1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to oil and gas exploration and production, and more particularly to a rotating control device (RCD) sensor assembly that includes an emitter and a sensor placed in a rotating control device.
2. Description of Related Art
Wells are drilled using a drill string to access and produce oil, gas, minerals, and other naturally-occurring deposits from subterranean geological formations. A rotating control device can be used in a variety of oil and gas operations including drilling operations in conjunction with the drill string. For example, a rotating control device may be used for a variety of applications including annular fluid containment and pressure management in onshore and offshore drilling environments. Rotating control devices provide annular fluid containment and pressure management by creating a pressure-tight barrier in a wellbore annulus that enables safe fluid containment and diversion creating a closed-loop drilling environment.
The rotating control device can include an outer stationary component and a rotational component. The rotational component rotates within the outer stationary component and may form a sealed interface with a rotating tool string that runs through the rotating control device. For example, the rotational component can include an inner rotating bearing assembly and an upper stripper that rotates along with a drill string during drilling operations while maintaining the pressure-tight barrier.
The following figures are included to illustrate certain aspects of the present disclosure and should not be viewed as exclusive embodiments. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modifications, alterations, combinations, and equivalents in form and function, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.
In the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part thereof and is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein will be suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. The progression of processing operations described is an example; however, the sequence of and/or operations is not limited to that set forth herein and may be changed as is known in the art, with the exception of operations necessarily occurring in a particular order.
To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments described herein, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. Also, the respective descriptions of well known functions and constructions may be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the illustrative embodiments is defined only by the appended claims.
Unless otherwise specified, any use of any form of the terms “connect,” “engage,” “couple,” “attach,” or any other term describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the elements and may also include indirect interaction between the elements described. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to.” Unless otherwise indicated, as used throughout this document, “or” does not require mutual exclusivity.
A rotating control device (RCD) may be used to contain annular fluids during drilling operations in which a rotating tool is deployed at the head of a well. The rotating control device can be located adjacent to a blow-out preventer, for example, and may be used to divert a drilling fluid or other wellbore fluid from a wellbore to another location. Examples of drilling operations that a rotating control device can be used with include, but are not limited to, managed pressure drilling (MPD), underbalanced drilling (UBD), and air drilling (AD).
The present disclosure relates generally to an emitter and sensor that may be used to determine the health of a rotational component of a rotating control device by, for example, counting the number of revolutions experienced by a rotational component of the rotating control device. The rotational component may be, for example, a rotating bearing assembly. The count may be compared to an expected lifespan to determine an estimate of the remaining lifespan of the rotational component, or a bearing or other wear component thereof
The present disclosure relates more particularly to a rotating control device sensor assembly that includes paramagnetic caps. The paramagnetic caps may serve as protective coverings for the emitter and sensor to isolate the emitter and sensor from fluids and debris without interfering with the sensor's ability to detect the emitter. The emitter may be a magnet or other device that emits a sensor-detectable signal in the form of a magnetic field, a broadcast electromagnetic wave, a reflected electromagnetic wave, an optical pattern, a sound wave, and/or other suitable signal transmissions. The caps that cover the emitter and/or sensor are made from a transmissive material selected such that the caps allow the transmission of the signal from the emitter to pass through and toward the sensor. For example, the caps may be magnetically transmissive, or paramagnetic, and therefore allow for a magnetic field of a magnetic emitter, such as a magnet, to emanate without material degradation. This configuration facilitates propagation of the magnetic field from the magnet toward the sensor, which is configured to detect the magnetic field. This configuration also prevents degradation of the magnet over time from fluids that may contain demagnetizing particulate. The sensor is selected to correspond to the emitter (by signal type), and may be an inductive sensor, a radio frequency sensor, an optical sensor, an acoustic sensor, or another wireless sensor that detects some form of field transmission from a corresponding emitter.
Turning now to the figures,
In the embodiments illustrated in
To form the wellbore 116, a drill string 150 is operated to remove material from the subterranean formation 120. Drilling fluid travels down through the drill string 150 and returns through the annulus 194, reaching the rotating control device 102. The rotating control device 102 contains the drilling fluid and diverts the drilling fluid into a return line 198 which is part of a closed-loop fluid circulation system that includes rotating control device 102 and the return line 198 that feeds into a reservoir 178. A pump 190 pulls fluid from the reservoir 178 into a supply line 186. The supply line 186 provides fluid back to the drill string 150 and through the rotating control device 102 to again be used downhole during drilling.
The closed-loop fluid circulation system is shown in
During drilling, a rotational rate of the drill string 150 may vary. To facilitate rotation of the drill string 150 in a pressurized drilling environment, the rotating control device 102 may include an outer stationary component (which may be referred to as a pressure shell) and a rotational component that rotates along with the drill string 150. The number of rotations experienced by the rotational component may be monitored by the rotating control device 102. The sensors may be placed in and/or around the rotating control device 102 and the drill string 150 to collect operational information, such as rotation count and frequency that can be analyzed to monitor equipment health.
Referring now to
The sensor 220 is included within the inner surface of the outer stationary component 201, adjacent to the annulus 206 and facing the emitter 230. The sensor 220 may be placed at the same longitudinal position as the emitter 230 such that the position of the sensor 220 is aligned with a rotational path of the emitter 230. In an embodiment, a second sensor 240 may be included in a position similar to that of sensor 220.
As shown in
While the rotating control device 200 is generally sealed to prevent fluid from escaping the through bore 204 into the annulus 206, a small amount of fluid may penetrate the rotational component 210, and other fluid may be present in the annulus 206 to function as a lubricant and/or as a coolant. The upper portion of the rotating control device 200 is shown in more detail in
The detail view of
In an embodiment, the emitter 230 can be a magnet that emits a magnetic field. In such an embodiment, the cap 233 is made from a paramagnetic material through which the magnetic field of the magnet emanates without shielding effects such as field absorption or attenuation. The cap 233 may be made from austenitic stainless steel such as 316 stainless. According to other embodiments, the paramagnetic material that may be used for the cap 233 may include one or more of a nylon polymer, an austenitic nickel-chromium based super alloy (for example, Inconel), other austenitic stainless steels, plastic, and any combination thereof
Analogous to cap 233, the sensor 220 may be enclosed by a sensor cap 222 that forms an area around the sensor 220. In some embodiments, an outward facing surface of the sensor cap 222 is flush with the inner surface of the outer stationary component 201, and the area around the sensor 220 may be sealed. The sensor cap 222 may be made from the same material as the cap 233 or a suitable material having similar transmissive or paramagnetic properties. In an embodiment that includes a second sensor 240, the second sensor 240 may be protected by a second sensor cap 244 made of similar materials.
As shown in
The sensor cap 222 may be coupled to the outer stationary component 201 using one or more screw fasteners 226.
To facilitate this measurement, the emitter 230 passes close enough to the sensor 220 such that signal field of the emitter 230 emanates over and is detected by the sensor 220. The sensor cap 222 and cap 233 may thereby assist with the operation of the rotating control device 200 by (1) not interfering with the signal field generated by the emitter 230, and (2), isolating the emitter 230 from fluid and debris that may degrade the transmitting properties of the emitter 230. The sensor 220 may thereby be used to calculate rotations per minute (RPM) and the total number of revolutions of the upper stripper 211. According to other embodiments, the sensor 220 may be used to conduct and determine the pressure, temperature, vibrational analysis, and debris detection. This information may be used to determine the relative health of the rotating control device 200 by comparing the total number of revolutions with the expected lifespan (in terms of total number of revolutions) of the bearing assembly of the rotating control device 200.
It should be apparent from the foregoing that embodiments of an invention having significant advantages have been provided. While the embodiments are shown in only a few forms, the embodiments are not limited but are susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.
For example, in an alternative embodiment, the rotating control device includes an inductive sensor that is operable to detect a rotation of the rotational component without detecting an active emitter. Such an inductive sensor may generate an electromagnetic sensing field that detects the passing of a component or feature that rotates proximate the sensor to increment a rotation count. In such an embodiment, the emitter may be omitted or may be considered to be the feature of the rotational component that is detected by the inductive sensor.
In another embodiment the rotating control device includes either an acoustic sensor or a radar sensor that functions similarly to the inductive sensor. Such sensors may emanate an acoustic or radar signal and detect changes in a reflected signal that can be used to determine and count a rotation of the rotational component. In an embodiment in which the sensor is an acoustic sensor or a radar sensor, an emitter may be included that emits or reflects an acoustic or radar signature for detection, and a sensor cap and emitter cap may be included that is transmissive of an acoustic signal or a radar signal (i.e., an RF signal).
In another embodiment, the locations of the sensor and emitter may be reversed, such that a rotating control device includes an outer stationary component with an integrated emitter and a rotational component includes an integrated sensor. In such an embodiment, the integrated sensor is included within an outer surface of the rotational component that is adjacent to an inner surface of the outer stationary component. Such a sensor may be located in the rotating control device body, the upper stripper, the bearing assembly, and a tool string that passes through the upper stripper.
In another embodiment, a rotating control device may include one or more sensors, each placed in an outer stationary component or a rotational component. In such an embodiment the sensor may be an inductive sensor, an acoustic sensor, or a radar sensor.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2015/048984 | 9/8/2015 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62049041 | Sep 2014 | US |