Method of leak testing an underground fluid-storage cavity
US5892148A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 21, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 6, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 21, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01M3/2892
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
The method comprising measuring the rate at which working fluid is expelled from a cavity through a central tubing to a well head under atmospheric pressure at the well head; determining the shape of a zone of the well selected for positioning an interface between a test fluid and the working fluid; performing temperature measurements and pressure measurements over the full height of a cavity under atmospheric pressure at the well head; injecting additional working fluid into the central tubing or into the annular space until a predetermined test pressure is reached; measuring the compressibility of a cavity during the preceding step; injecting test fluid into the annular; measuring the depth of the interface between the test fluid and the working fluid for a first time at the end of injecting test fluid; measuring the test fluid and the working fluid pressures at the well head; measuring the level of the interface between the test fluid and the working fluid for a second time; and evaluating the real leakage rate of test fluid that took place during said test period.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.