Hybrid Downhole Acoustic Wireless Network

• US 20180058208A1
• Filed: 08/01/2017
• Published: 03/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Katie M. Walker, Limin Song, Scott William Clawson, Yibing Zhang
• Original Assignee: Yibing Zhang
• Inventors: Song, Limin, Zhang, Yibing, Clawson, Scott William, Walker, Katie M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,487,647 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 41/0085 Adaptations of electric power generating means for use in boreholes
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/005 Monitoring or checking of cementation quality or level
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/007 Measuring stresses in a pipe string or casing for locating blocked portions of pipes E21B47/09
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/017 Protecting measuring instruments
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/16 through the drill string or casing , e.g. by torsional acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/18 through the well fluid , e.g. mud pressure pulse telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 11/00 Transmission systems employing sonic, ultrasonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A hybrid electro-acoustic system for extending battery life of a downhole wireless telemetry system. The system includes a plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes spaced along a downhole tubular body and attached to a wall of the tubular body, each of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes configured to alternate between a sleep mode and an active mode and comprising: a power source comprising one or more batteries positioned within a housing; an electro-acoustic transducer and a transceiver, or a separate transmitter and receiver, positioned within the housing; and a topside communications node comprising: a transmitter and a power supply, the topside communications node structured and arranged to send an acoustic signal to one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes to place same in the active mode; wherein the power supply of the topside communications node is sufficient to enable communications directly with the intermediate communications node most remote from the surface and greater than the battery power provided to each of the intermediate communications nodes.

Claims

1. A hybrid electro-acoustic system for extending battery life of a downhole wireless telemetry system, comprising:

a plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes spaced along a downhole tubular body and attached to a wall of the tubular body, each of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes configured to alternate between a sleep mode and an active mode and comprising;

a power source comprising one or more batteries positioned within a housing;

an electro-acoustic transducer and a transceiver, or a separate transmitter and receiver, positioned within the housing; and

a topside communications node comprising;

a transmitter and a power supply, the topside communications node structured and arranged to send an acoustic signal to one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes to place same in the active mode;

wherein the power supply of the topside communications node is sufficient to enable communications directly with the intermediate communications node most remote from the surface and greater than the battery power provided to each of the intermediate communications nodes.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more battery-powered sensing nodes located at sensing locations along a downhole tubular body and attached on a wall of the tubular body, at least one sensing device in the sensing node, each of the battery-powered sensing nodes configured to alternate between a sleep mode and an active mode and comprising:

a power source comprising one or more batteries positioned within a housing;

an electro-acoustic transducer and a transceiver, or a separate transmitter and receiver, positioned within the housing, wherein the power supply of the topside communications node is sufficient to enable communications directly with the sensing node most remote from the surface and greater than the battery power provided to each of the sensing nodes.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the sleep mode is a deep-sleep mode.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the topside communications node communicates with the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes and one or more sensing nodes by generating a sound or a vibration that propagates downhole via a wall of the tubular body or a fluid within the tubular body.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the topside communications node further comprises a repetitive impactor, a pneumatic vibrator, an eccentric motor, a piezoelectric stack, or an oscillating valve to generate the sound or vibration that propagates downhole to communicate with the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes and one or more sensing nodes.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes and/or one or more sensing nodes further comprise a vibration resonator and electrical switch to receive the sound or vibration from the topside communications node and initiate a resonant vibration of the vibration resonator at a pre-selected frequency and place one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes and/or one or more sensing nodes in the active mode.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the resonator comprises a cantilever vibrator or a ball-spring vibrator with a resonance frequency matching that of the sound or a vibration source.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the tubular body has one or more passbands associated therewith and the pre-selected frequency or frequencies are the frequencies within the passbands of the downhole tubular body so that the acoustic wave propagation loss is minimal.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the topside communications node further comprises a modulator for modulating the sound or vibration generated therefrom.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the modulator produces a pattern of “

on” and

“

off”

signals to transmit a surface command to a specific battery-powered intermediate communications node.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes and/or one or more sensing nodes further comprise energy harvesting electronics.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the resonator functions as a power receiver to convert sound and vibration energy transmitted from the topside communications node into electrical power via the energy harvesting electronics.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the energy harvesting electronics comprises a super-capacitor or chargeable batteries.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes and/or one or more sensing nodes further comprise pass-band filtering circuitry to isolate a pre-selected frequency range of the acoustic signal.

15. A method of extending battery life of a downhole wireless telemetry system, comprising:

providing a plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes spaced along a downhole tubular body and attached to a wall of the tubular body, each of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes configured to alternate between a sleep mode and an active mode and comprising;

a power source comprising one or more batteries positioned within a housing;

an electro-acoustic transducer and a transceiver, or a separate transmitter and receiver, positioned within the housing;

providing a topside communications node comprising;

a transmitter and a power supply;

sending an acoustic signal from the topside communications node to one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes; and

placing one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes in the active mode.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the sleep mode is a deep-sleep mode.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the power supply of the topside communications node is sufficient to enable communications directly with the intermediate communications node most remote from the surface and greater than the battery power provided to each of the intermediate communications nodes.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising communicating with the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes by generating a sound or a vibration that propagates downhole via a wall of the tubular body or a fluid within the tubular body.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the topside communications node further comprises a repetitive impactor, a pneumatic vibrator, an eccentric motor, a piezoelectric stack, or an oscillating valve to generate the sound or vibration that propagates downhole to communicate with the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes includes a vibration resonator.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising initiating a resonant vibration in response to the sound or vibration from the topside communications node at a pre-selected frequency and placing one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes in the active mode by completing an electrical circuit.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising converting sound and vibration energy from the topside communications node into electrical power via energy harvesting electronics.

23. A method of assessing changes in subterranean well integrity along the length of the subterranean well, comprising:

providing a plurality of battery-powered intermediate communications nodes spaced along a downhole tubular body and attached to a wall of the tubular body, each of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes configured to alternate between a sleep mode and an active mode and comprising;

a power source comprising one or more batteries positioned within a housing;

an electro-acoustic transducer and a transceiver, or a separate transmitter and receiver, positioned within the housing;

providing a topside communications node comprising;

a transmitter and a power supply;

sending an acoustic signal from the topside communications node to one or more of the battery-powered intermediate communications nodes; and

determining the acoustic response of the one or more battery-powered intermediate communications nodes to assess the condition of a propagation path between the topside communications node and each of the one or more battery-powered intermediate communications nodes.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising constructing a linear acoustic tomography by measuring acoustic parameters between the topside communications node and each of the one or more battery-powered intermediate communications nodes.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising repeating the method at a different time with respect to a previous time and measuring a change in acoustic parameters between the different time and the previous time to determine whether a physical change in a well condition has occurred.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the physical change in well conditions includes a change in fluid in the tubular body, a change in cement condition over time, or a change in tubular body integrity over time.