Multi-Component Induction Tool for Nested Tubular Corrosion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electromagnetic induction tools for well logging struggle to accurately detect defects such as corrosion in downhole casing and tubing strings, requiring physical proximity and often failing to detect slowly varying corrosion effectively.
Innovation Solution
The use of multi-component induction tools that take three-dimensional low-frequency sinusoidal frequency domain waveform resistivity measurements and transient EM measurements, allowing for the estimation of tubular properties like location, thickness, and defects, even in nested conductive tubulars, by generating an electromagnetic field and combining this data with magnetic sensor information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional electromagnetic induction tools are used for well logging, then the tool structure is simple and easy to operate, but the tool fails to accurately detect defects such as corrosion in downhole casing and tubing strings
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is divided into multiple sensor components including magnetic sensors, electromagnetic induction sensors, and ultrasonic sensors arranged in arrays. Each sensor type detects different aspects of tubular conditions, and their combined data provides comprehensive defect detection capability that overcomes the limitations of single-sensor conventional tools.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple sensing technologies (magnetic, electromagnetic induction, ultrasonic) into a single integrated tool assembly. This merging of different measurement principles enables the tool to detect various types of defects including corrosion, cracks, and structural anomalies that would be invisible to conventional single-mode tools.
2Reliability
If conventional electromagnetic induction tools require physical proximity to detect defects, then the device structure is simple, but the detection capability is limited and slowly varying corrosion cannot be detected effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The tool transitions from requiring physical contact or proximity to the tubular to detecting defects at a distance through the use of electromagnetic fields and magnetic flux leakage detection. This dimensional change in detection approach allows the tool to inspect tubulars without direct contact, enabling detection of slowly varying corrosion that proximity-based methods miss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses magnetic fields and electromagnetic waves as intermediaries to detect tubular defects. Instead of direct physical contact between the tool and tubular, the electromagnetic fields penetrate the tubular wall and interact with defects, allowing indirect detection of corrosion and structural issues from a distance.
3Measurement precision
If multi-component induction tools take three-dimensional measurements, then the detection precision is improved, but the data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tool performs preliminary measurements of magnetic fields, electromagnetic responses, and ultrasonic signals before the main inversion and analysis processes. These preliminary data acquisitions are organized in systematic three-dimensional arrays that facilitate subsequent processing, reducing the overall computational complexity while maintaining high measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses iterative inversion algorithms that incorporate feedback from the three-dimensional measurement data to refine estimates of tubular properties. The measured electromagnetic and magnetic responses are continuously compared with forward model predictions, and the model parameters are adjusted until optimal agreement is achieved, enabling precise property estimation despite the complexity of the measurements.
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
This approach enables precise detection of tubular properties and defects, including corrosion, without the need for physical proximity, improving radial evaluation capability and allowing for the identification of structural features like ovality and material properties of both the tubulars and their surroundings.
Implementation Method 1
Taking three-dimensional transient EM measurements with the multi-component induction tool may include generating an electromagnetic (EM) field using an EM transmitter of the three multi-component induction tool to produce interactions between the electromagnetic field and the plurality of nested conductive tubulars
Implementation Method 2
Magnetizing at least a portion of a first tubular of the plurality of tubulars to generate a spatially varying magnetic field having a magnetic field distribution responsive to abnormalities in the tubular
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, devices, and products for taking multi-component induction tool measurements of a three-dimensional space from an interior of a plurality of nested tubulars in a borehole in an earth formation and estimating the property for each of the at least two tubulars using the multi-component induction tool measurements. The multicomponent induction tool measurements may be responsive to a property corresponding to at least two conductive tubulars of the plurality of nested tubular. Taking multi-component induction tool measurements may include taking three-dimensional low-frequency sinusoidal frequency domain waveform resistivity measurements and taking three-dimensional transient EM measurements with the multi-component induction tool.