System and method for determining slurry sand concentration and continuous calibration of metering mechanisms for transferring same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11512989-B2
Application number	US-202117167984-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 4, 2021
Priority date	Dec 22, 2015
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

In accordance with presently disclosed embodiments, systems and methods for determining the amount of bulk material being choke-fed into an inlet of a blender from one or more bulk material containers placed on a support structure are disclosed. The system includes sensors placed on the support structure beneath the one or more containers for determining the amount of bulk material contained within the container at any given time. By monitoring the change in the mass of the material in the containers overtime the amount of material being fed into the blender can be determined. The material is metered into a mixer within the blender using a metering mechanism, such as a sand screw, which supplies a fixed capacity of bulk material into the blender. The ability to precisely measure the amount of bulk material being choke-fed into the blender enables operators to calibrate the sand screw continuously.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a support structure for holding at least one portable container of bulk material at a position proximate a blender inlet, wherein the support structure comprises:
a frame for receiving and holding the at least one portable container thereon;
wherein the portable container is supported on the frame such that the portable container is selectively removable from the frame and replaceable by another portable container; and
a choke-feed outlet coupled to the frame for routing the bulk material from the at least one portable container directly into the blender inlet;

at least one sensor disposed in a position to sense an amount of bulk material in the at least one portable container;
a metering mechanism disposed at the blender inlet; and
a controller in communication with the at least one sensor programmed to determine a rate of bulk material being routed into the blender inlet and through the metering mechanism, wherein the controller is programmed to adjust its control of the metering mechanism based on the rate of bulk material being fed into the blender inlet as measured by the at least one sensor.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the metering mechanism comprises a sand screw, a metering gate, or a metering valve.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the support structure is sized to hold multiple portable containers of bulk material thereon.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a strain gauge, a piezoelectric gauge, a hydraulic gauge, or a pneumatic gauge.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a hopper disposed at the blender inlet, wherein an outlet of the hopper is coupled to an inlet of the metering mechanism; and
a mixer coupled to an outlet of the metering mechanism.

6. A system, comprising:
a support structure for holding at least one portable container of bulk material at a position proximate a blender inlet, wherein the support structure comprises:
a frame for receiving and holding the at least one portable container thereon;
wherein the portable container is supported on the frame such that the portable container is selectively removable from the frame and replaceable by another portable container; and
a choke-feed outlet coupled to the frame for routing the bulk material from the at least one portable container directly into the blender inlet;

at least one sensor disposed in a position to sense an amount of bulk material in the at least one portable container;
a metering mechanism disposed at the blender inlet; and
a controller in communication with the at least one sensor programmed to determine a rate of bulk material being routed into the blender inlet and through the metering mechanism, wherein the controller is programmed to:
receive an output from a flowmeter coupled to a fluid inlet flow line to a blender unit having the blender inlet; and
calculate a concentration of the bulk material in the blender unit based on the output from the flowmeter and the rate of bulk material being fed into the blender inlet.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the controller is programmed to control the metering mechanism based on the calculated concentration of the bulk material in the blender unit.

8. The system of claim 6 , further comprising a densometer installed in an outlet flowline of the blender unit and communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is programmed to compare the calculated concentration of the bulk material in the blender unit to a material concentration measured by the densometer.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the metering mechanism comprises a sand screw, a metering gate, or a metering valve.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the portable support structure is sized to hold multiple portable containers of bulk material thereon.

11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a strain gauge, a piezoelectric gauge, a hydraulic gauge, or a pneumatic gauge.

12. A method, comprising:
receiving and holding one or more portable containers of bulk material onto a frame of a support structure disposed proximate a blender inlet, and wherein the portable container is supported on the frame such that the portable container is selectively removable from the frame and replaceable by another portable container;
sensing an amount of bulk material in the one or more portable containers via at least one sensor;
routing bulk material from the one or more portable containers directly into the blender inlet via a choke-feed outlet;
metering bulk material with a metering mechanism disposed at the blender inlet;
determining, via a controller in communication with the at least one sensor, a rate of bulk material being routed into the blender inlet and through the metering mechanism; and
calculating, via the controller, a calibration factor for the metering mechanism based at least in part on a measurement from the at least one sensor.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving, at the controller, an indication of a type of bulk material in at least one of the one or more portable containers as read from an RFID tag associated with the one or more portable containers; and
calculating the calibration factor for the type of bulk material received read from the RFID tag.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising metering bulk material from the blender inlet into an inlet of a mixing chamber via the metering mechanism.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising monitoring changes in the calibration factor over time.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising determining when the metering mechanism needs to be replaced based on a trend of the calibration factor changing over time.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising outputting a warning upon determining that the metering mechanism needs to be replaced.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising performing a fracture treatment, a diversion, or a cement mixing operation using a blender unit having the blender inlet.

19. A method, comprising:
receiving and holding one or more portable containers of bulk material onto a frame of a support structure disposed proximate a blender inlet, and wherein the portable container is supported on the frame such that the portable container is selectively removable from the frame and replaceable by another portable container;
sensing an amount of bulk material in the one or more portable containers via at least one sensor;
routing bulk material from the one or more portable containers directly into the blender inlet via a choke-feed outlet;
metering bulk material with a metering mechanism disposed at the blender inlet; and
comparing the amount of bulk material sensed to be in the one or more portable containers received on the frame of the support structure to an amount of bulk material recorded on a weight ticket or on an RFID tag associated with the one or more portable containers.

20. A method, comprising:
receiving and holding one or more portable containers of bulk material onto a frame of a support structure disposed proximate a blender inlet, and wherein the portable container is supported on the frame such that the portable container is selectively removable from the frame and replaceable by another portable container;
sensing an amount of bulk material in the one or more portable containers via at least one sensor;
routing bulk material from the one or more portable containers directly into the blender inlet

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Warren Wesley John
• Lewis Bryan John
• Hunter Tim H

Classifications

• E21B21/062

  by mixing components · CPC title

• E21B43/267 Primary

  reinforcing fractures by propping · CPC title

• G01F1/002 Primary

  wherein the flow is in an open channel · CPC title

• E21B43/2607

  Surface equipment specially adapted for fracturing operations · CPC title