NON-CONTACT FLOW RATE MEASUREMENT OF FLUID USING SURFACE FEATURE IMAGE ANALYSIS

摘要

Comparative image analysis is utilized to determine the flow rate of fluids, such as, for example, drilling fluid, completion fluid or hydrocarbons. As fluid flows through a conduit or open trough, a flow rate measurement device illuminates the surface of the fluid. Images of common surface features are then acquired at some time interval. Thereafter, the displacement of the common surface features in the images is analyzed to determine the flow rate of the fluid. Thus, non-contact flow rate measurements of opaque and non-opaque fluids are obtained.

主权项

1. A flow rate measurement method to determine a flow rate of wellbore fluid, the method comprising:
allowing wellbore fluid to flow past an image capture device; capturing a first image of a surface of the wellbore fluid; capturing a second image of the surface of the wellbore fluid, the first and second images having a common surface feature; analyzing a displacement of the common surface feature in the first and second images; and determining a flow rate of the wellbore fluid based on the displacement of the common feature.