Air-Spring Compensation in a Piston-Type Marine Vibrator
AssigneePGS Geophysical AS
InventorsStig Rune Lennart Tenghamn, Jonathan David Snodgrass, Bo Carl Fredrik Löfgren, Karl-Henrik Ryttersson
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Abstract
Embodiments relate to the restriction of gas flow in a piston-type marine vibrator to compensate for air-spring effects. An embodiment provides marine vibrator comprising: a containment housing; a piston plate; a fixture coupled to the containment housing; a mechanical spring element coupled to the piston plate and to the fixture; a driver coupled to the piston plate and to the fixture; and a variable gas flow restrictor disposed in an interior volume of the marine vibrator, wherein the marine vibrator has a resonance frequency selectable based at least in part on the variable gas flow restrictor.
Claims20
A marine vibrator comprising:
- a containment housing;
- a piston plate;
- a fixture coupled to the containment housing;
- a mechanical spring element coupled to the piston plate and to the fixture;
- a driver coupled to the piston plate and to the fixture;
- and
- a variable gas flow restrictor disposed in an interior volume of the marine vibrator, wherein the marine vibrator has a resonance frequency selectable based at least in part on the variable gas flow restrictor.
A method comprising:
- towing a marine vibrator in a body of water in conjunction with a marine seismic survey;
- and
- triggering the marine vibrator to cause one or more piston plates in the marine vibrator to move back and forth wherein one or more mechanical spring elements exert a biasing force against the one or more piston plates, the one or more mechanical spring elements being coupled to the one or more piston plates and a fixture in the marine vibrator;
- and
- varying the gas flow in an internal volume of the marine vibrator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.