Downhole wire integrity and propagation delay determination by signal reflection

A method comprising:

• altering, for a first predetermined period of time, at least one of a source impedance of a first end of a wire and a load impedance of a second end of the wire, said altering sufficient to generate a characteristic signal reflection upon transmission of a signal along a length of wire between a first tool component and a second tool component;
• transmitting, from the first tool component, during the first predetermined period of time, a clock signal along the length of the wire between the first tool component and the second tool component;
• receiving, at the first tool component, one or more reflected clock signals reflected during the first predetermined period of time;
• and
• identifying a propagation delay associated with the one or more reflected clock signals, wherein a measurement associated with at least one of the first tool component or the second tool component is corrected based on the identified propagation delay.

A method of monitoring Phell integrity of a downhole wire, the method comprising:

• altering, for a first predetermined period of time, at least one of a source impedance of a first end of the wire and a load impedance of a second end of the wire, said altering sufficient to generate a characteristic signal reflection upon transmission of a signal along a length of the wire between a first tool component and a second tool component;
• transmitting, from the first tool component, during the first predetermined period of time, a clock signal along the length of the wire between the first tool component and the second tool component;
• receiving, at the first tool component, one or more reflected clock signals reflected during the first predetermined period of time;
• and
• identifying a wire integrity characteristic based on the one or more reflected clock signals reflected during the first predetermined period of time, wherein a measurement associated with at least one of the first tool component or the second tool component is corrected based on the identified wire integrity characteristic.

A system comprising:

• a wire;
• a first tool component that includes a first impedance altering device that is controllably coupled to a first termination point of the wire via a first switch;
• a second tool component that includes a second impedance altering device that is controllably coupled to a second termination point of the wire via a second switch;
• a third tool component that includes a third impedance altering device that is controllably coupled to a third termination point of the wire via a third switch, wherein the first tool component, the second tool component, and the third tool component are spaced apart along a wellbore;
• and
• a computing device coupled to the first tool component that controls one or more of the first switch the second switch and the third switch to:
• alter, for a first predetermined period of time, at least one of a source impedance or a first load impedance such that a first characteristic signal reflection is generated upon transmission of a first signal along a length of wire between the first tool component and the second tool component,
• alter, for a second period of time, at least one of the source impedance and the second load impedance such that a second characteristic signal reflection is generated upon the transmission of a second signal along a length of wire between the first tool component and the third tool component, wherein:
• the first tool component transmits a first clock signal along the length of wire between the first tool component and the second tool component during the first predetermined period of time,
• the first tool component transmits a second clock signal along the length of wire between the first tool component and the third tool component during the second predetermined period of time,
• the computing device identifies a first propagation delay or a first wire integrity characteristic based on a first set of one or more reflected clock signals reflected during the first predetermined period of time, the identification of the first propagation delay or the first wire integrity characteristic results in a measurement associated with at least one of the first tool component or the second tool component being corrected, and
• the computing device identifies a second propagation delay or a second wire integrity characteristic based on a second set of one or more reflected clock signals reflected during the second predetermined period of time.