Seismic source which incorporates earth coupling as part of the transmitter resonance
US8400872B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 2010 |
| Grant date | Mar 19, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 29, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V1/52
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An acoustic energy source for imparting acoustic energy into the Earth's subsurface includes an electrically driven transducer coupled to a source of swept frequency alternating current. A tunable Helmholtz resonator is disposed proximate the transducer. In one example, the resonator has a tuning device configured to maintain a resonant frequency substantially equal to an instantaneous frequency of the alternating current. The tuning device includes an actuator coupled to a sleeve, wherein the sleeve is disposed over selected numbers of openings in a wall of a tube on the resonator. The transducer and the resonator are disposed in a wellbore drilled through rock formations. The wellbore has a plurality of layers of fluid therein, each layer thereof having a different density and/or viscosity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.