External Pressure Wave Apparatus for Wellbore Anomaly Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting blockages, depositions, or leaks in wellbores and flowlines are inefficient, often requiring in-line valve closures that disrupt operations and introduce errors, and struggle to differentiate between turns and actual blockages or leaks due to similar pressure signal reflections.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus positioned external to the wellbore or flowline generates a controlled pressure wave, or fluid hammer, using a pressure source and valve system, which travels through the flow path and records reflections to determine anomalies, utilizing equations like the Joukowsky water hammer equation to interpret pressure variations and distinguish between different conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If in-line valve closures are used to detect blockages and leaks, then detection capability is improved, but operational disruption and measurement errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external pressure wave generation apparatus as an intermediary device that couples to the flowline via a coupling mechanism. This external apparatus generates pressure waves that travel through the flowline without requiring in-line valve closures, thereby maintaining operational continuity while enabling detection of blockages and leaks through pressure signal analysis.
2Measurement precision
If in-line valve closures are used to generate pressure signals, then blockage detection is enabled, but operational disruption and error introduction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The external pressure wave generation apparatus acts as an intermediary that introduces pressure waves into the flowline through a coupling mechanism without requiring in-line valve closures. This eliminates the operational disruption and measurement errors associated with traditional methods while maintaining reliable anomaly detection through pressure signal reflection analysis.
3Measurement precision
If traditional pressure signal methods are used, then blockage detection is possible, but differentiation between turns and actual blockages becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where pressure wave reflections are continuously monitored and analyzed as they return to the external apparatus. By analyzing the timing, amplitude, and characteristics of reflected pressure signals, the system can differentiate between reflections caused by turns and those caused by actual blockages or leaks, preventing misinterpretation of the flowline conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables continuous monitoring of wellbores and flowlines without disrupting operations, providing accurate detection of blockages, depositions, or leaks by analyzing pressure signal reflections, reducing errors and operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
generates a controlled pressure wave, or fluid hammer, using a pressure source and valve system
Implementation Method 2
The pressure surge (or signal) generated by the apparatus can be proportional to the overall pressure that was released by the apparatus. For example, the apparatus can be pressurized using a gas. The release of the gas from the apparatus into the flowline can generate a pressure signal
Implementation Method 3
As the pressure signal traverses the wellbore or flowline, any variation in pipeline diameter, such as a blockage, a deposition, can increase the pressure signal. The signal can be reflected off the blockage or deposition and traverse the flowline or wellbore back to the apparatus
Data Source
AI summary
A system can be used for generating a pressure signal in a flow path defined by a tubular. The system can include a pressure source, a valve, and a controller. The controller can output a command to control the pressure source for outputting a fluid hammer, according to the command, through the valve and into a flow path defined by a wellbore tubular. The system can be positioned external to the flow path. The system can determine, based on the reflection signal, a presence of a deposition, a blockage, or a leak within the flowline while the flowline is in operation.