Application of open-ended coaxial probes for detection of sand production from petroleum wells

Microwave nondestructive testing (NDT) has shown success in many industries including aerospace and infrastructure. Recently the potential for applying microwave NDT methods in the petroleum industry, specifically for detection of sand in produced petroleum fluids, was investigated. Flowing sand grains cause erosion of many components in the production system including tubing, piping and associated connections, and fluids-processing equipment. Detection of produced sand is important to planning operations and the application of sand production mitigation techniques. To this end, a simple, cost-effective microwave sensor design has been considered. This paper presents simulation and measurement results for this simplified sensor design for various production scenarios. The results indicate the proposed sensing method is sensitive to the presence of sand and may have the potential to serve as a tool for detection of produced sand in the petroleum industry.