a fluid-filled well. Yet such laser welding systems may have many drawbacks. These systems may use laser pulses generated at a large distance from the location that is to be operated on, potentially causing the laser pulses to attenuate before reaching its target substrate. In addition, because well fluids (e.g., drilling mud or hydrocarbons) locally surrounding such laser welding and/or cutting systems may not be transparent, these systems have been described to use certain fluid displacement media to push away the well fluids. These described fluid displacement media, however, are believed not to easily remain in place. As a result, it is believed the well fluids may be more likely to intersect the laser pulse from the laser welding system and the substrate. In addition, a supply of the fluid displacement media may be used to be stored inside of such laser welding systems; when the supply of fluid displacement media has been drained, the laser welding system may be unable to continue operating.