INTELLIGENT TOOL FOR DETECTING PERFORATIONS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA ONLINE

• US 20110301893A1
• Filed: 11/24/2009
• Published: 12/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ecopetrol SA (Government of Colombia)
• Original Assignee: Ecopetrol SA (Government of Colombia)
• Inventors: Leal Diaz, Gonzalo, Latorre Cortes, Guillermo, Ruiz Escobar, Juan Diego, Toscano Rodriguez, Jorge Alberto
• Granted Patent: US 8,892,378 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/65
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 2101/70 Drill-well operations
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 55/1283 Plugging pig
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/005 using pigs or moles G01M3/246, G01M3/2823 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/246 using pigs or probes travelling in the pipe
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 19/11 with indexing means
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2003/506 making use of permanent magnets

Abstract

The present application relates to a tool for detecting perforations in hydrocarbon pipelines based on the sensing system thereof. The function of said tool is to pass longitudinally through a pipeline of specific diameter, monitoring the thickness thereof and detecting any hole over the path followed and, in accordance with the data obtained, establishing the distance at which the holes are located, calculated from the starting point, the time at the instant of detection and also the circumferential position and size thereof, all the aforesaid as part of an online process implemented as the tool progresses through the target pipeline. At the end of the run, the information may be downloaded to a computer where it is available for use and for the corresponding decisions concerning integrity.

Claims

1. A tool for the detection of perforations and interpretation of data online, comprising a battery module, a positioning and main control module that performs the analysis, interpretation and filtering of the information online, and a magnetic sensing module that performs the acquisition of primary information from the pipes perforations or defects.

2. The tool, according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensing module has a configuration on the sensing system, in which the elements in charge of generating the magnetic field are permanent magnets located radially in a sensing crown, in a manner that the north pole of each one of them is confronted with the posterior face of the Hall effect sensors.

3. The tool, according to claim 2, wherein the Hall effect sensors of the magnetic sensing module are placed radially at a distance between 1 and 3 millimetres from the internal wall of the pipe.

4. The tool according to claim 2, wherein the magnets used in the magnetic sensing module can be ceramic, of Alnico or rare earths.

5. The tool according to claim 4, wherein the magnets are preferably selected made of rare earths with a field density of 100 mWb to 200 mWb (10,000 and 20,000 Gauss)

6. The tool according to claim 5, wherein the magnets are selected from a group consisting of Samarium, Cobalt, Boron or Neodymium.

7. The tool according to claim 6, wherein the magnets of Neodymium.

8. The tool according to claim 2, wherein the sensing crown is composed by six crown sections, where the Hall effect sensors are located.

9. The tool according to claim 8, wherein the sensing crown comprises a quantity between 30 and 70 sensors.

10. The tool according to claim 9, wherein the sensing crown comprises preferably between 40 and 60 sensors.

11. The tool according to claim 8, wherein the sensing crown is elaborated in polyurethane, polypropylene or mixtures of these.

12. The tool according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic sensing module comprises at least four cards in master-slave configuration that counts with double voltage regulation.

13. The tool according to claim 12, wherein the slave cards are multiplexer cards that are in charge of managing the information coming from the Hall effect sensors in groups of equal quantity each one.

14. The tool according to claim 12, wherein the slave cards are three multiplexer cards that execute algorithms that allow knowing in real time the information of the perforations or defects of the pipe.

15. The tool according to claim 12, wherein the slave cards comprise also a signal conditioner (CAS) between the output from the multiplexer and the input of microcontroller and a RC filter.

16. The tool according to claim 12, wherein the fourth commutation and multiplexer card acts as a master and is in charge of controlling and syncing the multiplexer cards.

17. The tool according to claim 12, wherein the cards comprise a microcontroller of 8, 16 or more Bits, and a data memory no less than 256×

8 bytes.

18. The tool according to claim 17, wherein the microcontroller of 8, 16 or more bits has a serial transmission module, an analogue/digital convertor and the ICPS (In-Circuit) programming capacity.

19. The tool according to claim 12, wherein the magnetic sensing module comprises preferably four cards, one is the master and three which are slaves, which are in charge of managing the information of 48 Hall effect sensors distributed in groups of 16 sensors per card.

20. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the positioning and main control module, is divided in two sections, one for the acquisition of positioning data and the other that supports the main controller.

21. The tool according to claim 20, wherein the positioning section comprises at least three odometers constituted by a wheel that must be in contact with the internal pipe wall during the whole trajectory, where in such wheel two magnets are imbedded located on opposite sides of the same face.

22. The tool according to claim 21, wherein the wheel is constructed in a wear resistant material but with a high friction coefficient, selected from Teflon, Viton, polyurethane or mixtures of these.

23. The claim according to claim 20, wherein such module also comprises an odometry card, that comprises at least two accelerometers that measure the angular position of each perforation or defect detected.

24. The tool according to claim 23, wherein the odometry card comprises also a microcontroller that has at least three analogue/digital convertors.

25. The tool according to claim 20, wherein the said main control module also comprises in the positioning data acquisition section, a position card that has a microcontroller and a real time clock.

26. The tool according to claim 20, wherein the main control module has an internal wiring that contains the polarization and the serial communication threads and an extra battery package.

27. The tool according to claim 20, wherein the main controller section comprises a control card that has information storage memories.

28. The tool according to claim 27, wherein such information storage memories are selected from the group consisting of EEPROM, RAM, FLASH and ROM.

29. The tools according to claim 28, wherein such storage memories have a storage capacity between 128 and 2048 Kbits.

30. The tool according to claim 29, wherein such storage memories have a storage capacity preferably between 256 and 1024 Kbits.

31. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the battery module comprises a battery package, internal wiring, an exterior connector and some capacitor filters.

32. The tool according to claim 31, wherein the capacitor filters are found in the range between 1 mF and 100 mF.

34. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the external structure of each one of the modules is constituted by two support discs and a metallic body which is a hollow metallic tube, interconnected through homokinetic joints through which all the communication wiring passes internally between the different modules.

35. The tool according to claim 34, wherein each one of the modules comprises external contacts to earth that land during the trajectory and eliminates all possible static energy that it may acquire.

36. The tool according to claim 35, wherein each one of the modules comprise also input and output valves to inject or evacuate nitrogen or some inert gas that displaces the air inside the module, to create an inert environment and with a greater security condition in the tool.

37. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensing module optionally comprises an ultrasound module and a vision module.

38. The tool according to claim 37, wherein the ultrasound module has a transmitter and a receptor of ultrasonic waves;

and the vision module has an infrared camera.

39. The tool according to claim 1, wherein the tool connects to a visualization block through a control card to transmit the information obtained during its trajectory through the pipe, where the software contained on said visualization media decodes, organizes and visualizes the inspection results

33. The tool according to claim 33, wherein the batteries of the battery package have a current between 2,500 mA/h and 5000 mA/h and a voltage between 1.2 v and 5 v, to create a total package between 9.5 v and 12 v at a current between 18,000 mA/h and 22,000 mA/h.