Pipeline Smart Tool Question

[Krausen]

Hello All,

Not having much background on smart tools, I was hoping the group could help me with a general question ... I understand certain tools can inspect for dents during the run. These tools are typically called Caliper or Geometry tools I've been told. Some tools can also determine the bend radii in a pipeline (1.5D, 3D, 10D, field bends, etc.). Some folks have called these "Caliper Bend" tools. Others have said the Inertial Mapping Unit (IMU) or XYZ unit in a smart tool is what determines bend radii. Is this just semantics? In other words, is a "Caliper Bend" tool the same as an IMU/XYZ mapping tool?

Thanks in advance.

 

[brimmer]

Yes, the tool names caliper / geometry are the same tool (the design is similar for most); the IMU is a separate add on module to a caliper or geometry tool (can also add onto to an MFL or UT tool). So if you run one of these tools and want inertial mapping, you would specify in advance. Never heard of a "caliper bend' tool before, it would just be the same as a caliper tool, all the tools can identify bends. With an IMU tool you can get a location of the bends of course (assuming you can overlay the data onto a map), the resolution of the IMU data itself will depend on the AGM spacing (i.e. distance away from a known point you have coordinates for), the tighter the spacing, the more accurate the coordinates.

 

[jnichols777]

Thanks brimmer. This is starting to make sense now. A caliper tool detecting dents, internal pipe features, etc. was always straight forward to me, I just wasn't sure how it could detect bends. Caliper tools must all come with the necessary gyros & accelerometers to achieve this in some manner. Pretty interesting world.