US 12,181,396 B2Granted

Rheology device and method

AssigneeOpla Energy Ltd.

InventorsHossein Khorshidian, Elvin Mammadov, Saied Afshari, Ahmad Alizadeh

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A rheology device comprises an elongated body having a flow path defined therein, first and second pressure lines in communication with the first and second ends of the flow path, respectively, and a differential pressure sensor for measuring a difference in pressure between the first and second pressure lines. In embodiments, the pressure lines are filled with a spacer fluid different from the fluid in the flow path. Based on at least three measurements of difference in pressure and corresponding flow rates, a yield point, a consistency factor, and a power factor can be calculated, and a rheology model of the fluid can be generated. Related methods are described which allow fluid rheology models to be determined and updated frequently. The device and methods herein may be useful in oil and gas operations, for example for rheology and hydraulic modeling in drilling operations.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A rheology device for connection to a fluid flow line having a fluid flowing therethrough, the rheology device comprising:

an elongated body having a first end, a second end, and a fluid flow path defined in the elongated body, the fluid flow path extending between the first and second ends, the first and second ends configured for connection to the fluid flow line to allow fluid communication between the fluid flow line and the fluid flow path;
a differential pressure sensor;
a first pressure line having a first end, a second end, and an inner fluid passageway extending between the first and second ends, the first end coupled to the elongated body and in communication with the fluid flow path at or near the first end of the elongated body, and the second end coupled to and in communication with the differential pressure sensor;
and
a second pressure line having a first end, a second end, and an inner fluid passageway extending between the first and second ends, the first end coupled to the elongated body and in communication with the fluid flow path at or near the second end of the elongated body, and the second end coupled to and in communication with the differential pressure sensor,
the differential pressure sensor for measuring at least three differences in pressure between the first and second pressure lines, each of the at least three differences in pressure corresponding to a different flow rate of the fluid, and the at least three differences in pressure and the corresponding different flow rates are used to determine a rheology model of the fluid;
a first fitting coupled to and in fluid communication with the first pressure line;
and
a second fitting coupled to and in fluid communication with the second pressure line, the first and second fittings configured to allow a spacer fluid to be injected into the inner fluid passageways of the first and second pressure lines, respectively.

6 more elements

A method for determining a rheology model for a fluid flowing in a fluid flow line, the method comprising:

a) using a sensor to measure a flow rate of the fluid in the fluid flow line;
b) determining a corresponding difference in pressure of the fluid between an upstream location and a downstream location of a fluid flow path, the fluid flow path being in fluid communication with the fluid flow line such that at least some of the fluid flows through the fluid flow path from the upstream location to the downstream location;
c) changing the flow rate of the fluid;
d) repeating steps a) to c) at least three times to provide at least three data pairs, each data pair having a respective flow rate and a respective difference in pressure;
e) calculating, based on the at least three data pairs, a yield point, a consistency factor, and a power factor;
and
f) determining, based on the yield point, the consistency factor, and the power factor, a rheology model of the fluid;
and
wherein the yield point (YP), the consistency factor (K), and the power factor (n) are calculated by:
Δ
⁢
P
L
=
4
⁢
K
D
⁢
(
8
⁢
V
D
)
n
⁢
(
3
⁢
n
+
1
4
⁢
N
)
n
⁢
1
1
-
X
⁢
(
1
1
-
aX
-
bX
2
-
cX
3
)
n
⁢
X
=
4
⁢
L
⁡
(
YP
)
D
⁢
ΔP
⁢
a
=
1
2
⁢
n
+
1
⁢
b
=
2
⁢
n
(
n
+
1
)
⁢
(
2
⁢
n
+
1
)
⁢
c
=
2
⁢
n
2
(
n
+
1
)
⁢
(
2
⁢
n
+
1
)
where, for each data pair, ΔP is the respective difference in pressure, L is a distance between the upstream location and the downstream location, D is a diameter of the fluid flow path, V is a velocity of the fluid which is the ratio between the respective flow rate and the cross-sectional area of the fluid flow path.

116 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/365,381Filed 1 Jul 2021 · us provisional application
Priority: 2 Jul 2020
Published: US 2022/0003649 A16 Jan 2022
Granted: 31 Dec 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification2 codes

G01N 11/08
Through a restricted passage, e.g. tube, aperture: by measuring pressure required to produce a known flow
G01N
Investigating or analysing materials by determining their chemical or physical properties

Family

Application63/047,634Us provisional application · filed 2 Jul 2020
US 2022/0003649 A1Pre-grant publication · published 6 Jan 2022
US 12,181,396 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

Timeline

Citations

Open elsewhere

Building an agent or pulling many patents? Use the API or MCP server instead of scraping pages. Get an API key