Estimating phase fraction/distribution with dielectric contrast analysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11668593-B2
Application number	US-201916248973-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2019
Priority date	Feb 6, 2018
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for examining a material are provided. One example method generally includes disposing the material in a dielectric contrast analysis structure, wherein the dielectric contrast analysis structure comprises a bulk dielectric substance and a plurality of receptacles in the bulk dielectric substance, wherein the material is disposed in one or more of the plurality of receptacles; exposing the dielectric contrast analysis structure to incident electromagnetic radiation; detecting resultant radiation from the exposed dielectric contrast analysis structure; and analyzing the detected resultant radiation to estimate at least one of a phase fraction and a phase distribution in the material. One example system generally includes an electromagnetic radiation source; a dielectric contrast analysis structure comprising a bulk dielectric substance and a plurality of receptacles in the bulk dielectric substance for receiving the material; and an electromagnetic radiation detector, wherein the analysis structure is between the radiation source and the detector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of examining a material comprising fluid, the method comprising:
flowing the material through a plurality of receptacles, wherein the plurality of receptacles are substantially parallel with one another, wherein the plurality of receptacles are disposed in a dielectric contrast analysis structure that is disposed in a pipe, and wherein the dielectric contrast analysis structure comprises: a bulk dielectric substance having a first end, a second end, and the plurality of receptacles disposed within the bulk dielectric substance, the receptacles having a first end disposed toward the first end of the bulk dielectric substance and a second end disposed toward the second end of the bulk dielectric substance, wherein a flow path of the material through the receptacles is from the first end of the bulk dielectric substance to the second end of the bulk dielectric substance;
exposing an outer surface of the dielectric contrast analysis structure and the material while in the plurality of receptacles to incident electromagnetic radiation at an angle substantially perpendicular to the flow path;
detecting resultant electromagnetic radiation from the exposed dielectric contrast analysis structure, wherein a dielectric constant of a material of the bulk dielectric substance provides contrast with a dielectric constant for the material flowing through the plurality of receptacles, wherein a path taken by the incident electromagnetic radiation through the dielectric contrast analysis structure is affected by interactions at interfaces of dielectric discontinuity; and
analyzing the detected resultant electromagnetic radiation to estimate at least one of a phase fraction and a phase distribution in the material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzing comprises: estimating at least one of a complex dielectric constant of the material, a complex permittivity of the material, a complex conductivity of the material, and a complex index of refraction of the material; processing the detected resultant electromagnetic radiation to extract relevant low frequency information; or averaging the detected resultant electromagnetic radiation over a range of orientations to improve signal-to-noise.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the detecting comprises:
measuring a first transmission coefficient of a plurality of transmission coefficient of the resultant electromagnetic radiation through the dielectric contrast analysis structure along a first axis; and
measuring a second transmission coefficient of the plurality of transmission coefficient of the resultant electromagnetic radiation through the dielectric contrast analysis structure along a second axis, different from the first axis; wherein the analyzing comprises: comparing the first transmission coefficient and the second transmission coefficient.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein: the incident electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of frequencies; and the comparing comprises plotting the first and second transmission coefficient measurements as functions of the plurality of frequencies and of a relative orientation of the first axis with respect to the second axis.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising measuring the plurality of transmission coefficients of the resultant electromagnetic radiation through the dielectric contrast analysis structure along a plurality of axes, each of the plurality of axes coplanar with the first axis and the second axis.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first axis, the second axis, and the plurality of axes are distributed symmetrically across a 360° arc.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein:
the incident electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of frequencies;
the comparing comprises creating plots of the first, second, and plurality of transmission coefficient measurements as functions of the plurality of frequencies and of relative orientations of the first axis, the second axis, and a plurality of axes; wherein the analyzing further comprises statistically evaluating the plots.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plots have 2-fold symmetry or a 4-fold symmetry.

9. The method of claim 3 , wherein the analyzing further comprises using effective medium theory to determine an index of refraction for each transmission coefficient measurement.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising estimating, based on the determined indices of refraction, fractions of one or more substances in the material.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the incident electromagnetic radiation comprises one or more frequencies between 1 megahertz and 100 gigahertz.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising repeating the exposing, detecting, and analyzing steps as the material flows through at least a subset of the plurality of receptacles.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein: each of the receptacles of the plurality of receptacles is an elongated structure having an opening at the first end of the receptacle and an elongated side substantially perpendicular to the first end of the receptacle; and the incident electromagnetic radiation has a path substantially perpendicular to the elongated side of each of the receptacles of the plurality of receptacles.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising rotating the dielectric contrast analysis structure along an axis disposed through the first end and the second end of the bulk dielectric substance.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein rotating the dielectric contrast analysis structure is performed while exposing the material in the plurality of receptacles to the incident electromagnetic radiation.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the receptacles has a diameter from 10 mm to 2 cm.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein each of the receptacles has a spacing from an adjacent receptacle of the plurality of receptacles from 1 cm to 3 cm, as measured center diameter to center diameter.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bulk dielectric substance has a diameter from 15 cm to 25 cm.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of receptacles comprises from 50 to 100 receptacles.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the first end of the bulk dielectric substance and the second end of the bulk dielectric substance is from 10 cm to 20 cm.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pipe is a wellbore, a tubular within a wellbore, a wellhead, a surface pipeline, a subterranean pipeline, an ocean bottom pipeline, or a riser.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of receptacles is a square array of receptacles.

Assignees

• Exxonmobil Technology & Engineering Company

Inventors

• Feng Lang
• Natu Stefan S
• Valenza Ii John J

Classifications

• G01N22/00 Primary

  Investigating or analysing materials by the use of microwaves or radio waves, i.e. electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of one millimetre or more (G01N3/00 - G01N17/00, G01N24/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01F1/66 Primary

  by measuring frequency, phase shift or propagation time of electromagnetic or other waves, e.g. using ultrasonic flowmeters · CPC title

• G01F1/74

  Devices for measuring flow of a fluid or flow of a fluent solid material in suspension in another fluid · CPC title

• G01N21/85

  Investigating moving fluids or granular solids · CPC title

• G01N33/2823

  Raw oil, drilling fluid or polyphasic mixtures · CPC title