The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 28, 2017
Filed:
Sep. 28, 2012
Optasense Holdings Limited, Farnborough, Hampshire, GB;
Alastair Godfrey, Farnborough, GB;
Roger Ian Crickmore, Farnborough, GB;
Optasense Holdings Limited, , GB;
Abstract
This application describes methods and apparatus for monitoring flow of fluids within conduits using fiber optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). The method can determine flow rate and/or flow regime within a conduit such as within a production well or a pipeline. Embodiments involve introducing an acoustic stimulus () into the fluid within the conduit (); interrogating an optical fiber () deployed along the path of the conduit to provide a DAS sensor; and analyzing the acoustic signals detected by a plurality of channels of the DAS sensor to determine at least one flow characteristic. Analyzing the acoustic signal comprises identifying reflections () of said acoustic stimulus caused by the fluid within the conduit and analyzing said reflections to determine any Doppler shift (Δf).