Method and system for monitoring and managing fiber cable slack in a coiled tubing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9988898-B2
Application number	US-201313942054-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 15, 2013
Priority date	Jul 15, 2013
Publication date	Jun 5, 2018
Grant date	Jun 5, 2018

Abstract

A method and system for monitoring a cable within a coiled tubing is disclosed. A first set of excitation signals is applied to the coiled tubing at a first point in time. The first set of excitation signals comprises one or more signals applied at one or more depths. The cable is positioned at a first location within the coiled tubing at the first point in time. A signal corresponding to the first set of excitation signals is detected at one or more fiber optic lines associated with the cable and location of the cable within the coiled tubing is determined using the detected signal corresponding to the first excitation signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for detecting a location of a cable within a tubing comprising:
providing a cable comprising a fiber optic line disposed within a tubing;
applying a first excitation signal to the tubing at a first point in time;
detecting a first received signal at one or more locations along the tubing in response to the first excitation signal, wherein the first received signal is detected by the fiber optic line;
applying a second excitation signal to the tubing at a second point in time;
detecting a second received signal at one or more locations along the tubing in response to the second excitation signal, wherein the second received signal is detected by the fiber optic line; and
determining a change in location of the cable within the tubing between the first point in time and the second point in time using the first received signal and the second received signal, wherein at least one of the first excitation signal and the second excitation signal comprises at least one of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal generated by a slug directed downhole through the tubing.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermal signal is generated using a thermal slug directed downhole through the tubing.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acoustic signal is generated using at least one of a tapping device and a tuning fork.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the acoustic signal is generated using a fluid having an acoustic marker directed downhole through the tubing.

5. A method for detecting a location of a cable within a tubing comprising:
applying a first set of excitation signals to a tubing at a first point in time, wherein the first set of excitation signals comprises one or more signals applied at one or more depths, wherein the first set of excitation signals comprises at least one of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal; and
detecting a first detected signal corresponding to the first set of excitation signals at one or more fiber optic lines associated with a cable disposed within the tubing and determining a location of the cable within the tubing using the first detected signal;
applying a second set of excitation signals to the tubing after a fluid is directed through the tubing, wherein the second set of excitation signals comprises one or more signals applied at one or more depths at a second point in time, wherein the first set of excitation signals comprises at least one of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal; and
detecting a second detected signal corresponding to the second set of excitation signals at the one or more fiber optic lines associated with the cable; and
determining a change in location of the cable within the tubing using the first detected signal and the second detected signal.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more signals of the second set of excitation signals is selected from a group consisting of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the acoustic signal is generated by a fluid having an acoustic marker directed downhole through the tubing.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the thermal signal is generated by a thermal slug directed downhole through the tubing.

9. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
directing the tubing into a wellbore;
performing one or more subterranean operations using the tubing;
retracting the tubing out of the wellbore;
applying a second set of excitation signals to the tubing as the tubing is retracted, wherein the second set of excitation signals comprise one or more signals applied at one or more depths at a second point in time;
detecting a signal corresponding to the second set of excitation signals at the one or more fiber optic lines associated with the cable and determining location of the cable within the tubing using the detected signal corresponding to the second set of excitation signals.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more signals of the second set of excitation signals is selected from a group consisting of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the acoustic signal is generated using at least one of a human voice, a hammer and a tuning fork.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thermal signal is generated using at least one of a blow dryer, a heat gun and a cooling device.

13. A system for performing subterranean operations comprising:
a tubing that is extendable into a well bore;
a cable comprising one or more fiber optic lines located within the tubing; and
a generator structured and arranged to apply a first excitation signal at a first point in time and a second excitation signal at a second point in time to the tubing, wherein the one or more fiber optic lines comprise a detector at a location along the tubing that detects a first received signal and a second received signal in response to the first excitation signal and second excitation signal, respectively, wherein the first received signal and the second received signal comprise information to determine a change in location of the cable within the tubing between the first point in time and the second point in time, wherein at least one of the first excitation signal and the second excitation signal comprises at least one of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal generated by a slug directed downhole through the tubing, and wherein the first received signal and the second received signal comprise information regarding a location of the cable with respect to the tubing.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one of the first excitation signal and the second excitation signal is an acoustic signal and the generator is selected from a group consisting of a human voice, tuning fork, a hammer, and a slug comprising an acoustic marker.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one of the first excitation signal and the second excitation signal is a thermal signal and the generator is selected from a group consisting of a blow dryer, a thermal slug, and a heat gun.

16. A method for locating a terminal end of a cable, having a fiber optic line within a tubing used to perform subterranean operations comprising:
directing the tubing into a wellbore;
performing a subterranean operation within the wellbore using the tubing;
retracting the tubing out of the wellbore;
applying a first excitation signal and a second excitation signal to the fiber optic line as the tubing is retracted, wherein the first excitation signal and the second excitation signal are selected from a group consisting of an acoustic signal and a thermal signal generated by a slug directed downhole through the tubing;
detecting with the fiber optic line a first received signal corresponding to the first excitation signal at a first location along the tubing and a second received signal corresponding to the second excitation signal at a second location along the tubing, wherein the first received signal and the second received signal comprise information regarding a location of the cable with respect to the tubing; and
determining a change in location of the terminal end of the cable with respect to the tubing between a first point in time and a second point in time based on the first received signal and the second received signal.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein determining the location of the terminal end of the cable with respect to the tubing based on the received signal comprises:
monitoring a last channel of the fiber optic line; and
identifying the location of the terminal end of the cable when any

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Mccolphin Glenn Robert

Classifications

• E21B47/09 Primary

  Locating or determining the position of objects in boreholes or wells {, e.g. the position of an extending arm}; Identifying the free or blocked portions of pipes · CPC title

• E21B47/135 Primary

  using light waves, e.g. infrared or ultraviolet waves · CPC title

• E21B47/123 Primary

  Fixed Constructions · mapped topic