Systems and Methods for In Situ Monitoring of Cement Slurry Locations and Setting Processes Thereof

Abstract

Optical analysis systems may be useful in monitoring fluids relating to cementing operations in or near real-time, e.g., for location and/or the status of a cement setting process. For example, method may involve containing a cement slurry within a flow path, the cement slurry having a chemical reaction occurring therein; and optically interacting the cement slurry with an integrated computational element, thereby generating an output signal corresponding to a characteristic of the chemical reaction.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 containing a cement slurry within a flow path, the cement slurry having a chemical reaction occurring therein; and   optically interacting the cement slurry with an integrated computational element, thereby generating an output signal corresponding to a characteristic of the chemical reaction.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the flow path comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a wellbore, a casing, and an annulus between a wellbore and a casing. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein optically interacting further comprises reflecting an electromagnetic radiation off of the cement slurry. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the output signal with a signal processor communicably coupled to the at least one detector; and   determining the characteristic of the chemical reaction with the signal processor.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 correlating the output signal with a location of the integrated computational element within the flow path.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the output signal corresponding to the characteristic of the chemical reaction further comprises determining a concentration of one or more analytes in the cement slurry. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , the characteristic of the chemical reaction comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a chemical composition, an impurity content, a pH level, a temperature, a viscosity, a density, an ionic strength, a total dissolved solids measurement, a salt content measurement, a porosity, an opacity measurement, a particle size distribution, any derivative thereof, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 flowing a series of fluids through a flow path, the series of fluids comprising a spacer fluid followed by a cement slurry; and   optically interacting at least one of the series of fluids with an integrated computational element, thereby generating an output signal corresponding to a characteristic of the at least one of the series of fluids.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 correlating the output signal with a location of the at least one of the series of fluids within the flow path. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising:
 changing an operational parameter based on the location of the at least one of the series of fluids within the flow path. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 correlating the output signal with a chemical reaction occurring in the cement slurry. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 performing a remedial operation based on the chemical reaction occurring in the cement slurry. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 changing an operational parameter based on the chemical reaction occurring in the cement slurry. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein generating the output signal further comprises determining a concentration of one or more analytes in the at least one of the series of fluids. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more analytes comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of water, salt, a mineral, wollastonite, metakaolin, pumice, a cement, Portland cement, gypsum cement, a calcium phosphate cement, a high alumina content cement, a silica cement, a high alkalinity cement, a filler, fly ash, fume silica, hydrated lime, pozzolanic material, sand, barite, calcium carbonate, ground marble, iron oxide, manganese oxide, glass bead, crushed glass, a crushed drill cutting, ground vehicle tire, crushed rock, ground asphalt, crushed concrete, crushed cement, ilmenite, hematite, silica flour, fume silica, fly ash, an elastomer, a polymer, diatomaceous earth, a highly swellable clay mineral, nitrogen, air, a fiber, natural rubber, acrylate butadiene rubber, polyacrylate rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, butyl rubber, brominated butyl rubber, chlorinated butyl rubber, chlorinated polyethylene, neoprene rubber, styrene butadiene copolymer rubber, sulphonated polyethylene, ethylene acrylate rubber, epichlorohydrin ethylene oxide copolymer, ethylene propylene rubber, ethylene propylene diene terpolymer rubber, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, fluorosilicone rubber, silicone rubber, poly-2,2,1-bicycloheptene, alkylstyrene, crosslinked substituted vinyl acrylate copolymer, nitrile rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber, fluoro rubber, perfluoro rubber, tetrafluoroethylene/propylene, starch polyacrylate acid graft copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol cyclic acid anhydride graft copolymer, isobutylene maleic anhydride, acrylic acid type polymer, vinylacetate-acrylate copolymer, polyethylene oxide polymer, carboxymethyl cellulose polymer, starch-polyacrylonitrile graft copolymer, polymethacrylate, polyacrylamide, and non-soluble acrylic polymer), hydrocarbon, an acid, an acid-generating compound, a base, a base-generating compound, a biocide, a surfactant, a scale inhibitor, a corrosion inhibitor, a gelling agent, a crosslinking agent, an anti-sludging agent, a foaming agent, a defoaming agent, an antifoam agent, a emulsifying agent, a de-emulsifying agent, a iron control agent, a proppants or other particulate, a gravel, particulate diverter, a salt, a cement slurry loss control additive, a gas migration control additive, a gas, air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, argon, helium, a hydrocarbon gas, methane, ethane, butane, catalyst, a clay control agent, a chelating agent, a corrosion inhibitor, a dispersant, a flocculant, a scavenger, an H 2 S scavenger, a CO 2  scavenger, an O 2  scavenger, a lubricant, a breaker, a delayed release breaker, a friction reducer, a bridging agent, a viscosifier, a weighting agent, a solubilizer, a rheology control agent, a viscosity modifier, a pH control agent, a buffer, a hydrate inhibitor, a relative permeability modifier, a diverting agent, a consolidating agent, a fibrous material, a bactericide, a tracer, a probe, a nanoparticle, a paraffin wax, an asphaltene, a foam, sand, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         16 . A system, comprising:
 a flow path containing a cement slurry; and   at least two optical computing devices arranged in the flow path for monitoring the cement slurry, each of the at least two optical computing devices independently having at least one integrated computational element configured to optically interact with the cement slurry and thereby generate optically interacted light, and at least one detector arranged to receive the optically interacted light and generate an output signal corresponding to a characteristic of the cement slurry.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the characteristic of the cement slurry is a concentration of one or more analytes in the cement slurry. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the characteristic of the cement slurry corresponds to a reaction occurring within a cement slurry. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the characteristic of the cement slurry comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of chemical composition, impurity content, pH, viscosity, density, ionic strength, total dissolved solids, salt content, porosity, opacity, bacteria content, particle size distribution, color, temperature, hydration level, and an analyte oxidation state. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising:
 a signal processor communicably coupled to the at least two optical computing devices for receiving the output signal therefrom, the signal processor being configured to determine a progress of a chemical reaction occurring within the cement slurry.