# US 2025/0093543 A1 · Acoustic system for downhole applications

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- Number: US 2025/0093543 A1
- Document ID: US20250093543A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/471,037
- Filed: 2023-09-20
- Published: 2025-03-20
- Earliest claimed: 2023-09-20
- Assignees: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
- Applicants: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
- Inventors: Dwight W. Swett
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20250093543A1

## CPC

- G01V 1/46: Data acquisition
- G01V 1/52: Structural details
- G10K 11/30: using refraction, e.g. acoustic lenses
- G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02)
- G10K: SOUND-PRODUCING DEVICES; METHODS OR DEVICES FOR PROTECTING AGAINST, OR FOR DAMPING, NOISE OR OTHER ACOUSTIC WAVES IN GENERAL; ACOUSTICS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

Systems and a method for acoustic testing in a wellbore are provided. An exemplary acoustic source used in the acoustic testing includes an acoustic metamaterial generated from a geometrical inversion of a set of conformal contours developed from mapping of Tangent Circles, wherein the acoustic metamaterial is anistotropic with a horizontal axis (D_cell) smaller than a vertical axis (Rxy*D_cell).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sonic logging tool, comprising:
an acoustic source, comprising:
an acoustic metamaterial; and
an acoustic emitter disposed in the center of the metamaterial; and
an acoustic detector, comprising:
a cross-line acoustic receiver array; and
an in-line acoustic receiver array.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, comprising a metamaterial elastic energy absorber disposed between the acoustic source and the acoustic detector.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, wherein the acoustic metamaterial comprises a geometric patterned surface based on a geometrical inversion of a Tangent Circles conformal mapping contours.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, wherein the acoustic emitter comprises a piezoelectric transducer.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The sonic logging tool of claim 4, wherein the acoustic emitter comprises an oscillating power supply to power the piezoelectric transducer.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, wherein the acoustic emitter comprises a dipole source.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, wherein the acoustic emitter comprises a quadrupole source.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, comprising two acoustic sources, wherein a first acoustic source comprises a dipole source and a second acoustic source comprises a quadrupole source.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, wherein the acoustic source is disposed in an acoustic fluid.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The sonic logging tool of claim 1, wherein the acoustic source is disposed in a center section of the sonic logging tool, with two metamaterial elastic energy absorbers disposed in the sonic logging tool, one above and one below the acoustic source, and two acoustic detectors disposed on an opposite side of each of the two metamaterial elastic energy absorbers from the acoustic source.

### Claim 11

A method for performing sonic logging in a wellbore, comprising:
placing a sonic logging tool in the wellbore, wherein the sonic logging tool comprises:
an acoustic source, comprising:
an acoustic metamaterial; and
an acoustic emitter disposed in a center of the acoustic metamaterial; and
an acoustic detector, comprising:
a cross-line acoustic receiver array; and
an in-line acoustic receiver array; and
energizing the acoustic emitter to emit sound waves;
emitting amplified sonic energy from the metamaterial; and
detecting reflected sonic energy from materials outside the wellbore.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein energizing the acoustic emitter comprises powering a dipole source.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein energizing the acoustic emitter comprises powering a quadrupole source.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, comprising detecting the reflected sonic energy with an in-line receiver array.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, comprising detecting the reflected sonic energy with a cross-line receiver array.

### Claim 16 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, comprising absorbing acoustic energy in the sonic logging tool with an acoustic metamaterial placed between the acoustic source and the acoustic detector in the sonic logging tool.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, comprising energizing a first acoustic source comprising a dipole source and a second acoustic source comprising a quadrupole source.

### Claim 18

An acoustic source, comprising an acoustic metamaterial generated from a geometrical inversion of a set of conformal contours developed from mapping of Tangent Circles, wherein the acoustic metamaterial is anistotropic with a horizontal axis (D_cell) smaller than a vertical axis (Rxy*D_cell).

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The acoustic source of claim 18, wherein an anisotropic scaling factor (Rxy) of the horizontal axis to the vertical axis is between about 3.5 and about 5.

### Claim 20 (depends on 18)

The acoustic source of claim 18, comprising an acoustic emitter disposed in the center of the acoustic metamaterial.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The acoustic source of claim 20, wherein the acoustic emitter comprises a quadrupole source, and wherein the acoustic metamaterial has a power amplification factor for sonic energy from the acoustic source of greater than 100×.

### Claim 22 (depends on 20)

The acoustic source of claim 20, wherein the acoustic emitter comprises a dipole source, and wherein the acoustic metamaterial has a power amplification factor for sonic energy from the acoustic source of greater than 40×.