Acoustic monitoring of well structures
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorBatakrishna Mandal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An embodiment of a monitoring system for inspecting underground well structures includes a transmitter, a receiver, a processing module, and a power supply. The monitoring system is used to monitor pipe casings and structures surrounding the exterior of the pipe casings of a well. During operation, the transmitter directs time dependent energy radially towards a portion of a pipe casing, and the receiver measures energy that is returns to the system. The processing module amplifies, digitizes, and analyses the measurements of energy to produce monitoring information regarding the well structures.
Claims21
A method for monitoring a well, the method comprising:
- directing acoustic energy towards a pipe casing included in the well;
- obtaining a measurement signal by detecting acoustic energy returning from the pipe casing, the measurement signal comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion corresponding to acoustic energy reflected from the pipe casing and the second portion corresponding to acoustic energy resonating in the pipe casing;
- amplifying the measurement signal by two or more different gains in parallel to produce respective differently amplified signals;
- selecting a first amplified signal from the two or more differently amplified signals based on a portion of at least one of the amplified signals corresponding to the first portion of the measurement signal,
- selecting a second amplified signal from the two or more differently amplified signals based on a portion of at least one of the amplified signals corresponding to the second portion of the measurement signal, and
- determining information about the well based on the first and second amplified signals.
A system for monitoring a well comprising:
- a pipe casing disposed in a well;
- a transmitter positioned within the pipe casing to direct acoustic energy towards the pipe casing,
- a receiver positioned within the pipe casing to obtain a measurement signal by detecting acoustic energy returning from the pipe casing, the measurement signal comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion corresponding to acoustic energy reflected from the pipe casing and the second portion corresponding to acoustic energy resonating in the pipe casing;
- a processing module comprising:
- two or more signal amplifiers in parallel, each signal amplifier having a different gain;
- and
- a processor coupled to a memory;
- wherein the memory stores a program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processing module to:
- receive the measurement signal from the receiver;
- amplify the measurement signal using the two or more amplifiers in parallel to produce two or more corresponding differently amplified signals;
- select a first amplified signal from the two or more differently amplified signals based on a portion of at least one of the amplified signals corresponding to the first portion of the measurement signal,
- select a second amplified signal from the two or more differently amplified signals based on a portion of at least one of the amplified signals corresponding to the second portion of the measurement signal, and
- determine information about the well based on the first and second amplified signals.
A method for monitoring a well comprising:
- directing acoustic energy at a pipe casing of a well;
- obtaining a measurement signal by measuring energy returning from the pipe casing;
- amplifying the measurement signal by two or more different gains in parallel to produce two or more differently amplified signals;
- selecting a first amplified signal from the two or more differently amplified signals;
- selecting a second amplified signal from the two or more differently amplified signals;
- and
- determining information about the well based on the first and second amplified signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.