Patent ID: 9523273
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: E21B

Claim Text:
1. A method for monitoring a well, the method comprising: directing acoustic energy towards a pipe casing included in the well; obtaining a measurement waveform by detecting acoustic energy returning from the pipe casing, the measurement waveform comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion corresponding to acoustic energy reflected from the pipe casing and the second portion corresponding to acoustic energy resonating in the pipe casing; amplifying the measurement waveform by two or more different gains in parallel to produce respective differently amplified waveforms; selecting a first amplified waveform from the two or more differently amplified waveforms based on a portion of at least one of the amplified waveforms corresponding to the first portion of the measurement waveform, selecting a second amplified waveform from the two or more differently amplified waveforms based on a portion of at least one of the amplified waveforms corresponding to the second portion of the measurement waveform, determining information about the well based on the first and second amplified waveforms, and determining if any of the portions of the amplified waveforms exceed a pre-determined value; wherein the first and the second amplified waveforms are selected based on a determination whether any of the portions of the amplified waveforms corresponding to the first or the second portions of the measurement waveform of the differently amplified waveforms exceed the pre-determined value.