MULTI-BEAM PHASED ARRAY ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCER OPERATION FOR DOWNHOLE APPLICATIONS

摘要

An apparatus for imaging a borehole wall includes an array of acoustic transducers and a controller. The controller scans a section of the borehole wall with first acoustic beams that are transmitted by a series of sets of acoustic transducers in the array to produce adjacent first acoustic measurements that are spaced a first distance D1 apart along the borehole wall, each set having at least one transducer that is different from an adjacent set, (ii) steers a second acoustic beam along the section of the borehole wall using one set of acoustic transducers in the array to produce adjacent second acoustic measurements that are a second distance D2 apart along the borehole wall, and (iii) images the borehole wall using the first acoustic measurements and the second acoustic measurement to generate a borehole wall image, wherein at least one second acoustic measurement is between adjacent first acoustic measurements.

主权项

1. An apparatus for imaging a wall of a borehole penetrating the earth, the apparatus comprising:
a carrier configured to be conveyed through the borehole; an array of acoustic transducers disposed on the carrier and configured to at least one of transmit an acoustic signal toward the borehole wall and receive an acoustic return signal from the borehole wall; a controller configured to (i) scan a section of the borehole wall with first acoustic beams that are transmitted by a series of sets of acoustic transducers in the array to produce adjacent first acoustic measurements that are spaced a first distance D1 apart along the borehole wall, each set having at least one transducer that is different from an adjacent set, (ii) steer a second acoustic beam along the section of the borehole wall using one set of acoustic transducers in the array to produce adjacent second acoustic measurements that are a second distance D2 apart along the borehole wall, and (iii) image the borehole wall using the first acoustic measurements and the second acoustic measurement to generate a borehole wall image, wherein at least one second acoustic measurement is between adjacent first acoustic measurements; and an output interface coupled to the processor and configured to transmit a signal comprising the borehole wall image to a signal receiving device.