Cement Evaluation Tool:

A New Approach to Cement Evaluation

Benoit Froelich, Etudes et Production Schlumberger
A. Dumont, Etudes et Production Schlumberger
Dennis Pittman, Etudes et Production Schlumberger
Bruno Seeman, SPE, Etudes et Production Schlumberger
Summary
A new generation of cement and casing evaluation tools
is being introduced with construction permitting detailed
examination of cement behind casing. Classical cement
bond logging systems measure amplitude or attenuation
of plate waves propagating axially along the casing. The
design described in this paper exploits the principle of
casing thickness resonance to overcome previous tool
limitations. Applications and results from field tests il-
lustrate the advantages of this approach.
Cement bond logging achieves its greatest utility when
it provides the production engineer with precise indica-
tions of cement strength and distribution around the cas-
ing. Zone isolation is of critical importance in produc-
tion. Previous logging systems have yielded measures of
cement bond that were circumferential averages of ce-
ment quality. These were difficult to interpret. Addi-
tionally, they were sensitive to the degree of shear cou-
pling between pipe, cement, and formation and thus
were affected by microannulus. The cement evaluation
tool (CET) described here overcomes these difficulties.
It provides a measurement of cement presence and
strength, which is largely insensitive to microannulus.
Its log output is interpreted easily. Tool design allows
examination of the casing circumferentially at each
depth. Impedance behind casing is measured.
Laboratory calibration measurements allow this to be
presented in terms of cement compressive strength. Ce-
ment channels are distinguished easily, and a zone isola-
tion indicator can be presented. Additionally, casing in-
ternal diameter and distortion are displayed.
European and North American field tests have been
completed, and performance for a variety of well condi-
tions is discussed. The ability of the tool to identify
channels is confirmed. Sequential runs with and without
excess pressure demonstrate immunity to microannulus
in cases where CBL is affected but where microannulus
is small enough to prohibit hydraulic communication.
Geometrical measurements have been good indicators of
0149-2136/82/0081-0207$00.25
Copyright 1982 Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME
AUGUST 1982
casing deformation and have identified casing corrosion
and wear.
Introduction
Conventional cement bond logs (CBL's) are run in cased
hole using a sonic logging tool in a single receiver mode
(or a simplified sonde specially designed for CBL). The
transmitter and receiver are more or less omnidirec-
tional, with an operating frequency around 20 kHz. The
most rapid wave path from transmitter to receiver is a
plate-type mode in the casing with a compressional wave
in the mud path from transmitter to casing and casing to
receiver. At this frequency, the casing is very thin with
respect to the wavelength, and the velocity is close to the
compressional velocity in steel. I Attenuation of this
wave depends mainly on loss of energy to the materials
on either side of the casing (mud, cement) and since the
particle movement at the surfaces of the casing is
predominantly parallel to the casing axis, 2 more loss oc-
curs through shear coupling to a solid medium (cement)
than to a liquid (mud).
Thus, the amplitude of the first ~ r r i v a l at the receiver is
indicative of the presence of cement around the casing:
low amplitude indicates cement, and high amplitude in-
dicates free pipe.
There are several drawbacks to this system.
1. The omnidirectional characteristics imply good cen-
tralization to ensure simultaneous first arrivals from all
azimuths.
2. The omnidirectional characteristics make it difficult
to distinguish high-strength cement with a channel
(hydraulic communication) from an even distribution of
low-strength cement (no communication) because the
amplitude may be the same in both cases.
3. The necessity for good shear coupling to the cement
implies practically free pipe amplitude in the case of a
microannulus.
4. In hard formations where the compressional veloci-
ty is higher than the plate mode velocity in steel, the first
arrival is no longer the casing wave, and the calibration
is no longer valid.
1835
A B
r---------
TRANSDUCER
Fig. 1-Ultrasonic wave propagation with an incident wave
normal to the steel wall.
The transit time measurement enables identification of
poor centralization or fast formations, and the addition of
a variable density log improves the interpretation of
channels, fast formations, and microannulus from a
qualitative point of view. Also, some newer, specialized
multitransducer CBL tools give a better quality attenua-
tion measurement, but the drawbacks resulting from the
type of wave propagation used are not eliminated.
The CET is an entirely new approach to cement quali-
ty evaluation, designed to overcome the drawbacks of
the CBL. It is a high-frequency ultrasonic device with
eight focused transducers examining different azimuths
of the casing with very fine vertical resolution, thus
enabling a channel to be identified clearly. The
transducers act as transmitters and receivers, each
transducer emitting a short pulse of acoustic energy and
then receiving the echo from the casing. The short, light,
rigid sonde is centralized easily. The type of wave prop-
agation used in a compressional wave normal to the cas-
ing surfaces thus is not affected by a microannulus that is
small with respect to the wavelength, and reflections
from the formation arrive later than from the cement and
thus can be distinguished.
The response of the tool is dependent on the acoustic .
impedance of the cement (product of density and
acoustic velocity), and an empirical relationship has
been established experimentally between this elastic
parameter and the compressive strength for oil well ce-
ment. Thus, the log can be calibrated directly in cement
compressive strength, and the azimuthal separation of
the transducers enables a pictorial representation of ce-
ment distribution around the casing. In addition, the time
between firing and reception of the first echo, associated
with a measurement of mud transit time, enables the
1836
. ~
..
..
'E

50
50
A
A
FREE PIPE
T sec
CEMENTED PIPE
100 T JI C
Fig. 2-lmpulse response for a free and a cemented pipe,
0.47 in. (12 mm) thick .
. distance of each transducer from the casing to be
calculated; therefore, four casing ID measurements can
be displayed, and the sonde position is known
accurately.
. Principle
The basic idea is to make the casing resonate in its
thickness mode. The presence of cement behind the cas-
ing is detected as a rapid damping of this resonance,
while a lack of cement gives a long resonance decay.
The geometric configuration is shown in Fig. I. The
. ultrasonic transducer, both emitter and receiver, is ap-
proximately 2 in. (5 cm) from the casing wall and sends
repeatedly a short ultrasonic pulse toward the casing; the
ultrasonic wave front can be considered as plane and
parallel to the steel interface.
Impulse Response
Let us first consider that this pulse is infinitely short.
After traveling through the fluid, the main part of this
pulse is reflected back to the transducer by the first inter-
face, A, but a small fraction of the energy enters the cas-
ing wall and is reflected back and forth inside it with part
of the energy transmitted outside at each reflection on A
or B.
The impulse response displayed on Fig. 2 is thus a
succession of impulses separated by twice the travel time
through the steel wall; each impulse amplitude is a func-
tion of the acoustic impedances in the three media (inside
fluid, steel, and outside medium). The first peak is ap-
proximately 10 times larger than the others. The follow-
ing impulses are of opposite sign, and their amplitudes
form an exponential decay. In the case of free pipe, with
water on both sides, the decay is slow. With cement the
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
decay is fast because the acoustic coupling between steel
and the outside medium is better.
For typical casing thickness, the impulse response
lasts for approximately 50 /1-S, which corresponds to the
2-in. (5-cm) standoff for the transducer.
500-kHz Excitation
The impulse response would be obtained with a high-
frequency transducer and excitation. However, the tool
must operate in fluids, such as drilling muds, that are
very attenuative for high-frequency ultrasound, and most
of the energy would be lost. The transducers are better
operated at the lowest possible frequency, which is the
casing thickness resonance frequency with period LI.
The usual casing thickness range is from 0.2 to 0.6 in.
(5 to 15 mm). The thinnest casing corresponds to the
highest resonance frequency, 600 kHz. When the casing
wall thickness increases, this frequency decreases;
however, the casing also can vibrate on the harmonics or
multiples of the fundamental. This means that the
ultrasonic pulse emitted by the transducer must have a
frequency bandwidth extending from 600 kHz to half-
this value, 300 kHz, so that any casing encountered will
resonate on its fundamental or its harmonics.
Fig. 3a shows such a pulse as reflected from a single
interface; its length is approximately 6 /1-S, its 6-dB band-
width 270 to 630 kHz. The reflection from a casing is the
convolution of this pulse shape with the casing impulse
response (Fig. 3b and 3c).
Measurement and Calibration
To measure the properties of the material behind the cas- .
ing, the received waveform is rectified and integrated
within a gate that covers part of the resonance decay .. '
This gate is set so that the contrast between free and
cemented pipe is maximum. The output voltage, R, of
the gate is a function of the acoustic impedance of the
medium behind the casing. This function is represented
in Fig. 4 as calculated for a 0.35-in (9-mm) casing. R is
normalized to one when water is also outside the pipe. It
can be seen that the response is roughly 50% higher
when gas is behind the casing (very low acoustic im-
pedance). This is enough to allow gas detection. When
the acoustic impedance, z, increases above 70x 10
6
Ibm/ft-sec (lOx 10
6
kgm
2
/s), the slope of the curve
and the sensitivity become very small, but this is outside
the usual range of cement acoustic impedances.
The output can be transformed from acoustic im-
pedance into cement compressive strength, defined as
the maximum weight supported by a cubic sample before -
breaking. An empirical relationship (Fig. 5) has been
established for this with samples made of Class G ce-
ment mixed with various proportions of water and ad-'
ditives such as bentonite. The relation between acoustic
impedance and compressive strength is approximately
linear from 0 to 10,000 psi (0 to 69 MPa). Thus, it is
possible to convert the response, R, from acoustic im-
pedance to compressive strength of cement in front of the
transducer.
Samples with significantly different compositions also ~ .
were measured, such as pozzolan cement and
lightweight cement filled with glass microspheres. It was
found that these samples depart from the curve of Fig. 5,
AUGUST 1982
THIN PLATE
~ ~ a
1
R
..
1;

CEMENTED CASING 9 mm THICK
b
FREE CASING 9 mm THICK
Fig. 3-Typical ultrasonic waveform.
5 15 z
10' kg-m
2
/s
Fig. 4-Tool response vs. acoustic impedance of the medium
behind casing. Curve normalized to one for water
behind casing.
1837
5
o
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
10' PSI
5
+
ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE
10 kg m'/s
10
Fig. 5-Experimental relation between acoustic impedance
and compressive strength of cement.
so different relationships should be used for unusual
slurry compositions.
Spurious Effects
In the discussion so far, it has been assumed that the
medium behind casing is infinite. In an actual well, finite
thickness layers must be considered.
The microannulus is a small water gap between pipe
and cement, which occurs when the pressure inside the
pipe is released after cement setting. From mechanical
data of casings and possible pressure changes, the
microannulus can be estimated to be less than 0.004 in.
(0.1 mm); such a thickness is thought to prevent any
communication. The theoretical and experimental effect
of this water gap is shown in Fig. 6. It is seen to be
negligible below 0.004 in. (0.1 mm), such a length being
only a small fraction of the ultrasonic wavelength
in water. This lack of sensitivity to water microannulus
is confirmed by actual logs run in wells where microan-
nulus is detected with conventional CBL as a large
amplitude change between logs recorded with and
without overpressure inside the casing. On the contrary,
this pressure has no effect on the CET response, which
thus requires only one pass in the well instead of two.
Typical thickness for the cement sheet is around 1 in.
(2.5 cm). As shown in Fig. 1, part of the acoustic energy
is transmitted through the steel wall to this cement sheet.
If the cement is nonattenuative and if the medium behind
provides an acoustic impedance contrast with the cement
and a smooth interface, part of the energy will be
reflected back to the transducer. Such a situation may oc-
cur in fast formations or double casing strings. For a
typical value of cement velocity, the time delay with
respect to the main echo is only about 20 J.ts. Thus, this
energy interferes with the normal resonance decay and
1838
R
2
1 FREE PIPE
II
'.t(
I
I

/
/
__ __ ________ __
o mm
Fig. 6-Experimental and computed effect of microannulus
on tool response.
the reading, R, is increased, leading to an apparent
decrease in cement quality.
This problem is not very common because cement is
usually attenuative. Laboratory results show that at-
tenuation is correlated with compressive strength-the
better the cement, the lower the attenuation. However, a
solution has been worked out to detect such formation
reflections: In addition to the regular Gate G 1, a second
gate, G2, is set with a short delay (Fig. 3) after the main
echo. The outputs from the two gates, R I and R
2
, are
compared and enable the detection of a nonexponential
decay, characteristic of formation reflections. Knowing
that formation reflections mean low attenuation cement,
it can be deduced that the cement quality is high, and a
default value of 1,000 psi (6.9 MPa) can be set for the
compressive strength at that point.
The effect of tool eccentering has been studied in the
laboratory with different casing diameters. When the
transducer is moved away from the center, the ultrasonic
beam is not normal to the casing wall and is reflected
away from the transducer. Fig. 7 shows the effect of
transducer eccentering on the gate output, R, in a typical
casing. The maximum eccentering not detrimental to log
quality ranges from 0.2 in (5 mm) in 5-in. (12.7-cm) cas-
ing to 0.4 in. (10 mm) in 9%-in. (24-cm) casing. This ac-
curacy is achieved easily with the new sonde design.
Tool and Log Description
Eight transducers are positioned on the sonde at 45
0
from one another in a helical path. These transducers are
about 1 in. (2.54 cm) in diameter; this size is also the
size of the illuminated spot on the casing because the
ultrasonic beam is almost cylindrical for the frequency of
interest. These transducers are fired in sequence and
multiplexed in reception; all data are put on depth by the
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
TOOL RESPONSE R
FREE I CASING
,
I
I
I
I
,
I
CEMENTjED CASING
-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10mm
TRANSDUCER EXCENTERING
Fig. 7-Effect of transducer eccentering on its response, R, in
7-in. (17.8-cm) casing, 20 Ibf (89 N).
surface equipment. A ninth transducer is in the axial
direction (Fig. 8), with a mirror fixed at a known
distance in front of it; its transit time measurement is
used to monitor continuously the velocity of sound in
the fluid.
Two different mandrels are available: a 3o/s-in
(8.6-cm) diameter for casings from 4V2 to 5Vz in. (11.4
to 14 cm) and a 4-in. (lO-cm) diameter for casings from
5
1
h to 9% in. (14 to 24 cm). On this last sonde, the posi-
tion of the transducers can be adjusted so that the stand-
off remains 2 in. (5 cm), even in large-diameter pipe;
this reduces the effect of ultrasonic attenuation in high-
density mud. The sonde body is supported at each end by
springs and roller centralizers, which provide efficient
centering up to 75 deviation without damage to the cas-
ing surface. The electronic signal processing and
telemetry cartridge is located above the sonde and is
mechanically decoupled from it by flex joints in the case
of deviated wells.
The log is divided into three tracks; the left track is
devoted to distance measurements from conversion of
transit times into distances with the mud velocity given
by the ninth transducer. One output is the mean diameter
as computed from the average of the eight transit times,
with a resolution close to 0.004 in. (0.1 mm). The casing
ovality is the difference between largest and smallest
AUGUST 1982
BULK
FIXED TRANSDUCER _--r::"'EtJ
-fiiiilt=l=t=---- MOVABLE TRANSDUCER
ADJUSTING SCREW
TRANSDUCER
['
NTRALIZER
003%/1
COMPENSATION
Fig.8-Tool.
diameters and gives a sensitive indication of casing cor-
rosion, wear, or collapse. The third output is the tool
centering inside the casing to check proper
centralization.
The right track can be viewed as a map of the cement
behind casing. At each depth the shading is proportional
to cement compressive strength from white (free pipe) to
black [good cement, with compressive strength typically
above 3,500 psi (24 MPa)]. The compressive strength is
interpolated linearly between two transducers that are
supposed to make point measurements on the cir-
cumference. At the far right, an optional display is used
to identify formation reflections or gas detection; eight
lines represent the eight transducers, and each line is nor-
mally narrow. Formation reflection is shown as a heavy
line and gas behind casing by two parallel narrow lines.
The middle track shows two compressive strength
curves, the best and the worst. These curves are com-
puted from the transducer outputs after vertical averag-
ing over 4 ft (1.2 m) and an azimuthal averaging over
45 or two transducers. The computation uses the em-
pirical relationship described earliet. When the
minimum compressive strength is above 0 psi (kPa) , a
shading can be added to flag good zone isolation. One
output is optional; the tool relative bearing with respect
to the deviation (when the well is deviated to show the
1839

Ir


r
-t


('
..

6"

"

..
t- MDIA
t
/ 1:
\
r
t

!
(
l
?

?' ... "

,}
I


t
700
0-:0 . __
( N
10000.
1---. _____ __ __
0.0
Fig. 9-CET log with acoustic caliper showing different cas-
ing weights.
orientation of cement defects, such as in a mud channel).
Another presentation can display four diameters as
computed by adding the transit times of opposite
transducers. These four calipers are useful in case of cas-
ing deformation or wear.
Log Examples
Fig. 9 shows a section of log with zones of good cement
with a minimum compressive strength in excess of 2,000
psi (13.7 MPa). In the left track, the acoustic caliper
demonstrates its resolution with three heavier casing
joints; one is apparently 26 Ibm/ft (38.7 kg/m), and two
others are 23 Ibm/ft (34.2 kg/m)-as opposed to 20
Ibm/ft (29.7 kg/m) for the rest of the well.
Casing ovality remains very low, as in the following
examples where casings are not damaged.
Fig. 10 shows a cement top with maximum com-
pressive strength gradually decreasing to zero. Below the
1840
I'


,.



-' --.
-
i
f
,-.-
M IA
t
f
t
l-
300


OVAL
V


i"
.:

"r
I.
1
t
r
pal
10000. 0.0
......... ........ .
10000. 0.0
...... 1'-' ... ......
Fig. 10-CET showing cement top and channel.
cement top, a vertical water channel is evident on the
right track; as a consequence, the minimum compressive
strength is zero most of the time, pointing out the lack of
zone isolation despite a good cement quality over most
of the pipe circumference.
Fig. II is an example of reflection from outside the ce-
ment sheath. In this particular case, reflection is provid-
ed by a 9%-in. (24-cm) casing outside the 7-in (17.8-cm)
pipe. The formation reflection flags are scarce below the
9%-in. (24-cm) shoe and are displayed suddenly above
for all transducers. A channel also is demonstrated below
the casing shoe, slowly rotating around the casing (con-
stant relative bearing reading means that the tool is not
rotating).
Fig. 12 shows an unusual channel. First, it can be seen
that the tool is rotating very slowly, with less than one
tum for 328 ft (100 m). The channel displayed not only
turns around the casing in approximately 33 ft (10 m),
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

casing
shoe
MOIA
____ _ . .I:lyflJ .. sm .. ) ________ _
0.0 0.5000
10000. 0.0
\
- -'0-:0'
________ .I!'._.LC!'.a-, __
Fig. 11-CET with reflections from outer casing string.
but reverses its rotation in the central section. However,
this channel is not continuous, and the minimum com-
pressive strength curve shows zone isolation at several
spots, especially at the channel rotation reversal.
Conclusions
The CET measurement principle demonstrates clear ad-
vantages over a regular CBL in the case of channeling or
microannulus. Log interpretation is very simple, with
quantitative evaluation of cement quality and an easily
readable display of cement distribution around the pipe.
The casing internal geometry measurements are a
useful bonus, and their high resolution would make
repeated runs useful for evaluating progressive casing
damage, such as driUpipe wear of conductor pipe, before
running a liner.
AUGUST 1982
MOIA
II. ......
II
10000. 0.0
......... ... 1 ........ . ......... ) ........ .
0.0 D.SOOO 10000. 0.0
... PJl ... ...... .
Fig. 12-CET with channel.
References
1. Krautkramer, J.H.: Ultrasonic Testing of Materials, Springer-
Verlag New York Inc., New York City (1977), 618.
2. Viktorov, l.A.: Rayleigh and Lamb Waves, Plenum Publishing
Corp., New York City (1967), 76.
SI Metric Conversion Factors
in. x 2.54*
psi x 6.894 757
"Conversion factor is exact.
E+Ol
E+OO
mm
kPa
JPT
Original manuscript received in Society of Petroleum Engineers office July 20, 1981.
Paper accepted for publication Jan. 28, 1982. Revised manuscript received May 10,
1982. Paper (SPE 10207) first presented at the SPE 56th Annual Technical Con-
ference and EXhibition held in San Antonio Oct. 5-7,1981.
1841