Systems and methods for monitoring blowout preventer equipment

A blowout preventer (BOP) system, comprising:

• a movable component;
• a body configured to be positioned about the movable component;
• and
• one or more pairs of ultrasonic transducers coupled to the body, wherein each pair of ultrasonic transducers comprises a first ultrasonic transducer disposed on a first lateral side of the body and a second ultrasonic transducer disposed on a second lateral side of the body, the first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer are positioned along a lateral axis that is perpendicular to a direction of travel of the movable component, and the one or more pairs of ultrasonic transducers are configured to generate a signal indicative of a position of the movable component,
• wherein the movable component comprises opposed rams of a BOP of a BOP stack assembly, the body defines a bore through which the opposed rams move between an open position that enables fluid flow across the BOP and a closed position in which respective front edges of the opposed rams contact and seal against a tubular string to block fluid flow across the BOP, and at least one of the one or more pairs of ultrasonic transducers are positioned between the respective front edges of the opposed rams while the opposed rams are in the open position to enable the at least one of the one or more pairs of ultrasonic transducers to emit acoustic waves into the bore to facilitate generation of the signal.

A method for monitoring a blowout preventer (BOP) stack assembly, the method comprising using a processor to:

• provide a first drive signal to cause a first transducer to emit a first acoustic wave into a bore that supports opposed rams of the BOP stack assembly, wherein the first transducer is disposed on a first lateral side of a body that defines the bore and is positioned between respective front edges of the opposed rams while the opposed rams are in an open position;
• provide a second drive signal to cause a second transducer to emit a second acoustic wave into the bore, wherein the second transducer is disposed on a second lateral side of the body, opposite the first lateral side;
• determine at least one of a position of at least one ram of the opposed rams, a condition of the at least one ram of the opposed rams, or a condition of another component positioned within the bore based on at least one of a first reflected acoustic wave due to reflection of the first acoustic wave or a second reflected acoustic wave due to reflection of the second acoustic wave from a ram surface of the at least one ram of the opposed rams or a component surface of the another component;
• and
• provide an output based on the at least one of the position of the at least one ram of the opposed rams, the condition of the at least one ram of the opposed rams, and the condition of the another component.