Systems and methods for acquiring orthogonal pairs of waveforms for acoustic well logging

A system used for acoustic logging operations in a subterranean wellbore, the system comprising:

• a downhole logging tool comprising an acoustic transmitter and an acoustic receiver, the tool configured to make downhole acoustic logging measurements while deployed and rotating in a subterranean wellbore;
• and a computing device deployed in the downhole logging tool and communicatively coupled to the acoustic transmitter and the acoustic receiver, wherein the computing device comprises:
• a processor;
• and a memory device configured to store instructions, the instructions configured to cause the processor to:
• instruct the acoustic transmitter to sequentially fire a plurality of times while the logging tool is rotating in the subterranean wellbore;
• instruct the acoustic receiver to receive an acoustic waveform corresponding to each of said transmitter firings;
• instruct a magnetometer or an accelerometer to measure a rotational orientation of the logging tool in the wellbore corresponding to each of said transmitter firings;
• store in a buffer said received waveforms and the measured rotational orientation of the logging tool corresponding to each waveform;
• select at least one pair of said stored waveforms, the pair including first and second of said stored waveforms wherein the measured rotational orientation of the first waveform is substantially orthogonal to the measured rotational orientation of the second waveform;
• and process said selected pair to generate an acoustic well log, said log being indicative of characteristics of the subterranean wellbore and a formation through which the wellbore penetrates.