Systems and methods for cable sheathing

Abstract

A cable coater system for a downhole tool includes a cable coater. The cable coater may include a housing and one or more rollers coupled to the housing, wherein the one or more rollers are configured to rest on a downhole cable while guiding the cable through an opening in the cable coater during cable operations. The cable coater remains on the cable during all winding (opening and closing) activities for the duration of the operation and is activated to coat the cable upon final pull-out from the well and prior to storage. Automatic control of the cable entry and exit from the spool may be further achieved by providing a position indicator for the cable coater, and therefore the position of the cable in three-dimensional space relative to the spool.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 806,286, filed on February 15, 2019, and entitled “System and Method for Cable Coating,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to downhole tools, and more particularly to tools for coating wireline cables for downhole tools. Background Art

[0004] This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be relevant to the present technology, which are described and / or claimed below. It is believed that this discussion will help provide the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that these statements should be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

[0005] Wellbores drilled into geological formations are targeted to produce oil and / or gas only from certain areas of the formation. After or during certain wellbore operations, it is desirable to use a cable cable to obtain more information about the formation within the wellbore. While in use within the wellbore, cable cables may accumulate debris and wellbore fluids, which may lead to cable damage due to degradation of the cable's armor and / or jacket. Cable coating machines or cleaners may be used to clean the cable or coat it with liquids such as inhibitors and / or grease. Certain conventional cable coating machines may impose additional stress on the cable, which may lead to cable damage. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following describes an overview of certain embodiments disclosed herein. These aspects are presented solely to provide the reader with a brief overview of these certain embodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. In fact, this disclosure may include multiple aspects that may not be described below.

[0007] One embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a cable coating system for a downhole tool, comprising a cable coating machine. The cable coating machine may include a housing having a recess configured to receive a downhole cable, a first opening, and a second opening. In some embodiments, the cable coating machine may include one or more nozzles disposed on the housing, wherein the one or more nozzles are configured to direct a flow of liquid onto the downhole cable disposed in the recess. Furthermore, the cable coating machine may include one or more rollers coupled to the housing, wherein the one or more rollers are configured to guide the downhole cable through the first opening, the recess, and the second opening. Furthermore, the cable coating machine may include fiducials on any number of external surfaces, thereby allowing the coating machine itself to facilitate visual processing and automation of the winding process. The fiducials may include, but are not limited to, circles, ovals, polygons, lines, and any number of intersecting lines. In some embodiments, the cable coating machine may apply a lubricant that can change optical properties (e.g., reflectance, color, spectrum within a specific wavelength range, etc.) such that the application of the lubricant can be detected. In some embodiments, the lubricant may include a dopant that can impart a greater change in optical properties. In any case, detection of the downhole cable may enable position tracking of the downhole cable based, at least in part, on certain predetermined, known, and / or input information regarding the characteristics of the cable and / or the storage of the cable (when the cable is stored on a spool or drum), such as cable thickness, spool diameter, run time, etc. The position tracking of the downhole cable may be based on fiducials located on the cable coating machine itself, optical characteristics of the cable, or a combination thereof.

[0008] Various improvements may be made to the above-described features with respect to various aspects of the present disclosure. Other features may also be incorporated into these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For example, the various features discussed below with respect to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure individually or in any combination. The summary of the invention provided above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and background of the embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the subject matter claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood by reading the following detailed description and referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0010] Figure 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a well logging and perforating system according to an embodiment of the present technology, which may be used after a well is drilled into a subterranean formation for production, to perform well diagnostics, or to repair or remediate the well;

[0011] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a cable covering machine with rollers according to an embodiment of the present technology;

[0012] Figure 3 is an image of a cable covering machine with a cable from a first perspective according to an embodiment of the present technology;

[0013] Figure 4 is an image of a cable covering machine from a second perspective according to an embodiment of the present technology;

[0014] Figure 5 is a side view of a cable covering machine according to an embodiment of the present technology; and

[0015] Figure 6 is a flow chart for taking control actions related to the operation of a cable based at least in part on optical data related to the cable in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. These described embodiments are merely examples of the presently disclosed technology. In addition, in order to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation may be described in the specification. It should be understood that in the development of any such actual implementation, such as in any engineering or design project, many implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as complying with system-related constraints and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be understood that such development work may be complex and time-consuming, but will nevertheless be a routine task of design, fabrication, and manufacturing for a person of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

[0017] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "a," "an," and "the" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Furthermore, references to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" of the present disclosure are not intended to be construed as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

[0018] Cable cables accumulate debris and wellbore fluids when used in a well. If the debris and wellbore fluids are not cleaned up, damage to the cable can occur through degradation of the armor or jacket. Cable cleaners are used in cable operations to clean the cable as it is pulled out of the well (POOH) and, depending on specific needs, a cable coverer can be used to cover the cable with inhibitors, grease or other liquids. The roller-mounted coverer described below is used to cover the cable. The winding of the cable can be fully automated by being intelligently connected to a cable car or a substantially fixed device which can be constructed to have and monitor information such as cable diameter, logging speed / winch speed and winding position during operation. Automatic control of the cable winding can improve the efficiency of the entire job and can be further combined with cable cleaners and coverers.

[0019] The present disclosure relates to a cable cable wrapper system (e.g., a cable wrapper system) that prevents damage that may occur during storage and / or subsequent use. In conventional cable wrapper systems, the cable may be damaged during operation (i.e., in and out of a well) due to friction with the cable wrapper during operation. As such, conventional cable wrapper systems need to be removed during run-in-the-hole (RIH) and POOH operations. The addition of rollers and, in certain embodiments, adjustable features (e.g., flanges and / or spacers) to the cable wrapper system can reduce the friction applied to the cable as it passes through the cable wrapper, thereby reducing the likelihood of damage to the cable as it enters and exits the well. Thus, the cable wrapper can remain on the cable during the entire operation, which can reduce the man-hours associated with maintaining and removing such a device and reduces the likelihood of damage to the cable when entering and exiting the well. Many steps of spooling the cable may be automated. In some embodiments, the covering machine can be operated as part of a partially or fully automated spooling process through an intelligent connection to a cable car or fixed facility that can determine the location of the cable based at least in part on the cable diameter, the logging speed (e.g., the winch speed), and the location of the spool during operation. Automatically controlling the spooling of the cable into and out of the well and the laying of the cable on the final spool (finally) will improve the efficiency of the entire operation.

[0020] With this in mind, Figure 1 A well logging system 10 is shown in which the systems and methods of the present disclosure may be employed. The well logging system 10 may be used to convey a downhole tool 12 through a geological formation 14 via a wellbore 16. The downhole tool 12 may be conveyed on a cable 18 via a logging winch system 20. Although the logging winch system 20 is Figure 1Although schematically shown in FIG as a mobile logging winch system carried by a truck, the logging winch system 20 can be a substantially fixed (e.g., substantially permanent) or modular long-term installation. Any suitable cable 18 for logging can be used. The cable 18 can be wound or unwound on a drum or spool 22, and an auxiliary power supply 24 can provide power to the logging winch system 20 and / or the downhole tool 12.

[0021] Furthermore, although the downhole tool 12 is described as a wireline downhole tool, it should be understood that any suitable delivery means may be used. For example, the downhole tool 12 may alternatively be delivered as a logging while drilling (LWD) tool as part of a bottom hole assembly (BHA) of a drill string, on a spool or through coiled tubing, etc. For purposes of this disclosure, the downhole tool 12 may be any suitable measurement tool that obtains logging measurements through the depth of the wellbore 16. For example, such logging measurements may include, but are not limited to, density, resistivity, photoelectric absorption properties, neutron spectroscopy, etc.

[0022] To this end, the data processing system 28 can be any electronic data processing system that can be used to perform the systems and methods of the present disclosure. For example, the data processing system 28 can include a processor 30 that can execute instructions stored in a memory 32 and / or storage device 34. Therefore, the memory 32 and / or storage device 34 of the data processing system 28 can be any suitable product that can store instructions. The memory 32 and / or storage device 34 can be ROM memory, random access memory (RAM), flash memory, optical storage media, or a hard drive, to name a few non-limiting examples. The display 36 can be any suitable electronic display that can use the well logging measurement results 26 to provide visualization, logging, or other indication of characteristics in the geological formation 14 or wellbore 16.

[0023] As opposed to bushings that are typically installed at the cable entry and exit points of conventional cable covering devices, the addition of centering rollers on the cable covering machine will shift the load point to the rollers. As the rollers rotate, no reaction force (friction) is exerted on the cable to prevent milking damage, which can allow for continuous use. Another advantage of this design is the ability to move the cable in and out of the well. That is, the cable covering machine can be installed at the beginning of the job and then removed at the end. It will be appreciated that this can reduce the additional labor time associated with the installation of the cable covering machine during downhole operations. Because the cable covering machine can be deployed throughout the job, the cable covering machine can further be used as part of a system that automatically controls the winding of the cable. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a cable coating machine 38 having rollers 40 according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 2The illustrated embodiment of the cable covering machine 38 shown in FIG also includes a housing 42 where a fluid, such as a lubricant type, can be applied to the cable 18. The housing 42 includes a recess or channel, a first opening 43, and a second opening 47 configured to receive a downhole cable. Additionally, the cable covering machine 38 includes one or more nozzles 44 disposed on the housing 42 of the cable covering machine that can receive and direct the fluid to flow to the cable within the housing 42. As shown, the housing 42 is generally box-shaped or cubical, but it should be understood that in some embodiments, the housing 42 can be any shape, including but not limited to oval, cylindrical, spherical, and cubic.

[0024] As shown, the cable coating machine 38 may include one or more flanges 46 that couple the roller 40 to the housing 42 of the cable coating machine 38. The flanges 46 may be shaped to receive the cable 18 at a suitable height (e.g., along axis 48), lateral position (e.g., along axis 50), and / or distance from the housing (e.g., along axis 52) to position the cable 18 in a suitable position for passage through the first opening, recess, and second opening 47. Positioning the cable along axes 48, 50 and generally aligned with the first and second openings 43, 47, with the central axis of the cable axially aligned or closely aligned and / or overlapping with the centers of the first opening, recess, and second opening, reduces friction and / or compression of the cable, thereby improving the life of the cable 18. Furthermore, the flanges 46 may be shaped to accommodate housings of varying shapes, as described above. In some embodiments, one or more spacers 54 may be disposed between the flanges 46 and the housing 42. The spacers 54 may have a suitable shape and thickness 56 to allow the roller 40 to be offset along axis 48 to accommodate cables of varying thicknesses. In this way, at least one of the roller 40 and the flange 46 can remain constant during operation when using different cables 18 of different thicknesses. In other words, it is easier to make changes to the spacers 54 while using the same roller 40 and / or flange 46. As shown, only one spacer 54 is used per flange 46, but it should be understood that in some embodiments, multiple spacers 54 can be used per flange 46 to position the roller 40 and / or flange 46 at a suitable height along the housing 42 (e.g., along the axis 48).

[0025] Figure 36 is an image of a cable coating machine 38 in operation near a spool 64 according to aspects of the present disclosure. As discussed herein, the cable coating machine 38 can receive the cable 18 via the roller 40. For example, the cable 18 can be directed from the downstream position 58 to the upstream position 60. However, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the cable 18 can be directed in the opposite direction (e.g., from the upstream position 60 to the downstream position 58). In any case, as the cable 18 passes through the housing 42, the cable 18 directed toward the upstream position can receive a fluid (e.g., a lubricant or a lubricant with a dopant). The dopant can be a solid or a liquid that can change the optical properties visible at the surface of the cable 18. For example, the cable 18 within and / or after the region 62 can have different optical properties, such as color, reflectivity, and / or optical signature, in the non-visible region of light (e.g., near or mid-infrared, ultraviolet, etc.). In another embodiment, the lubricant can be sufficient to produce a change in the optical properties of the cable 18 (e.g., detectable by a detector such as a camera). Thus, a change in the optical property on the surface of the cable 18 indicates successful coating of the cable 18 with the lubricant by the cable coating machine 38 .

[0026] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a position locator for a cable. That is, the cable cover 38 can be used as a position or location indicator of the cable's position in three-dimensional space. The housing 42 of the cable cover 38 can further include a reference 45 disposed at a predetermined and known position. The reference 45 can be any shape recognizable by detectors known in the art, including but not limited to a circle, an oval, a polygon, a straight line, and any number of intersecting lines. When the cable cover 38 is located on the cable 18 and near the spool 64, the shape of the cable cover 38 itself or the reference 45 can be used to position the cable cover 38 and, therefore, to locate the cable 18 as it passes through the cable cover 38. This allows the visual automation algorithm used to automatically control the winding process to have higher accuracy and reduce errors during the cabling operation; the shape and reference of the cable cover itself can be used as an easily recognizable position locator (data point) for processing. For example, the visual automation algorithm can receive data indicating the cable position via the position of the cable cover 38 and / or the reference 45 relative to the spool 64.

[0027] Figure 4 are additional images of a cable covering machine 38 from a second perspective, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, Figure 4The cable coverer 38 is shown positioned over the cable 18 positioned on a spool 64. In this embodiment, the cable 18 is being added along direction 66. Additionally, the cable 18 along region 68 may have different optical properties than the remaining cables on the spool 66, as the optical properties may not be apparent due to the lubricant drying or settling or being blocked by subsequently added cables 18. In any case, it is now recognized that the optical properties of the cable 18 exiting the cable coverer 38 facilitate tracking the cable.

[0028] In some embodiments, the cables 18 within the region 70 can be used for position tracking of the cables 18. For example, the angle of the cables 18 within the region 18 relative to the roller 40 can be used to determine the position information of the cables 18. It should be understood that the angle can also be determined relative to other points on the image, such as the center point, or the angle between the cables 18 within the region 70 and the cables within the region 68. Alternatively, the position of the cables can be determined using linear distance (e.g., in direction 66) and / or how many cables 18 have been added to the spool 64 based on time information and / or reflectivity measurements. In addition, the data indicating the angle, linear distance, time, reflectivity measurements, or a combination thereof can be used by the vision automation algorithm to automatically control the winding.

[0029] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a cable covering machine system 72 for tracking the position of a cable 18 according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 3 As shown in the illustrated embodiment of a cable coating machine system 70, the cable coating machine system 72 includes a cable coating machine 38, a detector 74, a grease or inhibitor tank 76, a coating machine control line 78, and a coating machine control box 80. In some embodiments, the coating machine control box 80 can be the data processing system 28. In any case, the cable coating machine 38, the detector 74, the grease or inhibitor tank 76, the coating machine control line 78, and the coating machine control box 80 generally cooperate to facilitate position tracking of the cable 18 by applying lubricant to the cable 18, detecting changes in optical properties of the cable 18 due to the added lubricant or dopants in the lubricant, and determining position information of the cable based on the change or lack of change in the optical properties. In some embodiments, predetermined information related to the geometry or size of the cable can be used in such determinations as discussed herein.

[0030] Figure 6 8 is a flow chart 82 for tracking the position of a cable 18 according to aspects of the present disclosure. Generally, the flow chart 82 may include receiving optical data indicating the position of a cable coating machine to provide feedback to a data processing system or operator. The elements shown in the flow chart 82 may be performed by the data processing system 28 or any suitable processing system.

[0031] Figure 6The illustrated embodiment of the flowchart 82 in begins by receiving (e.g., box 84) optical data. For example, this can include receiving a picture, or taking a video and extracting pixels having a signal above or below a threshold value that indicates the shape of the cable covering machine 38 itself, the benchmark 45, or the presence and / or absence of lubricants and / or dopants in the lubricant. The flowchart also includes identifying (e.g., box 86) the location of the cable. As discussed herein, this can be based on predetermined, known information about the cable, the optical data, and / or input from information about the cable, such as from an operator. In addition, the flowchart 82 includes taking (e.g., box 88) a control action, which can be automated. For example, the control action can include sending an appropriate control signal to stop the retraction of the cable or to guide the winding control arm of the cable.

[0032] The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative forms that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A cable coating machine system for a downhole tool, the system comprising: A cable covering machine, comprising: a housing having a recess configured to receive a downhole cable, a first opening, and a second opening; and one or more nozzles disposed on the housing, wherein the one or more nozzles are configured to direct a flow of liquid onto a downhole cable disposed in the recess; one or more rollers coupled to the housing; wherein the one or more rollers are configured to guide a downhole cable through the first opening, the recess, and the second opening; and One or more datums are provided on the housing, the one or more datums being configured to locate the downhole cable via the position of the one or more datums relative to the spool of the downhole cable, wherein a visual automation algorithm is used to receive data indicating the position of the downhole cable via the position of the one or more datums relative to the spool of the downhole cable.

2. The cable coating machine system of claim 1, further comprising a detector configured to measure a property of a liquid disposed on the cable.

3. The cable coating machine system according to claim 2, wherein: The property of the liquid is the property of the dopant within the liquid.

4. The cable coating machine system of claim 2, further comprising a control system configured to: determining position information of the downhole cable based at least in part on the measured property of the fluid; and A control action is performed based on the measured property.

5. The cable coating machine system of claim 1, further comprising one or more flanges disposed between the roller and the housing.

6. The cable coating machine system according to claim 5, wherein: The one or more flanges are configured to position and align the downhole cable with the first opening and the second opening.

7. The cable coating machine system of claim 1, further comprising one or more spacers disposed between the roller and the housing.

8. The cable coating machine system according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more spacers are disposed between the one or more flanges and the housing.

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