DISTRIBUTED NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING SLICKLINE CABLE DEFECTS AND MECHANICAL STRENGTH DEGRADATION TREND
First Claim
1. A distributed nondestructive inspection method for identifying structural defects in a cable, the method comprising:
- transmitting a light pulse along an optical fiber in the cable;
receiving a scattered light signal from the optical fiber, the scattered light signal comprising strain induced refractive index variations; and
analyzing the strain induced refractive index variations to identify structural defects of the cable.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed embodiments include a distributed nondestructive inspection method and system for slickline cable structural defect and mechanical strength degradation inspection. One method may include transmitting a light pulse along an optical fiber embedded in a slickline cable. A reflected light signal is received from the optical fiber in response to the local strain induced refractive index variation. Defects and mechanical strength degradation may be determined by time-dependent time-domain and frequency-domain data analyses of the dynamic strain signals and power spectral density variation as a function of time and cable location.
11 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A distributed nondestructive inspection method for identifying structural defects in a cable, the method comprising:
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transmitting a light pulse along an optical fiber in the cable; receiving a scattered light signal from the optical fiber, the scattered light signal comprising strain induced refractive index variations; and analyzing the strain induced refractive index variations to identify structural defects of the cable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A distributed nondestructive inspection method for detecting slickline cable mechanical strength and mechanical degradation trend, the method comprising:
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transmitting a coherent light pulse to an optical fiber in the slickline cable; measuring a reflected signal from the optical fiber in response to strain induced refractive index variations; referencing the measured reflected signal according to previous baseline signals; and analyzing acoustic signal induced time-dependent strain amplitude and frequency shift of the reflected signal to detect structural defects, mechanical strength and degradation trends of the slickline cable. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 11)
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12. A wireline cable nondestructive inspection system comprising:
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a wireline cable having at least one optical fiber embedded along its length; a tunable light source configured to generate a coherent light signal along a length of the optical fiber; and a controller, coupled to the optical fiber, configured to determine structural defects in the wireline cable comprising the optical fiber based on a measured reflected light signal from the wireline cable. - View Dependent Claims (10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification