Tier: GLB - Global Doc Type: Operation

Manual
Element or Subelement: Operations
Doc Number: ATK-20-70-0000-02-02
Rev: L
Effective Date: 5 Apr 2021

Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module

(BCPM) - Description of Service
AutoTrak Operations Manual
Section 1—Introduction
Table of Contents
General .....................................................................................................................................................................2
Pulser ........................................................................................................................................................................2
Standby Mode ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Pulse Mode ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Pressure Pulse BCPM ........................................................................................................................................................4
Main Valve Assembly (MVA) .............................................................................................................................. 4
Control Valve Assembly (CVA) .......................................................................................................................... 4
Pulser Driver Board ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Turbine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Alternator ................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Alternator/Voltage Regulator ............................................................................................................................ 6
Downlink Controller .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Circuit Breaker ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
BCPM Setup ............................................................................................................................................................. 6
High Temperature (HT) 175°C BCPM.............................................................................................................................. 6

Revision History
Rev. RDR Amendment Detail Reviewer Approver Effective Date
Current Revision
Kurniawan,
L 6394/AH Removed use up statement for old bellow design (ECO160512-06) Simon, Kai 5 Apr 2021
Baladika P
Three Previous Revisions
Kurniawan,
K 5565/AH Update Table 1 and belonging Note Markwart, Joerg 26 Mar 2020
Baladika P
Kurniawan,
J 5432/AH Updated information for rubber bellows Markwart, Joerg 23 Jan 2020
Baladika P
H 3422/AH Removed rubber bellow (10230089) (ECO170802-09) Brahim, Imed B Markwart, Joerg 26 Sep 2017
MA-GLB-En-100030B_Baker Hughes Rev. A

Copyright 2004, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020-2021 Baker Hughes Company. (Unpublished Work) All rights reserved. The information contained in this document is
confidential and proprietary property of Baker Hughes and its affiliates. It is to be used only for the benefit of Baker Hughes and may not be distributed, transmitted,
reproduced, altered, or used for any other purpose without the express written consent of Baker Hughes.
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Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module (BCPM) - Description of
Service

General
The OnTrak BCPM is responsible for the pulsing sequence of the tool, recognizing downlinks
(Surface- to Downhole Communication), power generation, and pulser control. Additional
features are temperature monitoring and adjustable circuit breakers. When deployed in an
AutoTrak G3 or OnTrak stand alone BHA the OnTrak Master programs the BCPM telemetry when it
is powered up the first time. During the run the OnTrak checks the BCPM after each power cycle
and reprograms the BCPM in case of a mismatch. The BCPM is designed to pulse independently
from the Ontrak Master, i.e. if it receives no data from the OnTrak Master it will transmit 0's with a
trailing 1 at the end of each word.
Figure 1: OnTrak Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module (BCPM)

Main Valve Guide Wheel

Turbine Wheel

Control Valve

BCPM Electronics
Alternator

Pulser
The pulser in the OnTrak BCPM uses differential pressure caused by mud flowing through a
restriction to produce a positive pressure pulse. The BCPM pulser (like UP system) has two main
functional areas, the main valve and the pilot/control valve (CVA). The main valve consists of a
valve body and a restrictor, which is also referred to as valve seat. The diagram shows the pulser
assembly mounted in the pulser housing. The working principle is described below:
As mud flows through the tool, there is a certain pressure drop over the restriction. Thus, the
pressure at A is higher than the pressure at B. A small portion of the flow streams through the
pulser mesh and follows the red arrows, since there is a pressure differential between the two
ends of the flow path. If the solenoid is activated, the control valve is pushed upwards to close off
this flow path. The pressure in area C increases until it is equal to the pressure in area A. The high
pressure area C is surrounded by the relatively low pressure area B, and attempts to expand. In
order for area C to expand its volume, the valve body moves upwards. This reduces the
clearance between the valve body and the restriction, increasing standpipe pressure, and thus
creating a pulse.

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Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module (BCPM) - Description of
Service

Figure 2: Pulser

Pulser Mesh
A
Restriction

Valve Body
Support
B C
Valve Body

Control Valve
Spring

Solenoid

The pilot/control valve is actuated by a direct coupling to an electromagnet and its position (up
or down) is determined by the pulser driver board which, in turn, is controlled directly by the
master CPU. There is a spring below the control valve body which acts as a relief valve, i.e. it limits
the maximal upward movement of the main valve body and consequently the pulse height.
Standby Mode
In standby mode, the Valve Body (VB) is held open by the drag force of the drilling fluid. The VB
finds an equilibrium state where the drag and pressure forces in front of the VB and the pressure
force inside the VB are in balance.
This location is not at a pre-defined position and it varies with flow
Note
rate.

The pilot/control valve flow path allows a small portion of the drilling fluid to pass through the
bypass conduit. When the solenoid is not activated, the pilot/control valve is held open by drag
force of the drilling fluid passing through the bypass conduit.
Pulse Mode
In pulse mode, the solenoid is activated by the pulser driver board. The shaft of the solenoid
moves up hole which closes the pilot/control valve and stops the flow through the bypass
conduit. This causes the pressure behind the main valve body to increase.
As the pressure builds behind the main valve body, the valve body begins to shift positions
seeking a new equilibrium location. In this position, the flow area between the main valve body
and the restrictor is substantially smaller than in standby mode. With reduced area, the pressure
drop across the pulser increases, restraining the flow and creating a pressure rise in front of the
pulser.

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Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module (BCPM) - Description of
Service

Pressure Pulse BCPM

A detailed discussion of flow rate, mud weight, restrictor sizes available and tool/pulser pressure
drops can be found in Section 7. It is the task of the coordinator to select the optimum restrictor
prior the deployment.

Main Valve Assembly (MVA)

Accumulation of fine sediments in the MVA can cause blockage of the valve body. Therefore the
sediment protected Main Valve Assembly (SP-MVA) was developed. If an elevated risk of
blockage of the MVA is expected, the SP-MVA should be used instead of the standard MVA. The
usage of the SP-MVA can result in increased wear of the moving components of the MVA
depending on local mud systems. Therefore the performance SP-MVA has to be monitored
locally in cooperation with AMO.
It is the task of the coordinator to select the optimum MVA prior the deployment.

Control Valve Assembly (CVA)

The BCPM which is equipped with Steel CVA (old design, PN 10142291) was designed for data rates
up to 3 bps (0.24 s combinatorial setup). The main limitation to the data rate is the relaxation
time of the hydraulic driven MVA-body. Decoding problems have occurred caused by pulses
smearing into each other or a loss of pulse height. Both effects are related to the dynamic
properties of CVA which controls the movement of the MVA-body.
For application with data rates above 3 bps (maximum data rate 7 bps or 0.08 s combinatorial
setup) the High Speed Control Valve (HS-CVA, PN 10202954) was developed. It is recommended
to use HS-CVA for all applications with a data rate higher than 3 bps.
In order to compensate the hydrostatic pressure down hole, the CVA is filled with oil and a rubber
bellow is used for the pressure compensation and the separation of the CVA system from the
mud environment. For the expected operational conditions the applicable CVA rubber bellow has
to be chosen according to the table below:
Released rubber bellow PN can be used according to the
column Operational Application on the table below.
The production of these rubber bellows was stopped and
Note obsoleted. Existing inventory can be used according to the
column Operational Application and Remark on the table
below. New tools from manufacturing will come with HNBR PN
10468881 rubber bellows that can be used for both WBM and
OBM application.

Table 1: Rubber Bellows

BCPM / UP / VTK / TrTK CVA Rubber Color Operational Remark
Rubber Bellow Variants Material Application
10468881 BELLOW,RUBBER. HNBR Black OBM(1), WBM(2) Standard on all
HNBR, ADV,BCPM/UP 25°F to 350°F CVAs from new
manufacturing
(-5°C to +175°C)

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Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module (BCPM) - Description of
Service

Table 1: Rubber Bellows

BCPM / UP / VTK / TrTK CVA Rubber Color Operational Remark
Rubber Bellow Variants Material Application
10468710 FKM Black OBM(1) To be obsoleted.
BELLOW,RUBBER,FKM,ADv, 25°F to 350°F Replaced by
BCPM/UP HNBR PN
(-5°C to +175°C)
10468881.
Existing
inventory can be
used. Refer to
EBB-TB-12383.
10155842 FKM black
OBM(1) Replaced by PN
BELLOW,RUBBER,FKM,BCPM/ 25°F to 350°F 10468710.
UP
(-5°C to +175°C)
10228661 HNBR black WBM(2) Replaced by PN
BELLOW,RUBBER,HNBR,BCPM 25°F to 350°F 10468881.
/UP
(-5°C to +175°C)
N60260-001 FKM black OBM(1) Replaced by PN
BELLOW,RUBBER,UP 50°F to 350°F 10155842.
(R/B 10155842)
(+10°C to +175°C)
10230088 HNBR with yellow WBM(2) Replaced by PN
BELLOW,RUBBER,HNBR,GDP, GDP(3) coating 25°F to 350°F 10228661.
BCPM/UP
(-5°C to +175°C)
10126574 FKM with blue OBM(1) Replaced by PN
BELLOW,RUBBER,GDP,F/CVA, GDP coating
(3)
50°F to 350°F 10155842.
(R/B 10230089)
(+10°C to +175°C)
Overview about CVA Rubber Bellow variants and their mechanical properties
(1)
OBM  Oil Based Mud
(2)
WBM  Water Based Mud
(3)
GDP  Gas Diffusion Protection

Pulser Driver Board

The BCPM master module produces a digital signal to control the pulser. This is transmitted down
the pulse control line to the Pulser Driver Board (PDB). The PDB amplifies the signal and provides
the required current control to operate the pulser solenoid. When a pulse is initiated, a relatively
high current of 1,700 mA is required to accelerate the pulser control valve; however, the current is
being reduced to 800 mA when the control valve has closed off the port in the valve body.

Turbine
The turbine in the tool consists of a rotor with a single stage of blades. The mud is channeled by a
fixed spiral guide wheel (turbine stator) to strike the rotor blades at the correct angle. The rotor
drives the alternator, providing the tool with electrical power. The RPM of the turbine depends on
the flow rate and the guide wheel/turbine configuration.
A detailed discussion of flow rate specifications and tool pressure drops can be found in Section
7. It is the task of the FSE and the coordinator to know the turbine configurations of the BCPMs
that are on location.

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Bi-Directional Communication and Power Module (BCPM) - Description of
Service

Alternator
The alternator of the BCPM serves as the power supply for the complete down hole electronics
including all added modular subs like ORD, CCN, CoPilot, APX, etc. The mud turbine drives the
alternator via a magnetic coupling, referred to as a magnetic clutch, which seals the drilling mud
from the interior parts of the alternator.

Alternator/Voltage Regulator
The three-phase AC alternator output is converted to a 33 Volts DC supply by the AVR (Alternator
Voltage Regulator). A maximum power output capability of 250 Watt ensures a continuous
supply of power for the system.
The AVR also provides a digital value of alternator RPM (and hence, the turbine RPM) by analyzing
the frequency of one of the phases of the alternator output. This value is then passed on to the
Downlink Controller (DLC).

Downlink Controller
The DLC constantly monitors the digital turbine RPM value from the AVR and decides when a
downlink is being sent. It informs the master that a downlink is in progress. After the downlink, it
informs the master of the content and status of the downlink.

Circuit Breaker
The BCPM has an upper and lower circuit breaker to protect the tool and subs below or above
from high current/voltage in case of an electrical failure above or below the tool. The FSE have
always to check the breaker settings before RIH. The settings are described in Section 4.

BCPM Setup
For the BCPM setup and required part numbers refer to the following S-BOM drawings:
10113893 MODULE,COMPLETE,4.75BCPM-SUPER BOM
10082134 MODULE,COMPLETE,6.75BCPM-SUPER BOM
10109846 MODULE,COMPLETE,30KSI,6.75BCPM,SUPER BOM
10132205 MODULE,COMPLETE,8.25BCPM-SUPER BOM
10089064 MODULE,COMPLETE,9.50BCPM-SUPER BOM
High Temperature (HT) 175°C BCPM
High temperature 175°C BCPM was released in mid 2013 as a part of HT 175°C AutoTrak G3. HT
BCPM is currently available in 9-1/2-in., 6-3/4-in., and 4-3/4-in. sizes. It features upgraded and
hardened electronics, pulser and other elastomeric components which have operating
temperature limits of 175°C. Physically and operationally there is no difference between HT BCPM
and standard BCPM except that HT BCPM can be operated up to 347°F (175°C) downhole
temperature. HT BCPM's electronic boards are designed to use the same firmware as a standard
BCPM.

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