A device and method for adding solid particulate material to a pressurized fluid

Abstract

The application discloses an automatic feeding device and feeding method for continuously and uniformly adding solid particle materials into a pressurized fluid in a pressure container or pressure pipeline, which comprises a feeding mechanism, a material storage cylinder, a discharge pipe and a feeder; one end of the feeder is connected with the pressure container or pressure pipeline through a special joint, the other end of the feeder is provided with a material pushing mechanism, control valves are respectively arranged in the feeder and the discharge pipe, and the feeding mechanism, the material pushing mechanism and the control valves are respectively connected with a controller in communication. The solid particle materials are continuously, quantitatively and uniformly added into the pressurized container or pressure pipeline through a program, the feeding process does not cause leakage of the pressurized fluid, pressure loss and thus influence on the movement state of the system, and does not introduce external fluid materials such as water and air except the solid particles and thus influence on the material composition of the system, so that the pressurized fluid does not generate chemical reactions due to the introduction of new materials in the solid particle physical process and thus causes changes in material composition or state.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of feeding device, in particular to a feeding device and method for adding solid particle materials into a pressurized fluid. BACKGROUND

[0002] At present, it is still a very challenging task to continuously add solid particle materials into a pressurized fluid (liquid or gas) container or pipeline. For example, when studying the law of drilling annulus cuttings migration, it is necessary to continuously and quantitatively add solid cuttings particles into a drill pipe model with a certain pressure and flow rate to simulate the continuous generation of cuttings at the bottom of the well during drilling. These cuttings particles enter the drilling annulus with circulating drilling fluid and are carried and transported to the ground. In chemical production, it is often necessary to add solid raw materials quantitatively and regularly into a pressure reaction container due to the requirements of chemical reaction process. During the process of adding solid materials, not only is it necessary to prevent external air or other fluids from entering the pressurized container with the solid particles to affect the movement state of the substances in the container or the chemical reaction process, but also it is necessary to prevent the pressurized fluid in the container from escaping from the feeding port to avoid endangering production or threatening personal safety. Unlike the continuous addition of liquid materials into a pressurized container, which can be solved by high-pressure pumping, the continuous addition of solid particle materials into a pressurized container is difficult to achieve by pumping. On the one hand, pumping solid particle materials requires a suitable fluid as a transport medium, but in many cases, it is not allowed to introduce any other substances into the pressure container except for solid particles. On the other hand, the pumping mechanical movement may change the size, structure and morphology of the solid particles, thereby affecting the movement state of the internal fluid. Therefore, it is very difficult to continuously and quantitatively add solid particle materials into a pressure container.

[0003] At present, when adding solid particle materials into a pressurized container, the pneumatic conveying method is often used, with nitrogen or compressed air as the transport medium, and the solid particle materials are added into the pressure container by "positive pressure blowing" or "negative pressure suction" in two ways. Among them, the former often uses a fan as power and nitrogen or compressed air as transport carrier to transport a certain amount of solid particles into the pressure container at one time; the latter often uses a vacuum pump to form a negative pressure to suck a certain amount of solid particle materials into the pressure container. When adding solid particles into a pressurized container by using this pneumatic conveying method, the particle size, specific gravity, addition amount and addition speed of the solid particle materials suitable for addition are often affected and limited by factors such as air pressure, gas flow rate or vacuum degree.

[0004] Although this pneumatic conveying method can realize one-time quantitative addition of solid particle material to the pressure container, it not only introduces external gas as a transport medium into the pressure container, resulting in change of the motion state or chemical reaction process of the internal material, but also cannot realize continuous and uniform feeding of the material into the pressure container. In addition, this adding method is complex, and the mechanical equipment is more, which not only limits the system running speed, but also the complex system may cause high failure rate. SUMMARY

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the application provides a feeding device and method for adding solid particle material into a pressure fluid.

[0006] The technical scheme for solving the above technical problems is as follows: a feeding device for adding solid particle material into a pressure fluid, comprising a feeding mechanism for metering and conveying solid material, a storage cylinder located at the discharge port of the feeding mechanism, a discharge pipe connected at the discharge port of the storage cylinder, and a feeder connected at the discharge port of the discharge pipe;

[0007] One end of the feeder is connected to the pressure container through a special joint, the other end of the feeder is provided with a material pushing mechanism, and the feeder and the discharge pipe are respectively provided with control valves, and the feeding mechanism, the material pushing mechanism and the control valves are respectively in communication connection with the controller.

[0008] Further, the feeding mechanism comprises a motor stepless speed regulator and a metering screw conveyor connected with the motor stepless speed regulator, the storage cylinder is located at the discharge port position of the metering screw conveyor, and the motor stepless speed regulator is in communication connection with the controller.

[0009] Further, the material pushing mechanism comprises a piston located in the feeder, a piston rod connected to the piston, and an electric push rod connected with the piston rod and used for pushing the piston to move along the cavity of the feeder, and the electric push rod is in communication connection with the controller.

[0010] Further, the top of the metering screw conveyor is provided with a hopper containing solid particle material.

[0011] Further, the control valve adopts an electromagnetic valve.

[0012] Further, the controller adopts a PLC control system.

[0013] Further, one end of the special joint is connected to the feeder through a flange, and the other end of the special joint is connected to the pressure container through a threaded joint.

[0014] Further, the feeder adopts a plunger cylinder.

[0015] The application also provides a feeding device and method for adding solid particle material into a pressure fluid, comprising the following steps:

[0016] S1: closing the control valve in the discharge pipe and the feeder by the controller, and pushing the piston in the feeder to the tail position of the feeder, so that the device is in the initial state;

[0017] S2: then opening the control valve in the feeder, so that the fluid in the pressure container automatically fills the feeder;

[0018] S3: when the fluid in the feeder is filled, the control valve in the feeder is closed, and the control valve in the discharge pipe is opened, so that the solid material in the storage cylinder freely settles into the fluid-filled feeder;

[0019] S4: when the solid material is added to a fixed amount, the control valve in the discharge pipe is closed, the control valve in the feeder is opened, and then the electric push rod is started to move the piston to the control valve position of the feeder, so that the solid material is pushed into the pressure container;

[0020] S5: after the solid material in the feeder is discharged, the control valve in the feeder is closed, and the piston is returned to the tail position of the feeder, returning to the initial state;

[0021] S6: repeating S2 to S5 to complete the continuous and uniform addition of the material.

[0022] The application has the following beneficial effects: the feeding device and method for adding solid particle material to a pressurized fluid provided by the application can automatically execute the feeding process according to the set program by the controller, and the feeding speed can be set by the controller, so that the solid particle material can be continuously, quantitatively and uniformly added to the pressurized container or pipeline, the feeding process will not cause the pressurized fluid to leak or the pressure to be lost, thereby affecting the system motion state, and will not introduce external fluid into the pressurized fluid, thereby affecting the system material composition. By controlling the cycle time interval of the material pushing mechanism, long-time continuous and uniform feeding can be approximately realized.

[0023] In addition, the device and method can accurately and reliably simulate the process that the drill cuttings produced by the rock breaking of the drill bit continuously enter the drilling fluid during the drilling of oil and gas fields, various geological drilling or engineering drilling, thereby providing a design scheme of a test key component for the test research on the drill cuttings transport mechanism; and can also provide an automatic device for continuously and uniformly adding solid material to a pressure tank in chemical production, so that the solid particle material can be continuously, uniformly and quantitatively added to the pressurized fluid medium, which is beneficial to efficiently realize various solid-liquid reactions or process scenes that require quantitative addition of solid material in the middle, and has a wide application range and good use performance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Fig. 1 The figure is a structural schematic diagram of the application;

[0025] Fig. 2 This is a schematic diagram of the feeding process in this invention;

[0026] Figs. 1-2 The reference numerals in the attached drawings are as follows: 1-motor stepless speed regulator, 2-metering screw conveyor, 3-hopper, 4-storage cylinder; 5-discharge pipe, 6-feeder, 7-electric push rod, 8-piston rod, 9-piston, 10-control valve, 11-special connector, 12-controller. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The principles and features of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The examples given are only for explaining the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0028] like Fig. 1 As shown, a feeding device for adding solid particulate material to a pressurized fluid includes a feeding mechanism for metering and conveying solid material, a storage cylinder 4 located at the outlet of the feeding mechanism, a discharge pipe 5 connected to the outlet of the storage cylinder 4, and a feeder 6 connected to the outlet of the discharge pipe 5. The feeder 6 is a plunger cylinder. One end of a special connector 11 is connected to the feeder 6 via a flange, and the other end of the special connector 11 is connected to a pressure vessel via a threaded connector. Control valves 10 are respectively installed in the feeder 6 and the discharge pipe 5. The control valves 10 are solenoid valves, which are ball valves or C-type valves with a diameter not less than 30 mm and a response speed not greater than 0.1 s. The feeding mechanism, the material pushing mechanism, and the control valves 10 are all communicatively connected to a controller 12, which is a PLC control system.

[0029] The feeding mechanism includes a continuously variable speed controller 1 for the motor and a metering screw conveyor 2 connected to the continuously variable speed controller 1. The storage cylinder 4 is located at the discharge port of the metering screw conveyor 2, and a hopper 3 for holding solid granular materials is provided above the metering screw conveyor 2. The continuously variable speed controller 1 is communicatively connected to a controller 12, which controls the continuously variable speed controller 1, thereby controlling the feeding speed of solid materials into the metering screw conveyor 2, so that the solid materials can be conveyed to the storage cylinder 4 at a uniform speed according to the set value.

[0030] The material pushing mechanism comprises a piston 9 located inside the feeder 6, a piston rod 8 connected to the piston 9, and an electric push rod 7 connected to the piston rod 8 and used for pushing the piston 9 to move along the cavity inside the feeder 6, the electric push rod 7 being in communication connection with the controller 12. The continuity of adding solid materials is realized through the automatic cyclic operation of controlling the electromagnetic valve and the electric push rod 7 to drive the piston 9 to move by the PLC system. The cycle period is adjustable, and the smaller the cycle period setting value is, the better the feeding continuity is, and the higher the uniformity of the solid particles in the pressurized fluid is. The whole system realizes automatic operation through PLC programming for data monitoring and parameter control. The piston 9 is guided to reciprocate by the piston rod 8, and the piston 9 smoothly passes through the interface below the electromagnetic valve. Preferably, the stroke of the electric push rod 7 and the piston 9 is 400 mm, the pushing force is 2 KN, and the telescopic speed is 200-400 mm / s.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 2 The application also provides a feeding device and method for adding solid particle materials into pressurized fluid, comprising the following steps:

[0032] S1: The controller 12 is used to close the control valve 10 in the discharge pipe 5 and the feeder 6, and push the piston 9 in the feeder 6 to the tail position of the feeder 6, so that the device is in an initial state.

[0033] S2: Then, the control valve 10 in the feeder 6 is opened, so that the fluid in the pressure container automatically fills the feeder 6. Since the valve in the discharge pipe 5 is closed, the fluid in the pressure container can only fill the feeder 6 and cannot leak out, and the volume of the feeder 6 is limited, so the fluid pressure in the pipeline will not change as long as the fluid maintains a certain flow rate and continuous flow.

[0034] S3: When the feeder 6 is filled with fluid, the control valve 10 in the feeder 6 is closed, and the control valve 10 in the discharge pipe 5 is opened, so that the solid materials in the storage cylinder 4 freely settle into the feeder 6 filled with fluid. Since the control valve 10 in the feeder 6 is closed, the fluid in the feeder 6 will not have pressure as long as it is slightly decompressed; since the fluid is incompressible, when the control valve 10 in the discharge pipe 5 is opened, only a small amount of fluid enters the upper solid materials due to decompression, becoming pressureless fluid, and the solid materials will automatically settle into the feeder 6 under the action of gravity, occupying part of the fluid position, so that the feeder 6 is only filled with fluid and solid particles, without external air.

[0035] S4: When the solid material is added to the fixed amount, the control valve 10 in the discharge pipe 5 is closed, the control valve 10 in the feeder 6 is opened, and then the electric push rod 7 is started to move the piston 9 to the position of the control valve 10 of the feeder 6, so as to push the solid material into the pressure container; since the control valve 10 in the discharge pipe 5 is closed and the control valve 10 in the feeder 6 is opened, only the fluid and the solid particles in the feeder 6 are filled, and no external gas enters the lower pressure pipeline.

[0036] S5: After the solid material in the feeder 6 is discharged, the control valve 10 in the feeder 6 is closed, and the piston 9 is retreated to the tail position of the feeder 6, returning to the initial state. The retreat of the piston 9 can cause a small negative pressure in the cylinder, which is beneficial to control the amount of fluid entering the upper storage cylinder 4 when the control valve 10 in the discharge pipe 5 is opened again.

[0037] S6: Repeat S2 to S5 to complete the continuous and uniform addition of the solid material to the pressurized fluid.

[0038] The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present application, and is not used to limit the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A feeding method based on an automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline, the feeding device comprising a feeding mechanism for metering and conveying solid material, a storage cylinder (4) located at the outlet of the feeding mechanism, a discharge pipe (5) connected to the outlet of the storage cylinder (4), and a feeder (6) connected to the outlet of the discharge pipe (5); One end of the feeder (6) is connected to a pressure vessel or pressurized pipeline via a special connector (11), and the other end of the feeder (6) is provided with a material pushing mechanism. Control valves (10) are respectively installed in the feeder (6) and the discharge pipe (5). The feeding mechanism, the material pushing mechanism, and the control valves (10) are respectively communicatively connected to the controller (12); Its characteristic is that... The feeding method includes the following steps: S1: Close the control valve (10) in the discharge pipe (5) and feeder (6) through the controller (12), and push the piston (9) in the feeder (6) to the tail position of the feeder (6) so that the device is in the initial state; S2: Then open the control valve (10) inside the feeder (6) so that the fluid in the pressure vessel automatically fills the feeder (6); S3: When the feeder (6) is filled with fluid, close the control valve (10) in the feeder (6) and open the control valve (10) in the discharge pipe (5) so that the solid material in the storage cylinder (4) can freely settle into the feeder (6) filled with fluid. S4: When the solid material is added to a fixed amount, close the control valve (10) in the discharge pipe (5), open the control valve (10) in the feeder (6), and then start the electric push rod (7) to move the piston (9) to the position of the control valve (10) in the feeder (6) to push the solid material into the pressure vessel; S5: After the solid material in the feeder (6) is discharged, close the control valve (10) in the feeder (6) and return the piston (9) to the tail position of the feeder (6) to the initial state; S6: Repeat S2 to S5 to complete the continuous and uniform addition of materials.

2. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism includes a stepless speed regulator (1) for a motor and a metering screw conveyor (2) connected to the stepless speed regulator (1). The storage cylinder (4) is located at the outlet of the metering screw conveyor (2). The stepless speed regulator (1) for a motor is connected to the controller (12) in communication.

3. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material pushing mechanism includes a piston (9) located inside the feeder (6), a piston rod (8) connected to the piston (9), and an electric push rod (7) connected to the piston rod (8) and used to push the piston (9) to move along the internal cavity of the feeder (6). The electric push rod (7) is communicatively connected to the controller (12).

4. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the special connector (11) is connected to the feeder (6) via a flange, and the other end of the special connector (11) is connected to the pressure vessel via a threaded connector.

5. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 2, characterized in that, A hopper (3) for holding solid granular materials is provided above the metering screw conveyor (2).

6. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeder (6) is a plunger cylinder.

7. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control valve (10) is a solenoid valve.

8. The feeding method of the automatic feeding device for continuously and uniformly adding solid particulate material into a pressurized fluid in a pressure vessel or pressure pipeline according to claim 1, characterized in that, The controller (12) adopts a PLC control system.

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