Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communicating between control equipment on the earth's surface and a subsurface drilling assembly to command downhole instrumentation functions. In particular, the present invention relates to communicating, detecting, and decoding instructions to the drilling assembly via pressure pulse signals sent from a surface transmitter without interrupting drilling. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for using the pressure pulse signals to detect torsional vibrations, or stick-slip, in the drill string while drilling.
2. Background and Related Art
In hydrocarbon drilling operations, the drill bit and other components of the bottom hole assembly (BHA), and even the drill string itself, are subjected to conditions which increase wear and degradation of these expensive components. One such condition is called “stick-slip,” or torsional vibration of the BHA. Stick-slip is a downhole condition where torsional vibrations have increased because the bit and BHA are experiencing increased friction and drag at the bit, causing the bit to stop rotating. Once the bit has stopped rotating, torque tends to build up in the drillstring. The torque buildup causes the energy in the drillstring to increase until it overcomes the drag friction between the bit/BHA and the earthen formation, which frees the bit momentarily until the drag friction overcomes the rotational energy in the drillstring again. This causes a periodic motion called stick-slip.
Stick-slip is a major contributing factor to excessive bit wear. Torsional vibration can have the effect that cutters on the drill bit may momentarily stop or be rotating backwards, i.e., in the reverse rotational direction to the normal forward direction of rotation of the drill bit during drilling. This is followed by a period of forward rotation of many times the rotation per minute (RPM) mean value. The effect of reverse rotation on a cutter element may be to impose unusual loads on the cutter which tend to cause spalling or delamination of the polycrystalline diamond facing of the tungsten carbide cutter.
If it is known that stick-slip is occurring in the BHA, it may be possible for the operator of the rotary drilling system, at the surface, to reduce or stop the vibration by modifying the drilling parameters, for example by changing the speed of rotation of the drill string (RPM) and/or the weight-on-bit (WOB). However, it is currently difficult to detect at the surface torsional vibration which is occurring in the BHA, and several techniques have been developed to address the problem of detecting the onset of stick-slip of the BHA.
One such method includes the use of downhole RPM data to detect stick-slip. Typically, the average surface and downhole RPM of the drilling assembly is 60 to 150 RPM's. In the event of excessive rotational vibrations, or stick-slip, the downhole RPM's can reach 3 to 5 times, or higher, the average surface RPM's. Downhole RPM data is a direct measurement to detect stick-slip. Devices or tools may be placed downhole to measure RPM, the most common of which is the magnetometer. Using the earth's magnetic field as a reference, the magnetometer can measure how fast the BHA is rotating, and then it is possible to calculate the RPM.
Another prior art method for detecting stick-slip is the use of surface torque data. The surface torque data, when charted as a function of time, will exhibit a periodic motion. The period of the surface torsional vibration will be the same as the period for the downhole torsional vibration, and thus the period may be used to detect stick-slip. Such a method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,044 to Jarvis, hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Additional devices for detecting destructive downhole vibrations include Sperry-Sun's DDS™ Drillstring Dynamics Sensor and Drilsaver™ Real-Time Torsional Vibration Monitor.
However, these prior art methods have associated problems. One problem is the need for additional sensors, such as rotational sensors or magnetometers, or mechanical devices with moving parts. Thus, it would be desirable to use equipment already present in the drilling assembly to detect stick-slip, as well as inherent phenomena associated with the drilling process.
Sometimes, the drilling assembly may include a system for communicating between the surface equipment and the subsurface drilling assembly. Downlink signaling, or communicating from the surface equipment to the drilling assembly, is typically performed to provide instructions in the form of commands to the drilling assembly. For example, in a directional drilling operation, downlink signals may instruct the drilling apparatus to alter the direction of the drill bit by a particular angle or to change the direction of the tool face. Uplink signaling, or communicating between the drilling assembly and the surface equipment, is typically performed to verify the downlink instructions and to communicate data measured downhole during drilling to provide valuable information to the drilling operator.
A common method of downlink signaling is through mud pulse telemetry. When drilling a well, fluid is pumped downhole such that a downhole receiver within the drilling assembly can meter the pressure. Mud pulse telemetry is a method of sending signals by creating a series of momentary pressure changes, or pulses, in the drilling fluid, which can be detected by a receiver. For downlink signaling, the pattern of pressure pulses, including the pulse duration, amplitude, and time between pulses, is detected by the downhole receiver and then interpreted as a particular instruction to the downhole assembly.
For a more detailed description of mud pulse telemetry, and an improved downlink telemetry system, see U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0016164 Al to Finke et al., application Ser. No. 09/783,158, which was filed on Feb. 14, 2001 and published on Jan. 23, 2003 (the “'158 application”), hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The '158 application discloses a downlink telemetry system that can be used without interrupting drilling and without interrupting uplink communication such that simultaneous, bi-directional communication is achievable if the uplink and downlink signals are sent at different frequencies. Moreover, the '158 application discloses an algorithm for filtering and decoding the downlink signals. The algorithm determines the time intervals between pulse peaks and decodes the intervals into an instruction.
The stick-slip motion previously described causes pressure fluctuations or pulses downhole. As described above and in the '158 application, the mud pulse telemetry system of the drilling assembly uses mud pulses to communicate. The stick-slip pressure pulses and the telemetry pulses may have very similar frequencies, therefore the noise created by the stick-slip pressure pulses may interfere with proper telemetry signaling.
An objective of the present invention is to use the already present mud pulse telemetry system and its associated pressure while drilling (PWD) sensor to detect the pressure fluctuations created by stick-slip.
Another objective of the invention is to act upon the detection of stick-slip to adjust certain drilling parameters and thereby improve the drilling operation.
Yet another objective of the invention is to improve the reliability of the downlink system by detecting the “false” downlink pulses induced by stick-slip. An aspect of this objective is to filter out such false downlink pressure pulses created by stick-slip.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.
The present invention provides improved methods and apparatus for detecting torsional vibration in a drillstring while drilling via pressure pulses from the drillstring that are sampled by a downhole pressure sensor.
The method of detecting torsional vibration in a drillstring while conducting a drilling operation in a subterranean well comprises sampling a downhole pressure sensor to obtain a data set and further determining whether the data set indicates torsional vibration in the drillstring.
In another embodiment, a method of detecting torsional vibration in a drillstring while conducting a drilling operation in a subterranean well, the drillstring being part of a drilling assembly having a mud pulse telemetry system capable of sending uplink or downlink signals, comprises sampling a downhole pressure sensor to obtain a first data set; analyzing the first data set; and further determining whether the data set indicates torsional vibration in the drillstring. This embodiment further comprises applying filter schemes, cross-correlation algorithms, and peak-detect algorithms to analyze the data and determine if torsional vibration has occurred. Furthermore, this embodiment comprises applying a threshold value to the data set, determining if a significant number of peak values exceed the threshold value for a predetermined amount of time, and sending a warning signal to the surface of the well as necessary.
In yet another embodiment, a method of filtering noise caused by torsional vibration in a drillstring while drilling in a subterranean well, the drillstring being part of a drilling assembly having a mud pulse telemetry system capable of sending uplink or downlink signals, comprises detecting torsional vibration in the drillstring and changing the downlink signal frequency such that the torsional vibration frequency does not interfere with the downlink signal frequency.
The drilling assembly for detecting torsional vibration in a drillstring located in a subterranean well comprises a pressure sensor for sampling the pressure in a flow of fluid being pumped downhole; a control system for sampling the pressure sensor without stopping the fluid pumping; and a scheme for detecting pressure samples caused by torsional vibration in the drillstring.
Thus, the present invention comprises a combination of features and advantages which enable it to overcome various problems of prior art torsional vibration detection systems. The various characteristics described above, as well as other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
For a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein:
In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus are to be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”. Reference to up or down will be made for purposes of description with “up,” “upward,” or “upper” meaning toward the surface of a well and “down,” “downward,” or “lower” meaning toward the bottom of a well.
This exemplary disclosure is provided with the understanding that it is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that illustrated and described herein. In particular, various embodiments of the present invention provide a number of different constructions and methods of operation. It is to be fully recognized that the different teachings of the embodiments discussed below may be employed separately or in any suitable combination to produce desired results.
A number of embodiments of methods and apparatus for detecting torsional vibrations, or stick-slip, in a drillstring according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring initially to
In general, to generate either uplink or downlink signals via mud pulse telemetry, a series of pressure changes, called pulses, are sent in a set pattern to either an uplink receiver 39 on the surface or a downlink receiver 21 in the downhole assembly 35. The amplitude and frequency of the pressure changes are analyzed by the receivers 39, 21 to decode the information or commands being sent. To illustrate, one uplink signal can be sent by momentarily restricting fluid downhole, at a valve 41 for example, as the fluid is pumped down the drill string 19. The momentary restriction causes a pressure increase, or a positive pulse, when the fluid impacts the point of restriction. The positive pulse travels back up the fluid in the drill string 19, and an uplink receiver 39 at the surface, typically a pressure transducer, reads the increase in pressure. An uplink signal can also be sent as a negative pulse by opening a valve 43 between the drill string 19 and the annulus 18 to allow fluid to escape, thereby creating a negative pressure wave that travels to the surface receiver 39. Using this method, the downhole assembly 35 communicates with the surface receiver 39 using either a positive pulser 41 or a negative pulser 43 that creates a series of pressure pulses that travel to the surface receiver 39.
Additional details regarding the structure and operations of the surface transmitter assembly, surface transmitter control system, downhole receiver assembly, and other components of the mud pulse telemetry system are found in the '158 application, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. It should be noted that the preferred mud pulse telemetry system for the present invention is embodied in the description provided by the '158 application.
Referring now to
Referring now to
To separate the uplink telemetry signals from the downlink signals, a median filter is applied. Median filters and their application are well known to those skilled in the art, and a more detailed description of the median filter and its application can be found in the '158 application, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Referring now to
Next, a digital-type filter, such as a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter, is applied to the pressure data output from the median filter. The FIR filter is also described in detail in the '158 application, such description being hereby incorporated herein by reference. Referring now to
A cross-correlation algorithm is applied to the output data of the FIR filter, such a cross-correlation algorithm being described in the '158 application and hereby incorporated herein by reference. Referring to
For example, if threshold value 84 is set at 200, as shown in
As mentioned above, the present invention includes a downhole receiver having a pressure sensor. Preferably, the pressure sensor is a standard pressure while drilling (PWD) tool, such as Sperry Sun's PWD® tool, with modified software. The filters and algorithms just described are embedded in the modified software of the PWD tool. Even if the software of the PWD tool is not modified, it is preferred that the filters and algorithms of the present invention be embedded in the PWD tool. Alternatively, the filters and algorithms may be embedded in other portions of the BHA having embedded software.
Referring now to
The same process described above of employing the median and FIR filters, and the cross-correlation and peak-detect algorithms may be used to detect the stick-slip condition.
Data set 120 can then be analyzed using a peak-detect algorithm and the threshold value 124, as previously described.
Once the warning has been sent to the surface and decoded, the operator can change the drilling parameters to eliminate stick-slip. The operator may change the RPM of the drillstring or the weight-on-bit. However, problems may still persist, depending on the circumstances, with simply detecting stick-slip and adjusting drilling parameters.
First, as can be seen by a comparison of graphs 3A–D and graphs 4A–D, the stick-slip pressure fluctuations can be very similar to the downlink telemetry pressure pulses. The downlink signals and the stick-slip pressure fluctuations also have very similar frequencies. Although these frequencies can vary according to certain parameters, such as formation type, drilling fluid type, and depth of the well, a typical frequency range, for example, may be approximately 0.1 to 1 Hz. Consequently, the stick-slip pressure fluctuations tend to serve as false downlink signals which are mistakenly picked up by the downlink mud pulse telemetry system. Moreover, if downlink telemetry pulses are being used during stick-slip, the stick-slip pressure fluctuations can interfere with concurrent telemetry signals to produce inaccurate communication between the surface and the downhole receiver. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, once stick-slip is detected, it may be desirable to change the downlink frequency such that the stick-slip pressure fluctuations no longer interfere with the downlink signals. It should be appreciated that changing the downlink signal frequency may be used regardless of the method used to detect stick-slip.
The process of changing the downlink signal frequency may vary depending on the circumstances and the mud pulse telemetry system used. It may require changes to the surface software code, as well as the embedded downhole code. Details regarding changes to the downlink signal frequency may be gleaned from the '158 application disclosure.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the pressure pulses or fluctuations attributed to stick-slip may be filtered out entirely. This method is especially useful when a stick-slip condition has been encountered during drilling at a time when telemetry pulses are also being used. In this situation, downlink signals are traveling down the well, uplink signals are traveling up the well, and stick-slip pressure signals are creating noise throughout the well, thereby contaminating the useful and desirable telemetry signals.
Generally, the method of this embodiment includes the steps described with reference to FIGS. 3A–D and 4A–D. As described previously, the PWD sensor is sampled at a minimum frequency, such as 1 Hz. This raw data is then processed by a digital filter, known to those skilled in the art, to filter out background noise and help isolate the relevant data. More particularly, a low pass filter may be used to process the initial, raw pressure data. A cross-correlation algorithm is then applied to the data using a referenced signal, such as a step function or sinusoidal function, the details of which can be found in the '158 application. Finally, a peak-detect algorithm is applied to the data, and if a significant percentage of the peaks of the identified pulses exceed the pre-set threshold for a predetermined period of time or number of cycles (as described hereinabove), then stick-slip has been detected. A warning may then be sent to the surface indicating the detection of stick-slip, or torsional vibration.
In the present alternative embodiment, extra steps may be taken to remove the stick-slip noise from the data containing the downlink telemetry signals, thereby ensuring a very reliable downlink system-possibly an approximately 100 percent reliable downlink system. Thus, in addition to the steps described in the previous paragraph, the resulting data may again be filtered using a band pass filter. The band pass filter processes the data that has already been analyzed as indicating the occurrence of stick-slip, and effectively filters the stick-slip noise out of the data set analyzed, allowing the downlink telemetry system to operate properly. The details of the band pass filter are described in the '158 application, and are hereby incorporated herein by reference. The current embodiment is preferred because the algorithm can be embedded into the downhole code, thereby ensuring a virtually 100 percent reliable downlink system while drilling.
Alternatively, substitute or additional steps may include sensing and displaying the magnitude of the torsional vibration frequency and subsequently filtering out these frequencies based on the displayed results. Methods and apparatus for sensing and displaying torsional vibration frequencies are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,332 to Dominick, entitled Method and Apparatus for Sensing and Displaying Torsional Vibration, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. While the preferred embodiment of the invention and its method of use have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and teachings of the invention. The embodiments described herein are exemplary only, and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the invention and apparatus and methods disclosed herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited by the description set out above, but is only limited by the claims which follow, that scope including all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2887298 | Hampton | May 1959 | A |
3703096 | Vitter et al. | Nov 1972 | A |
4078620 | Westlake et al. | Mar 1978 | A |
4359898 | Tanguy et al. | Nov 1982 | A |
4550392 | Mumby | Oct 1985 | A |
4878206 | Grosso et al. | Oct 1989 | A |
4903245 | Close et al. | Feb 1990 | A |
5055837 | Abdallah et al. | Oct 1991 | A |
5117926 | Worrall et al. | Jun 1992 | A |
5146433 | Kosmala et al. | Sep 1992 | A |
5205163 | Sananikone | Apr 1993 | A |
5226332 | Wassell | Jul 1993 | A |
5272680 | Stone et al. | Dec 1993 | A |
5289354 | Clayer et al. | Feb 1994 | A |
5321981 | Macpherson | Jun 1994 | A |
5331318 | Montgomery | Jul 1994 | A |
5721376 | Pavone et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
5842149 | Harrell et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
5864058 | Chen | Jan 1999 | A |
6021377 | Dubinsky et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
6023658 | Jeffryes | Feb 2000 | A |
6065332 | Dominick | May 2000 | A |
6097310 | Harrell et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
6182764 | Vaynshteyn | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6227044 | Jarvis | May 2001 | B1 |
6370082 | Gardner et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
6536529 | Kerr et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6564883 | Fredericks et al. | May 2003 | B1 |
20020180613 | Shi et al. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
20030016164 | Finke et al. | Jan 2003 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040206170 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |