Method and apparatus for stress mapping of pipelines and other tubulars
First Claim
1. A stress mapping system operable to determine and map stresses along a conduit, said stress mapping system comprising:
- a tool movable along a conduit and having at least one sensing device for sensing characteristics of the conduit;
wherein said tool includes a position determining device operable to determine the position of said tool as said tool moves along the conduit;
a processor operable to process an output of said at least one sensing device;
wherein, responsive to processing of the output by said processor, said processor is operable to determine stresses at a surface of the conduit;
wherein, responsive to determining the position of the tool, said processor determines a position of deformations of the conduit;
wherein, responsive to determining stresses at the surface of the conduit and determining the position of deformations of the conduit, said processor correlates determined stresses at the surface of the conduit with the determined position of deformations of the conduit;
wherein, responsive to correlating the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit with the determined position of deformations of the conduit, said processor affirms the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit;
wherein, responsive to said processing of said output of said at least one sensing device, and responsive to determination of the position of said tool along said conduit, said system generates a map of determined stresses along the conduit; and
wherein the map of determined stresses provides a visual representation of the stresses determined at and along the surface of the conduit.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stress mapping system and method is operable to determine and map stresses along a conduit. The system includes a tool movable along a conduit and having at least one sensing device for sensing characteristics of the conduit, and a processor operable to process an output of the at least one sensing device. Responsive to processing of the output by the processor, the processor is operable to determine stresses at a surface of the conduit. Responsive to the processing of the output of the at least one sensing device, and responsive to a determination of a location or position of the tool along the conduit, the system generates a map of determined stresses along the conduit. The map of determined stresses provides a visual representation of the stresses determined at and along the surface of the conduit.
66 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A stress mapping system operable to determine and map stresses along a conduit, said stress mapping system comprising:
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a tool movable along a conduit and having at least one sensing device for sensing characteristics of the conduit; wherein said tool includes a position determining device operable to determine the position of said tool as said tool moves along the conduit; a processor operable to process an output of said at least one sensing device; wherein, responsive to processing of the output by said processor, said processor is operable to determine stresses at a surface of the conduit; wherein, responsive to determining the position of the tool, said processor determines a position of deformations of the conduit; wherein, responsive to determining stresses at the surface of the conduit and determining the position of deformations of the conduit, said processor correlates determined stresses at the surface of the conduit with the determined position of deformations of the conduit; wherein, responsive to correlating the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit with the determined position of deformations of the conduit, said processor affirms the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit; wherein, responsive to said processing of said output of said at least one sensing device, and responsive to determination of the position of said tool along said conduit, said system generates a map of determined stresses along the conduit; and wherein the map of determined stresses provides a visual representation of the stresses determined at and along the surface of the conduit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for determining and mapping stresses along a conduit, said method comprising:
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providing a tool having a sensing device and a position determining device; moving the tool along a conduit and determining stresses at a surface of the conduit as the tool moves along the conduit; determining the position of the tool as the tool moves along the conduit; determining a position of deformations of the conduit based on the determined position of the tool; correlating the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit with the determined position of deformations of the conduit; affirming the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit based on the correlation between the determined stresses at the surface of the conduit and the determined position of deformations of the conduit; and mapping the determined stresses along the conduit, wherein the mapped determined stresses provide a visual representation of the stresses determined at and along the surface of the conduit. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification