Three-phase flow identification and rate detection using acoustic guide array

A method for estimating a fraction of each component of a fluid flowing in a cased borehole, the method comprising:

• conveying a carrier through the cased borehole, a waveguide sensor being disposed on the carrier, the waveguide sensor comprising a waveguide configured to guide an acoustic signal along a path of the waveguide and an array of acoustic transducers coupled to the waveguide and configured to transmit an acoustic signal and receive a return acoustic signal, the acoustic waveguide sensor being configured to (i) transmit and receive a compression-wave acoustic signal that is reflected off of the casing and (ii) transmit and receive a shear-wave acoustic signal that propagates along the path of the waveguide;
• performing a compression-wave acoustic measurement on the fluid using the acoustic waveguide sensor;
• performing a shear-wave acoustic measurement on the fluid using the acoustic waveguide sensor;
• estimating the fraction of each component of the fluid using the compression-wave acoustic measurement;
• and
• estimating the property of the fluid using the shear-wave acoustic measurement;
• wherein the estimating the fraction and the estimating the property are performed by a controller coupled to the acoustic waveguide sensor and configured to perform the compression-wave and shear-wave acoustic measurements on the fluid using the acoustic waveguide sensor.