Numerical study of the effect of cement defects on flexural-wave logging

Abstract

Cement-bond evaluation is needed for new wells and plug and abandonment activities. The ultrasonic leaky Lamb-wave (also called the flexural-wave) technique, in combination with the pulse-echo technique, has been widely used for cement-quality evaluation. Using a 2D time-domain staggered-grid stress-velocity finite-difference methodology, we have numerically investigated the attenuation and group velocity of flexural waves, and the scattering from defects, in the presence of a water-filled void in the cement annulus. The position, length, thickness, and burial depth of a defect are considered. The numerical study suggests that the combination of the attenuation and group velocity of the flexural wave allows for a discrimination between solids and liquids. The scattering from voids can be used to indicate the existence of a hidden defect, which cannot be detected by using the attenuation and group velocity if it is located larger than 5 mm away from the casing. The void signatures can even be used to characterize the geometry of the defect for neat cement. The numerical results provide improved understanding of flexural-wave logging results.