During drilling of deep wells, digital data are often transmitted from sensors located near the drill bit to the surface. Development of a new communication system with increased data capacity is of paramount importance to the drilling industry. Since steel drill strings are used, transmission of these data by elastic carrier waves traveling within the drill pipe is possible, but the potential communication range is uncertain. The problem is complicated by the presence of heavy‐threaded tool joints every 10 m, which form a periodic structure and produce classical patterns of passbands and stop bands in the wave spectra. In this article, field measurements of the attenuation characteristics of a drill string in the Long Valley Scientific Well in Mammoth Lakes, California are presented. Wave propagation distances approach 2 km. A theoretical model is discussed which predicts the location, width, and attenuation of the passbands. Mode conversion between extensional and bending waves, and spurious reflections due to deviations in the periodic spacings of the tool joints are believed to be the sources of this attenuation. It is estimated that attenuation levels can be dramatically reduced by rearranging the individual pipes in the drill string according to length.
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October 1993
October 01 1993
Attenuation of sound waves in drill strings
Douglas S. Drumheller
Douglas S. Drumheller
Geothermal Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185
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J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 94, 2387–2396 (1993)
Article history
Received:
May 05 1993
Accepted:
June 15 1993
Citation
Douglas S. Drumheller; Attenuation of sound waves in drill strings. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 October 1993; 94 (4): 2387–2396. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.407458
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