Coiled Tubing Useful Life Monitor And Technique
AssigneeSchlumberger Technology Corporation
InventorsShunfeng Zheng, David P. Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and technique for dynamically and historically evaluating useful life of coiled tubing. Methods are detailed wherein a monitor and system are equipped for enhanced evaluating of coiled tubing fatigue life based in part on the orientation of the coiled tubing during use. This may be obtained through the tracking of a seamweld of the coiled tubing. Additionally, reliability of the coiled tubing over various uses may be determined on an ongoing basis as a result of acoustically acquired data during operations. In either case, the monitor may be of a magnetic flux data detection variety.
Claims20
A method of monitoring fatigue life of coiled tubing, the method comprising:
- establishing a fatigue life model for the coiled tubing to account for repeated bend cycles of the coiled tubing during use;
- using the coiled tubing in an operation that includes bend cycles;
- monitoring the coiled tubing during said using, said monitoring comprising tracking radial orientation of the coiled tubing during successive bend cycles;
- and
- determining a current fatigue life of the coiled tubing based on data that comprises the tracked orientation and the fatigue life model.
A method of monitoring coiled tubing reliability, the method comprising:
- interfacing the coiled tubing with a magnetic flux data monitor;
- establishing at least one threshold using data detectable by the monitor;
- using the coiled tubing in an operation;
- and flagging the operation upon detection off amplitude exceeding the threshold.
A coiled tubing life monitor system comprising:
- a coiled tubing for use downhole in a well;
- a monitor for interfacing said coiled tubing during an operation therewith;
- a storage unit for acquiring data indicative of structural characteristics of said coiled tubing from said monitor;
- and
- a processor for analyzing said data to determine reliability of said coiled tubing in light of the operation, the reliability relating to a condition selected from a group consisting of fatigue life accounting for coiled tubing orientation during the operation and defectiveness indicated by acoustic forms of the data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.