Intelligent drilling technologies, such as downhole signal and power transmission, can be used to measure key downhole data and obtain thermal insulation cores. This technology is of great significance for the accurate assessment of deep oil and gas resources, the reconstruction of oil and gas resource extraction systems, and the realization of efficient, intelligent and safe resource extraction. In order to meet the needs of underground communication and power supply for active thermal insulation coring, a new type of conductive center pole was innovatively designed. Using the theory of innovation problem solving (TRIZ) and axiomatic design (AD) to analyze the functional requirements of the conductive central pole, establish and solve the original design matrix. Based on the axiomatic design theory, the non-coupling matrix is decoupled by using the TRIZ solving tool, and the key indicators of the design scheme that meet the independent axiom are evaluated. In view of the contradictions and conflicts, the TRIZ solution tool was continually used to solve, optimize and obtain a design scheme with a higher comprehensive evaluation. Thus, the self-adaptive non-winding connection and power conduction of the conductive center pole was realized. Finally, the strength of the newly designed center pole was checked, and a physical prototype was made. Pre-research experiments on its conductivity and electrothermal conversion efficiency were carried out under different simulation environments to verify its conductivity. It provides innovative solutions to related problems in the field of deep insulation coring and intelligent drilling and provides effective technical means for related needs.

Deep oil and gas reservoirs exist under high-temperature and high-pressure (HTHP) conditions. Conventional coring without thermal preservation during retrieval induces thermal imbalance, biasing petrophysical and phase measurements and distorting resource evaluation. Internationally, most temperature-preserved corers are designed for low-temperature conditions and rely on passive insulation, whereas existing HTHP simulators can reproduce pressure and temperature but lack the capability to evaluate active thermal retention throughout coring and retrieval. Here, we develop and validate a full-scale testing platform for active in situ temperature-preserved coring (active ITP-coring), consisting of a simulated HTHP core chamber, a through-chamber conductive module, a high-pressure simulation module, an ambient-temperature simulation module, and a data acquisition and control module. The system operates stably at 150 °C and 140 MPa, reproduces realistic ambient cooling histories (with maximum and average rates of 11.22 and 5.11 °C/min), and demonstrates that, under HTHP conditions, active preservation limits the internal temperature drop to 4.2 °C over 40.5 min (temperature retention of 98.93%), markedly outperforming the 13.1 °C decrease within 14.9 min without active preservation. These results verify the system’s reliability and, at the laboratory scale, demonstrate the feasibility of active ITP-coring, providing a reproducible methodology and quantitative evidence for engineering deployment in deep reservoirs.

In the extreme high-temperature (up to 150 °C) and high-pressure (up to 140 MPa) conditions of deep in situ condition-preserved coring devices, high-strength epoxy resin was selected as the insulation layer. The non-isothermal DSC method was employed at heating rates of 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 °C/min, revealing that increasing the heating rate elevates curing temperatures, expands the curing range, and enhances curing rate and heat release. The curing kinetics were modeled using n-order and autocatalytic approaches, with the latter accurately describing the behavior. Optimized integration process conditions (80 °C/4 h + 150 °C/2 h + 180 °C/3 h) yielded epoxy with compressive strength of 204.47 MPa, initial thermal decomposition temperature of 345.9 °C, thermal conductivity of 0.246 W/m·K, and T_g of 193.04 °C (storage modulus 2.41 GPa at 150 °C). As insulation, it reduces rock core heat loss by 32.38% (8.78 × 10⁴ J) and active heating demand by 44 W, enhancing system stability for in situ temperature preservation.