A cabling method for extending the lifespan of optical fibers and its corner-forming device.

Abstract

This invention discloses a cabling method and its angle-forming device for extending the service life of optical fibers. In the angle-forming device, the upper and lower protective plates have two joints: one is a fixed connection, and the other is a movable connection. Both ends of the fixed joint of the upper and lower protective plates are equipped with oil pipe fixing components. Limit ring slots are formed on the inner walls of both the upper and lower protective plates, with limit rings installed in the slots and limit pins on the limit rings. This invention effectively counteracts the elongation of the tubing after heating, preventing optical fiber breakage under stress. The optical fiber fits more effectively with the outer wall of the insulation tube, effectively preventing friction between the optical fiber and the inner wall of the sleeve during fiber insertion. The limit ring slots can embed and replace the limit rings. The limit pins on the limit rings can fix the optical fiber under tension, and during subsequent steam injection, the fixing effect is lost due to temperature changes, allowing the angle generated by the optical fiber under tension to recover.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of heavy oil thermal recovery technology, and in particular to a wiring method and angle-forming device for extending the service life of optical fibers. Background Technology

[0002] In the development of heavy oil thermal recovery, the main insulation methods for steam injection tubing are packer insulation and nitrogen insulation. Nitrogen and packer insulation reduce wellbore heat loss during steam injection. Currently, heat loss is causing increasingly serious problems such as elevated annular temperature and casing damage. Therefore, research on annular temperature field testing is particularly important to alleviate casing damage. Fiber optic cable bundling monitoring has been widely used as an effective testing method. However, during fiber optic testing, the steam injection tubing will elongate due to thermal stress in the insulation tube. Since the fiber optic cables are fixed at both ends after bundling, the elongation of the tubing will stretch the fiber optic cable and external metal, potentially causing them to break if their tensile strength is exceeded. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To ensure that the optical fiber will not be broken due to the elongation of the steam injection column during optical fiber testing, this invention provides a wiring method and its corner-forming device to extend the service life of the optical fiber.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is: a wiring method to extend the service life of optical fibers. During the construction of optical fiber installation in a well, the optical fiber is fixed at the coupling position by a coupling protector. During the lowering of the pipe string, an angle-forming device is installed in the middle of the heat insulation pipe to laterally stretch and position the optical fiber along the pipe wall, so that the optical fiber is in contact with the outer wall of the heat insulation pipe and forms a apex angle. The heat insulation pipe is lowered to the lower coupling position, and the optical fiber is fixed at the coupling position by the coupling protector. The position of the optical fiber is axially aligned with the previous coupling position. This process is repeated continuously, and the final curve experienced by the optical fiber is Z-shaped. The distance extension caused by the angle of the Z-shaped wiring of the optical fiber during the wiring process will offset the elongation of the heat insulation pipe during the stretching process after being heated.

[0005] Furthermore, the radial stretching length of the corner-forming device along the insulation pipe can be calculated based on the thermal elongation of the insulation pipe due to heat.

[0006] An angle-forming device for wiring methods includes an upper protective plate and a lower protective plate, both of which are hollow semi-cylindrical structures. At two joints between the upper and lower protective plates, one is a fixed connection and the other is a movable connection. Oil pipe fixing components are provided at both ends of the fixed joints of the upper and lower protective plates. Limit ring grooves are formed on the inner walls of both the upper and lower protective plates, with limit rings installed in the grooves and limit pins on the limit rings.

[0007] Furthermore, one end of the outer wall of the lower guard plate is fixed with two lower guard plate pin holes at intervals along the generatrix direction, and the other end of the outer wall of the lower guard plate is fixed with two lower guard plate pin holes at intervals along the generatrix direction. One end of the outer wall of the upper guard plate is fixed with one upper guard plate pin hole, and the other end of the outer wall of the upper guard plate is fixed with two upper guard plate pin holes. The first upper guard plate pin hole is inserted between the first and second lower guard plate pin holes and connected by a fixing pin. The second upper guard plate pin hole is inserted between the third and fourth lower guard plate pin holes and connected by a movable pin.

[0008] Furthermore, both ends of the joint between the upper and lower guard plates are fixed with left and right fasteners.

[0009] Furthermore, the inner walls of both the upper and lower guard plates are provided with two limiting ring grooves.

[0010] Furthermore, the limit ring slot and the limit ring are interference-fitted.

[0011] Furthermore, each limiting ring is equipped with two limiting pins.

[0012] This invention effectively counteracts the elongation of the tube after heating, preventing the optical fiber from breaking under stress; the optical fiber fits more effectively with the outer wall of the insulation tube, effectively preventing friction between the optical fiber and the inner wall of the sleeve during the fiber insertion process; the limiting ring slot can be embedded with the limiting ring and is replaceable; the limiting pin on the limiting ring can fix the optical fiber under tension, and loses its fixing effect due to temperature during the later steam injection process, allowing the angle of the optical fiber under tension to be restored. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or related technologies, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the horn-forming device. Figure 1 ;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the horn-forming device. Figure 2 ;

[0016] Figure 3 It is a fiber optic cabling design (pipeline unfolded diagram);

[0017] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the changes in the tubing and optical fiber after steam injection (tubing unfolded diagram).

[0018] The components are: 1. Left fixing part; 2. Fixing pin; 3. Lower guard plate pin hole one; 4. Right fixing part; 5. Upper guard plate pin hole one; 6. Limiting ring; 7. Limiting pin; 8. Lower guard plate pin hole two; 9. Upper guard plate; 10. Limiting ring groove; 11. Lower guard plate; 12. Movable pin; 13. Lower guard plate pin hole three; 14. Upper guard plate pin hole two; 15. Lower guard plate pin hole four. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The following will be combined with the appendix Figure 1-4 The technical solutions of the present invention have been clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] The present invention is described in detail below through specific embodiments, but this does not limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the experimental methods used in the present invention are all conventional methods, and the experimental equipment, materials, reagents, etc. used can all be obtained commercially.

[0021] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used only for distinction and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0022] Furthermore, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] A method for extending the service life of optical fibers involves fixing the optical fiber at the coupling position using a coupling protector during optical fiber installation in a well. During the lowering of the fiber optic cable, an angle-forming device is installed in the middle of the insulation pipe to laterally stretch and position the optical fiber along the pipe wall, ensuring the fiber adheres to the outer wall of the insulation pipe and forms a apex angle. The insulation pipe is then lowered to the lower coupling position, where the optical fiber is fixed using the coupling protector, maintaining an axial angle-free position relative to the previous coupling. This continuous lowering process results in a Z-shaped curve for the optical fiber. The distance extension caused by the angle during the Z-shaped fiber optic cabling offsets the elongation of the insulation pipe during heating, thus protecting the optical fiber from stress damage.

[0025] This invention relates to a method for calculating the thermal elongation of a tube column, a method for calculating the Z-shaped wiring angle of an optical fiber, and a method for calculating the deformation of the Z-shaped curve of an optical fiber under stress.

[0026] Calculation method for thermal elongation of tubular column: N80 expansion coefficient 12×10 -6 / ℃, 316L stainless steel 10.3×10 -6 / ℃, assuming a temperature difference of 200℃;

[0027] Elongation of 1000m of steam injection string = 1000m * 12 × 10 -6 / ℃×200℃=2.4m;

[0028] The elongation of 1000m of optical fiber = 1000m * 10.3 × 10 -6 / ℃×200℃=2.06m;

[0029] The required compensation for the optical fiber is 0.34m = 340mm;

[0030] The design involves placing each insulation pipe around the middle of the insulation pipe and fixing it in place. The outer diameter (D) of the insulation pipe is 114 mm, and the length (L) of the insulation pipe is 10 m. In the diagram, ΔS = πD, and S = (ΔS / πD). 2 +L 2 ) 1 / 2 The margin generated by each heat-insulating tube optical fiber is 2S-2L.

[0031] Calculation example:

[0032]

[0033]

[0034] The optical fiber on each heat insulation pipe can have a margin of 25.62mm through the above-mentioned wiring method. The compensation required for 1000m of optical fiber in the whole well is 340mm, which requires 14 of these wiring methods to be evenly installed in the entire section.

[0035] The Z-shaped fiber optic cabling method combines the calculation of the elongation of the fiber optic column due to heat, the calculation of the Z-shaped cabling angle, and the calculation of the deformation of the Z-shaped curve of the fiber under stress. This effectively offsets the elongation of the fiber optic column after heat and avoids fiber breakage under stress.

[0036] An angle-forming device for wiring methods includes an upper protective plate 9 and a lower protective plate 11. Both the upper protective plate 9 and the lower protective plate 11 are hollow semi-cylindrical structures. One of the two splicing points of the upper protective plate 9 and the lower protective plate 11 is a fixed connection, and the other is a movable connection. Both ends of the fixed splicing point of the upper protective plate 9 and the lower protective plate 11 are provided with oil pipe fixing components. The inner walls of the upper protective plate 9 and the lower protective plate 11 are provided with limit ring grooves 10. Limit rings 6 are installed in the limit ring grooves 10, and limit pins 7 are provided on the limit rings 6.

[0037] The outer wall of the lower guard plate 11 is fixed with lower guard plate pin holes 1-3 and 2-8 at intervals along the generatrix direction at one end of the outer wall. The outer wall of the lower guard plate 11 is fixed with lower guard plate pin holes 3-13 and 4-15 at intervals along the generatrix direction at the other end of the outer wall. The outer wall of the upper guard plate 9 is fixed with upper guard plate pin hole 1-5 at the middle of one end of the outer wall. The outer wall of the upper guard plate 9 is fixed with upper guard plate pin hole 2-14 at the middle of the other end of the outer wall. Upper guard plate pin hole 1-5 is inserted between lower guard plate pin hole 1-3 and lower guard plate pin hole 2-8 and is connected by fixing pin 2. Upper guard plate pin hole 2-14 is inserted between lower guard plate pin hole 3-13 and lower guard plate pin hole 4-15 and is connected by movable pin 12.

[0038] Both ends of the joint between the upper guard plate 9 and the lower guard plate 11 are fixed with a left fixing member 1 and a right fixing member 4. The inner walls of both the upper guard plate 9 and the lower guard plate 11 are provided with two limiting ring grooves 10. The limiting ring grooves 10 are interference-fitted with the limiting rings 6. Each limiting ring 6 is provided with two limiting pins 7.

[0039] After the optical fiber is inserted, the fixing component plays a fixing role; the limiting ring slot 10 inside the protective plate can be embedded in the limiting ring 6 and is replaceable; the limiting pin 7 on the limiting ring 6 can fix the optical fiber under tension, and loses its fixing role due to temperature during the later steam injection process, so that the angle generated by the optical fiber under tension is restored.

[0040] The embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not all feasible embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, any obvious modifications made without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention should be considered to be included within the scope of protection of the claims. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to embodiments, various modifications can be made and components can be replaced with equivalents without departing from the scope of the present invention. In particular, as long as there is no technical conflict, the features in the embodiments disclosed in the present invention can be combined with each other in any way. The lack of an exhaustive description of these combinations in this specification is merely for the sake of brevity and resource conservation. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A cabling method for extending the lifespan of optical fibers, characterized in that, During fiber optic cable installation in the well, the fiber optic cable is fixed at the coupling position using a coupling protector. During the lowering of the tubing string, an angle-forming device is installed in the middle of the insulation pipe to laterally stretch and position the fiber optic cable along the pipe wall, ensuring the cable adheres to the outer wall of the insulation pipe and creates a apex angle. The insulation pipe is then lowered to the lower coupling position, where the fiber optic cable is fixed using the coupling protector, maintaining an axially straight position relative to the previous coupling. This process is repeated continuously, resulting in a Z-shaped curve for the fiber optic cable. The distance increase caused by the angle during the Z-shaped cable routing process offsets the insulation effect. The elongation of the tube during the stretching process after being heated; the corner-making device includes an upper guard plate (9) and a lower guard plate (11). Both the upper guard plate (9) and the lower guard plate (11) are hollow semi-cylindrical structures. At the two splicing points of the upper guard plate (9) and the lower guard plate (11), one is a fixed connection and the other is a movable connection. Both ends of the fixed splicing points of the upper guard plate (9) and the lower guard plate (11) are provided with oil pipe fixing parts. The inner walls of the upper guard plate (9) and the lower guard plate (11) are provided with limit ring grooves (10). Limit rings (6) are installed in the limit ring grooves (10), and limit pins (7) are provided on the limit rings (6).

2. The cabling method for extending the service life of optical fibers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The radial stretching length of the angle-forming device along the heat insulation pipe can be calculated based on the heat elongation of the heat insulation pipe due to heat.

3. The cabling method for extending the service life of optical fibers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower protective plate (11) of the corner-forming device has two pin holes fixed at intervals along the generatrix direction at one end of its outer wall: a first pin hole (3) and a second pin hole (8). The other end of the lower protective plate (11) has two pin holes fixed at intervals along the generatrix direction: a third pin hole (13) and a fourth pin hole (15). The upper protective plate (9) has a first pin hole (5) fixed at the middle of one end of its outer wall and a second pin hole (14) fixed at the middle of the other end of its outer wall. The first pin hole (5) is inserted between the first pin hole (3) and the second pin hole (8) and connected by a fixing pin (2). The second pin hole (14) is inserted between the third pin hole (13) and the fourth pin hole (15) and connected by a movable pin (12).

4. The cabling method for extending the service life of optical fibers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper guard plate (9) and lower guard plate (11) of the corner-making device are fixed at both ends of the fixed splice joint with a left fixing member (1) and a right fixing member (4).

5. The cabling method for extending the service life of optical fibers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner walls of the upper guard plate (9) and the lower guard plate (11) of the horn-forming device are provided with two limiting ring grooves (10).

6. The cabling method for extending the service life of optical fibers according to claim 1, characterized in that, The limiting ring groove (10) of the angular forming device is interference-fitted with the limiting ring (6).

7. The cabling method for extending the service life of optical fibers according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each limiting ring (6) of the angular forming device is provided with two limiting pins (7).

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