Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/26—Oils; Viscous liquids; Paints; Inks
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B23/00—Apparatus for displacing, setting, locking, releasing or removing tools, packers or the like in boreholes or wells
  • E21B23/08—Introducing or running tools by fluid pressure, e.g. through-the-flow-line tool systems
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B28/00—Vibration generating arrangements for boreholes or wells, e.g. for stimulating production
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B37/00—Methods or apparatus for cleaning boreholes or wells
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
  • E21B47/002—Survey of boreholes or wells by visual inspection
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B47/00—Survey of boreholes or wells
  • E21B47/002—Survey of boreholes or wells by visual inspection
  • E21B47/0025—Survey of boreholes or wells by visual inspection generating an image of the borehole wall using down-hole measurements, e.g. acoustic or electric
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B49/00—Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells
  • E21B49/005—Testing the nature of borehole walls or the formation by using drilling mud or cutting data
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
  • G01N21/84—Systems specially adapted for particular applications
  • G01N21/86—Investigating moving sheets

Definitions

• This invention relates to methods and apparatus for analyzing materials in or from a well borehole and providing the results of the analysis as a function of borehole depth, and for facilitating development of the well.
• geological evidence can be used to identify particular kinds of strata which are known to exist in a specific relation to oil bearing formations.
• Such evidence includes lithology composition, fabric such as grain size and porosity, structure, paleontological data such as the presence or absence of certain forms of fossils, and also evidence of the pressure or absence of hydrocarbons and in what form they exist, as well as numerous other data.
• drilling mud a liquid called drilling mud, containing clays and other materials, is pumped into the well, through the drill string, to facilitate drilling and to carry cut and ground material
• drill mud return will be used here to refer to the mud as it emerges from the well with the other materials. Normally, the drill mud return is processed to remove cuttings, cunped into a
• An object of the present invention is to provide a system for optically examining materials indigenous to the subsurface region adjacent the drill bit, generating information signals about those materials and providing that information to the individuals 5 controlling a drilling operation.
• a further object is to provide methods and apparatus for developing optical signals representative of the materials, optically and electrically processing those signals to enhance the useful information therein 0 and identifying characteristics of the materials.
• Another object is to provide a method of 0 conducting energy to a downhole location at a depth to be developed for perforating the well casing and adjacent formation.
• the invention includes a method of analyzing subsurface earth formations comprising the steps of providing a stored data base including descriptive data on characteristics of geological and paleontological features commonly encountered in materials penetrated by a well borehole; optically examining material indigenous to the subsurface region penetrated by the borehole and forming signals representative of selected characteristics of the material; comparing the signals formed following the optical examination with data in the stored data base to identify the nature of geological and paleontological features present in the borehole; and providing a display of those features identified.
• the invention includes a system for separating and analyzing materials from drill mud return for use in combination with a well drilling apparatus of the type having a drill string and bit, means for supporting and rotating the string to drill a borehole, means for delivery drilling mud to the string, and means for conducting drill mud return emanating from the bore annulus away from the borehole, the system comprising the combination of means for receiving and degassing at least a portion of the drill mud return and capturing gas emanating therefrom; means for analyzing the captured gas and providing a plurality of signals representative of the presence of selected constituents in said gas; means for continuously extracting a preselected percentage of the degassed drill mud return; a plurality of serially connected separation means for receiving said preselected percentage and sequentially removing therefrom chips, particles and grains of material in selected size categories; a plurality of optical scanning means for receiving, respectively, the removed material in each of said categories, for optically examining the material for ⁇ MR characteristics and for providing signals representative of selected ones ⁇ f those
• Fig. 1 is a schematic simplified block diagram of a system in accordance with the present invention
• Figs. 2A, 2B and 2C taken together are a functional block diagram" illustrating the architecture of the processing portion of a system according to Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system for obtaining cutting samples for processing in accordance with Figs. 1 and 2;
• Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a sample preparation and optical viewing apparatus
• Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of Fig. 4;
• Fig. 6 is a side elevation, in section, of one embodiment of an optical sample illuminating and viewing apparatus usable in the apparatus of Figs. 4 and 5;
• Fig. 7. is a partial side elevation, in section, of a further embodiment of an optical sample illuminating a viewing apparatus usable in the apparatus of Figs. 4 and 5;
• Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the apparatus of
• Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a portion of an optical image analysis apparatus usable in conjunction v/ith the apparatus of Figs. 2 and 4-8;
• Fig. 10 is a simplified side elevation, in partial section of a down.-hole optical examining apparatus usable in the system of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 11 is an enlarged partial side elevation of an optical foot portion of the apparatus of Fig. 10;
• Fig. 12 is a side elevation of an embodiment of a down-hole optical examining apparatus usable with a drill string in place;
• Fig. 13 is a bottom partial plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 12;
• Fig. 14 is a graphical illustration of the characteristics of fiber optics usable in the system and particularly the apparatus of Figs. 10-13;
• Figs. 15A-C taken together are an information flow diagram for geological data bases usable in accordance with the invention.
• Fig. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a system in accordance with the invention, in a functional form, the system including a data base 20 which is interconnected with a pattern recognition portion of an assembly of data processors 21.
• Optical examination apparatus 22 is provided to inspect lithologic materials and produce a series of groups of signals which can either be initially in digital form or optical form, subsequently converted to digital form, as indicated by clock 23, the digital signals to be supplied to data processors 21. Drilling operation data is also gathered, including depth and other factors, as indicated at 24, and supplied to the data processors.
• the pattern recognition processor analyzes signals extracted from the data base and those supplied by the optical examination and digital signal blocks and presents the results of the pattern recognition analysis to a display device 25 which can be in the form of a transitory display on a CRT or by printing of hard copy.
• processors 21, in the rather generalized context of Fig. 1 is to analyze each group of digital information representative of characteristics of material optically examined with reference to characteristics of known materials stored in data base 20.
• the data processors determine whether the analysis results in recognition of the optically examined material as being a material the characteristics of which are stored in the data base.
• the display unit 20 is provided with a statement that the material is recognized and an identification of the recognized material, along with the depth to which the material is indigenous.
• the printout or display presents this information together. If the analysis does not initially result in recognition, the new pattern of characteristics can be separately analyzed and added to the data base with suitable identification.
• the ultimate purpose of the information to be presented is, in addition to recognition information, a statement of the significance of that recognition, i.e., whether it indicates the likelihood of the presence of oil or gas of no such substances.
• the signals from generator 23 along with the drilling operation data are provided to a data store 30 which is a high density storage unit for the purpose of receiving and storing all data relating to a specific borehole for possible different, forms of future analysis.
• a data store 30 which is a high density storage unit for the purpose of receiving and storing all data relating to a specific borehole for possible different, forms of future analysis.
• the output of processors 21 can also be provided to the same or a different high density storage device to retain, in machine-readable form, the results of the comparison process.
• Optical examination can provide a wide variety of information relating to the characteristics of mater ⁇ ials found in, or brought out of, a borehole previously drilled or being drilled.
• the grain size, shape and distribution of various minerals can be opti ⁇ cally determined, along with the porosity and the charac ⁇ teristics of the minerals, i.e., whether they are predominantly sandstone, shale, limestone or dolomite.
• microbiological characteristics of fossils existing in the strata penetrated by the borehole can be optically determined. As will be recognized, fossils of various types have characteristic shapes, sizes and these can be determined by optical investigation.
• the data base constitutes a library of known materials and their characteristics as to shape, size, distribution, etc.; and also the shapes and other characteristics of the microbiological features which can yield paleontological data.
• the presence or absence of certain fossil forms is indicative of proximity to formations which can be expected to contain hydrocarbon deposits, and the prompt recognition of such character- istics can be a valuable guide to the desirability of stopping or continuing drilling.
• optical examination is not intended to be limited to examination with visible light. On the contrary, it is contemplated that various spectral regions of electromagnetic energy wil-1 be used, including ultraviolet, visible light, possibly infrared, and also scanning with X-rays for defraction and spectral data.
• FIG. 2 A more detailed diagram of a portion of a system in accordance with the .invention is shown in Fig. 2, this figure also including other examination charac ⁇ teristics including examination of the gases derived, the gas analysis being particularly significant if the materials under examination are derived from drill mud return.
• Figs. 2A, 2B and 2C show the major processing portions of the system and identify various items of hardware which are readily available, are compatable with each other and which can therefore be assembled to perform the necessary control and processing steps. It should be recognized that the specific processors and other components identified are, in most cases, not the
• OMPI only ones which can be used and that functional equiva ⁇ lents can be substituted, if desired.
• a plurality of transducers 24 provide the various signals representative of the drilling parameters including those from which drilling rate, depth, mud flow characteristics and other related information can either be directly determined or calculated. As previously indicated, these parameters are important because it is from them that depth and lag time can continuously be calculated.
• These generally analog signals are supplied to a multi-channel signal conditioning unit 31 which normalizes and otherv/ise conditions the signals so that they are scaled as needed, depending upon the choices of transducers used to make the measurements.
• These analog signals are supplied to a 16 channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which is one portion of a CAMAC crate 32.
• ADC analog-to-digital converter
• the crate is a commercially available powered enclosure and is the basic unit of a computer automated measurement and control system (of which name CAMAC is an acronym) based on a set of IEEE mechanical, electrical and logic standards including standards 583-1975, 395-1976, 596-1976.
• Crate 32 includes, in addition to the ADC, a DEC LSI 11/23 processor with a RSX 11/M operating system and DECN ⁇ T distributed communication software. This unit is mounted in a Kinetic Systems 3923 Processor Adaptor to become functionally compatible with the other CAMAC modules.
• the crate also includes a 24 bit digital input module to receive inputs from limit switches on a sample preparation and analysis apparatus 34, to be discussed v/ith reference to Fig. 4; a 24 bit relay control output module to supply relay signals for control of apparatus 34; a 16 channel ADC to receive and convert to digital form position information from the sample preparation apparatus; and an 8 channel digital-to-analog converter for supplying analog control signals to motors and other components of that apparatus.
• Crate 32 communicates with other processing portions of the system through the DLV-11J Quad Serial Port, one port PO of which is connected to one port of a similar quad serial port in a master crate 35 (Fig. 2C) .
• a second port, PI of crate 32 is connected to a quad serial port in a crate 36 in a microprocessor based data processing subunit 37a (Fig. 2B) for image analysis system control and data processing.
• the overall system includes a plurality of subunits like subunit 37a, four such subunits being shown in Fig. 2B.
• Unit 37a analyzes chips while units 37b, 37c and 37d analyze sand, silt and clay, respectively. These subunits are substantially identical and, therefore, only unit 37a is shown in- detail.
• Crate 36 is of a similar nature to crate 32 and includes three 3923 crate controllers, one master and two auxiliaries; three LSI 11/23 and processor adapter units; three 64K word memories; two DLV 11J Quad Serial Ports; a 24 bit digital input-output interface unit; a three channel step motor controller; a video digitizer; a 128K word buffer memory; and RL02 disk controller; and two DL11 Serial Ports, all organized as illustrated.
• the 24 bit digital I/O unit interfaces with an image analysis system preprocessor 38 which can be an Omnicon Alpha 500.
• This unit receives optical inputs from an optical system 39 connected through fiber optics to a chalnico ' n video camera 40 which produces a sequence of images in a form compatible with the 500.
• the output of preprocessor 38 is a composite video signal which is delivered to the video digitizer unit in crate 36.
• the three channel step motor controller is connected to the optical stage and focus control 41 which operates in conjunction with optical system 39.
• the RL02 disk controller operates a 10 megabyte disk drive which is the image work file storage location.
• the subunits 37a-d are interconnected through one of the quad serial ports, port PI being connected to port PI of crate 32 and port P3 being connected to port PI of the next processor, these being 9600 baud communication links.
• Port P2 in each crate is a 9600 baud diagnostic port, and port P0 in each crate 36 communicates through one port in a DLV 11J quad serial port in crate 35.
• the DL 11 serial ports are coupled to the second DLV 11J quad for intracrate communication.
• the top DEC LSI 11/23 microprocessor runs an RSX 11/D operating system used for crate communication, crate control, position stage and focus control. Alpha control and Alpha data collection.
• the second and third LSI 11/23 microprocessors perform video image processing and Alpha data processing for classification of physical characteristics of specimens.
• crate 36 includes three 3923 crate controllers (one master and two auxiliaries) ; three LSI 11/23 and processing adapters; three 64K word memories; a 300 megabyte disk 43; three DLV 11J Quad Serial Ports; a 20 megabyte fixed head disk controller which controls and communicates with a DEC 20 megabyte fixed head disk 44; a FPS 120 controller coupled to a FPS 120 floating point and array processor 45; a DL 11 serial port; an RL02 disk controller operating with an RL02 ten megabyte disk and drive 46; a 300 LPM printer controller communicating with a Vionix 300 P line printer 47; and a color graphics controller communicating with a Ramtek Color Graphics CRT 48.
• the bottom quad serial port communicates with a data display CRT 49 such as a Lear Siegler ADM3A and, through a fiber optic link including two fiber optic
• transmitter/receiver units with a data CRT 50 located at the drill platform.
• the top LSI 11/23 running with RSX 11/M operating system, provides loading on all other pro- cessors of the crate using DECNET protocol, control of the other processors and maintenance of data bases.
• the second LSJ 11/23 (also running RXS 11/M) provides access to the floating point peripheral processor for processing pattern recognition routines as well as the geological classifier analysis.
• the bottom LSI 11/23 provides graphics and data output functions.
• the system when used in conjunction with flowing mud to analyze the materials extracted from drill mud return, includes an agitator for removing gas from the mud and analyzing that gas.
• agitator fluid level and the degassed mud weight or density and characteristics of the samples of degassed mud can be supplied. It is important to continuously track the characteristics of the well itself during drilling, which characteristics can be continuously changing.
• analyzing materials derived from drill mud return it is important to continuously keep track of the depth from which materials are being brought to the surface.
• the depth of the well In order to determine this, it is necessary to know the depth of the well, along with the mud flow rates and the like, from which the delay in bringing the material from the locations adjacent the drill bit to the surface can be determined.
• the total depth of the well determined from the number of sections below the kelly and the position of the kelly must be known to give a depth.
• the casing depths and diameters along with pipe lengrhs and diameters must also be known for calculating the total well volume. This, in conjunction with the mud flow rates, permits calculating, with reasonable
• the geological data base includes high speed disc data storage in units 43 and 44 operating with the recognition processor which accesses to the central managing processor to obtain processed data from the optical, ⁇ hromatographic and other analysis and make "comparisons" with the data found in the data base storage.
• the GDB is a matrix of geologic information through which geologic parameters may be classified to produce a new set of specific characteristics of greater substance than was possessed by the original input parameters alone. A simple example will illustrate this concept.
• GDB's Three types can be constructed. They are: areal, columnar, and a combination.
• the areal data base contains information with respect to geologic materials and conditions over a horizontal area.
• the columnar data base contains similar information through a vertical scale.
• the combination GDB contains both areal or horizontal and columnar or vertical information.
• a structural contour map is an areal data base.
• a stratigraphic column is a vertical data base. The complete stratigraphic analysis of a depositional basin in area, depth and time combines the characteristics of both.
• Numerous geologic data bases have been formulated, but are not in a computerized format. However, within the past 15 years, numerous applications of the concept of constructing a data base covering a defined and partially explored region, with automatic data processing as a basic constraint, have been performed.
• a computerized data base of all geologic, geophysical, petrological and hydrographic data for the entire surface of the United Republic of Africa is in compilation at this time.
• OMPI Two specific but interrelated forms of GDB can be employed. One is for developmental fields, and the other for exploration plays.
• the Development GDB is defined with respect to specific basins including known reservoirs, and already documented stratigraphic columns. It contains areal and columnar relationships correlative to known geology throughout specific basins matrixed against characteristics which are essentially equivalent to parameters measured. Therefore, given sets of measured parameters in a new well within a basin under development, automatic synthesis through the Development GDB will produce information as to wherein space (position in the basin and in the lithostratigraphic column) and time (chronostratigraphic position) is any part of the well being drilled or logged. Additionally, qualitative information can. be directly analyzed from the parameters and indirectly through correlation with the GDB matrix regarding the reservoir characteristics within zones intersected by the well.
• the Exploration GDB will be defined with respect to general concepts of sedimentary environment, and global or regional stratigraphy. In its first application in a given area, the Exploration GDB will correlate the parameters measured with those general concepts, then gradually will grow towards a form of Development GDB.
• the conceptual basis of the Exploration GDB is to reorder and rationalize measured parameters from the standpoint of general stratigraphic theory to provide a continuously updated environmental model of the sedimentary column through v/hich the well is being drilled.
• the information derivable from several wells in a speci ⁇ fic basin can be correlated to produce a three dimen ⁇ sional representation of the stratigraphy in that basin, giving increasingly reliable and useful information about that specific basin as the number of samples increases.
• information about a basin can be applied to other basins which show similar stratigraphic charac ⁇ teristics even though they lie in other parts of the world.
• the system is capable of permitting , pre- dictions in new fields, much more expeditiously than has previously been possible.
• Fig. 3 shows, in a rather schematic diagram, a system which can be employed to recover and separate materials from drill mud return for analysis.
• a drilling mechanism To the left of Fig. 3 some of the basic elements of a drilling mechanism are shown including the well and casing 60 and a drill string 61 which extends into the well, the string having a bit 62 at the lower end thereof forming the hole.
• the string is rotated by a drilling table 63 in a well-known manner.
• Drill mud is normally accumulated in a suction pit 64 and extracted therefrom and conveyed through a conduit 65 by a mud pump 66 and into the drill string, under pressure, to assist with the drilling operation.
• the mud emerges through bit 62 and flows upwardly in the annulus surrounding the string.
• This drill mud return is extracted through a conduit 68 and, in the normal system, is processed and returned ultimately to a settling pit 69 v/hich leads back to the suction pit for reuse of the mud.
• the mud is delivered to a degassing agitator indicated generally at 70 in which the mud is forcibly agitated to permit gases trapped therein to emerge into the upper portion of the agitator chamber. Any such gases are extracted through a conduit 71 and at least a sample thereof is delivered to a gas detector and gas chromatography apparatus for analysis as previously described. Excess gas can be bled off through a conduit 72 to a flare.
• the degassed mud is conveyed through a conduit 73, the density thereof being measured by a density measuring device 74 in the conduit.
• the mud is then split in a flow splitter 75 and a portion thereof is delivered through a conduit 77 to a series of separating devices.
• Devices 78 and 79 are connected in conduit 77 to measure the sample density and the sample flow rate for delivery to the data processing equipment.
• the remainder of the mud, other than the sample is conveyed through a conduit 80 to a decanting centrifuge 81.
• the coarse materials from the drillmud return are conducted through a conduit 82 to a waste pit, and the remainder of the mud, containing fine sand and silt, is conveyed to a series of separators indicated generally at 84 for removing sand and silt and for salvaging barit ⁇ from the mud, the partially cleaned mud being returned through conduit 85 to the settling pit 69. After settling, the mud can then be reconditioned by the addition of various materials in the suction pit for reuse.
• the degassed mud sample on conduit 77 is delivered to a series of separators 87a-87f which, sequentially, remove chips, coarse sand, fine sand, coarse silt, and fine silt, the final separator being a clarifier to remove clay which may remain in the mud.
• the outputs of these separators are largely dewat ⁇ red particulate materials in the various sizes as determined by the separators, and the particulate fractions are delivered to individual dryers 89a-89f.
• Each dryer is a continuous belt drying filter in which a continuous conveying belt carries the chip, sand silt or clay fraction supplied thereto through a chamber which is subjected to a vacuum, each chamber being coupled through a conduit 90 ' which is connected to a wet-type low vacuum centrifugal pump 91. Clarified water from separator 87f and water extracted by pump 91 are delivered for disposal or to a liquid chroma ograph for further analysis through a conduit 92.
• the dried particulate material fractions are removed from the drying chambers and delivered to further splitting devices 93a-f each of which extracts a sample, through conduits 94a-f to be delivered to optical scan ⁇ ning equipment.
• the remaining material not included in the sample is conveyed to crushing equipment wherein the particles are crushed, in the case of the chip and sand fractions, and grinding operations, in the case of the ship, sand and silt, so that the material can be sub ⁇ jected to X-ray analysis.
• the clay fraction sample is delivered directly to X-ray analysis, the remainder thereof being discarded.
• a primary objective of the systems of the present invention requires on-site automatic logging and geological assessment of drilling operations from either surface or down-hole methods to help the on-site geologist. Since it has been recognized that optical methods provide sufficient information to replace present petrological and logging techniques, the optical methods must be incorporated in a system to meet this primary objective.
• the system In order to be applicable to both surfaces and down-hole applications, the system is based on a hybrid of mechanical, optional, electrical and computer subunits. Although the sensing mechanism and specimen surface preparations will be different for the surface and subsurface configurations, the data processing portion of the system is essentially consistent. Thus, the system is divided into three major system areas, specimen preparation and optics system, processing optics systems, and data processing system.
• the specimen preparation and optics uses, in part, methods developed for petrography and optical mineralogy adapted to geological samples. These methods require automation to provide on-site automated operations.
• One such type is the thin section (0.3 millimeter), a second is the one-sided polished section, and the third is the granular sample.
• the thin section combines the advantages of transmitted light and reflected light examination.
• its preparation by totally automated techniques is, at the present time, more complex than the results justify, primarily because considerable hand manipulation and finishing is necessary, making the preparation overly labor intensive and therefore less attractive.
• the one-sided polished section performs well in reflected light analysis and in addition lends itself to cathodoluminescence techniques.
• An apparatus for preparing sections of this type is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, Fig. 4 being in a rather schematic form.
• the apparatus includes a track 100 which is generally circular and can be continuous, although it is illustrated in Fig. 4 as having an interruption for the removal and replacement of sample-holding platforms.
• a ring gear 101 extends concentrically below the track and is supported in fixed relationship with respect to the track.
• the track supports a plurality of platforms 102, only one of which is shown in Fig.
• each such platform having wheels 103 to ride on the upper, flat surface of the track, a support and drive structure 104 extending downwardly from the platform through an annular gap 105 in the track itself.
• the drive can include a motor driving a pinion gear 106 which engages gear 101 so that when the motor is energized the platform is driven around the track.
• Laterally extending guide wheels 107 attached to the support mechanism prevent lateral movement of the platform with respect to the track.
• Each platform supports, on its upper surface, a chip binder mold 108 which can include a mold 109 made of a material which can support the mold but permit release therefrom, a suitable arrangement for this component being a Teflon surface having transversely extending grooves or flutes.
• the apparatus further includes a sequence of components to supply, bind, grind and examine the speci ⁇ mens as they are carried by the movable platform around the track.
• a sequence of components to supply, bind, grind and examine the speci ⁇ mens as they are carried by the movable platform around the track.
• These are shown schematically in Fig. 4 and include a chip supply 110 which receives chips from these drying and splitting devices 94a-f shown in Fig. 3 and can consist of a delivery hopper or conveyor having a lower surface with a distributor for spreading a rela ⁇ tively even layer of chips, granules or particles onto the Teflon surface of the mold.
• a plurality of platforms, substantially end-to-end, would be provided on the track to render the system as contin ⁇ uous as possible.
• the chip supply can include, or be preceded by, an impregnation device for impregnating the specimen pores with a liquid which sets to give a hard, easily polished product, one such liquid usable for this purpose being methylmet ' hacry- late.
• This preparation may not be necessary for many forms of specimens, but would be particularly appropriate to those forms of mineral deposits which are relatively easily broken up or otherwise destroyed in the absence of a compound of this type.
• the mold After spreading of the specimens on the mold, the mold is delivered to a station including a binder supply 111 which dispenses onto the mold and specimens a binding material capable of relatively rapid setting to form a plate containing the specimens.
• a suitable binder for this purpose is a low melt temperature die cast alloy such as alloys normally used in die casting having lead and tin as primary components. It should be recognized that this material is reusable. • It will also be recognized that polyester and epoxy resins can be used, such . components being selected for short setting times and, -since they would probably not be reusable, low cost.
• a setting air supply which provides either cooling or heating air onto the surface of the particle and binder mixture, cooling air being chosen if a low melt temperature alloy is employed as the binder, and heating air being chosen if the binder is a curable thermo-setting resin.
• a plurality of grinding drums such as drums 113 and 114 can be provided to engage and grind the exposed surface of the specimen plates.
• These drums are provided as being exemplary, and it will be recognized that belt grinders, or other forms of grinders can be used.
• the grinders are of graded fineness, i.e., a rough grinding drum is followed by a smoother one, etc., until the desired degree of flatness and polish is achieved. It should be noted, however, that the polishing is not intended to achieve anything approaching optical flatness but, rather, is to reach a rather uniform degree of flatness so that the results of the investigation will not be altered by irregularities.
• a cleaning station 115 which can include one or more vacuum or positive pressure air-jets, follows the grinding stages to remove loose material from the surface, after which the sample plates are passed under the optical examining stage indicated at 116.
• the polished surface of the specimen plate is illuminated with light of desired wave lengths, and light emanating from the specimens is received.
• the specimen plate is removed and can be preserved for archival purposes or, particularly if the alloy binder is used, subjected to heat for recovery of the binder and discard of the mineral material. The platform is then recommenced on a new journey around the track.
• Fig. 6 shows, in greater detail, a portion of an optical examining apparatus 116 usable in the apparatus of Fig. 4 and includes a support 120 lying above and substantially parallel with the upper surface of the specimen plate 109, the upper surface of which has been ground and polished.
• Support 120 has apertures therein for receiving a plurality of fiber optic connectors 121a-y, each of which extends transversely perpendicular to the path of travel of the specimen plate, the general direction of which is indicated by . arrow 122.
• Each fiber optic connector contains a plurality of optical fibers, the flat ends of which are exposed so that they face downwardly toward the specimens.
• Selected ones of those connectors can also be disposed in generally concave portions of support plate 120 as shov/n at 123 to receive connectors such as 121c and ' 12Id.
• Connectors such as 121c are coupled to at least one source of electromagnetic energy 124 which provides light of a preselected wave length to illuminate a portion of the surface of specimen plate 109, and the fibers associated with connector 121d are connected directly to one of a plurality of • receivers 125.
• light emanating from the exposed ends of the fibers in connector 121e illuminate the specimen region and the receivers receive light emanating therefrom, either reflected or as a result of luminescent activity in the specimens.
• Connectors such as 121a and b are arranged so that a selected number of those fibers convey light from sources 124 to the specimen surface, while the same or other fibers in the connector are coupled to receivers 125. With this arrangement, regions of the sample plate surface can be illuminated with various wave lengths of cF.n light and images resulting from that illumination are conveyed by optical fibers to the receivers for analysis. Because of the provision of a plurality of the connec ⁇ tors, and the arrangement of those connectors extending substantially entirely across the specimen plate surface, each specimen plate can be investigated using as many different wave lengths as are needed to consider various reflectance and luminescence characteristics of the specimens contained therein, as plate 109 is continuously or step-wise carried under support 120. It is, of course, important that each set of samples be depth correlated so that the optical input information is referred to the depth from which the samples came.
• Figs. 7 and 8 show a further embodiment of an optical examining apparatus which can be used in addition to that shown in Fig. 6, or in place thereof.
• This apparatus includes a substantially hemispherical shell 126 having a plurality of fiber optic connector locations 127, each including an objective lens 128a and a connec ⁇ tor body 128b which receives and holds at least one light transmitting optical fiber 129t and at least one recei ⁇ ving fiber 129r.
• the transmitting and receiving (or source and image) fibers are connected to a number of receivers and selectable light sources as generally described with reference to Fig. 6.
• the locations 127 are arranged on radii and concentric circles of the hemispherical shell 126 to transmit light and receive reflected light at known angular relationships so that angle-related reflectance characteristics of - he specimen material positioned under the hemisphere can be deter- mined.
• the receivers being coupled to a relatively large number of fibers, are the initial input to the portion of the data processing system which will analyze the characteristics of the specimens.
• the data process- ing system extracts information via the optical system from prepared specimen surfaces and then interprets the information.
• the system is an integration of optics, video and digital units.
• selection of the data processing system encompasses the selection of processing methods. It is possible to use substantially pure digital processing or a mixture of optical processing and digital processing. Whereas optical processing provides the fastest methods, digital methods provide the most flexible.
• Optical processing is analogous to analog computing, whereas digital methods rely primarily on numerical and discrete sample data analysis computing techniques. Geological assessment of data, as well as presentation of reduced data, requires digital computations.
• Digital processing requires transformation of the optical signal into a matrix of discrete points, called "pixels".
• the unit which performs this operation is typically a video camera and video to digital converter for image information. Additionally, new solid state arrays using charge coupled device technolog are also used.
• standard computer processing techniques are used. Since a typical stored image matrix contains 660,920 pixels, typical operations of this sort require an extensive number of multiplications and additions requiring considerable computer execution time. Thus, the hardware is capable of reducing the size of the image matrix.
• the data processing system performs other analyses. At the same time, control of the entire automatic processing machine must continue. Thus, the requirement for parallel execution of processors arises.
• optical image processing uses optical image processing to remove background and accomplish initial processing which is a form of filtering, and then converting the partially processed images into pixels which can be handled by the digital data processing aspects of the system.
• Image processing techniques involve the spatial measurement of features. Thus, an image is characterized in a two-dimensional function by intensity, i.e., intensity as a function of X and Y coordinates. This intensity is commonly called grey level.
• Digital techniques parallel temporal signal processing in that the image intensity is sampled at some X and Y interval. This sampled point is called a pixel.
• Analog methods called optical processing uses lens, mirrors and spacial filters to process complete fields.
• Fig. 9 shows an optical processor apparatus usable in conjunction with the apparatus of Figs. 2, 6, 7 and 8 and includes a multiple light source 130 which includes sources of light at preselected wave lengths usable to determine characteristics in the specimens prepared in accordance with Fig. 4.
• the light produced by the source is passed through an aperture and lens assembly to direct the light from source 130 along desired channels.
• One or more rotating filter wheels 132 can be incorporated in one or more of the channels to refine the wave length selection, and the light can then be passed through a polarizer assembly which is usable to produce polarized light in one or more of the channels for extinction and other analysis.
• the light is conducted to beam launch optics which is a coupling mechanism for introducing the light into optical fibers such as fibers, or groups of fibers, 135, 136 and 137 which are the source fibers for optical assemblies 121a-y, discussed in connection with Figs. 6, 7 and 8.
• beam launch optics which is a coupling mechanism for introducing the light into optical fibers such as fibers, or groups of fibers, 135, 136 and 137 which are the source fibers for optical assemblies 121a-y, discussed in connection with Figs. 6, 7 and 8.
• the fibers illustrated in Fig. 9 can be groups of fibers, and that many more fibers than those illustrated would normally be employed.
• Couplers 146 are in the nature of optical selector switches such as shown, for example, in U.S.
• Patent 4,239,330 and permit selection of one or more fibers constituting the outputs from the optical assemblies 121a-y, the outputs 148 thereof being a number of selectable positions.
• Drivers 147 can be step motors, or the like, capable of moving the couplers to the desired position as a function of a digital input.
• Fibers 148 constitute the input to a similar selector unit 150 including a ' drive 151 and a coupler 152 to select the outputs from the selectors 145 for delivery to a microscope 154 having variable focus, the output of the microscope being a partially processed image which is delivered through an optical path 155 to the processing apparatus shown in Fig. 2.
• a beam splitter 156 can be provided to sample a portion of the image for delivery to a focus detection unit 158 associated with a icroproces- sor and control logic unit 159.
• the microprocessor and control logic is programmed to sequentially select fibers by supplying control signals to a fiber select unit 160 in accordance with a preselected sequence, and to control the focus of microscope 154 by a focus drive 161 which provides control signals to a focus adjusting step motor 162.
• the optical and image processing combines optical physics and digital sampling analysis techniques to process information from an image.
• the present apparatus involves image analysis, a general theoretical discussion of which can be found in the text "Theory and Application Digital Processing", Rabiner and Gold (Prentice-Hall, 1975),- and “Digital Image Processing", Castlemann (Prentice-Hall, 1979) .
• Image analysis consists of digitizing an image, detecting a feature and then computing a measure of the feature.
• OMNIMET Several image analysis systems which are capable of performing these three functions are commercially available from Buehler, Ltd.
• OMNIMET Bausch and Lo b
• OFMINICON Alpha, OMINICON PAS and OMINICON FAS-11
• Cambridge Instruments, Inc. (QUANTIMET 720/23C, 720/25C and 800) and Leitz
• T.A.S. All of these systems are based on video camera image scanning techniques. In order to be sure that the video signal accurately represents the image received, special characteristics are necessary in the cameras employed and such cameras are either specially designed or specially selected for accuracy of scanning.
• video tubes are available for image analysis, and the most common are known as the VIDICON, PLUMBICON, CHAHLNICON and SILICON VIDICON.
• the optical examination input can also be derived from a probe inserted into the well bore itself either through a drill string or into a bore not having drilling equipment therein.
• FIG. 10 A tool which is particularly usable in the absence of drill string, as during tripping, is shown in Figs. 10 and 11, Fig. 10 showing the tool mounted on a section of drill string 160 having rather conventional calipers with arms 161 mounted to the string by conventional mounting devices 162 and 163 which can include tension springs with angle transducers. Normally, four arms 161 would be provided, three of the arms having idle rollers 164 and the fourth arm having an optical foot 165 which is shown, in greater detail in Fig. 11.
• a cable 166 extends through the interior of string 160, the cable including optical fibers and electrical wires, various ones of the wires being connected to the angle transducers and to a tool attitude package 168 for providing a continuous reading o;f the attitude of the tool as other readings are made.
• a portion of the cable 169 containing the optical fibers and at least two electrical conductors is connected to foot 165.
• rollers 164 maintain contact with the walls of the bore hole 170, causing the outer surface of foot 165 to ride against one side of the bore hole wall.
• rollers can be replaced by an optical foot so that simultaneous investigation of circularly spaced portions of the bore hole wall can be accomplished at the same time, permitting additional information to be derived about the dip of formations penetrated by the bore hole.
• the optical foot itself includes a body 171 having a cavity 172 to receive the ends of the various components of the cable.
• the cable itself is provided with a termination having flanges 173 bolted or otherwise attached to a threaded gland 174 to maintain the cable in a sealing relationship with the foot.
• the cable itself includes a tube or hose 17.6 which terminates in a nozzle 177 directed toward an opening 178 in the side of the foot adjacent the bore hole wall. .
• a portion of the opening is spaced away from the bore hole wall, leaving a gap 179 through which fluid can flow out of the foot cavity.
• an ultrasonic transducer 180 is disposed in cavity 172 with its transducer being oriented so that ultrasonic energy is transmitted toward the portion of the bore hole wall encompassed by opening 178.
• OMPI A relatively low energy level of ultrasonic energy, such as that producible by a conventional piezoelectric device, tends to loosen material, such as mud cake, adjacent the bore, hole wall, which material is then flushed away by the fluid passing through conduit 176.
• Transducer 180 is energized by power supplied through electrical conductors 181.
• At least two optical fibers 182 and 183 are included in the cable and terminate at connectors having objectives 184 and 185, respectively, disposed in cavity 172 facing the portion of the bore hole wall encompassed by opening 178.
• One of the fibers such as, for example, fiber 182, is a source fiber and provides illumination at a preselected wave length or band of wave lengths from a source at the earth's surface to illuminate, through the fluid supplied by conduit 176, the surface of the bore hole wall. Light reflected from that surface is received through objective 185 by fiber 183 and conducted to the surface.
• the foot can be sufficiently large to accommodate a number of source and receiving fibers, providing a variety of images and providing the possibility for illumination at more than one wave length.
• the ultrasonic transducer, objectives and fluid conduit can be supported in a generally hemispheral shell 1867 for mechanical mounting of these components in fixed relationship with each other.
• the tool can be lowered, during tripping, to the bottom of the hole and then more slowly elevated to the surface, continually providing optical image data which is easily correlatable with depth information and attitude information supplied by package 168.
• the caliper structure maintains the optical foot in close proximity with the bore hole v/all while viewing is accomplished through the fluid supplied- It should also be recognized that the information derived from this structure can be in the form of an image viewable by an individual having a microscope coupled to the optical fibers at the surface so that a geologist at the surface can directly look at the exposed surface portions of subsurface formations. It will also be recognized that various enhancement techniques can be employed to improve the obtained image.
• the apparatus shown in Figs. 10 and 11 can advantageously be employed in sequence with the mud analysis system described herein. Assume, for example, that a well is in the process of being drilled and the chips, sand, etc., brought to the surface by drill mud return is continually being analyzed and that, at some stage, the displays indicate the likelihood that an interesting, developable formation may have been penetrated by the drill bit. The apparatus shown in Figs. 10 and 11 can then be employed, during the next trip, to visually inspect the walls of the bore hole which was recently penetrated to either confirm or reverse the indication given by the mud return analysis techniques.
• FIG. 12 A side elevation of one form of typical drilling bit is partially shown in Fig. 12, the bit being of the type having a body 190 and an externally threaded connector portion 191 which would normally be connected
• the body carries three conical bit cones 192, only one of which is shown in the figure.
• a mud conduit 193 is formed in the body to permit the flow of mud to the vicinity of the bit to remove cuttings therefrom and flush the bottom of the hole, the mud then flowing up the annulus around the drill string.
• various configurations of bits are commonly employed, but many such bits contain mud conduits in different con igurations, and an apparatus can be provided to conform to the location of such conduits for optical investigation. Figs.
• FIGS. 12 and 13 show a device 194 which can be used for this purpose with the bit shown, the device being suspended on a cable 195 which supports the device and also contains optical and electrical conductors for the investigation.
• the drilling operation is stopped and the device is lowered through the drill string, the lowering being _ assisted by mud pumping, causing the device to act as a piston passing through the drill string.
• Centering arms 199 maintain the device in a centered position, and lowering is stopped when a sensing plunger 196 encounters the inner lower surface of the bit.
• conduits 193 are equally spaced 120° apart so that they cooperate to flush the three bit cones provided.
• Device 194 is provided with a spring urged plunger 197 which extends outwardly and downwardly and is shaped to enter one of the conduits. Cable 195 is rotated to cause slow rotation of device 194 until plunger 197 enters one of the conduits. This positions the device so that a probe 198 protruding from device 194 points directly at another one of the conduits 193.
• the probe connected to an optical fiber cable within the device, can then be extended, as by hydraulic pressure or an electrical device, causing the probe to extend into conduit 193 and to the outer surface of the bit until the outer portion of the probe is adjacent the bore hole wall.
• An optically clear fluid can then be pumped through the probe, clearing the portion of the bore hole wall adjacent the end of the probe, permitting optical inspection of the wall adjacent the bit. While the area of the borehole wall examined by the probe in this fashion is somewhat smaller than that usable with the device of Figs. 10 and 11, useful information can nevertheless be derived.
• Fig. 13 shows a bottom plan view of the device, illustrating the angular relationships of the locating plunger 197 and probe 198. After use, the device can simply be extracted from the bit and string, and returned to the surface.
• Figs. 10 and 11 or 12 and 13 can be used in place of the optical assemblies 121a-y shown in Fig. 9 to transmit light through the fibers of cable
• a sequence of different wave lengths of light is supplied to selected ones of the fibers in the cable and reflected or luminescent light from the borehole wall is returned to the fibers and conducted up the hole to the multiplexing and processing equipment at the surface as shown in Fig. 9.
• the surface- of borehole 170 is normally smoothed to a considerable degree by the action of the drill which formed the hole, preparing the mineral surface for examination so that further grinding or the like is not necessary.
• optical fibers exhibit unique attenuation characteristics and that the transmission efficiency characteristics are a nonlinear function of wavelength.
• the power levels are rather low and the losses, while significant and in some cases annoying, can be tolerated.
• efficiencies of betv/een 40% and 90% or better can be obtained. This is particularly important when long runs of fibers such as in cable 163 are involved, and when low reflectance levels of light received through window 161 are to be transmitted directly to the surface. This also becomes critically important in conveying large power levels along long fiber cables.
• Fig. 14 is a simplified graphical representation of the transmission characteristics of two types of fibers, the upper curve G being that of a Corning graded index glass fiber and the lower curve S being that of a step index fiber produced by Quartz Products Company.
• the vertical axis is percent transmission per kilometer and the horizontal axis is wavelength.
• the, graded index fiber transmission efficiency exceeds 40% toward the red end of the spectrum (yellow-orange region of visible light) and increases with increasing wavelength into the infrared and far infrared region, somewhat beyond the visible range. Light in the visible and infrared regions are particularly useful in optical analysis of minerals.
• Figs. 15A-C taken together, constitute a flow diagram of the information delivered to, used in, and provided by the geological data bases discussed above.
• the inputs which are derived from the optical and digital analyses, involve identification and classification of chips and grains (sand, silt and clays) with identification of the spatial relationships of the mineral grains comprising the chips.
• the analysis and classification may be a statistical one rather than being a "single" chip or grain analysis, and this input therefore in terms of percentages of characteristics observed.
• mineralogical and chemical compositions from diffraction data and chromatographic analysis may be similarly statistical except for the identification of hydrocarbons present in either gases or liquids.
• Fossil identification is also direct, although a statistical approach can be used and would be in certain types of formations. It should also be noted that fossil identification by pattern recognition is a useful approach to provide this information, using the apparatus of Figs. 4-8 or 10-13. Assemblages of fossils provide useful information. Finally, the depths from which the specimens were recovered, or are being observed, along with pressures and other drilling parameters are supplied.
• GDB core which, as previously indicated, takes the forms of an exploration GDB or a development GDB. While there is not an absolute line of demaraction between these types, and recognizing that an exploration GDB will evolve into a development GDB as information is accumulated and stored, the emphasis in exploration is on determining the environment of the deposit from or in which materials are examined, the age of each formation, the position in a basin and the possibility of hydrocarbon accumulation as evidenced by the input factors.
• this information is excellent guidance for controlling the drilling operation and permits most efficient use of the drilling equipment and manpower available. Furthermore, continually updated information adds greatly to the safety of the drilling operation since evidence of approaching difficult or dangerous conditions, such as increasing downhole pressure, are brought to the drilling supervisor's attention promptly. Still further, the information stored in a development GDB permits the generation of any of a variety of "multi-dimensional" displays since the stored data includes spatial data for a large number of subsurface points. Such a display can be generated in a CRT or hard copy form using conventional contour graphic mapping routines such as those employed by Data Plotting Service, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, which software is also available from IBM Corp. and Control Data Corp. as plotting packages. The displays have the obvious advantage of permitting visualization of a region under investigation.

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• 1982
  • 1982-01-14 CA CA000394145A patent/CA1174073A/en not_active Expired
  • 1982-01-15 DE DE823231612T patent/DE3231612T1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1982-01-15 NL NL8220045A patent/NL8220045A/nl unknown
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  • 1982-01-15 JP JP57500743A patent/JPS57502177A/ja active Pending
  • 1982-01-15 EP EP82900713A patent/EP0069773A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1982-01-15 AU AU81469/82A patent/AU8146982A/en not_active Abandoned
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