EP1354126B1 - Generateur d'impulsions de pression - Google Patents

Generateur d'impulsions de pression Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1354126B1
EP1354126B1 EP02710991A EP02710991A EP1354126B1 EP 1354126 B1 EP1354126 B1 EP 1354126B1 EP 02710991 A EP02710991 A EP 02710991A EP 02710991 A EP02710991 A EP 02710991A EP 1354126 B1 EP1354126 B1 EP 1354126B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
valve
drillstring
drilling fluid
pressure
drilling
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP02710991A
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German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1354126A1 (fr
Inventor
Kenneth Geolink PRAIN (UK) Ltd
John Knight
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Geolink UK Ltd
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Geolink UK Ltd
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Publication date
Application filed by Geolink UK Ltd filed Critical Geolink UK Ltd
Publication of EP1354126A1 publication Critical patent/EP1354126A1/fr
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Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21BEARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B47/00Survey of boreholes or wells
    • E21B47/12Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling
    • E21B47/14Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling using acoustic waves
    • E21B47/18Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling using acoustic waves through the well fluid, e.g. mud pressure pulse telemetry
    • E21B47/22Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling using acoustic waves through the well fluid, e.g. mud pressure pulse telemetry by negative mud pulses using a pressure relieve valve between drill pipe and annulus

Definitions

  • throttling In throttling systems a valve operates to contract or enlarge a restriction through which some or all of the drilling fluid passes on its way to the drill bit. In bypass systems a valve operates to allow a portion of the drilling fluid to pass from a relatively high pressure region inside the drill string to a relatively lower pressure region in the annular space between the drill string and the wall of the borehole. The pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the drill string is created by the dynamic pressure losses as the drilling fluid passes through equipment situated below the MWD tool, such as drilling motors and the jets in the drill bit itself.
  • the present invention discloses a particularly efficient and flexible method of driving a main mud valve of the bypass type using twin pilot valves in which the working fluid is drilling the drilling fluid.
  • the general principle of using pilot valves is of course well known, and existing applications of this technique in the MWD field fall into two main classes.
  • first class energy derived from the mud stream is used to maintain a source of clean working fluid, such as hydraulic oil at a suitable pressure to operate, under control of a small valve, a piston actuator driving the main mud valve.
  • a source of clean working fluid such as hydraulic oil at a suitable pressure to operate, under control of a small valve, a piston actuator driving the main mud valve.
  • a main valve chamber contains a piston-operated, spring-return poppet valve and seat. When this valve is opened, drilling fluid can pass from the interior of the drill string to the exterior, generating the signal pressure pulse that will travel to surface.
  • pilot valves Two much smaller, electrically actuated pilot valves co-operate in supplying operating fluid, in this case drilling fluid, to the main valve piston.
  • a first pilot valve is normally open, and allows fluid in the operating chamber of the main valve piston to communicate with the drilling fluid in the annulus.
  • a second pilot valve is normally closed and controls operating fluid flow between the inside of the drill string and the operating chamber of the main valve piston.
  • the actuators for the pilot valves are immersed in hydraulic oil to prevent access of the particulate drilling fluid to the sensitive actuator parts.
  • the hydraulic oil pressure is equalised by well-known means to the pressure of the drilling fluid in the borehole.
  • the first pilot valve is closed and disconnects the main valve piston from the low pressure drilling fluid in the annulus.
  • the second pilot valve is closed, leaving the main valve position unchanged.
  • the first pilot valve is reopened, allowing the main valve operating chamber to vent to the lower pressure region of the annulus outside the drill string; consequently the main valve re-closes and the system is restored to its original state.
  • US Patent 4,401,134 discloses a means of low-energy operation in which the working fluid is hydraulic oil: two pilot valves, one electrically and one hydraulically operated co-operate in driving the main valve piston. But in this system the high-pressure working fluid supply has to be replenished by means of a regenerative pump.
  • US Patent 5,586,084 describes a system in which the working fluid is the drilling fluid, controlled by an electrically operated pilot valve, but represents the latter by a conventional symbol without any disclosure of how such a valve may be made to perform reliably when controlling the flow of a highly particulate fluid such as drilling mud, nor of the energy requirements of the valve. Both of the above references describe systems which control a throttling valve, not a bypass valve such as is the subject of the present invention.
  • Drilling fluid flows past the pulse generator through the space 34 - shown in Fig 2 with horizontal-dash hatching - which is generally annularly disposed around the housing 30 except in the regions where the ribs at 31 and 32 contact the drill string element 18.
  • the drill string element 18 is of course wholly surrounded by the annular space 16 by way of which the drilling fluid returns to surface: but for clarity of the drawing only a small section of the borehole wall 12 is shown, in Fig 2c.
  • the other parts of the MWD system including a supply of electrical energy, instruments for measurement of the parameters to be transmitted to surface and electronic equipment for conversion and encoding of the data for transmission are also mounted inside the drill string and may be connected to the pulse generator housing 30 at either or both of the ends 35 and 36: but because such equipment is well-known and is not the subject of the present disclosure, it will not be described in further detail. It should be noted however that a number of electrical connections may be provided between the housing ends 35 and 36, one of which is shown at 37. These connections may be run in insulated wires in long bores in the outer housing 30.
  • the pressure pulse generator there are three principal regions, which have been denoted by letters in Figures 2a to 2c. They are: the pressure switch region A-B, the pilot valve region B-C and the main valve region C-D.
  • the provision of hydraulic oil at the drill-pipe pressure to the actuators ensures defined pressure conditions on the stems of the poppets 85 and 115, and the oil acts as lubricant for the high-tolerance machined parts of the actuators.
  • the length of housing 170 is made sufficient to maintain piston 200 clear of the ends of the housing over the anticipated range of change in the volume of hydraulic oil caused by changes in temperature and pressure, as is well known in this type of downhole tool.
  • the oil fill is introduced into the system prior to use by evacuation and filling through the port 295, which is subsequently closed by plug 296: this again is a well-known technique.
  • the chamber 141 has been isolated from the fluid in the borehole.
  • the coil 83 is energised, causing the upper valve poppet 86 to move away from the seat 90.
  • drilling fluid can flow from the interior of the drill string 18 through the filter 52, the ports described earlier and the valve seat 90 into the chamber 141.
  • the rise in pressure in chamber 141 is communicated to the main valve piston chamber 172 through the ports previously described, and the main valve opens.
  • valve 86 may be re-closed as soon as main valve 256 is fully open. In practice it is desirable to leave a safety margin to ensure that pressure conditions a fully settled and that there will be no residual differential pressure between the drilling fluid in the drillstring and that in the main valve operating chamber. By way of example only, a period of approximately 140 milliseconds is shown.
  • valve 116 is reopened, allowing the fluid from chamber 172 to return to the annulus and the main valve 256 to re-close.
  • the system is now once again in the quiescent state, having been open for a period of approximately 400 milliseconds.
  • the volume of drilling fluid handled by the pilot valve system for each pulse is extremely small. It is defined by the diameter of the sleeve 251 of the main valve stem and the stroke of the valve stem. Practical dimensions can be for example that the valve sleeve diameter is 12mm and the stroke 3mm.
  • the volume of fluid which traverses the pilot valves for each pulse generated may be calculated as being less than 0.5 ml. In practice the volume is a little larger because of the compliance of the fluid itself and of the various seals, but can be maintained at under 1ml without difficulty.
  • a typical MWD system may be required to generate of the order of 10 5 pulses in the course of a single downhole trip lasting for several days. In such conditions the total volume of drilling fluid which the pilot system is required to handle is only 100 litres.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Geophysics (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
  • Surgical Instruments (AREA)
  • Fluid-Driven Valves (AREA)

Claims (4)

  1. Générateur d'impulsions de pression destiné à des opérations de télémétrie de fond (MWD) dans une installation de forage (10) dotée d'un train de tiges (11), d'un trépan (19), de moyens (13, 14) destinés à envoyer un fluide de forage via l'intérieur du train de tiges (11) au trépan (19), et dans un espace annulaire (16) entre le train de tiges (11) et la paroi (12) du trou de forage en formation, ledit générateur d'impulsions servant à générer un signal à impulsions de pression dans le fluide de forage et à envoyer ledit signal à un matériel de mesure de la pression (20, 21) en surface, et dans lequel le générateur d'impulsions de pression comprend :
    un logement externe (30) susceptible d'être monté dans un composant du train de tiges et dans lequel les composants de commande du générateur d'impulsions sont placés ;
    une vanne principale (256, 257) dotée d'une chambre de vanne qui, lorsque la vanne est ouverte, laisse passer le fluide de forage de l'intérieur du train de tiges à l'extérieur, générant ainsi un signal à impulsions de pression qui se transmet à la surface ;
    le générateur d'impulsions de pression étant caractérisé en ce qu'il comprend en outre :
    une première vanne pilote (116, 120) qui est normalement ouverte pour permettre au fluide contenu dans la chambre de la vanne principale de communiquer avec le fluide de forage dans l'espace annulaire ; et
    une deuxième vanne pilote (88, 89, 90) qui est normalement fermée, pour commander l'écoulement du fluide de forage entre l'intérieur du train de tiges et la chambre de la vanne principale.
  2. Générateur d'impulsions de pression selon la revendication 1, dans lequel les première et deuxième vannes pilotes sont des vannes commandées électriquement.
  3. Générateur d'impulsions de pression selon la revendication 2, dans lequel les dispositifs de commande des première et deuxième vannes pilotes sont placés de sorte à être immergés dans une huile hydraulique pour éviter toute pénétration du fluide de forage contenant des impuretés dans les parties sensibles des dispositifs de commande.
  4. Procédé pour générer des signaux à impulsions de pression dans un fluide de forage envoyé dans une installation de forage (10) dotée d'un train de tiges (11), d'un trépan (19), de moyens (13, 14) destinés à envoyer un fluide de forage via l'intérieur du train de tiges (11) au trépan (19), et dans un espace annulaire (16) entre le train de tiges (11) et la paroi (12) du trou de forage en formation, et d'un générateur d'impulsions de pression dans le train de tiges ;
       dans lequel le générateur de pression comprend un logement externe (30) qui est monté dans un composant du train de tiges, et dans lequel les composants de commande du générateur d'impulsions de pression sont placés ;
       une vanne principale (256, 257) dotée d'une chambre de vanne qui, lorsque la vanne est ouverte, laisse passer le fluide de forage de l'intérieur du train de tiges à l'extérieur, générant ainsi un signal à impulsions de pression qui se transmet à la surface ;
       une première vanne pilote (116, 120) qui est normalement ouverte pour permettre au fluide contenu dans la chambre de la vanne principale de communiquer avec le fluide de forage dans l'espace annulaire ; et
       une deuxième vanne pilote (88, 89, 90) qui est normalement fermée, pour commander l'écoulement du fluide de forage entre l'intérieur du train de tiges et la chambre de la vanne principale ;
       dans lequel un signal à impulsions de pression est généré dans le fluide de forage suivant les étapes ci-dessous qui consistent à :
    actionner la vanne principale (256, 257) en suivant une séquence d'évènements à intervalles de temps successifs ;
    fermer la première vanne pilote et retirer le piston de la vanne principale du fluide de forage sous pression d'écoulement dans l'espace annulaire ;
    ouvrir la deuxième vanne pilote pour permettre le passage du fluide sous haute pression du train de tiges au piston de la vanne principale, ouvrant ainsi la vanne principale ;
    fermer la deuxième vanne pilote en maintenant la vanne principale dans la même position ;
    après un intervalle de temps prédéterminé, rouvrir la première vanne pilote, permettant à la chambre de la vanne principale d'envoyer de l'air dans la région sous pression plus basse de l'espace annulaire à l'extérieur du train de tiges, et en conséquence refermer la vanne principale et replacer le système dans son état initial.
EP02710991A 2001-01-24 2002-01-23 Generateur d'impulsions de pression Expired - Lifetime EP1354126B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0101806 2001-01-24
GBGB0101806.8A GB0101806D0 (en) 2001-01-24 2001-01-24 A pressure pulse generator
PCT/GB2002/000302 WO2002059461A1 (fr) 2001-01-24 2002-01-23 Generateur d'impulsions de pression

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1354126A1 EP1354126A1 (fr) 2003-10-22
EP1354126B1 true EP1354126B1 (fr) 2005-09-14

Family

ID=9907398

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02710991A Expired - Lifetime EP1354126B1 (fr) 2001-01-24 2002-01-23 Generateur d'impulsions de pression

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US20040069530A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP1354126B1 (fr)
AT (1) ATE304647T1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2435790A1 (fr)
DE (1) DE60206134D1 (fr)
GB (1) GB0101806D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO2002059461A1 (fr)

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GB2403488B (en) 2003-07-04 2005-10-05 Flight Refueling Ltd Downhole data communication
US7139219B2 (en) * 2004-02-12 2006-11-21 Tempress Technologies, Inc. Hydraulic impulse generator and frequency sweep mechanism for borehole applications
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GB0911844D0 (en) * 2009-07-08 2009-08-19 Fraser Simon B Downhole apparatus, device, assembly and method
US9771793B2 (en) 2009-07-08 2017-09-26 Halliburton Manufacturing And Services Limited Downhole apparatus, device, assembly and method
GB0916808D0 (en) * 2009-09-24 2009-11-04 Mcgarian Bruce A method and apparatus for commumicating with a device located in a borehole
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US20180030813A1 (en) * 2014-07-24 2018-02-01 Extreme Technologies, Llc Fluid Pulse Valve
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US10364671B2 (en) 2016-03-10 2019-07-30 Baker Hughes, A Ge Company, Llc Diamond tipped control valve used for high temperature drilling applications
US10422201B2 (en) 2016-03-10 2019-09-24 Baker Hughes, A Ge Company, Llc Diamond tipped control valve used for high temperature drilling applications
US10669812B2 (en) 2016-03-10 2020-06-02 Baker Hughes, A Ge Company, Llc Magnetic sleeve control valve for high temperature drilling applications
US10436025B2 (en) 2016-03-11 2019-10-08 Baker Hughes, A Ge Company, Llc Diamond high temperature shear valve designed to be used in extreme thermal environments
US10253623B2 (en) 2016-03-11 2019-04-09 Baker Hughes, A Ge Compant, Llc Diamond high temperature shear valve designed to be used in extreme thermal environments
CN109564296B (zh) 2016-07-01 2021-03-05 斯伦贝谢技术有限公司 用于检测反射液压信号的井中对象的方法和系统
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CN106884649B (zh) * 2017-05-03 2023-05-23 中国石油大学(北京) 一种连续波信号发生装置
US11268345B2 (en) * 2018-03-30 2022-03-08 Bench Tree Group, Llc System and method for electromechanical actuator apparatus having a screen assembly
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CN114165192A (zh) * 2021-12-14 2022-03-11 四川航天烽火伺服控制技术有限公司 电动式井口压力脉冲信号发生装置及石油开采设备

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2435790A1 (fr) 2002-08-01
US20040069530A1 (en) 2004-04-15
GB0101806D0 (en) 2001-03-07
ATE304647T1 (de) 2005-09-15
DE60206134D1 (de) 2005-10-20
WO2002059461A1 (fr) 2002-08-01
EP1354126A1 (fr) 2003-10-22

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