Metallic Cover Acoustic Sensor for High Pressure Wellbores
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Solution Overview
Problem
Acoustic sensors in the resource recovery industry face challenges in withstanding high pressures and temperatures without mechanical parts that cause wear, and existing compensation methods like pistons and polymer diaphragms are prone to failure due to leakage and gas diffusion issues.
Innovation Solution
An acoustic device with a metallic cover that separates the compensation fluid from the borehole fluid and deforms in response to pressure differences, eliminating the need for moving parts and incorporating a compensation fluid with an acoustic transducer to sense signals without mechanical wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a piston with seal is used to compensate for expansion and contraction of compensation fluid, then the acoustic sensor can withstand high pressures and temperatures, but the piston and seal wear out over time due to friction and abrasion from borehole fluid containing sand or solids
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the piston and seal from the system entirely, replacing the mechanical compensation mechanism with a deformable metallic cover that compensates for volume changes through elastic deformation rather than linear motion. This extraction of problematic moving parts eliminates wear and extends service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical piston-seal system with a deformable metallic cover that uses elastic deformation to achieve the same compensation function. This substitution transitions from a friction-based mechanical system to an elastic deformation-based system, eliminating wear.
2Reliability
If a polymer diaphragm is used to compensate for expansion and contraction of compensation fluid, then the acoustic sensor can withstand high pressures and temperatures without moving parts, but dissolved gas passes through the membrane and causes bloating or bursting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a metallic cover with specific elastic properties that combines the benefits of gas impermeability with controlled deformability. The metallic material provides both the strength to resist gas diffusion and the elasticity to compensate for volume changes, creating a composite functionality in a single component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from polymer to metal, fundamentally altering the permeability characteristics while maintaining the compensation function through elastic deformation. This parameter change eliminates gas diffusion while preserving the volume compensation capability.
3Reliability
If water passes through the polymer diaphragm and dissolves in the compensation fluid, then the characteristics of the compensation fluid change, but this creates drift on the acoustic sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The metallic cover serves as an impermeable barrier that prevents water diffusion while maintaining structural integrity. This material selection simultaneously protects compensation fluid stability and prevents measurement drift by blocking the diffusion pathway at the source.
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
The solution provides a durable and effective acoustic sensor that operates without mechanical parts, maintaining accuracy and safety in high-pressure, high-temperature environments by using a metallic cover to balance pressure and transmit acoustic signals without wear or gas diffusion issues.
Implementation Method 1
a metallic cover that separates the compensation fluid from the borehole fluid and configured to deform in response to a pressure difference between the borehole fluid and the compensation fluid
Implementation Method 2
an acoustic transducer at least partially disposed in the compensation fluid and configured to sense the acoustic signal
Data Source
AI summary
A system including a work string and an acoustic device for sensing or transmitting an acoustic signal at least partially traveling through a borehole fluid within a wellbore and a method of operation. The acoustic device includes a compensation fluid, an acoustic transducer at least partially disposed in the compensation fluid and configured to sense the acoustic signal, and a metallic cover that separates the compensation fluid from the borehole fluid and configured to deform in response to a pressure difference between the borehole fluid and the compensation fluid. The acoustic device is conveyed into the wellbore and an electric signal is sent or received with the processor to or from the acoustic transducer.