Electromechanical Cable School
Dustin Dunning
Global Sales Manager - EMC
Why Talk About Wireline?
❑ Improve Operational Awareness
❑ Wireline is Mission Critical
▪ Right Wireline For The Job
▪ Combat Misconceptions About Wireline
❑ Control Costs
▪ Wireline Costs
▪ Reduce NPT (Non-Productive Time)
▪ Improved Job Quality
▪ Reduce Waste
At WireCo, we focus on SUPPORT — support for your need to anchor, pull, lift, span, suspend,
control, transmit, and move people, equipment, and materials worldwide
Oil & Gas Crane Fishing Marine
Mining Structures General Purpose Offshore
Camesa Sales and Distribution Network
Headquarters
Manufacturing
Distribution
32 distribution centers in 8 countries with 10 sales personnel and 2 customer
service representatives servicing our customers worldwide
Agenda
❑ History of Modern ❑ Operations Best
Wireline Practices
❑ Cable Components ❑ Common Field
and Construction Issues
❑ Manufacturing ❑ Horizontal Wireline
Operations
❑ Cable Selection
❑ Electrical Trouble
❑ Installation Shooting
❑ New Wireline ❑ Wireline Field
Seasoning Maintenance
History of Modern Wireline
1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Schlumberger brothers
1923 invent first wireline
First armored wireline Coax wireline cables
1938 1980 introduced
with rubber insulation
Fillers used to decrease
1945 cross talk
Higher temperature
1956 insulations increase temp
rating to 450 F
Tefzel polymer increases
1968 temp rating to 500 F
2012 Dura Slam 35,000 lb.
Camesa opens manufacturing break introduced by
1975 facility in Mexico City Camesa
Lowered resistance 2012
conductor introduced
by Camesa
Camesa introduces first
1982 water blocked conductor 600° F GeoSteam
2013 wireline
Camesa introduces Super First crush resistant multi introduced
1985 Seal conductor 7Q49 2008
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
First S77 alloy wireline
introduced by Camesa 2003
Corrosion resistant alloy
wireline introduced to 1992 3Q40, 5/16” 3 conductor
withstand sour gas wells for logging with tractor 2010
Camesa Mobile released
for iPhone & Android 2014
Cable Components and
Construction
Two types of Wireline Cables
MONO-CONDUCTOR MULTI-CONDUCTOR
Wireline Components Single Conductor
Outer Armor
Inner Armor
Insulator
Conductor
Wireline Components Single Conductor
Wireline Components Seven Conductor
Outer Armor
Inner Armor
Filler
Insulator
Semi-Conductive Tape
Conductor
3 Conductor 4 Conductor 7 Conductor
Wireline Components Seven Conductor
Water Blocking Compound
Pure Water and Pure Methane Gas Pure H20
can penetrate plastics
Water Block
Pure CH4
Plastic Core
Function of Insulators
Temperature Dielectric Properties Hardness
Super Seal
Prevents gas migration through
the wireline
Super Seal
Properties of a Helix
❑ With Tension
❑ The Helix will lengthen
❑ Radial forces will compress the core
❑ The cable will rotate
Properties of a Helix
Inner Armor
❑ With 2 Armor Layers
❑ Rotationis in opposite
directions
❑ Some of the torque is
offsetting
❑ Contact creates interlayer
friction
Outer Armor
Unbalanced Cable Design
❑ Typical Design
❑ Same Size
armor wires
❑ Non Torque
Balanced
Torque Balanced Design
A smaller mass a greater
distance from the center is
equal to a larger mass a
shorter distance from the
center.
• Rotation Neutral or Torque
Balanced
Will this cable work ?
• Practical ?
• Hold Seal ?
• Strength ?
• Gaps ?
Manufacturing
Aceros Camesa: Mexico City, Mexico
Conductor Manufacturing
Copper conductor Extrusion Head Water Bath
Laser Micrometer High Voltage Tester Computer Monitored
Creating Wire and Armoring
Wire from Rod Preparing wire for Zinc First Armoring
Adding Super Seal Pre-forming Wire Second Armoring
Cable Selection
How to choose the right cable
Cable Selection Considerations
1. Breaking Strength
– Inner and Outer Armor
2. Insulation
– Temperature Rating
– Dielectric Properties
– Hardness
3. Resistance
– Regular Conductor
– Compacted Conductor
4. Exposure
– Regular Well
– Corrosive Environment
Cable Type Designation
Wireline Installation
An overview
Wireline Installation
Wireline Drum Considerations:
– Inspect Drum condition
– Inspect Entry Hole
– Select correct entry hole diameter for
cable diameter
– Ensure flanges are square to drum
Wireline Installation
• Inspect Drum condition
• Entry hole and “dog knot”
• Tension profile
Wireline Installation
Winch Drum
Surface
Spacer Upper Layer Lower Layer
Normal Spooling Profile – 1N32
Min. Tension = 33% Breaking Strength
Tension
(lbs)
4000
3500
3000
3rd Layer Tension
2500
2000
1500
2nd Layer
1000
500 Bed Layer
0
0 1 2 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Distance From Sliprings (kft)
Example for a 5/16” 1N32 Cable
Normal Spooling Profile – 7H47
Tension
Min. Tension = 33% Breaking Strength
(lbs)
8000
7000
6000 3rd Layer
Tension
5000
4000
2nd Layer
3000
2000
Bed Layer
1000
0
0 1 2 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Distance From Sliprings (kft)
Example for a 7H47 Cable - “Slammer”
Wireline Installation
New Wireline Seasoning
New Wireline Seasoning
❑ Well Configuration/ Preferably a test ❑ Speed – Equal tension “In and Out”
well ❑ Stop every 500’ to allow for tool and
❑ Minimal Deviation cable rotation.
❑ Lighter Fluids ❑ Stop every 2000’ and pull up 100’ to
normalize cable.
❑ Minimal Pressure < 5000 PSI
❑ On way out of hole stop every 2000 feet
❑ Maximum Depth > 5000’ and let tension equalize
❑ Tool Configuration to allow “Spin ❑ Reduce speed to maintain Tension and
Out” allow rotation.
❑ Use 80/120 Rule
❑ Heavier Tools
❑ Swivels ❑ New GIPS vs. Alloy lines
❑ Nothing that will restrict rotation or tension ❑ Alloy Cables never season
❑ Junk Basket / Centralizers, Calipers, etc.
❑ Line Wiper Pressure
❑ As minimal as possible, preferably “0” PSI
❑ Bigger flow tubes and used Line Wiper
Rubbers
Although alloy cables never season the above procedures
must still be followed to remove mechanical stretch and
avoid excess armor looseness.
80/120 Rule
The tension going in should never be less then
80% of line weight plus tool weight.
The tension coming out should never be more then
120% of line weight plus tool weight.
Line Speed While Seasoning
Maximum Speed for Cable Seasoning Procedure
Depth GIPS Cable Alloy Cable
0 to 100 ft 30 ft/min 30 ft/min
100 to 200 ft 65 ft/min 65 ft/min
200 to TD 175 ft/min 100 ft/min
If the listed line speed exceeds the 80/120 rule, then follow the
80/120 rule.
Line Speed for Seasoned Cables
Depth GIPS Alloy
0 to 100 ft 30 ft/min 30 ft/min
100 t0 200 ft 65 ft/min 65 ft/min
200 to TD 67/133 rule 100 ft/min
❑ 67/133 Rule: Tension going into a well at any given depth should not
be less then 67% of line weight plus tool weight.
❑ Tension coming out of the hole at any given depth should not exceed
133% of line weight plus tool weight including friction.
Alloy cables never season and should always be run according to
the 80/120 Rule.
Operations Best Practices
Operations Best Practices
It is well known that following best
practices and experience can not
only improve cable life, but also
improve reliability. The following
best practices are Camesa’s
recommendations.
Re-heading
An operator must calculate the strength of every re-head. There are two
basic reasons why the re-head strength must be known on every job:
1. To determine the maximum strength possible in the head to
retrieve stuck tools.
2. To be able to pull the weak point in two or part the tension link
without over straining and damaging the cable.
Use of Outer and Inner Armor Wires
The use of Inner Armor Wires in the re-head is up to the
wireline service company. Camesa does not recommend either
the use of inners or the non-use of inners.
Weak Point Considerations
❑ Deep wells require less weak point strength.
❑ Horizontal pump outs require greater weak point strength.
❑ Smaller diameter cables require less weak point strength because of
lower cable breaking strength.
❑ Worn cables require less weak point strength because of lower
breaking strength of worn armor.
Horizontal Operations
Re-heading during horizontal operations require the operator to
balance a weak rope socket in order to pull out of the tool string if stuck
while maintaining a strong enough rope socket to make sure tools
aren’t pumped off while entering the well.
Re-head Considerations
Additional considerations for Weak Point Calculations:
• Bottom hole temperature
• Condition of wires
•100% Worn, Corroded, Brittle
%
B S
r t 95%
e r
MP35
a e 90%
GEIPS
k n S-75
S77
i g 85%
n t
g h
80%
68F 150F 200F 250F 300F 350F 400F
Well Temperature
Info needed for calculation of Weak Point
Calculator Available
on Camesa Mobile
1. Cable total breaking strength.
2. Individual strand breaking strength.
3. Cable weight per thousand feet.
4. Tool string weight.
5. Maximum working depth.
*Camesa calculator assumes new wire breaking strengths
Proper Rig Up
❑ Ensure logging unit is correctly
spotted.
❑ Truck must be far enough from
bottom sheave
❑ Drum flanges must line up with
bottom sheave
❑ Top sheave
❑ Must line up with bottom sheave
❑ Take care cable does not rub on
derrick
Proper Rig up
❑ To insure proper spooling
– Unit must line up with bottom sheave
– Unit must be far enough away from bottom
sheave
– Fleet angle should be less than 1.5°
<1.5°
Minimum distance 75 feet for good spooling
25 feet for every foot of drum width
Sheave Wheels
❑ Sheave Wheel diameter (Inches)
❑3/16” Cable 12” Min. Diameter
❑7/32” cable 12” Min. Diameter
❑5/16” Cable 18” Min. Diameter
❑9/32” Cable 16” Min. Diameter
❑7/16” Cable 24” Min. Diameter
❑15/32” Cable 20” Min. Diameter
❑Slammer (0.474”) 26” Min. Diameter
❑7Q49 25” Min. Diameter*
❑ Sheave diameter calculation
❑ Min. diameter = approx. 400 times largest armor wire diameter in inches
Sheave Wheels
Use correct sheave wheels
Groove too narrow Correct groove Groove too wide
Pinches cable Cable well supported Cable squashed
Sheave Wheels
❑ The groove of a new sheave should
have a diameter 5% greater than the
cable’s diameter.
❑ Cables should not e run over sheaves if
the sheave groove diameter is 10%
greater than the cable diameter.
❑ The sheave groove should be machined
to support from 135 to 150 degrees of
the cable diameter
❑ Sheaves should NEVER be used on 2
different diameter cables.
Pressure Control Equipment Best Practices
❑Grease head
❑Flow tubes: +.004 Inches
❑Pump
❑Operator
❑Hydraulic pack-off
❑Pack-off rubbers
❑Never pump on moving
cable!
❑Operator
Common Field Issues
Loose Armor
The #1 cause of cable failures and damage in the field is
directly due to loose armor or un-normalized cable.
❑ There are multiple methods
for testing if your cable is
loose.
▪ Catenary Test
▪ Pick Test
▪ Chalk Mark on Cable Return
▪ Top Sheave Rotation
Loose Armor Catenary Loop Normal
Loose Armor Catenary Loop Slightly Loose
Loose Armor Catenary Loop Very Loose
Loose Armor
The #1 cause of cable failures and damage in the field is
directly due to loose armor or un-normalized cable.
❑ There are multiple methods
for testing if your cable is
loose.
▪ Catenary Test
▪ Pick Test
▪ Chalk Mark on Cable Return
▪ Top Sheave Rotation
Loose Armor Pick Test
Loose Armor
The #1 cause of cable failures and damage in the field is
directly due to loose-armor or un-normalized cable.
❑ There are multiple methods
for testing if your cable is
loose.
▪ Catenary Test
▪ Pick Test
▪ Chalk Mark on Cable Return
▪ Top Sheave Rotation
Loose Armor
The #1 cause of cable failures and damage in the field is
directly due to loose armor or un-normalized cable.
The amount of looseness in a cable is generally controlled by well
geometry and how as a wireline operator we adapt our wireline
running procedure to these well conditions.
What I call well tension profile, a graph of the wireline tension
while traversing into a well versus the tension pulling out of a well,
will indicate how much loosening of the cable we can expect.
Ideal Well Tension Profile
10,000
9,000
T 8,000
E 7,000
N 6,000
S 5,000
I 4,000
Out Hole
O 3,000
N 2,000
1,000
In Hole
0
20,000 19,000 18,000 17,000 16,000 15,000 14,000 13,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
DEPTH
Real World Well Profile
❑ Pressure Control Equipment
❑ Wellbore Fluid
❑ Deviations
❑ Centralizers
3000 lbs. ❑ Calipers
Dog leg Centralizer
8000 lbs.
Real World Vertical Well Tension Profile
10,000
9,000
T 8,000
E 7,000
N 6,000 Out Hole
S 5,000
I
4,000
O
N 3,000
2,000
1,000
In Hole
0
20,000 19,000 18,000 17,000 16,000 15,000 14,000 13,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
DEPTH
Horizontal Well Tension Profile
10,000
9,000
T 8,000
E 7,000
N 6,000
Out Hole
S 5,000
I 4,000
O 3,000
N In Hole
2,000
1,000
0
20,000 19,000 18,000 17,000 16,000 15,000 14,000 13,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
DEPTH
Effects of Un-normalized Cable
birds nest1.JPG
Loose Cable Inner Break
Bird Cage
Loose Armor High Strand
Effects of Un-normalized Cable
❑ Twisted and coiled
cables at rig-up.
Bird Cage
❑ Loose outer armor.
❑ Bird caging.
❑ Mud lumps under armor
(Open Hole)
❑ In extreme cases inner
armor comes out of outer
armor.
❑ Inner armor or cable
breaks at lower then
rated breaking strength. Loose Armor Core Compression
❑ Excessive compression
of core.
Loose Armor in Packoff
Prevention of Un-Normalized Cable
❑ Equalize tension in and out of hole. Use 80/120 rule.
❑ Run in and out of hole slowly enough that cable has time to rotate.
❑ Whenever possible use a swivel between cable and tools.
❑ Avoid packing off on moving cable.
❑ Use proper size flow tubes
– .004 inches over largest cable diameter
❑ Check cable for looseness and tighten when necessary.
Loose Cable Maintenance
Cable Crush
Drum Crush or Cable Crush: a cable electrical failure that occurs as a result of
the cable being crushed, smashed or distorted to such an extent that the armor wires
press and distort the plastic insulation.
Uniform Plastic Non-uniform Plastic
Frequent Cable Crush Areas
❑ Crossover points.
❑ End of a layer, next to flange.
❑ Crushing can also occur several layers below the maximum
operating depth.
❑ Conductor damage due to cable crushing is not always
immediately apparent.
Cable Crush
Cable Crush Best Practices
Technical Bulletin
Technical Bulletin
❑ Install cables using recommended spooling profile.
❑ Avoid slack in cable and tagging bottom.
❑ When stuck pull with steady tension, avoid jerking cable.
❑ When installation tension profile is changed due to job
conditions, the cable should be re-spooled to reestablish the
proper tension profile.
❑ Use DuraSlam® crush resistant cable
Crossed Armor Wire
❑ As a wireline cable tries to equalize the torque while descending into a
well, crossed armors will move up the cable. The armor will move and
may even pass through the flow tubes. Since this is a high armor, it
will be smashed and will likely strand.
❑ Crossed wires usually occur during the re-heading process.
❑ Crossed armor wires do not occur during manufacturing.
GIPS Crossed Wire
Alloy Crossed Wire
Crossing a Wire
Crossed Armor Wire Best Practices
❑ Never allow third party to insert cable through your flow tubes.
❑ After pushing cable through flow tube, back cable out and look for
crossed armor wire.
❑ If running multiple flow tubes in tandem, look for crossed armor wire
between flow tubes also.
❑ Feel for crossed armor wires on backside of cable not in direct line of
sight.
Z-Kinks
❑ First indication of z-kink is usually a short.
❑ A short will appear after a heavy pull on cable
usually over 60% of breaking strength or after
a very sudden release in tension
❑ A short may appear several runs after the z-
kink was created
❑ An increase in cable diameter (bump) is
usually associated with the short
Z-Kink Bump
Z-kink Best Practices
❑ When tools are stuck:
– Pull with steady tension
– Avoid jerking the cable
– Do not put slack in the cable
❑ Conditions that are conducive to Z-Kinking
– Shooting guns while under balanced
– Setting heavy packers
– Shock loading the cable
Galvanic Corrosion in Rope Socket
❑ Galvanic corrosion can be a concern with brass rope sockets, especially
when used in an environment containing hydrochloric acid
❑ When the wires in contact with the brass rehead cone are exposed to HCL,
galvanic corrosion will occur which could lead to a loss of tools.
Galvanic Corrosion in Rope Socket
❑ Brass and Zinc are on opposite ends of the Galvanic chart.
❑ Hydrochloric acid is a catalyst that accelerates galvanic corrosion.
❑ This environment creates the possibility for catastrophic failure of wires.
Corroded wire break
Technical Bulletin
Hydrochloric Acid Best Practices
1. Use a cable on which most of the zinc coating has worn off.
2. Pack the rope socket with a high viscosity grease.
3. Re-head frequently.
4. Check with your rope socket parts supplier about having the
brass cone made from a different metal.
Adiabatic Heating
❑ When wireline jobs are run in a
pressurized well, the use of a lubricator
and pressure control equipment is
required. When pressure is equalized
between the lubricator and the well bore
there is the potential to damage the
wireline through a phenomenon called
Adiabatic Heating.
❑ This phenomenon usually results in
melted insulation, cracked or broken
armor wires and in some cases a parted
cable.
Adiabatic Heating
❑ If equalization is performed too rapidly, intense heat from the
compression of air within the lubricator can create extreme
heat.
❑ Temperatures of 1200⁰F or more can be created which will
damage the insulation and effect the metallurgy of the steel
armor wires.
Adiabatic Heating
Adiabatic Heating Best Practices
1. Equalize Lubricator slowly allowing air to escape via the flow
tubes and pack off.
2. Install a bypass valve just below the flow tubes to allow more
rapid escape of air.
3. Fill lubricator with fluid before equalizing.
4. Use extreme caution if frac pump is used to fill or equalize
lubricator.
Conductor Gassing
❑ What: Migration of water and methane gas through the conductor
causing wireline tools to short out.
❑ How: Pure 𝑯𝟐 𝑶 & 𝑪𝑯𝟒 migrate through insulator at high pressure and
travel down copper conductor
❑ Solution: Remove outer insulation layer or “notch” insulation to allow
fluid to escape before reaching logging tools
Technical Bulletin
Conductor Gassing
Technical Bulletin
Other Field Issues: Rubbing
Other Field Issues: Stranding
Shim Job: Escape from below
PCE
Other Field Issues: Inner Armor Break
Other Field Issues: Crossed Armor with a Short
Other Field Issues: Smashed Cable
Other Field Issues: Backlash
Horizontal Wireline Operations
Horizontal Wireline Operations
❑ Horizontal drilling presents a unique environment for wireline operations.
❑ Cables are designed to be utilized under tension, horizontal operations put
cables in an unnatural operational state, laying on their side.
❑ The physics of a horizontal section requires unique cable running
procedures to maximize the life cycle of the wireline.
Horizontal Multi-Stage Perforating
• Pump Down Services (PDS) offer
a quick, efficient and cost
effective deployment of multi-
gun/plug runs for multiple stage
completions.
• PDS is a common deployment
method used in the USA and
Canada primarily for guns and
plugs but also for other e-line
services – method is expanding
globally
• A typical single E-Line stage
consists of:
o Multiple guns
o Explosive setting tool
o Composite plug
Horizontal Wireline Operations
• Wireline unit spotting • Potential washout
• Pressure control equipment • Uncommon tension / No tension
• Lubricants • Cable-stack
• Acid / H2S • Cable shock loads / Yoyo effect
Horizontal Wireline - Considerations
• Standard E-Line cable life can be poor.
o Cable life in primarily horizontal wells can range from 50 runs to
400+ runs depending on well conditions, operators and cable
maintenance.
• Lines may not season resulting in an increase in cable issues.
• Loose outer armor will be more prevalent due to tension
differentiations.
• Heavy tool strings across long laterals can produces high torque
buildup along the lateral and through the turn.
Horizontal Wireline Operations
❑ Horizontal pump down operations are extremely hard on wireline cables
❑ Cables used in exclusively horizontal pump down operations typically
– Are difficult to properly season
– Require more frequent tightening
– Get “loose” faster relative to normal operations
– See more incidence of cable issues: high wires, bird cages, etc.
❑ Cable head building requires more consideration
– Fluid rate during pump down & drag on tool
– Extreme doglegs and wellbore geometry
– Proppant in wellbore
Probable Causes of Z-kinks in Horizontal Well
❑ When tools are stuck it is common practice to increase tension to just
below calculated pull out. The tension is then released, then
increased in a yo-yo type pull to try to free tools.
❑ When cable tension is decreased, the cable tension in the horizontal
well section goes to zero, this complete lack of tension after a heavy
pull is what creates the z-kink.
Common Damage from Horizontal Operations
Wireline Stack Grooved Conductor
High Wire
Horizontal Operations: Goose Neck Tool
Minimize pickup damage by using a Goose Neck tool to avoid
weakening cable head.
Horizontal Operations: Use of Roller Subs
❑ Roller subs can:
– Reduce friction of the tool string when being pumped down hole
– Reduce pump rate and pressure needed by up to 50%
❑ Cerberus modeling should be used before adding roller subs
When Roller Subs are NOT Appropriate
In one case well deviation showed ‘toe up’ at 108 degrees. Addition of roller
subs would have allowed roll back (down slope) of tool string with possible
cable severance when perforating.
Horizontal Operations Best Practices
❑ Ensure proper communication between all parties on location
❑ Stop at short joint on way in and out of well to equalize cable tension.
❑ Keep as much tension on cable as possible during decent/pump out.
❑ If tools stop moving, do not put slack in the line as this slack will
stack on top of tool.
❑ When pulling out of horizontal, keep tension as low as possible.
❑ Use a dedicated pump for pump out purposes only.
❑ Use proper size flow tubes: .004 inch oversized.
❑ Try to maintain the 80/120 rule while pumping out cable.
❑ Do not pack off on moving cables.
❑ Tighten cables frequently
Electrical Troubleshooting
Electrical Troubleshooting
❑ Electrically
– Low Voltage / High Amps.= Short
– High Voltage / No Amps. = Open
– An intermediate short will be more difficult to locate
❑ Mechanically
– Splices
– Rig up line
– Collector ring/dog knot
– Understand working history of the cable
Position of a Short Circuit
RH RD
S(short to armor)
Armor 1 Armor 2
L = Total cable length in feet
S = Distance to short in feet from tool end
Calculator Available
RH = Resistance of conductor in ohms to armour from head end on Camesa Mobile
RD = Resistance of conductor in ohms to armour from drum end
RC = Resistance of total conductor in ohms end to end
S = ((RH – RD + RC) / 2RC) L
Conductor Resistance to Determine Cable Length
❑ Cable length can be measured by using an accurate conductor resistance
reading.
*In order to get a correct cable length the conductor resistance must be adjusted for temperature*
Example:
Ohms Measurement: 65.8 ohms
Calculator Available on
Ohms per K feet: 2.8 ohms Camesa Mobile
Temperature 100° F.
65.8/2.8 = 23,500 Ft.
Temperature Corrected Length: 21,965 FT
Difference: 1535 Ft.
Wireline Field Maintenance
Field Maintenance: Brittle Wire Test
❑ Ductility Test For New Cables:
❑ Take 8 armors from each layer (outer and inner).
❑ Wrap each armor wire six (6) times around a mandrel twice the
diameter of the wire being tested.
❑ If none of the wires break the test is completed. Otherwise proceed
to the next step.
❑ If any wires from either layer break during the wrapping, the armor
has lost too much ductility to be reliable. Cut off a portion of cable (100
to 500 ft.) and return to Step 1.
❑ This for new wire only, there are no ASTM recommendations for
testing of used wire.
Field Maintenance: Brittle Wire Test
❑ A Rule of Thumb for Used Wire:
❑ Camesa does not have a specific test to determine when armor wire has acceptable or
unacceptable brittleness in a used cable. A very general rule of thumb would be if any
wires break in the above mentioned wrap test, then the cable should be suspected of
having brittle wires.
❑ With respect to bending, during normal operations the toughest requirement on the wire
is that it be capable of acting without failure during the fabrication of the cable head. In
many cable-heading operations, a certain percentage of inner and outer armor wires
are bent in a fairly sharp bend around a re-head plug or bobbin. If the wire can be bent
around the radius or diameter necessary to make up the cable head properly, without
having the wire crack or break, then our suggestion would be that the wire is not
excessively brittle. To our knowledge, no other normal logging operations require the
wire to be bent at such a small diameter.
❑ We suggest that several wires in the cable in question be checked for brittleness by
bending or wrapping the subject wires around a diameter corresponding to the bend the
wires will suffer in the normal re-heading operation of joining the cable to the logging
tool. If the wires pass this test, then the cable should not fail due to the wires failing
because of excessive bending.
❑ This is a suggestion it is up to the end user to determine how much brittleness is
acceptable for their operations.
Field Maintenance: Wire Diameter Wear
❑ Loss of metal due to wear on flow tubes and daily use can weaken a wirelines’
strength and checks for normal wear should be done on a regular basis
1. Cut off 50 ft. from the tool end of the cable and remove the armors from about
two ft. of cable. Separate the inner and outer armor wires into two piles.
2. Using a solvent, clean any dirt, mud, rust, or corrosion from the wires.
3. Measure the diameter of the outer armor of at least 8 wires at the widest point
and then again at it’s narrowest point.
4. Determine if there has been a 25% or more loss of diameter to the wires. If
so, cut off a portion of the cable and re-test.
Y Wire fails test if: 𝑌 < .25 𝑋
Wire Cross Section
Field Maintenance: End of Life Inspections
❑ Cables are lost or retired due to either mechanical damage, or to the
normal wear and tear of field use. Mechanical damage includes:
❑ Bird-cages and kinks due to mishandling or loose armor.
❑ Crossed armor wires
❑ Drum Crush
❑ Insulation Damage
Wrap Test Wire Wear E-Kink Test
Routine Field Maintenance
❑ Visual inspection of rope sockets
❑ Electrical insulation/continuity testing
❑ Visual inspection for serious kinks along the rig-up length.
❑ Inspect cable for loose outer armor.
❑ Inspect splices for cracked shims and loose armor.
❑ Inspect cable for any abnormalities ( kinks, shiny spots, heavy pitting,
crossed wires).
❑ Whenever reheading check for brittleness
❑ If abnormally high tensions were encountered while pulling out of the
hole the cable should be pulled down and re installed with the proper
tension profile.
Routine Service Center Maintenance
❑ Inspect for kinks and other bad spots and correct problems.
❑ Inspect splices for cracked shims or loose armor and redo if necessary.
❑ Check conductor for shorts or opens.
❑ Check for drum crushing and reinstall if necessary.
❑ Brush outer armor wires and coat with a suitable line oil.
Shim Kink
Field Maintenance: Best Practices
❑ Regular maintenance should be performed at a qualified Service Center.
❑ Cables should be inspected on a regular basis preferably after every job
if this is not possible then at least every 25 runs.
❑ Maintenance should include, but not be limited to:
– Inspect for loose armor and tighten if necessary.
– Inspect for brittleness and cut back to good cable if necessary.
– Inspect worn armor and cut back if necessary
❑ Keeping an accurate line record book is critical
Technical Bulletin
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Thank you
Dustin Dunning
[email protected]
+1 913-498-3882 Ryon Nickle
[email protected]
+1 817-689-8438
Richard LeBlanc
[email protected]
+1 281-787-9214
Questions?
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