Geophone with magnetic self-damping system
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsYong Fong Lau, Wei Hsuan Huang, Shi Jing Jackie Yeo, Ariane Wu
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Abstract
A self-damping geophone, in some embodiments, comprises a housing containing a conductive coil and one or more springs; a first magnet suspended within said housing by the one or more springs, said conductive coil located within a magnetic field of the first magnet; and damping magnets disposed outside of said housing, each of the damping magnets oriented to repel a pole of the first magnet closest to that damping magnet.
Claims20
A self-damping geophone, comprising:
- a housing containing a conductive coil and one or more springs;
- a first magnet suspended within said housing by the one or more springs, said conductive coil located within a magnetic field of the first magnet;
- and
- damping magnets disposed outside of said housing, each of the damping magnets oriented to repel a pole of the first magnet closest to that damping magnet;
- wherein the strengths of the first magnet and damping magnets, the distance between the first magnet and damping magnets, and the permeability of material between the first magnet and the damping magnets are selected to prevent collision between the first magnet and the housing and to provide a zone in which movement of the first magnet is minimally restricted by the damping magnets.
A self-damping geophone, comprising:
- a housing containing a conductive coil and one or more springs;
- a first magnet suspended within the housing by said one or more springs, said conductive coil located within a magnetic field of the first magnet;
- and
- damping magnets disposed inside said housing, each of the damping magnets oriented to repel a pole of the first magnet closest to the damping magnet;
- wherein the strengths of the first magnet and damping magnets, the distance between the first magnet and damping magnets, and the permeability of material between the first magnet and the damping magnets are selected to prevent collision between the first magnet and the housing and to provide a zone in which movement of the first magnet is minimally restricted by the damping magnets.
A method for protecting a geophone from vibration-induced damage, comprising:
- selecting damping magnets and a first magnet suspended by springs within a geophone housing, wherein a strength of the first magnet suspended by springs within the geophone housing, the distance between the first magnet and damping magnets when coupled to the geophone, and the permeability of material between the first magnet and the damping magnets when coupled to the geophone prevent collision between the first magnet and the housing and provide a zone in which movement of the first magnet is minimally restricted by the damping magnet;
- coupling the damping magnet to the geophone housing, the damping magnet oriented such that the damping magnet resists movement of the first magnet toward the damping magnets;
- coupling the geophone to a drill string;
- using the drill string to drill a borehole such that the geophone is disposed within the borehole;
- and
- using the geophone to perform a seismic measurement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.