Distributed Drill String Sensors for Dynamic Load Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for estimating the dynamic behavior of drill strings in boreholes are inadequate, as they cannot accurately simulate the unseen loads experienced downhole, leading to potential damage or unreliable operation, and field testing is often expensive and inaccurate.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a plurality of sensors distributed along the drill string and a processing system that estimates dynamic motion and static parameters using measurements, validated through a mathematical model, allowing for continuous data updates and accurate load validation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If testing is performed to simulate loads affecting the drill string, then understanding of dynamic behavior is improved, but the testing cannot simulate the same type of loads experienced in the borehole
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a mathematical model that copies and replicates the complex downhole loading conditions that cannot be physically reproduced in laboratory testing. The model virtualizes the borehole environment to simulate authentic operational loads including lateral forces, axial loads, and moment loads that occur during actual drilling operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensors as intermediaries placed at specific locations on the drill string to indirectly measure loads at portions of interest. Rather than directly measuring difficult-to-access downhole conditions, sensors at accessible locations provide data that feeds into the mathematical model, which then calculates the desired load information.
2Measurement precision
If field testing is conducted to determine the loads, then accurate load data is obtained, but the testing is prohibitively expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive physical field testing with a computational mathematical model that processes sensor data. Instead of conducting costly actual drilling operations or physical experiments to determine loads, the system uses mathematical equations and algorithms to calculate load conditions from more economical sensor measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-measurement during normal drilling operations. The sensors and mathematical model work together to automatically determine load conditions without requiring separate, expensive dedicated testing operations. The drill string itself serves as the test vehicle, continuously providing operational data.
3Measurement precision
If sensors are placed at the portion of interest to directly measure dynamic behavior, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the measurement function between physical sensors and computational processing. Sensors are placed at practical, accessible locations to capture raw data, while the mathematical model performs the complex calculation and interpretation work that would otherwise require sophisticated sensors at difficult-to-reach portions of the drill string.
Solution Approach 2:
The mathematical model acts as an intermediary that translates sensor measurements from accessible locations into information about conditions at the portion of interest. This intermediary computation layer allows indirect measurement with simpler sensor placement while maintaining measurement capability for downhole conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for estimating at least one of a dynamic motion of a portion of interest of a drill string and a static parameter associated with the portion of interest, the apparatus having: a plurality of sensors operatively associated with the drill string at at least one location other than the portion of interest; and a processing system coupled to the plurality of sensors, the processing system configured to estimate at least one of the dynamic motion and the static parameter using a measurement from the plurality of sensors as input.