A gas kick early detection method outside riser based on Doppler ultrasonic wave during deepwater drilling

The feasibility of gas kick early detection outside the riser was analyzed based on gas-liquid multiphase flow theory.Then an experimental platform for gas kick early detection based on Doppler ultrasonic wave was established and the propagation experiments in two-phase flow of gas-water(sucrose solutions)were conducted.The time and frequency domains of the Doppler ultrasonic wave signals during the experiments were analyzed.The results show that:(1)No matter the pump was on or off,the detected average Doppler ultrasonic signal voltage increased first and then decreased with the increase of the gas void fraction,and had a quadratic function relation with gas void fraction,so the average voltage change of the monitored signals can be used to deduce the approximate gas void fraction.The Doppler ultrasonic wave signal voltage was significantly reduced in magnitude and variation in the solution with higher viscosity,and the viscosity has stronger impact on the magnitude of signal than density.(2)When the pump was stopped,the Doppler shift increased with the increase of gas void fraction,and the two showed a nearly linear relation,so the detected amount of Doppler shift can reflect the variation of gas void fraction quantitatively.When the pump was on,the sound energy produced by frequency converter had a more significant impact on amplitude spectrum than gas void fraction,so it is impossible to determine whether gas kick occurs by frequency domain signal analysis.(3)This method is a non-contact measurement,with no contact with the drilling fluid and no disruption to the drilling operation.It can quantitatively characterize the gas void fraction according to the change of Doppler ultrasonic signal,enabling earlier detection of gas kick.