Digital Image Processing of Drill Cuttings for Geological Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual rock type identification and quantification from drill cuttings in surface logging are subjective and time-consuming, leading to potential biases and inefficiencies in reconstructing geology maps and assessing reservoir potential.
Innovation Solution
A method involving digital image processing of drill cuttings, where individual zones with predetermined heterogeneity are identified, particles with specific physical properties are extracted and measured, enabling objective analysis and prediction of geological properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual rock type identification is used, then flexibility in geological interpretation is maintained, but subjectivity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical inspection process with an automated optical imaging system. Digital cameras capture images of drill cuttings, and image processing algorithms automatically identify rock types and measure physical properties, eliminating human subjectivity while maintaining analytical flexibility through programmable detection criteria.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies (images) of the physical drill cuttings and analyzes these representations rather than directly manipulating the samples. This allows repeated measurements and analyses of the same sample without physical degradation, enabling both speed and objectivity through digital processing.
2Productivity
If manual description based on images and acid tests is used, then geological interpretation flexibility is maintained, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary digital imaging and automated identification before any manual review or acid testing. By pre-processing the samples through automated algorithms, the most common rock types can be quickly identified, and only ambiguous cases require further manual investigation or chemical testing, significantly reducing overall analysis time.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated image processing system operates continuously without interruption, analyzing multiple samples simultaneously. Unlike manual methods that require sequential human attention, the digital system can process cuttings at a continuous rate, maintaining productive action throughout the drilling operation.
3Measurement precision
If manual quantification of rock types is used, then geological background expertise is applied, but subjectivity and bias increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the automated identification results can be reviewed and corrected by geologists when necessary. This feedback loop allows the system to learn from expert corrections and improve its algorithms, maintaining high accuracy and consistency while reducing human bias in routine measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system measures multiple physical parameters (color, texture, size, spectral response) objectively and consistently applies detection algorithms to quantify rock types. By relying on measurable physical parameters rather than subjective geological interpretation, the system achieves reliable and consistent quantification that can be reproduced across different operators and time periods.
Data Source
AI summary
Digital image processing a digital image of sample drill cuttings retrieved from a geological formation and related methods include identifying individual zones in the image that depict at least a predetermined minimum heterogeneity of a first physical property, extracting particles in each identified zone that depict a second physical property within a predetermined quantitative range, and measuring a third physical property of each extracted particle. The first physical property may be texture, size, color, or spectral response within the zone. The second physical property may be brightness, color, contrast, hue, saturation, or wavelet energy. The third physical property may be size or color.