Experimental Analysis of Acoustic Transmission Characteristics along the Periodic Simulated Drillstring

Abstract

Real-time data collection about the drilling process is an effective way of improving the drilling efficiency. Drill string acoustic telemetry is an alternative wireless transmission method to retrieve down hole data. A time-domain analysis algorithm for drill string channel based on finite element method is proposed. Then, the experimental system is established by using simulated drill string according to the analogous principles. The excitation experiments on acoustic transmission characteristics in the laboratory are performed. The results demonstrate the effects of receiving modes, carrier wave frequencies, channel boundaries and receiver positions on acoustic transmission behaviors. The analysis from the experimental data can provide the theoretical foundation for the design of down hole acoustic transmission terminals.