U.S. patent application number 13/847760 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-03 for high speed cement bond logging and interactive targeted intervention.
This patent application is currently assigned to SIEMENS CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is Stephen R. Barnes, Theodore James Mallinson, Thomas O'Donnell. Invention is credited to Stephen R. Barnes, Theodore James Mallinson, Thomas O'Donnell.
Application Number | 20130255937 13/847760 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49233323 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130255937 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barnes; Stephen R. ; et
al. |
October 3, 2013 |
HIGH SPEED CEMENT BOND LOGGING AND INTERACTIVE TARGETED
INTERVENTION
Abstract
A method for cement bond logging and targeted intervention,
including lowering a cylindrical n.times.m array of ultrasound (US)
transducers into a well, firing the US transducers to transmit US
signals into a well casing, converting reflected US signals
received by the transducers into electronic form and transmit the
converted signals to a control unit, analyzing the converted
signals to detect holidays, if a holiday is detected, determining a
position and angle of the holiday with respect to the transducers,
and applying a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) signal to
the well casing to fill the holiday.
Inventors: |
Barnes; Stephen R.;
(Bellevue, NJ) ; O'Donnell; Thomas; (New York,
NY) ; Mallinson; Theodore James; (Houston,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Barnes; Stephen R.
O'Donnell; Thomas
Mallinson; Theodore James |
Bellevue
New York
Houston |
NJ
NY
TX |
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
SIEMENS CORPORATION
Iselin
NJ
SIEMENS MEDICAL SOLUTIONS USA, INC.
Malvern
PA
SIEMENS ENERGY, INC.
Orlando
FL
|
Family ID: |
49233323 |
Appl. No.: |
13/847760 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61619026 |
Apr 2, 2012 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
166/253.1 ;
166/113 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 33/14 20130101;
E21B 47/005 20200501 |
Class at
Publication: |
166/253.1 ;
166/113 |
International
Class: |
E21B 33/14 20060101
E21B033/14; E21B 47/00 20060101 E21B047/00 |
Claims
1. A method for cement bond logging and targeted intervention,
comprising the steps of: lowering a cylindrical n.times.m array of
ultrasound (US) transducers into a well; firing the US transducers
to transmit US signals into a well casing; converting reflected US
signals received by the transducers into electronic form and
transmit the converted signals to a control unit; analyzing the
converted signals to detect holidays; if a holiday is detected,
determining a position and angle of the holiday with respect to the
transducers; and applying a high intensity focused ultrasound
(HIFU) signal to the well casing to fill the holiday.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein multiple simultaneous US signals
are transmitted into the well casing.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the US transducers are fired
according to a schedule that minimizes interference among the
transducers.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the HIFU signal is focused upon a
point in an annulus formed between a borehole of the well and the
well casing.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the converted signals are
analyzed by classifiers trained to detect holidays.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the HIFU signal is applied
manually.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the HIFU signal is automatically
applied by a control program.
8. A non-transitory program storage device readable by a computer,
tangibly embodying a program of instructions executed by the
computer to perform the method steps for cement bond logging and
targeted intervention, the method comprising the steps of: lowering
a cylindrical n.times.m array of ultrasound (US) transducers into a
well; firing the US transducers to transmit US signals into a well
casing; converting reflected US signals received by the transducers
into electronic form and transmit the converted signals to a
control unit; analyzing the converted signals to detect holidays;
if a holiday is detected, determining a position and angle of the
holiday with respect to the transducers; and applying a high
intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) signal to the well casing to
fill the holiday.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein multiple simultaneous US signals
are transmitted into the well casing.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the US transducers are fired
according to a schedule that minimizes interference among the
transducers.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the HIFU signal is focused upon
a point in an annulus formed between a borehole of the well and the
well casing.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the converted signals are
analyzed by classifiers trained to detect holidays.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the HIFU signal is applied
manually.
14. The method of claim 8, wherein the HIFU signal is automatically
applied by a control program.
15. A system for cement bond logging and targeted intervention,
comprising a cylindrical n.times.m array of solid state ultrasound
(US) transducers; a connector that connects the transducer array to
a motorized winch; and a control program of instructions in signal
communication with the transducer array and executable by a
computer tangibly embodied in one or more computer readable program
storage devices that perform the method steps for cement bond
logging and targeted intervention, the method comprising the steps
of: lowering the cylindrical n.times.m array of ultrasound (US)
transducers into a well; firing the US transducers to transmit US
signals into a well casing; converting reflected US signals
received by the transducers into electronic form and transmit the
converted signals to the control program; analyzing the converted
signals to detect holidays; if a holiday is detected, determining a
position and angle of the holiday with respect to the transducers;
and applying a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) signal to
the well casing to fill the holiday.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the cylindrical n.times.m array
of US transducers are arranged about a device axis.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the device contains a plurality
of levels of US transducer.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the transducer array includes
transducers for imaging the holidays, and transducers for applying
the HIFU signal.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the signal communication
between the control program of instructions and the transducer
array comprises a wireless connection.
20. The system of claim 15, wherein the signal communication
between the control program of instructions and the transducer
array comprises a wire included with the connector.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED UNITED STATES APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from "Device for High Speed
Cement Bond Logging and interactive Targeted intervention", U.S.
Provisional Application No. 61/619,026 of Barnes, et al., filed
Apr. 2, 2012, the contents of which are herein incorporated by
reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This application is directed to the application of imaging
techniques for monitoring cement bond formation during curing.
DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] When completing a well, such as an oil well or a water well,
the well casing is typically stabilized through the introduction of
cement, potentially with additives, into the annulus formed between
the borehole and the casing. The primary function of this activity
is to enforce zonal isolation. That is, the cement forms a seal
that prevents communication (leaks) between different formations as
well as with respect to the surface.
[0004] In the process of cementing, "holidays" (cavities) may form
between the casing and formation. These holidays may be detected
though standard cement bond logging techniques and ameliorated
after the cement has cured through a secondary cementing process
known as squeezing. Squeezing is an expensive, invasive method in
which the casing is perforated and new cement forced in to displace
the holidays.
SUMMARY
[0005] Exemplary embodiments of the invention as described herein
generally include improvements to the process of cementing that can
be combined into one piece of equipment.
[0006] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method for cement bond logging and targeted intervention, including
lowering a cylindrical n.times.m array of ultrasound (US)
transducers into a well, firing the US transducers to transmit US
signals into a well casing, converting reflected US signals
received by the transducers into electronic form and transmit the
converted signals to a control unit, analyzing the converted
signals to detect holidays, if a holiday is detected, determining a
position and angle of the holiday with respect to the transducers,
and applying a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) signal to
the well casing to fill the holiday.
[0007] According to a further aspect of the invention, multiple
simultaneous US signals are transmitted into the well casing.
[0008] According to a further aspect of the invention, the US
transducers are fired according to a schedule that minimizes
interference among the transducers.
[0009] According to a further aspect of the invention, the HIFU
signal is focused upon a point in an annulus formed between a
borehole of the well and the well casing.
[0010] According to a further aspect of the invention, the
converted signals are analyzed by classifiers trained to detect
holidays.
[0011] According to a further aspect of the invention, the HIFU
signal is applied manually.
[0012] According to a further aspect of the invention, the HIFU
signal is automatically applied by a control program.
[0013] According to another aspect of the invention, there is
provided a system for cement bond logging and targeted
intervention, including a cylindrical n.times.m array of solid
state ultrasound (US) transducers, a connector that connects the
transducer array to a motorized winch, and a control program of
instructions in signal communication with the transducer array and
executable by a computer tangibly embodied in one or more computer
readable program storage devices that perform method steps for
cement bond logging and targeted intervention. The method includes
lowering the cylindrical n.times.m array of ultrasound (US)
transducers into a well, firing the US transducers to transmit US
signals into a well casing, converting reflected US signals
received by the transducers into electronic form and transmit the
converted signals to the control program, analyzing the converted
signals to detect holidays, if a holiday is detected, determining a
position and angle of the holiday with respect to the transducers,
and applying a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) signal to
the well casing to fill the holiday.
[0014] According to a further aspect of the invention, the
cylindrical n.times.m array of US transducers are arranged about a
device axis.
[0015] According to a further aspect of the invention, the device
contains a plurality of levels of US transducer.
[0016] According to a further aspect of the invention, the
transducer array includes transducers for imaging the holidays, and
transducers for applying the HIFU signal.
[0017] According to a further aspect of the invention, the signal
communication between the control program of instructions and the
transducer array comprises a wireless connection.
[0018] According to a further aspect of the invention, the signal
communication between the control program of instructions and the
transducer array comprises a wire included with the connector.
[0019] According to another aspect of the invention, there is
provided a non-transitory program storage device readable by a
computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executed by
the computer to perform the method steps for cement bond logging
and targeted intervention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1(a) depicts a standard US bond logging configuration,
in which the transducer rotates around a central axis.
[0021] FIG. 1(b) depicts a design which does not rotate but instead
has fixed arrays of transducers, according to an embodiment of the
invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for improving
the process of cementing, according to an embodiment of the
invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system
for implementing a method for improving the process of cementing,
according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0024] Exemplary embodiments of the invention as described herein
generally include systems for improving the process of cementing,
while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and
alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of
example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It
should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the
invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary,
the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and
alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the
invention.
[0025] As used herein, the term "image" refers to multi-dimensional
data composed of discrete image elements (e.g., pixels for
2-dimensional images and voxels for 3-dimensional images). The
image may be, for example, a medical image of a subject collected
by computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, or
any other medical imaging system known to one of skill in the art.
The image may also be provided from non-medical contexts, such as,
for example, remote sensing systems, electron microscopy, etc.
Although an image can be thought of as a function from R.sup.3 to R
or R.sup.7, the methods of the inventions are not limited to such
images, and can be applied to images of any dimension, e.g., a
2-dimensional picture or a 3-dimensional volume. For a 2- or
3-dimensional image, the domain of the image is typically a 2- or
3-dimensional rectangular array, wherein each pixel or voxel can be
addressed with reference to a set of 2 or 3 mutually orthogonal
axes. The terms "digital" and "digitized" as used herein will refer
to images or volumes, as appropriate, in a digital or digitized
format acquired via a digital acquisition system or via conversion
from an analog image.
[0026] Exemplary embodiments of the invention include a method for
rapid cement bond logging using tightly packed arrays of ultrasonic
transducers that is fast enough to facilitate the logging of the
cement immediately after it has been introduced along the entirety
of the casing in a short period of time. Given this ability to
detect holidays quickly, exemplary embodiments of the invention can
remotely "pulse" or "vibrate" the cement in regions behind the
casing in a targeted manner using High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
(HIFU). This may cause the cement to settle, filling in the
holidays before the cement sets. This remote pulsing may be both
localized and directional so as not to disturb the curing process
in other regions of the well. Finally, in other exemplary
embodiments of the invention, these improvements may be combined
into another improvement, the interactive removal of holidays. In
this scenario, the cement bond log readings are transmitted to the
surface where an engineer can determine the location, duration,
strength and frequency of HIFU pulses to push the cement towards a
particular location.
[0027] Note that for practical reasons the ultrasound (US)
transducers for logging and the US transducers for HIFU would
likely not be one in the same, as the logging transducers produce
only enough power for imaging purposes.
High Speed Cement Bond Logging using Multiple US Transducers
[0028] Current standard cement bond loggers that use ultrasound
employ a range of from one to a handful of transducers attached to
a string that can be rotated around the central axis of the string
to scan the casing at a particular level. According to an
embodiment of the invention, an n.times.m cylindrical array of
solid state US transducers are packed around a device axis, so that
rotation is not necessary. This configuration significantly speeds
up logging. Multiple simultaneous beams can be formed, and the
beams can be electronically steered. Indeed, other embodiments
could include multiple levels of transducers. The transducer array
can be attached to a connector such as cable, chain, or rope
attached to a motorized winch and can be lowered into the well
under the control of a control software program. In other
embodiments, the winch can be manually controlled by an operator.
The transducers are in signal communication with the control
program either wirelessly or via wire included with the connector
to which the transducers are attached. A firing schedule of the
transducers can be employed to prevent interference between the
transducers. FIG. 1(a) depicts a standard US bond logging
configuration, in which a single transducer 11 connected to the
connector 13 rotates around a central axis. FIG. 1(b) depicts a
design according to an embodiment of the invention which does not
rotate but instead has fixed arrays of transducers 12 connected to
the connector 13.
High Intensity Focused Ultrasound for Remote Cement Agitation
[0029] High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a technique in
which ultrasonic sound waves are focused at a particular point,
similar to the way in which light is focused. That focal point may
be relatively far (1-2 feet) from the source transducers and may be
separated from the transducers by a barrier which attenuates the
waves to some extent but allows them to pass through.
[0030] According to an embodiment of the invention, with enough
energy, ultrasound waves can be transmitted through a well casing
to focus on a point in the annulus. In this way, cement positioned
above a holiday can be vibrated or "pushed" to settle and displace
the void below it. The effect would be of shaking the region around
an isolated bubble to force the bubble to the surface.
[0031] Note that it is possible to push through a wide range of
angles using HIFU. The beam angle, measured as the angle between
the surface normal of the casing and the beam direction vector, is
limited by the acceptance angle of the elements in the transducer
array. Smaller elements have larger acceptance angle, down to an
element dimension of about a half a wavelength where it is
asymptotically approaching a limit. Current transducers have an
element pitch of about 0.3 wavelengths by about 0.6 wavelengths,
and can steer to at about 55 degrees in one direction and 45
degrees in the orthogonal direction.
[0032] It should be noted that this agitating can be done without
HIFU by hammering on the casing itself. However, this would affect
the cement in a much larger region and disrupt the curing process
along the well, particularly in parts that have already been
cleared of holidays. By targeting the agitation to a point beyond
the casing, in the annulus, embodiments of the invention have
minimal influence and allow the holiday-cleared cement to set.
Interactive Targeting
[0033] According to another embodiment of the invention, the US
device has a communication line running to the surface that allows
a real time visualization of information from the logging
transducers. An engineer may lower the US device to the bottom of
the well just after the cement is delivered and starts raising the
US device while searching for holidays. Note that these holidays
can be detected automatically by classifiers trained for this
purpose. If a holiday is detected, the position and angle for which
to apply the HIFU can be automatically determined from the US
signal. The engineer applies the HIFU to remove the holiday and
continues raising the casing string until it reaches the cement
top. Alternatively, the HIFU can be automatically applied by
control software. The presence of displacement fluid in the casing
should not be a problem and could serve as a medium to help conduct
the sound waves.
[0034] A flowchart of a method for high speed cement bond logging
and interactive targeted intervention according to an embodiment of
the invention is presented in FIG. 2. Referring now to the figure,
a method begins at step 20 by lowering a cylindrical n.times.m
array of solid state US transducers into a well. At step 21, the
transducers are fired to transmit ultrasound signals into the well
casing, and the reflected signals are received at step 22,
converted to electronic form and transmitted to a control unit at
the surface. At step 23, the converted US signals are analyzed by
image classifiers being executed by the control unit. If a holiday
is detected by a classifier, the controlling software and determine
at step 24 its position and angle with respect to the transducers,
and apply an HIFU signal at step 25 to fill in the holiday.
System Implementations
[0035] It is to be understood that the present invention can be
implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware,
special purpose processes, or a combination thereof. In one
embodiment, the present invention can be implemented in software as
an application program tangible embodied on a computer readable
program storage device. The application program can be uploaded to,
and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable
architecture.
[0036] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system
for implementing a method for improving the process of cementing
according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIG.
3, a computer system 31 for implementing the present invention can
comprise, inter alia, a central processing unit (CPU) 32, a memory
33 and an input/output (I/O) interface 34. The computer system 31
is generally coupled through the I/O interface 34 to a display 35
and various input devices 36 such as a mouse and a keyboard. The
support circuits can include circuits such as cache, power
supplies, clock circuits, and a communication bus. The memory 33
can include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),
disk drive, tape drive, etc., or a combinations thereof. The
present invention can be implemented as a routine 37 that is stored
in memory 33 and executed by the CPU 32 to process the signal from
the signal source 38. As such, the computer system 31 is a general
purpose computer system that becomes a specific purpose computer
system when executing the routine 37 of the present invention.
[0037] The computer system 31 also includes an operating system and
micro instruction code. The various processes and functions
described herein can either be part of the micro instruction code
or part of the application program (or combination thereof) which
is executed via the operating system. In addition, various other
peripheral devices can be connected to the computer platform such
as an additional data storage device and a printing device.
[0038] It is to be further understood that, because some of the
constituent system components and method steps depicted in the
accompanying figures can be implemented in software, the actual
connections between the systems components (or the process steps)
may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention
is programmed. Given the teachings of the present invention
provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be
able to contemplate these and similar implementations or
configurations of the present invention.
[0039] While the present invention has been described in detail
with reference to exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art
will appreciate that various modifications and substitutions can be
made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as set forth in the appended claims.
* * * * *