Measurement of Annular Flow for Drilling Engineering by Electromagnetic Flowmeter Based on Double-Frequency Excitation

Using downhole annular electromagnetic flow measurement to obtain annular flow in real-time is a foundation of microflow control drilling technology. The existing annular flow electromagnetic measurement method based on low-frequency rectangular excitation is affected by slurry interference and formation fluid invasion, which results in large noise generated on the electrode output signal. These noise causes the instability of the flow measurement system output and lower accuracy. Double-frequency rectangular wave excitation has the advantages of excellent zero-point stability attributed to low-frequency rectangular wave excitation and fast response speed with great ability to suppress slurry interference. First, the double-frequency rectangular wave excitation for annular flow electromagnetic measurement is researched, and its corresponding electromagnetic induction signal process is investigated. In order to verify the feasibility of downhole annular electromagnetic flow measurement, a flow verification platform for comparison of standard and detected parameters is established for simulation experiment, and the ability to suppress slurry interference and response speed of the technology in downhole slurry flow measurement are analyzed. The test results show that the downhole annular electromagnetic flow measurement based on double-frequency rectangular wave excitation can not only satisfy the requirements of regular electromagnetic flow measurement but also suppress the annular slurry interference effectively.