Wellbore seal
A wellbore seal includes a eutectic plug and a gauge assembly. The eutectic plug is configured to sealably engage a casing or a formation. The gauge assembly is connected to a lower side of the eutectic plug. The gauge assembly includes a pressure gauge configured to measure a pressure of a fluid, and an acoustic transceiver in communication with the pressure gauge and configured to transmit an acoustic signal based on the pressure through the eutectic plug.
1 . A wellbore seal comprising:
a eutectic plug configured to sealably engage a casing;
a first gauge assembly connected to a lower side of the eutectic plug, the first gauge assembly including,
a pressure gauge configured to measure a pressure of a fluid, and
an acoustic transceiver in communication with the pressure gauge and configured to transmit an acoustic signal based on the pressure through the eutectic plug; and
a second gauge assembly positioned at an upper side of the eutectic plug, wherein the first gauge assembly and the second gauge assembly are acoustically and communicatively coupled with one another through the eutectic plug.
2 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein the eutectic plug is formed of a bismuth alloy.
3 . The wellbore seal of claim 2 , wherein the bismuth alloy includes tin.
4 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein the first gauge assembly includes a battery pack and an electronic module configured to manage power consumption of the battery pack.
5 . The wellbore seal of claim 4 , wherein the electronic module selectively enters into a hibernation phase to conserve battery power.
6 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein the first gauge assembly includes an electronic module configured to control the acoustic transceiver.
7 . The wellbore seal of claim 6 , wherein the electronic module generates electronic instructions based on pressure data from the pressure gauge.
8 . The wellbore seal of claim 7 , wherein the acoustic transceiver produces the acoustic signal based on the electronic instructions.
9 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein the first gauge assembly is connected to the lower side via an adaptor.
10 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein the second gauge assembly receives a command via one or more of an acoustic signal or a wireline cable.
11 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein
the fluid is a first fluid,
the pressure is a first pressure, and
the second gauge assembly measures a second pressure of a second fluid.
12 . The wellbore seal of claim 11 , wherein the eutectic plug is configured to sealably isolate the first fluid from the second fluid.
13 . The wellbore seal of claim 1 , wherein the second gauge assembly is configured to be lowered to the eutectic plug via a wireline cable after the eutectic plug is installed.
14 . A wellbore monitoring system comprising:
a casing;
a eutectic plug sealably engaged with the casing;
a first gauge assembly connected to a lower side of the eutectic plug, the first gauge assembly including
a pressure gauge configured to measure a pressure of a fluid, and
an acoustic transceiver in communication with the pressure gauge and configured to transmit an acoustic signal based on the pressure through the eutectic plug;
a second gauge assembly positioned at an upper side of the eutectic plug; and
an acoustic transponder mounted to the casing and configured to relay the acoustic signal, such that the first gauge assembly and the second gauge assembly are acoustically and communicatively coupled with one another through the eutectic plug.
15 . The wellbore monitoring system of claim 14 , further comprising an acoustic repeater between the first gauge assembly and the acoustic transponder and configured to relay the acoustic signal between the first gauge assembly and the acoustic transponder.