Patent Application
20140251699
Embodiments of the present disclosure may generally be directed to a device capable of continually measuring the weight of various fluids in real-time. Assorted embodiments configure a device to have at least a pneumatic bladder positioned within an enclosure and contacting a fluid. The pneumatic bladder may be connected to a sensing device that can act to measure a weight of the fluid.
As hydrocarbon exploration advances, more sophisticated operating and measuring tools allow greater yields with increased safety. With drilling operations for crude oil and natural gas, drilling conditions can be volatile and few measurement tools can provide real-time response to such dynamic conditions. For example, drilling fluid, such as drilling mud, can be used to balance and control geological formations as well as to conduct well completion operations like cementing well bore casing, but can be susceptible to inadvertent weight, viscosity, and density variations that can jeopardize the completion and operation of a hydrocarbon drilling well. Hence, measurement tools that can provide real-time, on-site sensing of dynamic, harsh conditions like drilling fluid weight is a continued goal of the hydrocarbon exploration industry.
With continued emphasis on real-time measurement tools, various embodiments provide at least a pneumatic bladder positioned within an enclosure and contacting a fluid with the pneumatic bladder connected to a sensing device that can act to measure a weight of the fluid. The ability to output fluid weight in real-time is complemented by the ability to measure fluid conditions in a variety of different locations in and around a wellbore. Such measurements can then be transmitted across a network to capture drilling operation performance and conditions with increased response time, which can optimize drilling safety and precision. The use of a pneumatic bladder to measure fluid weight allows submerged surface measurement capabilities that can further heighten drilling performance in a variety of diverse drilling environments.
Generally, drilling operations measure drilling fluids in pounds per gallon (lbm/gal)/(ppg), pound per cubic feet (lb/ft3), and grams per milliliter (b/ml) with a mechanical fluid balance. The presence of air, vibration, and contaminated testing equipment can correspond to inaccurate measurements. Despite the use of a mechanical pressurized fluid balance that can reduce the presence of air in a sample, the harsh environment of drilling sites and drilling fluid can be compounded by sporadic testing conditions, such as weekly, daily, or hourly measurement under varying temperature, humidity, and weather conditions. Further these mechanical testing devices may often accompany an inability to transmit data over a network and also produce erratic and inaccurate fluid measurements that may lead to degraded drilling operations. Such erratic drilling fluid weight measurements can jeopardize wellbore stability and lead to a drilling string blow-out if the fluid weight is too light or to a contaminated hydrocarbon formation if the fluid weight is too heavy and the hydrostatic pressure causes the geological formation to fracture.
An optimized real-time drilling fluid measuring device can be utilized as part of an unlimited variety of drilling and computing systems,
The transmission of measurement data over the network 110 can allow the remote node 108 to process the data to identify performance trends, errors, and areas of improvement for drilling operation quality and safety. Such transmission in conjunction with the on-site analysis of real-time measurements by the sensing device 112 can proactively identify future drilling operation errors and failures that could degrade production from the wellbore 120 by affecting the formation 122, casing 124, and pump 126 either individually or concurrently. The wellbore 120 production may further be optimized by replacing by-hand measurement of drilling fluid, which can provide sporadic analysis of drilling parameters, such as drilling mud weight, even under ideal conditions. For example, the harsh conditions present at drilling sites can quickly render traditional by-hand and remote measurement tools for drilling fluids, like piezeo pressure transducers and oscillating tuning forks, inefficient and inaccurate.
With these difficulties in mind, a measurement tool may be constructed with robust materials and efficient design to allow accurate measurement of harsh environmental conditions while maintaining high sensitivity.
While the fluid weight detection tool 132 can be positioned to nearly any depth within the wellbore 134 between the wellbore sidewall 136 and drilling piping 138,
While the position of a fluid weight detection tool 132 downhole can provide fluid measurements conducive to the optimization of some drilling operations, such a downhole position is not required or limiting as the tool 132 can be utilized to measure fluid conditions with an inch or less of fluid submersion.
It is contemplated that a range of differently shaped enclosures and pneumatic bladder control systems can be used to detect drilling fluid weight nearly instantaneously and in real-time regardless of the position of the bladder, and corresponding fluid weight detection tool, inside or outside a wellbore.
Any number of sensors, such as proximity and pressure sensors, can be placed in and around the enclosure 154 to detect and log the effect of encountered fluid on the bladder 156. For instance, multiple sensors can concurrently detect the pressure inside and exterior shape of the bladder 156 before storing the data locally, such as in a local non-volatile memory, or sending the data to a sensing device 162 through a wired or wireless network. Even though the fluid weight detection tool 152 may be configured to sense fluid conditions alone, assorted embodiments connect the tool 152 to an external air tank 164 via at least one sealed line 166. The air tank 164 can allow a differential pressure to be established and measured by inflating and deflating the bladder 156 with at least one pump 168 while recording the change in pressure within the air tank 164 with at least one sensor 170.
Through the wired or wireless connection of the pump 168, air tank 164, and tool 152 to the sensing device 162, air can be moved between the bladder 156 and rigid air tank 164, pressure can be measured by sensors 170 and 172, and the sensing device 162 can adapt to changing environmental conditions to provide the most accurate real-time fluid weight measurements possible. That is, the sensing device 162 can monitor a number of different variables, such as humidity, air tank 164 temperature, drilling operation, drilling fluid flow rate, and bladder 156 inflation percentage, and adapt sensed data from the respective system 150 components to correct for any predictable or random sources of error that can jeopardize the integrity of a fluid weight measurement outputted by the sensing device to a host.
Although a fluid weight detection tool can be configured in an unlimited variety of manners that allow fluid to engage and exert pressure on a pneumatic bladder,
The use of the ruggedized bladder 182 alone may not provide accurate fluid weight measurements as the bladder 182 would float and move along with any fluids. As such, the bladder 182 can be positioned within an enclosure 184 in some embodiments so that inflation and deflation of the bladder 182 can be restricted to a predetermined housing cavity 186 and differential pressure can be measured as the bladder 182 and fluid are cooperatively contained within the cavity 186. As shown, the enclosure 184 has a single inlet/outlet 188 opposite a sealed end 190 that allows the bladder 182 to contact and respond to the weight and pressure of fluid in the cavity 186. While not required or limited, various embodiments configure the bladder 182 to be wholly pneumatic and sealed so that compressed air at a pressure greater than ambient air is selectively moved into and out of the bladder 182 to change the volume and pressure of the housing cavity 186 and allow the measurement of differential pressure that can be analyzed against a predetermined standard to render a fluid parameter, like fluid weight and density.
The shape, size, and material of the enclosure 184 and bladder 182 may be tuned an optimized for the particular wellbore, fluid conditions, and hydrocarbon formation being explored. For example, a natural gas exploration with high temperatures and pressures can be accurately measured with a stainless steel, aluminum, and high carbon steel enclosure 184 material that is cylindrically shaped with the sealed end 190 opposite the open inlet/outlet 188. Pneumatic control can be facilitated for the bladder 182 via a coupling 192 through the closed housing end 190 of the housing with a continuous pneumatic line 194 connecting the coupling 192 and bladder 182 to an external sensing device. Such a cylindrical enclosure 184 can also allow multiple different measurement locations due at least to the ability to create a differential pressure environment through controlled inflation and deflation of the bladder 182 while the enclosure 184 is secured in place by a fixed housing rod 196.
The ability to position the bladder 216 at a predetermined depth in the submerged environment 202 can allow the bidirectional 206 and lateral 214 fluid flows to stabilize under the columnar weight and pressure of fluid above the predetermined depth, which can provide the pneumatic bladder 216 to read differential pressure exerted by the fluid quickly consistently, and accurately. As a non-limiting example, the bladder 216 can be deflated, as shown by segmented line 218, and inflated to contact the sidewalls and closed end 212 of the housing 204 to provide a stable surface which the bladder 166 can push off of and establish pressure exerted from the fluid, which can immediately be sense and translated to a fluid parameter like weight by an external sensing device connected to the bladder 216 via the pneumatic line 208.
The ability to tune the materials and shape of the housing 204 for submerged environment fluid measurement can be afforded by the sensitivity of the pneumatic bladder 216 and the single inlet/outlet 220 that allows fluid to exert pressure on the bladder 216 and consequently the closed end 212 and sidewalls of the housing 204. Inflation and deflation of the bladder 216 can further be used to create a differential pressure and draw fluid into the inlet/outlet 220 for contact with the bladder 216 and parameter measurement. Such bladder 216 articulation can therefore aid in lateral fluid flow 214 to minimize the presence of any anomalies, such as debris and air, from the measured fluid sample in contact with the bladder 216 within the housing 204.
By drawing fluid into the housing 204 through bladder 216 manipulation, accurate measurement can be achieved in as little as an inch of fluid submersion by the housing 204.
With the ability to create differential pressure with the pneumatic bladder and receive immediate feedback through the pneumatic line 246, insertion of the housing 232 into a submerged environment is not mandatory as static and dynamic fluids can be continually measured via a surface mounted housing setup. Obtaining an accurate measurement in as little as an inch of fluid may further allow for testing of small batches of drilling fluid prior to insertion into the wellbore, which contrasts the retroactive measurements of drilling fluid after insertion into the wellbore that can correspond with delayed measurements and contaminated fluid samples. Hence, the ability to proactively test drilling fluid can further allow adjustments to be made to the fluid chemistry, such as increased or reduced weight, to accommodate a wide diversity of wellbore drilling environments.
It can be appreciated from the submerged operation of
Regardless of the materials and shapes of the enclosure 254 and plate 252, at least one pneumatic receptacle 256 can extend through the plate 252 to access the cavity within the enclosure 254. In the non-limiting embodiment of
Turning to the perspective block representation of the tool 250 shown in
Various embodiments may conduct fluid measurements at submerged depth in conjunction with surface fluid measurements either concurrently or successively. Regardless of the submerged measurement of fluid parameters, a surface fluid measurement determination from decision 274 advances routine 270 to step 278 where the housing and bladder are submerged in a predetermined depth of fluid, such as two inches. The surface fluid measurement may be conducted while the fluid is static and dynamic as step 280 evaluates the pneumatic feedback from the bladder to output a fluid parameter reading, such as fluid weight. Similarly, fluid may be stationary or moving for the bladder and housing to respond to fluid conditions and sense fluid parameters after step 276.
Through routine 270, one or more fluid parameters can be evaluated in real-time and transmitted over a network to multiple different remote nodes. The ability to manipulate the bladder pneumatically creates differential pressure and respond to force exerted by the fluid within the housing, which can be sensed as fluid weight in some embodiments. However, the decision and steps of routine 200 are not required or limited as various elements can be moved, edited, and omitted, as desired. For instance, additional steps of transmitting fluid measurements over a network and tuning the shape of the bladder and housing may be included into routine 270 without limitation.
With a fluid weight detection tool configured and operated in accordance with the various embodiments provided above, harsh drilling fluid can be accurately measured in real-time merely with pressurized air controlling a bladder. The ability to precisely measure at least fluid weight in a variety of partially and completely submerged tool locations allows diverse fluid monitoring that can optimize drilling operations by increasing knowledge about the wellbore geological formations, types of fluids being extracted during drilling, and the quality of fluids like drilling mud that are used to remove debris from the wellbore and in some situations cement wellbore casing.
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/772,628, which was filed Mar. 5, 2013, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61772628 | Mar 2013 | US |
