ULTRASENSITIVE APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING CHANGE IN FLUID FLOW CONDITIONS IN A FLOWLINE OF A PRODUCING OIL WELL, OR THE LIKE

摘要

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREULTRASENSITIVE APPARATUS AND METHOD FORDETECTING CHANGE IN FLUID FLOW CONDITIONS IN AFLOWLINE OF A PRODUCING OIL WELL, OR THE LIKETransient change in heat flux due to ultrasmallvariation in flow conditions, say from flow-to-no flow withina flowline of a wellhead connected to an oil well penetratingan earth formation, is surprisingly useful in pinpointing theoccurrence of adverse "pump pounding" during the productioncycle of the well. In one respect, the change in flux ismonitored within each flowline using a heat flux transducer/meter in series with a pump controller. Cascading the signaloutput, i.e. serially combining the outputs of N thermocouplesthe transducer/meter, enhances sensitivity. In a preferredcase, N is about 80 but can be as high as 320, if desired.