Determination of strain components for different deformation modes using a filter

A method, apparatus and computer-readable medium for determining a strain component for a deformation mode of a member is disclosed. A plurality of measurements is obtained, wherein each of the plurality of measurements relates to a strain at a location of the member. A deformation mode is selected and an adjustable filter is applied to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present application is related to methods for determining deformations on a tubular in a wellbore.

2. Description of the Related Art

Tubulars are used in many stages of oil exploration and production, such as drilling operations, well completions and wireline logging operations. These tubulars often encounter a large amount of stress, due to compaction, fault movement or subsidence, for example, which can lead to tubular damage or even to well failure. Well failures significantly impact both revenue generation and operation costs for oil and gas production companies, often resulting in millions of dollars lost in repairing and replacing the wells. Therefore, it is desirable to monitor wells to provide accurate, detailed information of their experienced stresses in order to understand the mechanisms of tubular failures.

Determining the deformation of a tubular under different stress distributions can be very complicated. In many cases, due to the unknown internal and external forces involved, it is not realistic to use pre-developed geometric models to simulate a deformation. There is therefore a need to obtain geometrical information of tubular stress from in-situ measurements.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of determining a strain component for a deformation mode of a member, the method including: obtaining a plurality of measurements, each of the plurality of measurements related to a strain at a location of the member; selecting the deformation mode; and applying an adjustable filter to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for determining a strain component for a deformation mode of a member, the apparatus including a plurality of sensors, each sensor of the plurality of sensors configured to obtain a measurement of related to a strain at the member; and a processor configured to select a deformation mode and apply an adjustable filter to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when read by a processor enable the processor to perform a method, the method comprising: obtaining strain measurements at a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of measurements related to a strain at a location of the member; selecting the deformation mode; and applying an adjustable filter to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode.

Examples of certain features of the apparatus and method disclosed herein are summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood. There are, of course, additional features of the apparatus and method disclosed hereinafter that will form the subject of the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

FIG. 1shows an exemplary embodiment of a system100for determining a deformation of a tubular102disposed in a wellbore120. The tubular may be any tubular typically used in a wellbore, such as a well casing or a drilling tubular, for example. In addition, the present disclosure is not limited to a tubular in a wellbore and can also be used on any exemplary member such as a casing, a sand screen, a subsea riser, an umbilical, a tubing, a pipeline, a cylindrical structure bearing a load and so forth. The exemplary member may undergo a variety of deformations. The exemplary member includes a plurality of sensors at various locations on the member. Each of the plurality of sensors obtains a measurement related to strain at the related location on the tubular. In various embodiments, the plurality of sensors may be Bragg grating sensors, Brillouin fiber optic sensors, electrical strain sensors, sensors along a fiber optic cable, or any other device for obtaining a strain measurement. In alternate embodiments, the obtained measurements related to strain may include, for example, a measurement of wavelength shift, a measurement of frequency change, and/or a measurement of a change in impedance. For the purposes of illustration, the member of the exemplary embodiment disclosed herein includes a tubular in a wellbore and the sensors are Fiber-Bragg gratings along a fiber optic cable helically wrapped around a surface of the tubular.

In the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 1, an optical fiber or fiber optic cable104is wrapped around the tubular102. The fiber optic cable has a plurality of optical sensors, such as gratings or Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs)106, along its length for detecting strains at a plurality of locations of the tubular. Exemplary operation of FBGs is discussed in relation toFIGS. 2A-C. The FBGs are spatially distributed along the optical fiber104at a typical separation distance of a few centimeters. The optical fiber104is wrapped at a wrapping angle such that any strain experienced along the tubular can be effectively transferred to the fiber. The present disclosure is not limited to sensors along a fiber at a particular wrapping angle. In other embodiments, the sensors may be linked by a linear fiber, a matrix, a grid, etc.

For the exemplary methods disclosed herein, each sensor or FBG is assigned a number (grating number) indicating its position along the optical fiber. An end of the fiber optic cable is coupled to an interrogation unit108typically at a surface location that in one aspect obtains a measurement from each of the FBGs to determine a wavelength shift or strain at each of the FBGs. In general, the interrogation unit108reads the plurality of gratings simultaneously using, for example, frequency divisional multiplexing. Interrogation unit108is coupled to a data processing unit110and in one aspect transmits the measured wavelength shifts to the data processing unit. In one aspect, the data processing unit110receives and processes the measured wavelength shifts from the interrogation unit108to obtain a result, such as a three-dimensional image of a tubular deformation, using the methods disclosed herein. A typical data processing unit110includes a computer or processor113, at least one memory115for storing programs and data, and a recording medium117for recording and storing data and results obtained using the exemplary methods disclosed herein. The data processing unit110may output the result to various devices, such as a display112, a suitable recording medium117, the tubular102, reservoir modeling applications or a control system affecting the strains.

FIGS. 2A-Cillustrates operation of an exemplary Fiber Bragg Grating that may be used as a sensor on the exemplary tubular ofFIG. 1. Optical fibers generally have a predetermined index of refraction allowing light to propagate through the fiber. A Fiber Bragg Grating is typically a section of the optical fiber in which the refractive index has been altered to have periodic regions of higher and lower refractive index. The periodic distance between the regions of higher refractive index is generally on the order of wavelengths of light and is known as the grating period, D. Typically, light enters the FBG from one end. As the light passes through the FBG, a selected wavelength of light is reflected. The wavelength of the reflected light is related to the grating period by:
λB=2nDEq. (1)
where λBis the wavelength of the reflected light and is known as the Bragg wavelength, n is an effective refractive index of the grating, and D is the grating period. The FBG is typically transparent at other wavelengths of light.

FIG. 2Ashows a typical operation of an FBG202that is in a relaxed state with no external forces applied. Graph203shows reflected optical power peaking at the “relaxed” Bragg wavelength, which may be denoted λB0to indicate the wavelength of light reflected from the relaxed FBG202.FIG. 2Bshows FBG204under tension wherein the grating period D is increased, thereby increasing the wavelength of the light reflected by the FBG. This is shown in the shift of the reflected wavelength λBfrom λB0to higher wavelengths in graph205.FIG. 2Cshows FBG206under compression wherein the grating period D is decreased, thereby decreasing the wavelength at which light is reflected by the FBG, as shown in the shift of the reflected wavelength λBfrom λB0to lower wavelengths in the graph207.

Returning toFIG. 1, when an FBG is attached to the tubular102, strain experienced by the tubular at the point of attachment is transmitted to the FBG and consequently affects the spacing D of the FBG, thereby affecting the wavelength at which light is reflected from the FBG, as demonstrated inFIGS. 2A-C. Thus, the strain at the tubular is correlated with the wavelength shifts of the light reflected from the attached FBGs. Eq. (2) shows the correlation between the shift of wavelength Δλ experienced by the FBG and the fiber strain εf:
Δλ=λB0(1−Pe)KεfEq. (2)
where λB0is the Bragg wavelength of the unstrained (relaxed) grating, Peis the strain effect on the refractive index, and K is a bonding coefficient. Using typical parameters of λB0˜1552 nm, Pe˜0.22 and K˜0.9 results in about 900 micro strain for each 1 nm shift. Eq. (2) can be rearranged as such:

ɛf=ΔλλB⁢⁢0⁡(1-Pe)⁢KEq.⁢(3)
so that strain calculations on the tubular can be obtained from Δλ measurements. When considered as a whole the strains determined from the plurality of optical sensors can be used to determine deformations over the entire tubular as well as determining various modes of deformation which are discussed below.

A tubular undergoing a general deformation experiences one or more deformation modes. Exemplary deformation modes include compression/extension, bending, ovalization, triangularization, and rectangularization modes. Each deformation mode, in turn, has an associated spatial frequency related to the strains obtained at the plurality of FBGs and which can be seen by creating a dataset such as by graphing the wavelength shifts Δλ obtained at the plurality of FBGs against the grating numbers of the FBGs, as seen for example inFIG. 4. A determined mode can be used to obtain a result, such as determining an overall deformation of the tubular, a bending radius of the tubular, a three-dimensional image of the tubular, etc. The present disclosure determines a deformation of a tubular based on at least five fundamental deformation modes: compression/extension, bending, ovalization, triangularization, and rectangularization, which are explained below. The methods disclosed herein are not limited to these particular modes of deformation and can be applied to higher-order modes of deformation.

The compression/extension deformation mode occurs when a tubular experiences a compressive or tensile force applied in the axial direction. Such a force affects both the tubular axis and the circumference of the tubular. For example, as the tubular is shortened along the axial direction under a compressive force, the circumference expands outward to accommodate. As the tubular is lengthened along the axial direction under a tensile force, the circumference constricts inward to accommodate. The strain for this deformation mode is generally uniformly distributed along the surface in either the axial or orthogonal (circumferential) direction. The distribution may also depend on tubular geometry tubular condition and magnitude of strain. The strain in the axial direction is referred to as the principal strain. The strain in the orthogonal direction is referred to as the secondary strain and has a value proportional to the principal strain as described by:
εsecondary=vεprincipalEq. (4)
where v is the Poisson's ratio, which is an inherent property of the material. Since the strain for a compression or tensile force is uniformly distributed over the tubular, FBGs located at all locations on the tubular tend to experience the same corresponding wavelength shift.

The bending mode of deformation, shown inFIG. 3A, occurs when an external force is applied perpendicular to the axial direction of a tubular. In production wells, compaction, fault movement and subsidence can all cause a well to bend. The distribution of the bending strain is anisotropic in the radial direction as shown inFIG. 3A. Circle301is a top cross-section view of a tubular under no applied force. Circle303is a top cross-section view of the same tubular with a force305applied. The plus signs (+) indicate the portion of the tubular under tension and the minus signs (−) indicate the portion of the tubular under compression. While negative strains (−) are built up on the surface near to the point at which the bending force is applied, the positive strains (+) are built up on the opposite surface area. Therefore, FBGs near the (+) signs experience a positive wavelength shift Δλ and FBGs near the (−) signs experience a negative Δλ. In a graph of Δλ vs. grating number, the Δλ from the bending mode forms a sinusoidal wave having a given (spatial) wavelength that is the length of a wrap of the fiber around the tubular. The spatial frequency of the bending mode is referred to herein as the characteristic frequency of the system. The principal strain of bending (εbending) is in the axial direction, similar to compression/extension. However, the principal strain depends on the radius of curvature and the bending azimuth angle. The secondary bending strain (εtranse) is in the orthogonal direction and is related to the principal strain by:
εtranse=vεbendingEq. (5)

The other deformation modes (i.e., ovalization, rectangularization and triangularization) are referred to as cross-sectional deformations since they lead to changes in the shape of the cross-section. These deformation modes are shown inFIGS. 3B-3D.FIG. 3Bshows the effects of a tubular undergoing an ovalization mode of deformation. Circle311represents a top cross-section of a tubular under no applied force. Curve313represents a top cross-section of the same tubular with an ovalization force applied, such as forces315. The plus signs (+) indicate where the tubular expands outward from its relaxed state under the applied force, and the minus signs (−) indicate where the tubular recedes inward from its relaxed state under the applied force. A typical ovalization deformation mode can occur when two external forces are applied perpendicular to the axis of a tubular in a symmetric manner, such as forces315. In a wellbore, ovalization can be caused by various forces such as anisotropic shear forces in rock or fluids. The ovalization deformation mode usually dominates over other cross-section deformation modes, such as triangularization and rectangularization. The principal strain component (εoval) of the ovalization mode is in the transverse direction. The secondary strain component (εaxis) in the axial direction is related by:
εaxis=−vεovalEq. (6)
In a graph of Δλ vs. grating number, an ovalization mode forms a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is double the characteristic frequency of the bending deformation.

FIG. 3Cshows the effects on a tubular undergoing a triangularization mode of deformation. Circle321represents a top cross-section of a tubular under no applied force. Curve323represents a top cross-section of the same tubular with a triangularization force applied. The plus signs (+) indicate where the tubular expands outward from its relaxed state under the applied force, and the minus signs (−) indicate where the tubular recedes inward from its relaxed state under the applied force. The triangularization deformation mode occurs when three external forces are applied perpendicular to the axis of a rigid tubular in a manner as shown by forces325. In a graph of Δλ vs. grating number, the triangularization mode forms a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is three times the characteristic frequency of the bending deformation.

FIG. 3Dshows the effects of a tubular undergoing a rectangularization mode of deformation. Circle331represents a top cross-section of a tubular under no applied force. Curve333represents a top cross-section of the same tubular with a rectangularization force applied. The plus signs (+) indicate where the tubular expands outward from its relaxed state under the applied force, and the minus signs (−) indicate where the tubular recedes inward from its relaxed state under the applied force. Rectangularization deformation occurs when four external forces are applied perpendicular to the axis of the tubular in a symmetric manner such as forces335. In a graph of Δλ vs. grating number, the rectangularization mode forms a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is four times the characteristic frequency.

Given these deformation modes and their related strains, the total strain at a given point of the tubular is a result of the combination of the strains from the deformation modes. The overall strain is given in Eq. (7):

ɛf=-1+(1+αT⁢Δ⁢⁢Tc)·cos2⁢θ⁡((1-v⁢⁢ɛc)⁢(1-v⁢⁢ɛb)⁢(1+ɛo)⁢(1+ɛt)⁢(1+ɛr))2+sin2⁢θ⁡((1+⁢ɛc)⁢(1+ɛb)⁢(1-v⁢⁢ɛo)⁢(1-v⁢⁢ɛt)⁢(1-v⁢⁢ɛr))2Eq.⁢(7)
where εc, εb, εo, εtand εrrepresent respectively the strains for compression/extension, bending, ovalization triangularization and rectangularization, αTis the linear thermal expansion coefficient of the tubular material, θ is the wrapping angle of the fiber which thereby indicates a particular location on the tubular, and v is the Poisson's ratio. For steels, αT=31.5 μS/° C. Since the sensing fiber can be permanently damaged if it experiences a strain exceeding 1-2%, it is possible to expand the radical term of Eq. (7) and ignore higher level terms to obtain:

ɛf=αT⁢Δ⁢⁢Tc+(1+αT⁢Δ⁢⁢Tc)·[(sin2⁢θ-v⁢⁢cos2⁢θ)⁢(ɛc+ɛb)+(cos2⁢θ-v⁢⁢sin2⁢θ)⁢(ɛo+ɛt+ɛr)]Eq.⁢(8)
As seen in Eq. (8), for small strains, the strain contributions from different deformation modes are additive.

As discussed above, each deformation mode of tubular102is apparent on a graph of wavelength shift at each FBG against the FBG grating number. An exemplary graph of wavelength shift vs. grating number is shown inFIG. 4. The grating number of each FBG is shown along the abscissa and the change of wavelength Δλ is plotted along the ordinate. The graph displays some regions401and403which display primarily a single characteristic frequency, which in this case indicates a dominant bending mode at those FBGs and region405in which the frequency is double the characteristic frequency which indicates at least an ovalization mode of deformation in addition to the bending mode. As noted, the graph displays a periodic nature. In one aspect, the exemplary methods described herein uses a spectral decomposition of the graph to separate out components of the graph and then to correlate the separated components with their deformation modes. As shown inFIG. 5, a (spatial) frequency spectrum may be obtained based on the strain measurements and peaks of the spectrum may be separated to separate each deformation mode in frequency space.

FIG. 5shows a frequency spectrum of the exemplary dataset ofFIG. 4. In the example ofFIG. 5, the frequency spectrum is obtained using a transform into a frequency space, such as a Discrete Fast Fourier Transform (DFFT), but any suitable method for obtaining a frequency spectrum may be used. The spectrum shows several peaks, each peak corresponding to a separate deformation mode such as compression/tension501, bending503, ovalization505, triangularization507, and rectangularization509. The bending peak503has a higher intensity and a narrower bandwidth than those of the various cross-section deformation modes (ovalization505, triangularization507and rectangularization509). The bandwidth of the peaks becomes wider as the frequency becomes higher, indicating the strain component in the spatial domain has a shorter range of strain distribution.

A filter may be applied to the frequency spectrum ofFIG. 5to selected frequency peaks related to a deformation mode.FIG. 6shows exemplary bandpass filters that may be applied to the frequency spectrum ofFIG. 5to separate peaks. As can be seen inFIG. 6, each bandpass filter601,603,605,607and609covers its corresponding peak. Eq. (9) is an equation of an exemplary bandpass filter that may be used herein and has a frequency response of:

G⁡(s,k)=ρ2⁢⁢n⁡(k-1)(1+ρ2⁢⁢n⁡(k-1))⁢(1+ρ2⁢⁢n⁡(k))⁢⁢withEq.⁢(9)ρ⁡(k)=ssc⁢⁡(k)Eq.⁢(10)
where s is the complex frequency and scis the cutoff frequency. The parameter n defines an attenuation of the frequency or, in other words, a degree of the overlap between neighboring modes, and k is an index for selecting the deformation mode defined as

k={-10compression/extension12⁢⁢forbendingovalization3triangularization4rectangularization
The exemplary band-pass filter of Eq. (9) is characterized by 100% gain in the center area of each band with no “ripple” effect; maximally flat (or minimal loss) in the pass band; smoothed channel output allowing direct numerical calculation of first derivatives; ability to perform a filtering with introducing phase shift; and adjustability for data collected from various sensing fibers having different wrap angles.

The bandpass filter is applied to select a peak.FIG. 7shows the separated peaks for the five deformation modes having been separated by applying the exemplary bandpass filter. These peaks are related to compression/tension701, bending703, ovalization705, triangularization707, and rectangularization709. There are slight overlaps between the neighboring deformation modes. Adjusting the value of n in Eq. (9) controls the degree of overlap so that satisfactory separation of the modes can be achieved. Application of an inverse transform yields the separate graphs of strains (wavelength shifts) shown inFIG. 8that relate to the various deformation modes.FIG. 8shows the separated strain components in the spatial domain obtained from the separated peaks ofFIG. 7. Bending801, ovalization803, triangularization805and rectangularization807modes are separately shown. Relative strengths of the five deformation modes are apparent from the amplitudes.

In an alternate embodiment, a bandpass filter that correlates in the spatial domain to the exemplary filter of the spectral domain described above may be applied. The domain in which the filter is applied may be selected to reduce computation expense, for example. The corresponding transfer function H(s,k) in the spatial domain to the bandpass filter of Eq. (9) can be derived from the equation
G2(s,k)=H(s,k)H(−s,k)  Eq. (11)
to construct a digital filter with no phase shift used the following condition:
H(s,k)=H(−s,k)  Eq. (12)
thereby leading to the following transfer function in real space:

In one embodiment, a bending calibration may be performed. Under an applied bending force, the tubular bends along a known azimuth deformation angle over the entire tubular. Obtaining bending data provides information on average number of gratings in each wrap and identification of the grating in each individual wrap. In addition, one may visually correct data using a calibrated 2D strain map of the bending data, such as shown inFIGS. 9Aand B.FIGS. 9Aand B show a bending strain data on a tubular before and after calibration.FIG. 9Ashows non-perpendicular strain bands901. When the system is calibrated as inFIG. 9B, the strain bands902of the 2D map are perpendicular to the y-axis.

The location of a grating on the tubular is determined by wrap angle, the outer-diameter of the tubular and inter-grating spacing. Systematic errors in any of these are accumulative, such that an error on the location of a particular grating contributes to errors on all subsequent gratings. For an exemplary wrapped fiber having total 400 Bragg gratings and with 40 gratings in each wrap, the error on azimuth angle for the last wrap may be as big as 36°, even if the systematic error is only 1%. To meaningfully determine the azimuth angle, the location of the fiber on the tubular is allocated according to the exemplary methods described herein.

FIG. 10shows an illustrative system for mapping gratings from a location in a fiber optic cable to a particular location on the tubular. Bragg grating locations are in the fiber are indicated by dots labeled (x1, x2, . . . , xN) and are referred to as fiber locations. The tubular surface locations are indicated by dots (y1, y2, . . . , yN) and are the determined tubular locations for later use in numerical processing and surface construction. The tubular locations are generally selected such that an integer number of gratings are evenly distributed in each wrap and along the pipe surface.

In one embodiment, two steps are used in order to determine a tubular location from the fiber location. In a first step, corrections are made for inaccuracies in tubular diameter or wrap angle using, for instance, the exemplary calibration methods described above. If (x0, x1, . . . , xN) are respectively the measured fiber locations in the sensing fiber, each grating space measured is multiplied by a factor k that is determined either from a heating string correction data or is obtained by taking k as adjustable parameter to align bending correction strain. This therefore maps the fiber location (x0, x1, . . . , xN) to an intermediate calculated location (x′0, x′1, . . . , x′N).

A second step is to map the data to corrected locations onto the tubular surface location as shown in the exemplary insertion method ofFIG. 11. In Box1101, the index k for the grating location is set to the index i for the surface location. In Box1103a difference Δ is determined between the grating location and the calculated location. In Box1105, if this difference is less than a spacing between adjacent calculated locations, the insertion process is concluded (Box1107). Otherwise, in Box1109, it is determined whether Δ is negative. If the Δ<0, then the index k of the grating location is decreased by one and the method repeats from Box1101. If the Δ≧0, then the index k of the grating location is increase by one and the method repeats from Box1101.

FIGS. 12A and 12Bshow exemplary strain maps before and after the exemplary grating location correction just described. The strains ofFIG. 12Awhich exhibit a deviation from the vertical are substantially vertical inFIG. 12Bafter the correction is applied.

FIG. 13Aillustrates an exemplary gridding system for strain interpolation that may be used with a fiber optic cable with optical sensors wrapped along the surface of a tubular. The length of the pipe is indicated along the vertical axis and the circumference is shown along the horizontal axis from 0° to 360°. The first wrapped curve1301indicates a fiber optic cable. The points on the first wrapped curve1301indicate the location of the FBGs of the wrapped fiber. These points are referred to as grating points with respect toFIG. 13A. The fiber optic cable wraps around the circumference such that an integral number of grating points are included in a single wrap. An integral number of wrapping curves1303,1305,1307are then inserted and points on the inserted curves are referred to as gridding points. Each point on the grid is indicated by two indices indicating their position in a two dimension space. The first index indicates a position of the point along a given curve. The second index indicates which wrapping curve the point belongs to. For example, point (2,0) is the second grating point of curve1301. Grating points typically are identified by having second indices which are equal to zero.

The strain of a gridding point can be calculated from the values of the neighboring grating points by using an exemplary linear interpolation method of Eq. (16).
εi,j=└jεi+j,0+(N−j)εi+j−N,0┘/NEq. (16)
where N is the number of gratings in each wrap. For simplicity, the two nearest grating points in the same column may be used to calculate a strain at a gridding point. Using the example of Eq. (16) to gridding point (3,2) ofFIG. 13A, the strain at gridding point (3,2) is given by ε3,2=[ε5,0+ε1,0]/2. In addition to the exemplary interpolation method of Eq. (16), a number of interpolations may be used.FIG. 13Bshows a three-dimensional image with surface color representing the interpolated strains on the tubular. The surface color changes from blue to red, corresponding to the change of the surface strains from maximum negative to positive.

Once the deformation modes are separated as described using the exemplary methods described herein and strains are mapped to a tubular surface, the strains can be applied in iterative processes to yield in one aspect a geometrical data for the bending mode of the tubular and in another aspect geometrical data for the cross-sectional deformations of the tubular. The obtained geometrical data can be used to obtain a three-dimensional image of the tubular which can be useful in determining a wear or condition of the tubular.

A method of determining geometrical data for the bending deformation mode is now discussed.FIG. 14Ashows a side view of an exemplary tubular undergoing a bending force. The tubular has a radius r and a bending radius of curvature Ra. Over a sufficiently short section of a tubular, the length of the neutral (strain-free) axis of the tubular remains constant during the bending process.FIG. 14Bshows a top view cross-section of the tubular ofFIG. 14A. The radius of curvature Ra, the radius of the tubular r, the azimuthal position coordinate of the tubular φ and the bending azimuth angle φ1are shown. The two deformation parameters (the radius of curvature Raand the bending azimuth angle φ1) describe the magnitude and the direction of the bending and are related to the bending strain through:

ɛb=rRa⁢cos⁡(ϕ-ϕ1)Eq.⁢(17)
where r and φ are position coordinates of the tubular and φ1is the bending azimuthal angle. Thus the bending strain such as obtained inFIG. 8can be selected at each point to determine Raand φ1at a selected point on the tubular.

An exemplary numerical process for obtaining geometrical data from the deformation parameters Raand φ1is now discussed. In the numerical process, bending strain can be represented by a two-dimensional vector {right arrow over (ε)}blying within a cross-section perpendicular to the axis of the tubular such as the cross-section ofFIG. 14B. The bending strain can be decomposed into two components that point respectively to the x and y direction, wherein x and y directions are defined to be in the cross-sectional plane:

ɛ⇀b=ɛ⇀bx+ɛ⇀by⁢⁢withEq.⁢(18)ɛ⇀bx=xRx⁢ȋ⁢⁢and⁢⁢ɛ⇀by=yRy⁢j^Eqs.⁢(19)
Eqs. (17)-(19) can be combined to obtain the following equations:

ɛbx=ɛb⁢cos⁢⁢ϕ-∂ɛb∂ϕ⁢sin⁢⁢ϕ⁢⁢ɛby=ɛb⁢sin⁢⁢ϕ+∂ɛb∂ϕ⁢cos⁢⁢ϕ⁢⁢Ra=rɛb+(∂ɛb∂ϕ)2Eqs.⁢(20)
Various methods are known for calculating

∂ɛb∂ϕ,
the first derivative of the bending strain with respect to the azimuth angle. From Eq. (20), once εband

∂ɛb∂ϕ
are known, the values of the strain components {right arrow over (ε)}bxand {right arrow over (ε)}bycan then be calculated. The bending parameters Rxand Ry, which are x and y components of Ra, may then be calculated from Eq. (19) and (20). Rxand Ryare related to the axial bending variable by:

Rx=(1+zx′⁢⁢2)3/2zxx″⁢⁢Ry=(1+zy′⁢⁢2)3/2zyy″Eqs.⁢(21)
where z is the axial coordinate of the tubular. Once Rxand Ryare known, one can numerically solve Eqs. (21) to obtain geometrical data for bending.

In one aspect, the axial bending deformation can be calculated by numerically solving the Eqs. (21) using selected boundary conditions for the tubular. The most commonly applied boundary conditions are:
zx′(z=0)=zy′(z=0)=0
x(z=0)=x(z=l)=0
y(z=0)=y(z=l)=0  Eqs. (22)
where z=0 and z=l are the z coordinates of the end points of the axis of the tubular. Eqs. (22) holds true if the bending occurs only in the sensing section and the casing is significantly longer than the sensing section. Using the mathematical groundwork of Eqs. (17)-(22), the iterative process for obtaining geometrical data for the bending deformation is discussed below in reference to Eqs. (23)-(27).

Referring toFIG. 1, each grating of the fiber optic cable is assigned a grating number i=1 to N, where N is the total number of gratings. The position of the grating i is a function of its wrapping angle and can be written in the coordinates x(i), y(i), z(i) with first derivatives given by xz′(i) and yz′(i). The first derivative for the i+1thgrating can be calculated from the coordinates and derivatives of the ithgrating using Eqs. (23):

xz′⁡(i+1)=xz′⁡(i)+(1+xz′⁡(i)2)3/2Rx*dz⁢⁢yz′⁡(i+1)=yz′⁡(i)+(1+yz′⁡(i)2)3/2Ry*dz⁢⁢withEqs.⁢(23)dz=d*sin⁢⁢θEq.⁢(24)
wherein d is the spacing between gratings and θ is the wrapping angle of the fiber optic cable. The position of the i+1thgrating is therefore determined by:
x(i+1)=x(i)+x′z(i+1)*dz
y(i+1)=y(i)+y′z(i+1)*dzEqs. (25)
Thus, in one aspect, the numerical solution begins with a first point such as x(0), y(0), z(0), in which its position and first derivatives are known from the boundary conditions and uses Eqs. (23)-(25) to obtain x(N), y(N), z(N) through N iterations. The coordinates of the Nthgrating is compared with the boundary conditions. If the difference between them is greater than a selected criterion, the initial guess on the boundary condition derivatives of the first point is modified using Eqs. (26):
x′z(0)=x′z(0)+(x(N)−xN)*2/N
y′z(0)=y′z(0)+(y(N)−yN)*2/NEqs. (26)
where (xN, yN) is the position of the last point as given by the boundary conditions and (x(N), y(N)) is the position of the Nthgrating from the numerical process. The numerical process is then repeated until the difference between the calculated position and the position given in the boundary conditions for the Nthgrating is within a preselected criterion, such as the criterion of Eqs. (27):
|x(N)−xN|<σallowed
|y(N)−yN|<σallowedEqs. (27)
The geometrical information for the bending deformation is obtained once the criteria of Eqs. (27) are met.

An exemplary method for obtaining geometrical information from cross-sectional deformation parameters is now discussed with respect toFIG. 15.FIG. 15shows a radius of curvature Rcrelated to cross-sectional deformations generically describes a deformation caused by all of the cross-sectional deformation modes. Eq. (28) correlates the corresponding strain data to the deformation parameter Rc:

Rc=1+ɛ(O,T,C)1+2⁢⁢ɛ(O,T,C)⁢r/T⁢rEq.⁢(28)
where ε(O,T,C)denotes a summation of all the three strain components (ovalization, triangularization, rectangularization), r is the original (undeformed) radius of the tubular and T is the thickness of the wall of the tubular. As long as enough data points are available, one can determine the shape of a closed curve of fixed length that represents the contour of the cross-section from the radius of curvature in two-dimensional space. Typically, polar coordinates are used in this process. In a polar coordinate system, for any curve in 2D space, the radius of the curvature can be calculated as:

Rc=(1+uθ′)3/21+uθ′-uθθ″⁢rEq.⁢(29)
where u′θand u″θθare respectively the first and second derivative of the logarithm of r over the azimuth angle (u=ln r). Within a limited degree of deformation, u′θis much less than 1. Therefore, Eq. (29) can be further simplified to:

Rc=1+32⁢uθ′1+uθ′-uθθ″⁢rEq.⁢(30)
which can be rewritten in the form of a normal differential equation as:
Rcu″θθ+(3/2r−Rc)u′θ+(r−Rc)=0  Eq. (31)
The boundary conditions for Eq. (31) are:
r(θ=0)=r(θ=2π)
r′θ(θ=0)=r′θ(θ=2π)  Eqs. (32)

Using the Eqs. (31) and (32), a contour of a particular cross-section of the tubular can be created. The N gratings may be used to calculate position coordinates along the contour, with index i=1 to N. In one aspect, the position coordinates and derivates of the first grating is obtained. Given the position r(i) and the first derivative r′(i) of a point i in the cross-section, the first derivative r′θ(i+1) of the adjacent point i+1 is calculated using Eq. (33):

rθ′⁡(i+1)=rθ′⁡(i)+[(1-3⁢⁢r⁡(i)2⁢⁢Rc)⁢rθ′⁡(i)+(1-r⁡(i)Rc)⁢rθ⁡(i)]*2⁢⁢πNEq.⁢(33)
The position r(i+1) can then be calculated as

r⁡(i+1)=r⁡(i)+rθ′⁡(i+1)*2⁢⁢πNEq.⁢(34)
Thus each point is used to calculate values for the next point along the circumference. For a given cross-section, the boundary values for the first point can be taken from the endpoint values obtained from the previously calculated cross-section. An educated estimate can be used as initial boundary values for the first cross-section. The values obtained for the Nthpoint are checked against a suitable criterion such as the criterion of Eq. (35):
[r(N)previous−r(N)current]2+[r′θ(N)previous−r′θ(N)current]2<σ  Eq. (35)
where σ is a present tolerance for the combined square error between two iterations. In a typical calculation, σ may be set to 0.0001.

Thus, calculations described using the Eqs. (17)-(35) yield geometrical information for the bending deformations and for cross-sectional deformations. The obtained geometrical information can then be used to obtain a three-dimensional image of the tubular using exemplary methods discussed below.

In one aspect, the exemplary method of creating a 3D image includes introducing an unstressed tubular having an axis, applying the geometrical information of the bending parameter to the axis to obtain a bent axis, applying the geometrical information of the cross-sectional deformations and adjusting the orientation of the cross-sections to correspond with the orientation bent axis. In one aspect, the three-dimensional image may be sent to a display and a stresses on the tubular shown. The various step of the exemplary method are discussed below in reference toFIGS. 16A-D.

FIG. 16Ashows an exemplary original construction of an image of a tubular. The construct includes three contours1602,1604and1606aligned along tubular axis1608, which is oriented along a z-axis for the sake of illustration. The 3D surface image may be constructed using a suitable gridding technique and a set of initial geometrical data. In one embodiment, the cross-section contours are centered with the bent axis after the cross-section deformations have been applied to the contours of the cross-sections.FIG. 16Bshows the tubular ofFIG. 16Aafter a radial deformation is applied to each cross section. While bending the tubular axis, each cross-section contour is kept within the plane in which it resides before the bending. Due to the separation of deformation modes, the length of the circumference of the pipe remains unchanged during a cross-sectional deformation and only the shape of the cross-section contour is affected. The cross-section contours then are moved parallel to the xy-plane so that their centers correspond to the bent axis as shown in Eq. (36):

(x′y′z′)=(100010001)⁢(xyz)+(Δ⁢⁢xΔ⁢⁢yΔ⁢⁢z)Eq.⁢(36)
wherein (x, y, z) and (x′, y′, z′) are respectively the coordinates of a surface point in the cross-section before and after the bending and (Δx, Δy, Δz) is the motion caused by the bending of the cross point between the plane and the axis.FIG. 16Cshows an exemplary tubular with bent axis and maintaining cross-section contours within the xy-plane.

Once the cross-section contours are centered on the bent axis, they are reoriented to reflect the bent axis using the exemplary methods discussed below. A tangent line to the bending axis is calculated, which is given in Eq. (37):
{right arrow over (l)}=(xi+1−xi){right arrow over (i)}+(yi+1−yi){right arrow over (j)}+(zi+1−zi){right arrow over (k)}(Eq. 37)
wherein (xi+1, yi+1, zi+1) and (xi, yi, zi) are coordinates of two closest neighboring points along the bending axis. In one embodiment, the cross-section contours are reoriented using a spherical coordinate system for spatial transformation. Eq. (37) can be rewritten in spherical coordinates as:
{right arrow over (l)}=rcos θ cos φ·{right arrow over (i)}+rcos θ sin φ·{right arrow over (j)}+sin φ·{right arrow over (k)}Eq. (38)
where

r=(xi+1-xi)2+(yi+1-yi)2+(zi+1-zi)2⁢⁢cos⁢⁢θ=(zi+1-zi)r⁢⁢sin⁢⁢θ=(xi+1-xi)r⁢⁢cos⁢⁢θEq.⁢(39)
where θ is an azimuth angle around the y-axis and φ is an elevation angle. In a spherical coordinate system, to reorient the cross-section contours, one sets the original point in the cross between the axis and the cross-section, and the directions of the axis to be parallel to the current coordination system. The rotated coordinate system is achieved by rotating each cross-section contour by an azimuth angle (θ) around the y-axis and then rotating an elevation angle (φ) around the z-axis using:

FIG. 17shows an exemplary three-dimensional image of a tubular generated using the exemplary methods discussed with respect toFIGS. 16A-D. A strain map is shown on the surface. Area1701indicates an area of an accumulation of negative strain and the area1703on the opposite side indicates an area of an accumulation of positive strain. The image ofFIG. 17presents visual information on where the deformation occurs and enables an operation to determine the severity of the deformation and a likelihood of tubular failure.

Thus, exemplary methods are described herein for, among others, determining various deformation modes from strain data, applying filters to separate strain components for selected deformation modes, determining geometrical information from the various deformation modes and producing a three-dimensional image of a tubular from the obtained strain data.

FIG. 18Ashows a flowchart of an exemplary method for obtain a strain map over a tubular surface. In Box1801, strain measurements are obtained at a plurality of locations at the tubular. In Box1803, the strain measurements are mapped to a tubular surface. In Box1805, a deformation mode is selected and in Box1807, a strain component for the selected deformation mode is determined. In Box1809, the obtained strain component data is mapped to a gridded surface on the tubular and in Box1811, the strain component data is interpolated over the surface of the tubular.

FIG. 18Bshows a flowchart of exemplary methods for obtaining a three-dimensional image of a deformation of a tubular. In Box1820, strain components for beding deformation and cross-section deformations related to a tubular are obtained using for example the method described inFIG. 18A. In Box1822, the bending deformation strain components are used to obtain geometrical deformation related to deformation of an axis of the tubular. In Box1324, cross-sectional deformation strain components are used to obtain geometrical deformation related to cross-sectional deformations of the tubular. In Box1326, the obtained geometrical deformation parameters of bending and cross-sectional deformations are used to construct a three-dimensional image of the tubular.

The exemplary methods disclosed herein can be expanded to cover a broad range of tubular deformations. In one aspect, the exemplary methods allow real-time monitoring of tubular deformation information. In another aspect, the exemplary methods provide an increased accuracy of the data interpretation. The exemplary methods enhance sensitivity by depressing low frequency noises and removing high frequency noises.

Therefore, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of determining a strain component for a deformation mode of a member, the method including: obtaining a plurality of measurements, each of the plurality of measurements related to a strain at a location of the member; selecting the deformation mode; and applying an adjustable filter to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode. The adjustable filter may be applied by obtaining a spectrum of the plurality of measurements in a frequency domain; and applying the adjustable filter to the spectrum. The adjustable filter may be one of a lowpass filter and a bandpass filter. The filter selects a frequency related to the selected deformation mode. A frequency response of the filter includes a cut-off frequency and a parameter defining frequency attenuation. The cut-off frequency is related to a wrap number of a plurality of sensors wrapped around the member to obtain the plurality of measurements and wherein the cutoff frequency jc(k) is given by

jc⁡(k)=MN⁢(2⁢k+1),
where M is a total number of measurements, N is a total number of sensors in a single wrap of the member, and k is an index for selecting the deformation mode. The attenuation parameter may be selected to remove a phase noise. The frequency response may be convolved with the plurality of measurements. The member may typically include one of: (1) a casing; (2) a sand screen; (3) a subsea riser; (4) an umbilical; (5) a tubing; (6) a pipeline; (7) a cylindrical structure bearing a load. The selected deformation mode may include one of: (1) a compression/tensile mode; (2) a bending mode; (3) an ovalization mode; (4) a triangularization mode; (5) a rectangularization mode; and (6) a deformation mode having a spatial frequency that is an integer multiple of a spatial frequency of a bending deformation. The plurality of measurements typically include one of: a measurement of wavelength shift; a measurement of frequency change; and a measurement of a change in impedance.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for determining a strain component for a deformation mode of a member, the apparatus including a plurality of sensors, each sensor of the plurality of sensors configured to obtain a measurement of related to a strain at the member; and a processor configured to select a deformation mode and apply an adjustable filter to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode. The processor may be configured to obtain a representation of the plurality of measurements in a frequency domain and apply the adjustable filter to the representation. The adjustable filter may be one of a lowpass filter and a bandpass filter. The processor adjusts the filter to select a frequency related to the selected deformation mode. A frequency response of the filter includes a cut-off frequency and a parameter defining frequency attenuation. The cut-off frequency is related to a wrap number of a plurality of sensors wrapped around the member to obtain the plurality of measurement and wherein

jc⁡(k)=MN⁢(2⁢k+1)
where M is a total number of measurements, N is a total number of sensors in a single wrap of the member, and k is an index for selecting the deformation mode. The attenuation parameter may be selected to remove a phase noise. The frequency response is convolved with the plurality of measurements. In one aspect, the member is one of: (1) a casing; (2) a sand screen; (3) a subsea riser; (4) an umbilical; (5) a tubing; (6) a pipeline; (7) a cylindrical structure bearing a load. The selected deformation mode may be one of: (1) a compression/tensile mode; (2) a bending mode; (3) an ovalization mode; (4) a triangularization mode; (5) a rectangularization mode; and (6) a deformation mode having a spatial frequency that is an integer multiple of a spatial frequency of a bending deformation. The plurality of measurements may include one of: a measurement of wavelength shift; a measurement of frequency change; and a measurement of a change in impedance.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when read by a processor enable the processor to perform a method, the method comprising: obtaining strain measurements at a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of measurements related to a strain at a location of the member; selecting the deformation mode; and applying an adjustable filter to the plurality of strain measurements to determine the strain component for the selected deformation mode.