Technique for acoustic data analysis
First Claim
1. A method of analyzing acoustic data of a pump, the method comprising:
- operating the pump at a given speed;
recording the acoustic data from the pump over a series of time periods during said operating;
averaging acoustic data of the multiple cycles to minimize an effect of any inconsistent acoustics by stacking waveforms from the recorded acoustic data into a single averaged waveform;
enhancing the acoustic data for analysis;
determining upper and lower thresholds of magnitude for the recorded acoustic data based on the enhanced data; and
thresholding the acoustic data for identifying any acoustic event correlated to the speed.
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Abstract
A method of enhancing acoustic pump data for monitoring of pump condition in operation. The enhancement may be in the form of a substantial reduction in the amount of data to be processed by firmware to a much more manageable level. This may be achieved through pre-filtering of acquired acoustic data, computing frequency momentum, and by application of a median filter to the acoustic data. Regardless, a thresholding technique that uses features vector including but not limited to double-threshold derived from statistics of enhanced amplitudes, may be employed whereby enhanced acoustic data is boiled down to a series of potential acoustic events of particular widths. These widths may represent a duration of each acoustic event and be checked for correlation with the speed of the operating speed of the pump. Acoustic events that correlate with an operating speed of the pump may represent an unhealthy condition of the pump such as where the width is about the duration of one half of a cycle of the pump and a leaky pump valve presents itself for this same period of time.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of analyzing acoustic data of a pump, the method comprising:
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operating the pump at a given speed; recording the acoustic data from the pump over a series of time periods during said operating; averaging acoustic data of the multiple cycles to minimize an effect of any inconsistent acoustics by stacking waveforms from the recorded acoustic data into a single averaged waveform; enhancing the acoustic data for analysis; determining upper and lower thresholds of magnitude for the recorded acoustic data based on the enhanced data; and thresholding the acoustic data for identifying any acoustic event correlated to the speed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of enhancing acoustic data of a pump, the method comprising:
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operating the pump; recording the acoustic data from the pump in a predetermined frequency range during said operating; amplifying a magnitude of the acoustic data over the frequency range; integrating the amplified magnitude of the acoustic data and subsequently removing a frequency dimension of the acoustic data by stacking waveforms from the acoustic data into a single averaged waveform; enhancing the amplified magnitude of the acoustic data by application of a median filter, said recording in the predetermined frequency range and said enhancing reducing storage of the acoustic data that is noise. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An oilfield pump assembly comprising:
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a pump for operating at a given speed; an acoustic sensor coupled to said pump for acquiring acoustic data therefrom during said operating; and a processor coupled to said acoustic sensor for acquiring information regarding the acoustic data and the speed, said processor identifying any acoustic event correlated to the speed by determining upper and lower thresholds of magnitude for the acoustic data based on the acquired data and subsequent thresholding analysis of the acquired acoustic data by stacking waveforms from the acoustic data into a single average waveform. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification