Baker Hughes Corporation

Baker Hughes, a Ge Compnay, LLC

Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC

James V Leggett, Iii

Vladimir Dubinsky

John W Harrell

Douglas J Patterson

Paulo S Tubel

Tsili Wang

Xiao Ming Tang

Roger Steinsiek

Louis H Rorden

Herbert W Beimgraben

Wei Han

Steven C Owens

Nils Reimers

Frank Lindsay Gibbons

Ashok Patel

Rocco DiFoggio

Jinsong Zhao

Alexei Bolshakov

Daniel C Minette

Alexi Bolshakov

Kamalesh Chatterjee

Ronald Deady

Bernard G Hubner

Vladimir Dubinksy

Gerald D Lynde

Volker Krueger

Macmillan M Wisler

Andrew G Brooks

Dwight W Swett

Philip Lawrence Kurkoski

Brian David Breaux

Stewart Blake Brazil

Gamal A Hassan

Michael R Wells

Pushkar N Jogi

Wallace Harold Meyer

Quming Zhou

Gregory R Nazzal

Steffen Toscher

Roger P Herbert

Wallace H Meyer, Jr

Gavin Lindsay

Paul J Seaton

Julie C Slaughter

Vaibhav Sule

Macmillan H Wisler

Debashish Sarkar

Valdimir Dubinsky

Mark S Solly

William Thomas Balogh

Toby Hansen

Duane E Canny

Methods, systems, and devices for determining an acoustic parameter of a downhole fluid using an acoustic assembly. Methods include transmitting a plurality of pulses; measuring values for at least one wave property measured for reflections of the plurality of pulses received at at least one acoustic receiver, including: a first value for a first reflection traveling a first known distance from a first acoustically reflective surface having a first known acoustic impedance, a second value for a second reflection traveling a second known distance substantially the same as the first known distance from a second acoustically reflective surface having a second known acoustic impedance, and a third value for a third reflection traveling a third known distance from a third acoustically reflective surface having a third known acoustic impedance substantially the same as the second acoustic impedance; and estimating the acoustic parameter using the values.

Self-calibrated method of determining borehole fluid acoustic properties

A downhole measurement tool configured to be run through a bore includes a source and a 3-component receiver. The source is configured to emit a signal into a volume of material surrounding the bore. The source signal propagates through the material surrounding the bore and reflects off of features within the material surrounding the bore. The three-component receiver includes a first, a second, and a third element. The first element is oriented in a first plane, orthogonal to an axis of the bore, and receives a first component of the set of reflections of the source signal. The second element is oriented in the first plane, orthogonal to the first element, and receives a second component of the set of reflections of the source signal. The third element is oriented parallel to the axis and receives a third component of the set of reflections of the source signal.

Systems and method for formation evaluation from borehole

Systems, devices, and methods for estimating a value of a parameter of interest of an earth formation intersected by a borehole. Methods include conveying a carrier in the borehole having disposed thereon an acoustic imaging tool including at least one convex linear phased array module, each of the at least one module comprising a rigid shell forming a compartment containing a piezoelectric component array; using the acoustic imaging tool to take acoustic measurements of the borehole; and using the acoustic measurements to estimate at least one parameter of interest. Each module may be self-contained. The tool may include a plurality of modules circumferentially arrayed about a portion of the acoustic tool. Methods include individually removing one selected module from the acoustic tool. Methods may include selecting an outer tool diameter the same as an inner borehole diameter borehole and selecting a maximum number of modules fitting the outer tool diameter.

Encapsulated phased array segment for downhole applications

An apparatus for imaging a borehole wall includes an array of acoustic transducers and a controller. The controller scans a section of the borehole wall with first acoustic beams that are transmitted by a series of sets of acoustic transducers in the array to produce adjacent first acoustic measurements that are spaced a first distance Dapart along the borehole wall, each set having at least one transducer that is different from an adjacent set, (ii) steers a second acoustic beam along the section of the borehole wall using one set of acoustic transducers in the array to produce adjacent second acoustic measurements that are a second distance Dapart along the borehole wall, and (iii) images the borehole wall using the first acoustic measurements and the second acoustic measurement to generate a borehole wall image, wherein at least one second acoustic measurement is between adjacent first acoustic measurements.

Multi-beam phased array acoustic transducer operation for downhole applications

A method of performing acoustic imaging includes: selecting a target location, and selecting a group of transducers from a plurality of transducers to transmit an acoustic beam to be electronically directed to the target location; selecting a transmitter having an orientation toward a location proximate to the target location, and transmitting an acoustic signal only by the transmitter; detecting an acoustic return signal by the transmitter and by a plurality of other transducers in the group; estimating a travel time for each of the group of transducers, the estimating including measuring a travel time for each of the other transducers, and estimating a travel time for the transmitter based on the travel time for each of the other transducers; and calculating beamforming delays based on the travel time, the beamforming delay configured to cause the group of transducers to direct an acoustic beam to the target location.

Devices and methods for downhole acoustic imaging

An acoustic transducer assembly includes: a carrier configured to be disposed in an earth formation, the carrier having a carrier axis; an array of transducer elements forming at least a semicircular shape, the array configured to emit acoustic signals in a radial direction relative to the carrier axis; and a circuit coupled to the array and configured to actuate a subset of the transducer elements and emit an acoustic beam therefrom, the circuit configured to actuate the subsets as a phased array to electronically rotate the acoustic beam about the carrier axis.

The present disclosure is related to apparatuses and methods for estimating borehole parameters using a plurality of reflections caused by a plurality of acoustic pulses. The reflections may overlap each other and/or the acoustic pulses. The methods may include estimating an envelope of the received acoustic signal at the at least one element of the array of transducers; and estimating at least one arrival time of at least one of the plurality of overlapping events from the envelope of the received acoustic signals, the arrival times being characteristic of the geometry of the borehole. The method may also include imaging the borehole wall. The apparatus may include an array of transducers on a rotatable transducer assembly with at least one element on the array configured to generate a plurality of acoustic pulses and receive reflections and a processor configured to perform the method.

Pipelined pulse-echo scheme for an acoustic image tool for use downhole

In one aspect, an apparatus for use downhole is provided, which apparatus, in one embodiment, includes an acoustic transducer having a first member in pressure communication with a confined fluid, wherein a displacement of the first member causes a volume change in the confined fluid that amplifies displacement of a second member to generate a pressure wave in medium.

Acoustic transducers with dynamic frequency range

Harmonics and subharmonics of acoustic measurements made during rotation of a sensor on a downhole are processed to estimate the location of the imager, and size and shape of the borehole. A piecewise elliptical fitting procedure may be used. These estimates may be used to correct measurements made by a standoff-sensitive formation evaluation sensor such as a neutron porosity tool.

Multi-resolution borehole profiling

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for using an acoustic logging tool conveyed in a borehole in an earth formation for determining a characteristic of the formation. The method comprises using a first acoustic source for generating an acoustic signal in the earth formation at a first frequency. A second acoustic source spaced apart from the first source is used for generating an acoustic signal in the earth formation at a second frequency different from the first frequency. An acoustic receiver is used for receiving a third acoustic signal indicative of said characteristic. The third acoustic signal has a frequency substantially equal to a difference between the first frequency and the second frequency. The third acoustic signal is produced by a nonlinear interaction between the first signal and the second signal in a portion of said earth formation. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Method of generating directional low frequency acoustic signals and reflected signal detection enhancements for seismic while drilling applications

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for using an acoustic logging tool conveyed in a borehole in an earth formation for determining a characteristic of the formation. The method comprises using a first acoustic source for generating an acoustic signal in the earth formation at a first frequency. A second acoustic source spaced apart from the first source is used for generating an acoustic signal in the earth formation at a second frequency different from the first frequency. An acoustic receiver is used for receiving a third acoustic signal indicative of said characteristic. The third acoustic signal has a frequency substantially equal to a difference between the first frequency and the second frequency. The third acoustic signal is produced by a nonlinear interaction between the first signal and the second signal in a portion of said earth formation.

Methods of generating directional low frequency acoustic signals and reflected signal detection enhancements for seismic while drilling applications

The logging tool of this invention includes a transmitter conveyed on a drilling collar for exciting a quadrupole signal in a borehole being drilled by a drill bit and a receiver for receiving the signal. The transmitter is operated at a frequency below the cut-off frequency of the quadrupole collar mode. The received signal consists primarily of the formation quadrupole mode which, at low frequencies, has a velocity that approaches the formation shear velocity. The transmitter, in one embodiment, consists of eight equal sectors of a piezoelectric cylinder mounted on the rim of the drilling collar. The value of the cut-off frequency is primarily dependent on the thickness of the drilling collar. Alternatively, the transmitter may be operated to produce both the collar mode and the formation mode and a processor may be used to filter out the collar mode.

Method and apparatus for LWD shear velocity measurement

Array quadrupole data obtained in a LWD environment are processed to determine the shear velocity of an earth formation taking into account dispersion effects caused by the logging tool. When this processing is done in an azimuthally anisotropic formation, the shear velocity that is obtained is the slow shear velocity. When 4C (cross-dipole) data are also obtained, then both the fast and slow shear velocities of an azimuthally anisotropic formation can be obtained.

Growing community of inventors

Magnolia, TX, United States of America

James V Leggett, Iii