Untethered Downhole Sensor Positioning by Buoyancy and Drag
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tethered logging tools for measuring downhole properties in subterranean wells require specialized vehicles and crews, are costly, and disrupt well operations, while fiber optic cables provide limited data and require well shutdowns.
Innovation Solution
An untethered, buoyancy-controlled and/or drag-controlled device that uses fluid forces to navigate the well, allowing deployment by a single technician without specialized equipment, and can measure various properties without shutting down the well.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tethered logging tools are used to measure downhole properties, then measurement capability is provided, but specialized vehicles and crews are required, increasing cost and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the measurement device from the tethered system, creating a free-floating sensor that operates independently without requiring connection to surface equipment. This eliminates the need for specialized vehicles and crews while maintaining measurement capability through wireless data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The free-floating sensor is designed to deploy and operate autonomously in the wellbore, using its own buoyancy control and propulsion systems. The device serves itself by navigating to measurement locations, collecting data, and transmitting information without external assistance, thereby eliminating the need for specialized operational crews.
2Reliability
If tethered logging tools are deployed, then downhole measurements can be obtained, but well operations are disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the sensor from the tethered system and deploying it as a free-floating device, the measurement process no longer requires well shutdowns or operational disruptions. The sensor can be introduced into the flowing wellbore environment and perform measurements while the well continues normal production.
Solution Approach 2:
The free-floating sensor can be deployed in advance and positioned at target locations before production activities begin. This allows measurements to be taken during normal well operations rather than requiring shutdowns to install and configure tethered equipment.
3Loss of information
If fiber optic cables are used for measurement, then data can be transmitted, but well shutdowns are required and data capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical fiber optic cable system with a free-floating sensor that uses wireless or electromagnetic communication methods. This substitution eliminates the need for physical cable deployment that requires well shutdowns, while maintaining data transmission capability through alternative communication channels.
4Reliability
If conventional logging tools are used, then measurements are obtained, but deployment requires specialized equipment and multiple personnel
Solution Approach 1:
The free-floating sensor is designed to deploy autonomously using its own propulsion and buoyancy control systems. A single technician can initiate deployment without requiring specialized heavy equipment or multiple personnel, as the device navigates and positions itself automatically in the wellbore environment.
Solution Approach 2:
By removing the sensor from the complex tethered system and its associated deployment equipment, the patent enables simplified deployment procedures. The free-floating device can be introduced into the wellbore with minimal equipment and operated by a single technician, eliminating the need for specialized vehicles and crews.
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 efficient, cost-effective, and uninterrupted measurement of downhole properties with reduced logistical delays, using fluid forces for navigation and sensor deployment.
Implementation Method 1
a controller to control a buoyancy of the untethered device for controlling a position of the untethered device in the subterranean well
Implementation Method 2
a controller to control a drag of the untethered device for controlling a position of the untethered device in the subterranean well
Data Source
AI summary
An untethered apparatus for measuring properties along a subterranean well includes a housing and one or more sensors configured to measure data along the subterranean well. The data includes one or more physical, chemical, geological or structural properties in the subterranean well. The untethered apparatus further includes a processor configured to control the one or more sensors measuring the data and to store the measured data, and a transmitter configured to transmit the measured data to a receiver arranged external to the subterranean well. Further, the untethered apparatus includes a controller configured to control the buoyancy or the drag of the untethered apparatus to control a position of the untethered apparatus in the subterranean well. The processor includes instructions defining measurement parameters for the one or more sensors of the untethered apparatus within the subterranean well.