A general experimental system for the development of acoustic logging tools

Laboratory testing is a pre-requisite for the practical application of new methods and techniques, and it is crucial in the research and development of acoustic well-logging tools. Various tools have been developed based on different acoustic logging theories and methods. Thus, these tools are equipped with different acoustic sonde structures. To meet the test requirements of different tools in a laboratory environment, we designed a general experimental system that includes hardware platform, software platform, and model wells according to the common structure of actual logging tools. Similar to the internal electrical structure of downhole tools, the hardware platform consists of several main parts, such as power supply, control and telemetering, acoustic emission, and data acquisition. The functions of this hardware platform include controlling the working sequence of the experiment, exciting the transmitter sonde, and collecting the acoustic signals received by the receiver sonde. The software platform installed in the host computer provides a human-computer interface for the experimental system to complete the data transmission between the host computer and the hardware platform, store measured data, and process the data in real time. The model wells approximate the actual engineering environment and stratum condition for system testing. A series of practical laboratory experiments is conducted in the model wells by using this experimental system. The process proves that the hardware and software of the experimental system can work in coordination, and the experimental system meets the basic testing requirements of conventional acoustic logging tools.