Mud pulse master control circuit

Abstract

The invention discloses a mud pulse master control circuit, and the circuit comprises a communication interface module which is used for communicating with an external sensor; the pulse signal generation module is used for generating a mud pulse signal; the vibration sensor is used for acquiring vibration data of the drill collar and transmitting the vibration data to the microcontroller; the microcontroller is used for acquiring measurement data of an external sensor in real time through the communication interface module, and controlling the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data; the clock module is used for providing a working clock for the microcontroller; and the DCDC module is used for providing an independent working power supply for each module. According to the scheme, equipment power consumption can be reduced, and the application requirement of a high-temperature environment is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of oil logging, and particularly relates to a mud pulse main control circuit. Background Art

[0002] In the field of oil drilling, a Measurement While Drilling (MWD) is a system for downhole measurement and wireless transmission during the drilling process. It uses mud pulses in the drill string to transmit measurement information data to the surface. The MWD system realizes the upload of downhole data through the cooperation of a measurement probe, a main control circuit, and a mud pulse generator. Its mechanical action process is as follows: The downhole parameters (such as well inclination, azimuth, tool face angle, etc.) measured by the measurement probe are encoded by the main control circuit in a specific manner and an electrical pulse signal is generated. This electrical pulse signal controls the up and down movement of the small control valve of the mud pulse generator. Through the force of mud circulation, the mushroom head in the pulse generator makes synchronous up and down movements, changing the mud flow cross-sectional area between the mushroom head and the lower flow-limiting ring below. When the mushroom head is lifted, the mud in the drill string can pass through the flow-limiting ring smoothly. When the mushroom head is closed, the mud flow cross-sectional area decreases, thereby generating a positive mud pressure pulse in the drill string. This pressure pulse signal is collected and processed by the MWD surface system and restored to downhole measurement parameters, thus completing the transmission of downhole data.

[0003] It can be seen that the completion of the data upload action requires the comprehensive control of the main control circuit, that is, the main control circuit acquires measurement data, encodes the data, and controls the action of the pulser. Its role is very crucial. However, the existing main control circuit of the mud pulser has the following deficiencies: First, the existing MWD main control circuit has a high power consumption. During the continuous power supply process of the instrument, each module of the circuit continuously consumes a large amount of electrical energy. Especially in the case of battery power supply, the working time of the instrument is short. If the battery is frequently replaced, it will cause too high consumption of human and financial costs, greatly affecting the drilling construction progress. In addition, the existing main control circuit of the MWD has poor tolerance to high-temperature environments, and its application range is greatly limited. For example, in the case of deep shale gas, etc., the instrument often has frequent failures of the main control circuit due to high temperature. The bottom-hole circulating temperature exceeds 140°C, exceeding the use limit of the conventional instrument circuit. High-temperature instrument failures often occur, resulting in forced pipe tripping, affecting the construction progress, and even pipe sticking during the pipe tripping process. The existing main control circuit is difficult to meet the measurement requirements of some high-temperature environments (such as 175°C) in engineering. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides a mud pulse main control circuit to reduce the power consumption of the device and meet the application requirements of high-temperature environments.

[0005] To this end, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A mud pulse main control circuit, the circuit comprising:

[0007] A communication interface module for communicating with external sensors;

[0008] A pulse signal generation module for generating mud pulse signals;

[0009] A vibration sensor for acquiring vibration data of the drill collar and transmitting the vibration data to the microcontroller;

[0010] The microcontroller is configured to acquire in real time measurement data of external sensors through the communication interface module, and control the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data;

[0011] A clock module for providing a working clock for the microcontroller;

[0012] A DCDC module for providing independent working power supplies for each module.

[0013] Optionally, when the microcontroller determines that the mud pump is in the pump-on state according to the vibration data, it controls the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal. When the mud pump is in the pump-off state, it controls the circuit system to enter the low-power mode and cuts off the power supply to the vibration sensor.

[0014] Optionally, the microcontroller is a single-chip microcomputer.

[0015] Optionally, the vibration sensor includes a gyroscope chip.

[0016] Optionally, the clock module includes an 8 MHz crystal oscillator.

[0017] Optionally, the pulse signal generation module includes: an MOS transistor and a triode; the collector of the triode is connected to the gate of the MOS transistor, and the emitter of the triode and the source of the MOS transistor are both grounded;

[0018] The base of the triode is connected as an input end to the I / O port of the microcontroller, and the drain of the MOS transistor is used as an output end to output the mud pulse signal.

[0019] Optionally, the communication interface module includes a general-purpose 485 chip.

[0020] Optionally, the circuit further includes: a temperature detection module for acquiring the real-time downhole temperature and transmitting the temperature data to the microcontroller.

[0021] Optionally, the circuit further includes: a storage module;

[0022] The microcontroller is also used to save the temperature data, the vibration data, and the measurement data to the storage module.

[0023] Optionally, the storage module is a 25X16 FLASH memory chip.

[0024] The mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention obtains the measurement data of external sensors and the vibration data of the drill collar in real time through a microcontroller, and controls the pulse signal generation module to output a mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data. In the low-power and high-temperature-resistant main control circuit provided by the present invention, a DCDC module provides independent working power supplies for each module in the circuit, realizes multi-branch power network management, makes the power supplies of each module relatively independent, so that power can be supplied separately according to the working conditions of each module, effectively reducing the overall power consumption. Further, by preferably using high-temperature-resistant chips, device packages, and PCB materials, the application requirements of high-temperature environments can be met. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0026] Figure 1 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a pulse signal generation module in the mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0028] The following will describe the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. The embodiments cannot be described in detail one by one here, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following embodiments.

[0029] Aiming at the problems of high power consumption and poor tolerance to high-temperature environments in the existing mud pulse main control circuit, the present invention provides a mud pulse main control circuit. The microcontroller obtains the measurement data of external sensors and the vibration data of the drill collar in real time, controls the pulse signal generation module to output a mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data, and moreover, a DCDC module provides independent working power supplies for each module in the circuit, realizes multi-branch power network management, and makes the power supplies of each module relatively independent.

[0030] As Figure 1 shown, FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention.

[0031] The mud pulse main control circuit 100 includes: a microcontroller 101, a communication interface module 102, a vibration sensor 103, a pulse signal generation module 104, a clock module 105, and a DCDC module 106. Among them:

[0032] The communication interface module 102 is used for communicating with external sensors;

[0033] The pulse signal generation module 104 is used for generating mud pulse signals;

[0034] The vibration sensor 103 is used for acquiring the vibration amount of the drill collar and transmitting the vibration data to the microcontroller 101;

[0035] The microcontroller 101 is used for acquiring the measurement data of external sensors in real time (mainly including well inclination, azimuth, and other engineering parameters, etc.), and controlling the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data;

[0036] The clock module 105 is used for providing a working clock for the microcontroller;

[0037] The DCDC module 106 is used for providing independent working power supplies for each module.

[0038] For the mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention, the microcontroller acquires the measurement data of external sensors and the vibration data of the drill collar in real time, and controls the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data. In the low-power high-temperature main control circuit provided by the present invention, the DCDC module provides independent working power supplies for each module in the circuit, realizes multi-branch power network management, makes the power supplies of each module relatively independent, so that each module can be powered separately according to the working conditions of each module, effectively reducing the overall power consumption. Further, by preferably using high-temperature-resistant chips, device packages, and PCB materials, the application requirements of high-temperature environments can be met.

[0039] Further, when the microcontroller 101 can determine that the mud pump is in the pump-on state according to the vibration data, it controls the pulse signal generation module 104 to output the mud pulse signal. When the mud pump is in the pump-off state, it controls the circuit system to enter the low-power mode and cuts off the power supply to the vibration sensor, thereby effectively reducing the circuit power consumption.

[0040] Further, the microcontroller 101 can also perform preliminary data analysis and packing processing on the measurement data, and perform verification (such as verifying the measurement data through the CRC16 verification algorithm), and judge the correctness of the received data. If the data is correct, it can also encode the measurement data for convenient data transmission.

[0041] Further, the mud pulse main control circuit 100 may further include a temperature detection module (not shown in the figure), configured to obtain the real-time downhole temperature and transmit the temperature data to the microcontroller 101.

[0042] Further, the mud pulse main control circuit 100 may further include a storage module (not shown in the figure). Accordingly, the microcontroller 101 may also save the temperature data, the vibration data, and the measurement data to the storage module for later data analysis.

[0043] It should be noted that the clock module 105 may obtain the system time from the system clock (for example, an 8 MHz crystal oscillator may be used). When the microcontroller 101 saves the above data to the storage module, the corresponding system time may be saved simultaneously.

[0044] Further, the circuit of the present invention may use a single-chip microcomputer as the microcontroller 101, which has the characteristics of low power consumption and high temperature resistance.

[0045] In a non-limiting embodiment, the communication interface module 102 may include a general-purpose 485 chip. For example, the Max3485 chip may be used to improve the expandability and portability of the communication interface.

[0046] In a non-limiting embodiment, the storage module may adopt a memory such as FLASH. For example, the 25X16 chip may be used, which has low power consumption, a high number of erasable times, and a long service life.

[0047] In a non-limiting embodiment, the pulse signal generation module 104 may be composed of components such as MOS transistors. As Figure 2 shown, it is a schematic circuit diagram of the pulse signal generation module in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Refer to Figure 2 This pulse signal generation module includes: MOS transistor Q1, triode Q3, and resistors R3, R6, and R10. Among them, resistor R10 is connected to the base of triode Q3, the collector of triode Q3 is connected to the gate of MOS transistor Q1, the source of MOS transistor Q1 and the emitter of triode Q3 are both grounded, resistor R3 is connected to the drain of MOS transistor Q1, and resistor R6 is connected to the collector of triode Q3.

[0049] The base of triode Q3 is used as the input end to input the control signal SIGNAL, and the control signal SIGNAL is generated by the microcontroller 101 in Figure 1 according to the vibration data. The drain of MOS transistor Q1 is used as the output end to output the mud pulse signal DRIVER.

[0050] Using MOS transistors to implement the pulse signal generation module has a small voltage drop, which is beneficial to reducing the power consumption of the device.

[0051] In the mud pulse main control circuit of the present invention, a gyroscope chip can be used to form a vibration sensor with digital output and high accuracy.

[0052] In the mud pulse main control circuit of the present invention, the DCDC module can be implemented using some existing power modules or chips. For example, a TI chip can be used to form a DCDC circuit with high conversion efficiency and low power consumption.

[0053] For the mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention, the microcontroller design uses a low-power single-chip microcomputer as the control core, and the peripheral circuit design respectively selects a low-power vibration sensor, a low-power clock module, a low-power FLASH storage module, and a DCDC module with low static current to form the hardware circuit of the entire system.

[0054] In terms of power supply design, various design measures can be adopted to ensure the minimum energy consumption of the power supply part. For example:

[0055] (1) Use a single-battery power supply to achieve multi-branch power network management, so that the power supplies of each functional module of the system are independently powered. When not working, they can be powered off separately to save power consumption. The power supply of each functional module can be set to a turn-off mode through a PNP triode. When power supply is not required, the PNP triode is turned off, thereby disconnecting the power supply of this circuit.

[0056] (2) In terms of power supply control mode, design a DCDC module and a power bus switch with turn-off function. Use the single-chip microcomputer to achieve real-time turn-off control and complete independent management of the power consumption of the power supply branch. The DCDC module is powered by the peripheral circuit and can turn off this power supply in the non-working mode to achieve the minimum working current consumption of the system. The bus power switch can use a MOSFET with low on-resistance, low static power consumption, fast switching speed, and small drive current.

[0057] (3) For the power leakage current in the system, including system power leakage, RC leakage, distributed circuit leakage, protection circuit leakage, accidental leakage, etc., the single-chip microcomputer can be used for inspection to reduce useless losses.

[0058] (4) Collect the power supply current of each peripheral circuit through a milliohm-level sampling resistor, and combine the chip manual to judge whether the current is within a reasonable range to ensure that each functional module of the circuit works in the normal mode.

[0059] In addition, the mud pulse main control circuit provided by the present invention can determine whether to enter the low-power mode according to the on / off status of the mud pump, thereby reducing power consumption. By integrating a vibration measurement module on the main control circuit and using the vibration measurement module to automatically detect the on / off pump signal, once the pump is turned off, the single-chip microcomputer control circuit system enters the low-power mode. For the battery-powered MWD system, it can greatly increase the battery usage time.

[0060] In addition, in the single-chip microcomputer program algorithm, a series of designs can be adopted to eliminate the unnecessary loop waiting and unnecessary power consumption time of the program. For example:

[0061] (1) When the control system is not working, through the control of the single-chip microcomputer, select to turn off the CPU clock and the system clock, so that the single-chip microcomputer enters the low-power mode in time;

[0062] (2) When the control system is not working, reduce the unnecessary working time of the peripheral circuit by turning off the control of the working time of the peripheral circuit;

[0063] (3) In the low-power mode, the frequency of the crystal oscillator can be reduced. For example, a 1MHz crystal oscillator can be used to further reduce the power consumption of the device. In the high-performance mode, the frequency of the crystal oscillator can be increased. For example, an 8MHz crystal oscillator can be used to obtain a faster operation speed and provide sufficient computing power.

[0064] (4) Combining the low-power control function of the peripheral circuit module in the above hardware, use the single-chip microcomputer program to control the opening and conduction of the power supply of the peripheral module;

[0065] (5) For the IC pins with programmable digital output, considering the driving load capacity, the load is connected to the positive power supply. When not working, through the single-chip microcomputer program algorithm, control the pin output to be high level.

[0066] Through technical measures such as optimizing high-temperature-resistant chips, device packaging, and PCB materials, optimizing device installation and wiring methods, and large-scale high-temperature tests, the circuit of the present invention can achieve a design with a temperature resistance of 175°C.

[0067] Tests show that the mud pulse main control circuit provided by the embodiments of the present invention can reduce the circuit power consumption to within 100mW. Compared with the original method, the mud pulse main control circuit of the present invention can save about 60% of electric energy. Especially for battery-powered systems, it can greatly extend the battery working time, with significant energy-saving effects, and can effectively extend the on-site working time of the instrument and shorten the drilling cycle.

[0068] In addition, through scale tests, the present invention optimizes high-temperature-resistant chips, device packaging, and PCB materials, and technical measures such as optimizing device installation and wiring methods, and large-scale high-temperature tests, to achieve a circuit temperature resistance design of 175°C, which can effectively improve the temperature resistance index of MWD instruments. For areas such as deep wells and deep shale gas where conventional instruments often have high-temperature failures, it can broaden the application range of the instruments and meet the high-temperature resistance requirements.

[0069] The circuit structure of the present invention is simple, with high integration, space-saving, good high-temperature resistance and vibration resistance, and is convenient for large-scale promotion and use.

[0070] It should be noted that the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the description and claims of the present invention and the above-mentioned drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units does not necessarily have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0071] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner. The same or similar parts among the embodiments can be referred to each other, and the key points of each embodiment are the differences from other embodiments. Moreover, the system embodiments described above are only illustrative. The modules and units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, that is, they may be located on one network unit or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment. A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without creative work.

[0072] The above has introduced the embodiments of the present invention in detail. The specific implementation manners are used in this article to elaborate on the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method and system of the present invention. They are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. The content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mud pulse main control circuit, characterized in that, The circuit includes: A communication interface module for communicating with an external sensor; A pulse signal generation module for generating mud pulse signals; A vibration sensor for acquiring vibration data of the drill collar and transmitting the vibration data to the microcontroller; The microcontroller is configured to obtain measurement data of the external sensor in real time through the communication interface module, and control the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal according to the vibration data and the measurement data; A clock module for providing a working clock for the microcontroller; A DCDC module for providing independent working power supplies for each module.

2. The mud pulse main control circuit according to claim 1, wherein: When the microcontroller determines that the mud pump is in the pump-on state according to the vibration data, it controls the pulse signal generation module to output the mud pulse signal. When the mud pump is in the pump-off state, it controls the circuit system to enter the low-power mode and cuts off the power supply to the vibration sensor.

3. The mud pulse main control circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The microcontroller is a single-chip microcomputer.

4. The mud pulse main control circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vibration sensor includes a gyroscope chip.

5. The mud pulse main control circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clock module includes an 8 MHz crystal oscillator.

6. The mud pulse main control circuit according to claim 1, wherein The pulse signal generation module includes: an MOS transistor and a triode; the collector of the triode is connected to the gate of the MOS transistor, and the emitter of the triode and the source of the MOS transistor are both grounded; The base of the triode is connected to the I / O port of the microcontroller as an input end, and the drain of the MOS transistor is used as an output end to output the mud pulse signal.

7. The mud pulse master control circuit according to claim 1, wherein The communication interface module includes a general-purpose 485 chip.

8. The mud pulse main control circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The circuit further includes: A temperature detection module for acquiring the real-time downhole temperature and transmitting the temperature data to the microcontroller.

9. The mud pulse main control circuit according to claim 8, wherein The circuit further includes: a storage module; The microcontroller is further configured to save the temperature data, the vibration data, and the measurement data to the storage module.

10. The mud pulse master control circuit according to claim 9, wherein The storage module is a 25X16 FLASH storage chip.

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