Systems and methods for determining a rheological parameter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9909413-B2
Application number	US-201514712564-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 14, 2015
Priority date	May 14, 2014
Publication date	Mar 6, 2018
Grant date	Mar 6, 2018

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for determining a rheological parameter of a fluid within a wellbore. The methods comprise receiving a plurality of differential pressure measurements of a fluid within a flow region of the wellbore; storing the plurality of differential pressure measurements; generating a curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements; and determining the rheological parameter of the fluid using the curve. The systems comprise a conduit arranged in a wellbore; a plurality of pressure sensors along the conduit configured to measure pressure of the fluid within the wellbore; and a processing device. The processing device is configured to: receive a plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid from the pressure sensors; store the plurality of differential pressure measurements; generate a curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements; and determine the rheological parameter of the fluid using the curve.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for determining a rheological parameter of a fluid within a wellbore, comprising:
receiving, using a processing device, a plurality of measured flow rates and a plurality of differential pressure measurements corresponding to the plurality of measured flow rates of the fluid flowing within a flow region of the wellbore, wherein the plurality of differential pressure measurements are received from a plurality of pressure sensors arranged along a conduit situated within the wellbore, and wherein the plurality of differential pressure measurements are obtained at downhole conditions of the wellbore;
storing, using the processing device, the plurality of measured flow rates and the plurality of differential pressure measurements corresponding to the plurality of measured flow rates;
generating, using the processing device, a curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements, the plurality of measured flow rates, or a combination thereof; and
determining, using the processing device, the rheological parameter of the fluid using the curve;
wherein the flow region comprises an area inside the conduit situated within the wellbore, or the flow region comprises an annulus, the annulus being a region between the conduit and the wellbore; and
wherein the conduit comprises a wired drill pipe.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, using a processing device, the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid within a flow region of the wellbore comprises:
receiving, using a processing device, pressure measurements of the fluid from the plurality of pressure sensors; and
calculating, using the processing device, the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid from the pressure measurements.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating and determining steps comprise generating, using the processing device, a pressure curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements, and determining, using the processing device, the rheological parameter of the fluid using the pressure curve.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of flow rates includes at least three different flow rates.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating and determining steps comprise:
generating, using the processing device, a flow curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements and the plurality of flow rates;
determining, using the processing device, a flow behavior index for the fluid from the flow curve; and
determining, using the processing device, the rheological parameter of the fluid using the flow curve and a rheological model.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the rheological model comprises a model that relates shear stress and shear rate.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the flow region comprises an area inside a conduit situated within the wellbore.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the flow region comprises an annulus, wherein the annulus of the wellbore is a region between a conduit and the wellbore.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising correcting, using the processing device, the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid for eccentricity between the conduit and the wellbore.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid are corrected for the eccentricity between the conduit and the wellbore using an equivalent pipe model, a correlation-based model, or a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, using the processing device, times corresponding to each of the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid;
generating, using the processing device, a pressure curve over time based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid; and
estimating, using the processing device, a gel strength of the fluid using the pressure curve over time.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rheological parameter includes a shear stress and a shear rate of the fluid.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pressure sensors comprises at least three pressure sensors.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid comprises a drilling fluid.

15. A system for determining a rheological parameter of a fluid within a wellbore, comprising:
a conduit arranged in a wellbore, wherein the conduit comprises a wired drill pipe;
a flow meter configured to measure flow rate of the fluid flowing within the wellbore;
a plurality of pressure sensors along the conduit configured to measure pressure of the fluid within the wellbore at downhole conditions of the wellbore; and
a processing device configured to:
receive a plurality of flow rates of the fluid from the flow meter;
receive a plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid from the pressure sensors, wherein the plurality of differential pressure measurements correspond to the plurality of flow rates;
store the plurality of flow rates and the plurality of differential pressure measurements corresponding to the plurality of measured flow rates;
generate a curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements, the plurality of flow rates, or a combination thereof; and
determine the rheological parameter of the fluid using the curve.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is configured to generate a pressure curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements and determine the rheological parameter of the fluid using the pressure curve.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is configured to:
generate a flow curve based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements corresponding to the plurality of flow rates of the fluid; and
determine the rheological parameter of the fluid using the flow curve and a rheological model.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the rheological model comprises any model that relates shear stress and shear rate.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of pressure sensors along the conduit are configured to measure the pressure of the fluid flowing within an annulus of the wellbore, the annulus of the wellbore being a region between the conduit and the wellbore.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein receiving the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid from the pressure sensors comprises:
receiving pressure measurements of the fluid from the pressure sensors; and
calculating the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid from the pressure measurements.

21. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is further configured to correct the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid for eccentricity between the conduit and the wellbore.

22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid are corrected for the eccentricity between the conduit and the wellbore using an equivalent pipe model, a correlation-based model, or a combination thereof.

23. The system of claim 15 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:
receive respective times corresponding to each of the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid;
generate a pressure curve over time based on the plurality of differential pressure measurements of the fluid; and
estimate a gel strength of the fluid using th

Assignees

• Univ Texas

Inventors

• Van Oort Eric
• Vajargah Ali Karimi
• Hoxha Besmir B

Classifications

• E21B49/0875

  determining specific fluid parameters · CPC title

• E21B47/06 Primary

  Measuring temperature or pressure · CPC title

• E21B2049/085

  Fixed Constructions · mapped topic

• E21B47/10 Primary

  Locating fluid leaks, intrusions or movements · CPC title