IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,731,235
Granted Patent B2
US 12,731,235 · App. 18/385,911 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Method and system for characterizing perforations in a tubular

Inventors: Gaurav Handa (Vancouver, CA); Sindhu Hari (Bellevue, WA); Mengliu Zhao (Burnaby, CA)
G06T7/0002G01N29/0654G06T7/11G06T7/60G06V10/764G06V10/7715G06V10/82G06V20/70G01N2291/023G01N2291/105G06T2200/24G06T2207/10132G06T2207/20021G06T2207/20084G06T2207/20092
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,731,235
App. No.
18/385,911
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods and system of characterizing perforations in a tubular. An imaging tool having an acoustic imaging probe transmits waves and receives acoustic reflections from the tubular. Image segments are processed from the acoustic data. A first trained neural network operates on the image segments to identify processed image segments containing a perforation. A second trained neural network operates on processed image segments containing a perforation to output the location of perforations along the tubular. Another trained neural network can calculate a geometric size of the perforations, such as their size or points along their contour.

Claims (42)

1 . A method of characterizing perforations in a tubular, comprising:

generating processed image segments, based on a received acoustic data for acoustic reflections from the tubular;

convolving a first trained neural network with the processed image segments to identify processed image segments containing a perforation; and

convolving a second trained neural network on those processed image segments containing a perforation to output bounding boxes that locate the perforations along the tubular.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first trained neural network is a classification network that outputs a label estimating a probability of a given processed image segment containing a perforation.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first trained neural network comprises a Convolutional Neural Network and a Long Short Term Memory network.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first trained neural network comprises a UNET network.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first trained neural network comprises a first network part to output a feature for each of the processed image segments and a second network part that combines features for a sequence of the processed image segments to output a label that identifies perforations.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising convolving a third trained neural network on a subset of the received acoustic data based on the bounding box to determine a geometric characteristic of the perforations.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the processed image segments includes creating a single-channel image segment, where each region of the single-channel image segment includes a maximum measured intensity from a within a thickness of the tubular.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the processed image segments includes creating a multi-channel image segment, where each region of the multi-channel image segment includes (i) a maximum measured intensity, (ii) a maximum measured intensity between an inner surface and an outer surface of the tubular, and (iii) a maximum measured intensity at the outer surface of the tubular at a corresponding azimuthal and axial location of the received acoustic data.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising dividing the processed image segments into a plurality of smaller processed image segments prior to the step of determining the bounding box.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the processed image segments have dimensions corresponding to azimuthal (φ) and axial (z) directions of the tubular.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the processed image segments have dimensions corresponding to azimuthal (φ) and radial (r) directions of the tubular.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising rendering and outputting an image from the received acoustic data based on least one of the identified processed image segments that contain a perforation.

13 . A method of characterizing a perforation in a tubular, comprising:

generating, based on a received acoustic data, an image segment containing a perforation and a corresponding bounding box around the perforation;

identifying key points of the perforation in the image segment using a trained neural network model; and

determining, based on the key points, geometric characteristics of the perforation.

14 . The method of claim 13 , generating processed image segments, based on a received acoustic data for acoustic reflections from the tubular.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the image segment is a cross-view having dimensions corresponding to radial (r) and azimuthal (φ) directions of the tubular.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the image segment is a tubeview having dimensions corresponding to axial (z) and azimuthal (φ) directions of the tubular.

17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the geometric characteristics include a size of the perforation.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the key points include a start point and an end point of the perforation.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein determining characteristics includes measuring the size of the perforation by spline fitting a start point and an end point.

20 . A system for characterizing a perforation in a tubular, comprising:

an acoustic probe comprising a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, each sensor capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, wherein the acoustic probe is configured to generate acoustic data; at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing a first and a second trained neural network;

the at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

generate processed image segments, based on the acoustic data;

convolve the first trained neural network with the processed image segments to identify processed image segments containing a perforation; and

convolve the second trained neural network on those processed image segments containing a perforation to output a bounding box that locates the perforation along the tubular.

21 . A system for characterizing a perforation in a tubular, comprising:

an acoustic probe comprising a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, each sensor capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, wherein the acoustic probe is configured to generate acoustic data;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing a trained neural network;

the at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

generate, based on a received acoustic data, an image segment containing a perforation;

identify key points of the perforation in the image segment using a trained neural network model; and

determine, based on the key points, geometric characteristics of the perforation.

22 . The system of claim 21 , the processor and the memory being located at a remote data center.

23 . The system of claim 21 , further comprising a user interface capable of displaying a rendered image and capable of receiving user prompts indicating which image segments contain a perforation.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 15, 2024
From: HANDA, GAURAV; HARI, SINDHU; ZHAO, MENGLIU
To: DARKVISION TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Reel/Frame 066119/0058 →
Priority Claims (1)
GB 2216401 · Nov 3, 2022 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240153057A1 · May 9, 2024
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