阅读说明：本技术 地层的近场灵敏度和利用井眼中的径向分辨率的水泥孔隙度测量 (Near field sensitivity of formations and cement porosity measurement with radial resolution in the borehole ) 是由 菲利普·蒂格 于 2018-04-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供具有电子中子发生器组件和用于将电压和脉冲提供给电子中子管的控制机制的中子孔隙度工具，中子发生器组件包括：至少一个真空管；至少一个离子靶；至少一个射频腔；至少一个高电压发生器；至少两个中子探测器；至少一个脉冲发生器电路；以及至少一个控制电路。一种控制具有电子中子发生器组件和将电压和脉冲提供给电子中子管的控制机制的中子孔隙度工具的方法，该方法至少包括：控制双极中子管，以产生两个不同的中子反应；使用控制电路来修改脉冲发生器电路的输出；以及使用多个中子探测器来确定地层响应偏移。(Providing a neutron porosity tool having an electronic neutron generator assembly and a control mechanism for providing voltage and pulses to an electronic neutron tube, the neutron generator assembly comprising: at least one vacuum tube; at least one ion target; at least one radio frequency cavity; at least one high voltage generator; at least two neutron detectors; at least one pulse generator circuit; and at least one control circuit. A method of controlling a neutron porosity tool having an electronic neutron generator assembly and a control mechanism to provide voltage and pulses to an electronic neutron tube, the method comprising at least: controlling a bipolar neutron tube to produce two different neutron reactions; modifying an output of the pulse generator circuit using the control circuit; and determining a formation response offset using the plurality of neutron detectors.)

1. A neutron porosity tool having an electronic neutron generator assembly and a control mechanism for providing a voltage and a pulse to an electronic neutron tube for output from two neutron reaction planes from collocated target planes in a wellbore environment, the neutron generator assembly comprising:

at least one vacuum tube;

at least one ion target;

at least one radio frequency cavity;

at least one high voltage generator;

at least two neutron detectors;

at least one pulse generator circuit; and

at least one control circuit.

2. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein the assembly is configured to provide two different ion acceleration voltages from two high voltage generators such that deuterium-deuterium reactions and deuterium-tritium reactions may occur within the same reactant plane.

3. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein the assembly is configured to provide the same ion acceleration voltage from two high voltage generators such that deuterium-deuterium reactions occur on both sides of the target within the same reactant plane.

4. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein the assembly is configured to provide the same ion acceleration voltage from two high voltage generators such that deuterium-tritium reactions occur on both sides of the target within the same reactant plane.

5. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein the assembly is configured to provide two cathode sources and two targets in-situ such that deuterium-deuterium reactions and deuterium-tritium reactions occur within the same reactant plane.

6. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein two high voltage generators are used to provide different acceleration voltages on either side of the target such that deuterium-deuterium reactions and deuterium-tritium reactions occur within the same reactant plane.

7. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein the pulse generator circuit is configured to provide pulses to either side of the target in parallel such that deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium reaction outputs are different and individual.

8. The neutron generator assembly of claim 1, wherein the pulse generator circuit is configured to alternately provide pulses to either side of the target such that deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium reaction outputs are different and individual.

9. The tool of claim 1, wherein the probe comprises helium-3 gas.

10. The tool of claim 1, wherein the probe comprises lithium-6 glass.

11. A method of controlling a neutron porosity tool having an electronic neutron generator assembly and a control mechanism that provides a voltage and a pulse to an electronic neutron tube, thereby enabling the generation of two different neutron energies to provide radial discrimination of porosity, the method comprising:

controlling a bipolar neutron tube to produce two different neutron reactions;

modifying an output of the pulse generator circuit using the control circuit; and

a plurality of neutron detectors is used to determine formation response offset.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising configuring the neutron generator assembly to provide two different ion acceleration voltages from two high voltage generators such that deuterium-deuterium reactions and deuterium-tritium reactions may occur within the same reactant plane.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising configuring the assembly to provide two cathode sources and two co-sited targets such that deuterium-deuterium reactions and deuterium-tritium reactions occur within the same reactant plane.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising controlling two high voltage generators to provide different acceleration voltages on either side of the target such that deuterium-deuterium reactions and deuterium-tritium reactions occur within the same reactant plane.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising controlling the pulse generator circuit so as to provide pulses to either side of the target in parallel such that deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium reaction outputs are different and individual.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising configuring the pulse generator circuit to alternately provide pulses to either side of the target such that deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium reaction outputs are different and individual.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to near field sensitivity of formations and cement porosity measurements with radial resolution in the wellbore, and in particular, by way of non-limiting example, to methods and means for: the output of deuterium-tritium pulsed neutron generators for use in neutron porosity borehole logging (logging) is generally increased without significantly increasing the length or diameter of the tool or thereby increasing power consumption to an unsustainable level or shortening the life of the generator tube.

Background

M. Penning, in US 2,211,668, discloses a neutron generator consisting of a low-pressure deuterium filled enclosure housing a cathode and an anode disposed in electromagnetic communication with an axially oriented magnetic field ion source, a nuclear reaction generating target, and one or more accelerating electrodes, various other references disclosing additional control mechanisms and improvements. However, most known techniques rely on the use of "Penning" ion sources and have been widely employed in various neutron generator tubes for neutron logging in downhole oil and gas wells.

The most widely used type of ion source is the Penning type, which has the following advantages: the Penning type is robust, resulting in a cold cathode and a long operating life, produces a considerable discharge current at low pressure, is in the order of 10 amps/torr, has a high extraction (extraction) efficiency of 20 to 40%, and has small physical dimensions. This type of source requires a magnetic field in the order of kilogauss parallel to the axis of the ionization chamber, which introduces considerable lateral inhomogeneities in the ion current density in the interior of the discharge and at the level of extraction (level) that occurs along the common axis of the field and the source.

The neutron generator tube is generally configured as a sealed tube containing a gaseous mixture of deuterium and tritium at low pressure through which the ion source forms a closed ionized gas. An emission (or extraction) port is provided in the cathode, while an acceleration (or extraction) electrode renders it possible to project the ion beam axially onto the target electrode.

Fusion deuterium-tritium reaction into³H +²H →⁴He + n, which supplies 14MeV neutrons, which are most widely used due to their large effective cross-sectional surface at lower ion energy levels. However, whatever the reaction used, as the energy of the ions directed towards the dense target itself increases, the number of neutrons obtained per unit charge of the beam always increases proportionally far beyond the ion energy obtained in currently available sealed tubes fed at high voltage potentials (fed) that hardly exceed 250 kV. In almost all borehole neutron porosity logging operations, the reaction is limited to a maximum of 90kV due to problems with generating and controlling large potentials within the range of the pressure shell of small 33/8 "or 111/16" diameters as typically required. The deuterium-deuterium reaction of 2 MeV-supplied neutrons will be used for near-field measurements requiring significantly less depth of investigation (such as neutron-porosity measurements of cement structures surrounding the wellbore) in order to facilitate well integrity evaluation during drilling and plugging and abandonment operations. However, in considering the electrical dielectric breakdown strength of suitable insulators, the deuterium-deuterium reaction typically relies on a tube potential in excess of 160kV, which is a problem with the aforementioned geometrical constraints of the tool housing.

Erosion of the target by ion bombardment is one of the most critical factors in the main constraints that determine the operating life of the neutron generator tube. Erosion is a function of the chemical composition and structure of the target on the one hand, and the energy of the incident ions and the density profile of the incident ions on the collision surface on the other hand. In most cases, the target is formed of a material capable of forming hydrides (titanium, scandium, zirconium, erbium, etc.) and of binding and releasing considerable amounts of hydrogen without impermissible interference with the mechanical strength of the target, and the overall quantity limit is a function of the temperature of the target and the hydrogen pressure in the tube. The target material used is deposited in the form of a thin layer whose thickness is limited by the problem of adhesion of the layer on its support. Means for slowing down erosion of the target, e.g. by diffusion resistance in forming a mobile absorption layerBarrier layers and stacking of identical layers insulated from each other. The thickness of each of the active layers is on the order of the penetration depth of deuterium ions that will strike the target. One way to protect the target and thus extend the operational life of the tube would be to affect the ion beam in such a way as to improve the density profile of the ion beam on the impact surface. At a constant total ion current on the target (which results in a constant neutron emission), the improvement results in a flow density distribution that is as uniform as possible across the entire surface of the target exposed to ion bombardment. However, a problem that still limits modern neutron generator tubes is the removal of thermal energy from the target surface of the tube. It is known that the energy of the ion beam, which strikes the target and causes the desired nuclear reactions, if too strong, will lead to high temperature sputtering and thermal failure of the target and thus failure of the neutron generator tube. As a result, most modern neutron generator tubes are limited to tube potentials of 80-100keV and beam currents of 30-50 uA. The number of output neutrons (14MeV) produced thereby falls within 5x10 per second⁷To 1x10⁸In the range of neutrons.

A typical neutron porosity measurement will operate in the range of 0 to 60 porosity units (p.u.), where 100% p.u. will be considered as a simple infinite volume of water surrounding the tool. Typical required accuracies for the measurement will be +/-0.5% for measurements less than 10p.u., +/-7% for measurements in the range of 10p.u. to 30p.u., and +/-10% in the range of 30 to 60 p.u. Since the statistical requirements to match or improve these accuracies are highly dependent on the detected signal, which in turn is highly dependent on the neutron rate in the output of the generator, most logging speeds are limited to 1800 feet per hour. Logging speeds of 3600 feet per hour can be achieved but at an insufficient accuracy of the measurement.

Disclosure of Invention

A neutron porosity tool is provided having an electronic neutron generator assembly and a control mechanism for providing a voltage and a pulse to an electronic neutron tube for output from two neutron reaction planes of collocated target planes in a wellbore environment, the neutron generator assembly comprising: at least one vacuum tube; at least one ion target; at least one radio frequency cavity; at least one high voltage generator; at least two neutron detectors; at least one pulse generator circuit; and at least one control circuit.

There is also provided a method of controlling a neutron porosity tool having an electronic neutron generator assembly and a control mechanism that provides a voltage and a pulse to an electronic neutron tube, thereby enabling the generation of two different neutron energies to provide radial discrimination (discrimination) of porosity, the method at least comprising: controlling a bipolar neutron tube to produce two different neutron reactions; modifying an output of the pulse generator circuit using the control circuit; and determining a formation response offset using the plurality of neutron detectors.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a downhole tool housing positioned within a cased wellbore, wherein the casings are cemented to each other and to the formation; in this example, two spheres illustrate the difference in depth of investigation for high and low neutron energies.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic layout of a typical pulsed neutron tube.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a bipolar pulsed neutron tube illustrating the ability to combine two high voltage generators to produce a higher tube voltage without changing the outer diameter of the downhole tool housing.

Fig. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a monopolar pulsed neutron tube illustrating the ability to combine two tubes into a single package (package) using a common target electrode. The ability to effectively multiply the output of a single target plane when using a single generator is further illustrated.

Fig. 5 illustrates two embodiments of a pulsed squaring scheme (pulsengscheme) that can be used to control a pair of tubes or diodes with a common target. The ability to select neutron burst energies by selecting a pulse-wise generation scheme to a common target is further illustrated.

Figure 6 illustrates one embodiment of a bipolar pulsed neutron tube illustrating the ability to combine two tubes into a single package with a common target, where each tube is capable of producing a different tube voltage. Further illustrating that it is possible to select which tube, and thus which energetic neutron, will be emitted by a common linkage target (linkedtarget) by using two pulse generators and a radio frequency cavity.

Detailed Description

The methods and approaches described herein enable a pulsed neutron generator to substantially increase its output and rapidly switch between outputting neutron energies while maintaining a single reactance plane within the environment of a wellbore. A high voltage generator for supplying power to the neutron tube and a control mechanism for various neutron tube geometries, the tool at least comprises a pulse type neutron tube, a radio frequency cavity, a high voltage generator and an electronic pulse square plan for selectively switching the radio frequency cavity.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic neutron source located within a downhole tool pressure housing [101], the downhole tool pressure housing [101] being located within a well casing [103] filled with a well or drilling fluid [102 ]. The first well casing [103] is cemented to the further casing [105] with cement [104], the casing [105] in turn being cemented to the well formation [107] with cement [106 ]. The energy of the neutrons [108, 109] produced determines the depth of investigation of the measurement and, therefore, the offset of the detector for optimal sensitivity. In this example, the lower energy neutrons produced by the deuterium-deuterium (DD) reaction will produce a measurement that is more sensitive to porosity changes within the near field region [108] (such as cement [104] immediately surrounding the wellbore). However, the higher energy neutrons generated by the deuterium-tritium (DT) reaction will be sensitive to the near and out field regions [109] (such as the formation [107] of the well and the outer cement bonded casing annulus [106 ]). The deviation between the DD and DT measurements can be used to indicate whether increased porosity (as can be expected by fluid channels in the cement) is located in the near field region [108] or the outer field region [109 ].

FIG. 2 illustrates a typical example of a modern neutron porosity logging tool, where near space [201] and far space [202] neutron detectors along with neutron tubes [203] are located on an axis within the tool housing. The "refill" current [206] causes deuterium gas to be generated within the vacuum chamber within tube [203 ]. A Radio Frequency (RF) chamber within the chamber is driven by a pulse generator circuit [205] (e.g., operating at 1kHz and 10% duty cycle), the pulse generator circuit [205] serving to ionize deuterium gas into positively charged deuterons that are accelerated toward the negative grid, powered by a high voltage generator [204], and accelerated onto the target. The target is typically a metal halide doped with tritium such that bombardment of the tritium atoms with deuterons produces helium ions and 14.1MeV neutrons. The pulse generation technique means that a pulse of neutrons is generated and the near [201] and far [202] spatial detectors operate during the time when the generator is not pulsed to collect signals returning from the surrounding formation but not swamped by the primary neutrons arriving directly from the source. To this effect, the pulse generator signal is typically used to gate the response of the detector.

Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment in which the cathode (filament) within the source tube [304] is also held at a high dc current potential (e.g., such as 85kV) by a positive high voltage generator [305] in addition to the target [ extractor ] electrode being held at-85 kV by a negative high voltage generator [306 ]. The result will be that a potential difference of 190kV across the tube [304] cavity is sufficient to achieve the DD reaction (2MeV) if the target is doped with deuterium. A mid-space (mid-space) detector [302] can be added between the near [301] and far [303] space detectors so as to optimize sensitivity to the physical component of 2MeV neutrons. In another embodiment, the DC level of the pulser is raised to a high positive potential such that the potential difference between the RF chamber and the target is at a potential sufficient to accelerate the deuterons to fusion energy. In another embodiment, the target is doped with both tritium and deuterium, such that the DT or DD-DT output can be selected by the control circuit by simply enabling or disabling the non-target multiplier [305 ].

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment in which neutron generating tubes [403, 404] are mirrored (mirrored) around the target, such that a single high voltage generator [405] is required (even if the two physical targets are different and separate) to operate both halves of the tube with a common target electrode. By using two pulse generators [406, 407] that are out of phase with each other, the effective pulse rate will be multiplied, thereby multiplying the output neutron flux from a pair of co-located targets. This effect ensures apposition to the target area of the associated tube. In terms of power, the beam current delivery of the high voltage generator will effectively double, but with half the contribution from the interleaving of each half-tube [403, 404 ].

Fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the joint common target area scheme (scheme) illustrated in fig. 4. The single pulse generation regime (regime) [501] is illustrated as a function of time [503] for the voltage between ground [504] and high voltage output [505 ]. Two pulse generator circuits with a common ground [504] will operate at the set frequency and duty cycle, but each side of the pulse generator will operate [ pi/2 ] out of phase with the other side [502] so that the positive high voltage [506] output is out of phase with the negative high voltage [507] output. In another embodiment, the pulse generators operate in phase with each other.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which an additional high voltage generator [607] is included on one side of the combined tubes [604, 605] and the associated target is doped with both tritium and deuterium, and, as illustrated in FIG. 5, an interleaved pulse generator scheme is used such that each pulse of neutrons out of the target alternates between 14MeV neutrons and 2MeV neutrons. In this way, the responses of the mid-space detector [602] and the far-space detector [603] are individually gated to separate timing signals of the pulse generators [609, 610] controlled by the control circuitry, such that separate profiles for near-field and far-field porosity responses are determined during the same logging run.

In one exemplary embodiment, the near space, intermediate space, and far space neutron detectors are located on an axis within the tool housing along with the neutron generator. The rf cavity within the chamber is driven by a pulser circuit (e.g., operating at 1kHz and 10% duty cycle) that serves to ionize deuterium gas into positively charged deuterons that are accelerated toward the negative grid (powered by the voltage multiplier) and onto the target. The target is typically a metal halide doped with tritium such that bombardment of the tritium atoms with deuterons produces helium ions and 14.1MeV neutrons. This pulsing technique means that a pulse of neutrons is generated because it permits the near space detector and far space detector to operate during times when the generator is not pulsing to collect signals returning from the surrounding formation but not swamped by the primary neutrons directly from the source. To achieve this, the pulse generator signal is typically used to gate the response of the detector.

In one embodiment, in addition to the target [ extractor ] electrode being held at-85 kV, the DC level of the cathode circuit is also held at a high potential (such as 85 kV). The result is that a potential difference of 190kV across the RF cavity is sufficient to achieve the DD reaction (2.5Mev) if the target is doped with deuterium. The centered space detector is located between the near space and the far space so as to optimize sensitivity to the physical component of 2.5MeV neutrons. In another embodiment, the DC level of the pulser is raised to a high positive potential such that the potential difference between the RF chamber and the target is at a potential sufficient to accelerate the deuterons to fusion energy.

In another exemplary embodiment, the target is doped with both tritium and deuterium such that either the DT or DD-DT output is selected by simply enabling or disabling the non-target multiplier.

In another embodiment, the neutron generating tubes are mirrored around the target, such that a single multiplier is required (even if the two physical targets are different and separate) to operate both halves of the tube with a common target electrode. By using two pulse generators positioned out of phase with each other, the effective pulse rate is multiplied, thereby multiplying the output neutron flux from a pair of co-located targets. This effect ensures apposition to the target area of the associated tube. In terms of power, the beam current delivery of the multiplier effectively multiplies, but with half the contribution from the interleaving of each half-tube. In a joint common target area scheme, two pulser circuits with a common ground operate at the set frequency and duty cycle, but each side of the pulsers operate [ pi/2 ] out of phase with each other.

In another exemplary embodiment, the pulse generators operate in phase with each other, with the benefit of multiplying the output of the tube without increasing the heat dissipating load on the individual target surfaces. The multiplication of neutron output flux allows for multiplication of possible logging speeds (e.g., up to 7200 feet/hour) without degrading the statistical quality (accuracy) of the measured porosity response.

In another exemplary embodiment, an additional multiplier is included on one side of the combined tube and the associated target is doped with both tritium and deuterium, and an interleaved pulse generator scheme is used so that each pulse of neutrons out of the target alternates between 14.1MeV neutrons and 2.5MeV neutrons. In this way, the responses of the mid-space probe and the far-space probe are individually gated to separate timing signals of the pulse generator, so that separate profiles for near-field and far-field porosity responses can be determined during the same logging run.

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that in this context, D + T → n +4He (E)_n= 14.1 MeV)。

One of ordinary skill will also appreciate that in this context, D + D → n +3He (E)_n= 2.5 MeV)。

Since the energy of the neutrons produced determines the depth of investigation of the measurement, and thus the offset of the detector for optimal sensitivity, the lower energy neutrons produced by the D-D reaction will produce a measurement that is more sensitive to porosity changes within the near field region (such as the cement immediately surrounding the wellbore), whereas the higher energy neutrons produced by the D-T reaction are sensitive to the near and outer field regions (such as the formation of the well and the outer cement bonded casing rings). The deviation between the DD and DT measurements is used to indicate whether the increased porosity (as can be expected by fluid channels in the cement) is located in the near field or the out field region.

In another embodiment, multiple detector positions are used to further increase the dimension of the received data (alternating between 2MeV and 14MeV) so that the radial resolution capability can be increased.

In another embodiment, the neutron detector is a helium-3 packed detector.

In another embodiment, the neutron detector is a lithium-6 glass detector.

In another embodiment, the source tube is shielded in all but one direction and manipulated so that the source tube is rotated about the tool main axis so that azimuthal porosity information can be determined by the directional offset of the source and/or detector using neutron moderating or shielding material.

In another embodiment, the source tube and detector are shielded in all but one direction and manipulated so that the source tube and detector are rotated about the tool main axis so that azimuthal porosity information can be determined by the directional offset of the source and/or detector using neutron moderation (modete) or shielding material.

In another embodiment, the present technique is combined with ultrasound or x-ray density techniques. Radially resolved porosity can be highly advantageous when combined with x-ray, ultrasound, and azimuthal neutron techniques to map (in 3D) the porosity associated with channels or fluid defects in the cement surrounding the wellbore.

The foregoing description is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to describe all possible aspects of the present invention. Although the present invention has been shown and described in detail herein with respect to several exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that slight changes to the descriptions, as well as various other modifications, omissions, and additions may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.