Online rotary viscometer

Abstract

The invention discloses an on-line rotary viscometer, which comprises a cavity; the inflow pipeline and the outflow pipeline are communicated with the cavity and arranged on the two opposite sides of the cavity in the vertical direction; the rotor is a cylinder with an opening at one end and is arranged in the cavity; the stator is a cylinder with two closed ends and is coaxially arranged in the rotor, and a gap is formed between the rotor and the stator; the driving assembly and the detection assembly are arranged on the two opposite sides of the cavity in the horizontal direction and connected with the rotor and the stator respectively, the driving assembly drives the rotor to rotate, and the detection assembly detects the torque of the stator; and the control module is configured to control the driving assembly to drive and obtain the torque detected by the detection assembly. According to the invention, the viscosity of the fluid can be automatically measured on line, the real-time performance of a measurement result is ensured, and manual operation is not needed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of oil field development, in particular to an online rotational viscometer. Background Art

[0002] In the field of oilfield development, it is necessary to measure the viscosity of related fluids online. For example, during the drilling process, the drilling fluid circulates in and out of the well to remove rock cuttings and clean the bottom of the well. During this process, the viscosity of the drilling fluid needs to be monitored in real time to deal with problems caused by viscosity changes. However, in most existing technical solutions for viscosity measurement, a viscometer independent of the fluid circulation system is provided, and the viscosity is measured by manually collecting the liquid and manually placing it in a measuring cylinder, and automatic online measurement cannot be achieved. For drilling fluid, temperature and standing time have a certain impact on the measurement data, so the existing technology faces the problem of deviation in measurement data and the need to rely on manual operation.

[0003] Based on this, there is still room for further improvement in the existing technology. Summary of the invention

[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide an online rotational viscometer to solve the problem that the prior art cannot automatically measure the viscosity of a fluid (such as a drilling fluid) online.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, an online rotational viscometer is provided, comprising:

[0006] Cavity;

[0007] An inflow pipe and an outflow pipe are connected to the cavity and are arranged on two opposite sides of the cavity in the vertical direction;

[0008] A rotor, which is a cylinder with an open end and is disposed in the cavity;

[0009] A stator, which is a cylinder with closed ends and is coaxially arranged in the rotor, with a gap between the rotor and the stator;

[0010] A driving component and a detecting component are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity in a horizontal direction and are respectively connected to the rotor and the stator, the driving component drives the rotor to rotate, and the detecting component detects the torque of the stator;

[0011] The control module is configured to control the driving component to drive and obtain the torque detected by the detection component.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control module is configured to control the driving component to drive at predetermined intervals and obtain the torque detected by the detection component.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it further includes a switching valve connected to the inflow pipe, and the control module is configured to: after acquiring the torque detected by the detection component, control the switching valve to switch so that the cleaning fluid enters the inflow pipe.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the outer wall of the rotor and the inner wall of the cavity is 1-3 mm.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the driving assembly comprises:

[0016] A rotor shaft connected to the rotor, the rotor shaft being arranged in a horizontal direction and extending out of the cavity;

[0017] A rotor seal assembly, arranged at the connection between the rotor shaft and the cavity;

[0018] a rotor bearing support mounted to the outer wall of the cavity;

[0019] A servo motor is arranged outside the cavity and connected to the rotor shaft.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cavity includes a cylinder, a first end plate and a second end plate whose axis is arranged in a horizontal direction; the drive assembly also includes an intermediate shell and a motor mounting support coaxially arranged with the cylinder, the intermediate shell is connected between the first end plate and the motor mounting support, the rotor bearing support is located in the intermediate shell, and the rotating shaft of the servo motor is located in the motor mounting support.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the detection component comprises:

[0022] A stator shaft connected to the stator, the stator shaft being arranged in a horizontal direction and extending out of the cavity;

[0023] a stator bearing support mounted to the outer wall of the cavity;

[0024] A magnetic force transmission component and a torque sensor, wherein the torque sensor is connected to the stator shaft via the magnetic force transmission component, and the magnetic force transmission component comprises: a stator shaft magnetic head connected to the stator shaft, a sensor magnetic shaft connected to the torque sensor, and a magnetically conductive partition separating the stator shaft magnetic head and the sensor magnetic shaft.

[0025] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the detection assembly also includes a short section, an intermediate flange, and a sensor bracket that are coaxially connected in sequence, the short section is connected to the second end plate, the stator bearing support is located in the cavity of the short section, the magnetic conductive partition closes the center hole of the intermediate flange, and the torque sensor is located in the sensor bracket.

[0026] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder, the first end plate and the intermediate shell are connected by detachable fasteners, the intermediate shell and the motor mounting support are connected by detachable fasteners, the cylinder, the second end plate and the short section are connected by detachable fasteners, and the short section, the intermediate flange and the sensor bracket are connected by detachable fasteners.

[0027] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it also includes a human-machine interface; the control module includes: a servo motor controller connected to the servo motor for communication, a torque signal processing unit connected to the torque sensor for communication, and a PLC control unit connected to the servo motor controller, the torque signal processing unit and the human-machine interface for communication.

[0028] Through the technical solution of the present invention, the rotational viscometer can be connected to the fluid circulation system through the inflow pipe and the outflow pipe, and the control module can automatically control the driving component to drive the rotor to rotate and obtain the torque of the stator so as to determine the corresponding viscosity value based on the torque, so that the present invention can realize automatic online measurement of the viscosity of the fluid, ensure the real-time nature of the measurement results, and no manual operation is required; and the inflow pipe and the outflow pipe are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity in the vertical direction, and the driving component and the detection component are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity in the horizontal direction, so that the structure of the entire viscometer is symmetrical and the center of gravity is stable, which is convenient for installation on the circulating flow pipe of the fluid to be measured. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0030] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an online rotational viscometer according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0031] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a control system of an online rotational viscometer according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] It should be noted that all expressions using "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present invention are for distinguishing two non-identical entities with the same name or non-identical parameters. It can be seen that "first" and "second" are only for the convenience of expression and should not be understood as limitations on the embodiments of the present invention. The subsequent embodiments will not explain this one by one.

[0034] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention proposes an online rotational viscometer 100, comprising: a cavity 10; an inflow pipe 20 and an outflow pipe 22, which are connected to the cavity 10 and are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity 10 in the vertical direction; a rotor 30, which is a cylinder with an open end and is arranged in the cavity 10; a stator 40, which is a cylinder with closed ends and is coaxially arranged in the rotor 30, with a gap between the rotor 30 and the stator 40; a driving component 50 and a detection component 60, which are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity 10 in the horizontal direction and are respectively connected to the rotor 30 and the stator 40, the driving component 50 drives the rotor 30 to rotate, and the detection component 60 detects the torque of the stator 40; a control module, configured to control the driving component 50 to drive and obtain the torque detected by the detection component 60.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present invention, the viscometer 100 is installed vertically, and the measured fluid flows in from the bottom and flows out from the top, filling the cavity 10. The fluid in the cavity 10 further enters the gap between the rotor 30 and the stator 40 through the opening of the rotor 30. The rotor 30 in the cavity 10 rotates under the drive of the driving component 50, and the friction force generated on the surface of the stator 40 by the fluid in the gap causes the stator 40 to generate torque. The magnitude of the torque is proportional to the viscosity. The torque of the stator 40 is detected by the detection component 60, and the viscosity of the fluid can be indirectly measured. After obtaining the torque detected by the detection component 60, the control module can calculate the corresponding viscosity value based on the torque and output the viscosity value to, for example, a human-machine interface and / or store it in a storage device, or it can directly output and / or store the torque value, and then convert it into a corresponding viscosity value through other methods.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present invention, the viscometer 100 can be connected to the fluid circulation system through the inflow pipe 20 and the outflow pipe 22, and the control module can automatically control the drive assembly 50 to drive the rotor 30 to rotate and obtain the torque of the stator 40 so as to determine the corresponding viscosity value based on the torque, so that the present invention can realize automatic online measurement of the viscosity of the fluid, ensure the real-time nature of the measurement results, and no manual operation is required; and the inflow pipe 20 and the outflow pipe 22 are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity 10 in the vertical direction, and the drive assembly 50 and the detection assembly 60 are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity 10 in the horizontal direction, so that the structure of the entire viscometer 100 is symmetrical and the center of gravity is stable, which is convenient for installation on the circulating flow pipeline of the fluid to be measured. The fluid to be measured can be drilling fluid, fracturing fluid, petrochemical products, etc. The lower and upper limits of the viscosity of the drilling fluid are relatively low, especially at low speeds, the rotation of the rotor drives the liquid to rub the stator, and the torque transmitted is smaller. The use of a cylinder with closed ends in the present invention helps to reduce the mass of the stator, increase the torque, and achieve effective measurement.

[0037] In some embodiments, the control module is configured to control the driving component 50 to drive at predetermined intervals and obtain the torque detected by the detection component 60. In this way, the viscosity change of the fluid during the circulation process can be automatically monitored at intervals. A suitable timing scheme can be set so that the viscometer 100 measures the viscosity value at a predetermined frequency.

[0038] In some embodiments, the viscometer 100 further includes a switching valve connected to the inflow pipe 20, and the control module is configured to: after obtaining the torque detected by the detection component 60, control the switching valve to switch so that a cleaning fluid (such as clean water) enters the inflow pipe 20, so as to clean the viscometer 100. When the viscosity measurement needs to be performed again, the switching valve is controlled to switch so that the fluid to be measured enters the inflow pipe 20. A pump can be provided on the inflow pipe 20 to drive the liquid to flow.

[0039] In some embodiments, the distance between the outer wall of the rotor 30 and the inner wall of the cavity 10 is 1-3 mm (e.g., 1.5 mm). By providing sufficient space between the outer wall of the rotor 30 and the inner wall of the cavity 10, it is possible to avoid jamming and blockage caused by the entry of the fluid to be measured with a high solid content. For example, the main components of the drilling fluid are water, barite, bentonite, macromolecular polymers, etc., as well as rock cuttings brought in during the construction process. Therefore, the liquid solid content is high and there are many hard impurities. At the same time, different drilling fluids have different thixotropy and a wide range of flow states. Some are very easy to flow, and some are similar to tofu blocks after standing. The viscometer 100 of the present invention reserves sufficient space between the rotor 30 and the cavity 10, which is suitable for measuring the viscosity of the drilling fluid.

[0040] In some embodiments, the driving assembly 50 includes: a rotor shaft 52 connected to the rotor 30, the rotor shaft 52 is arranged in the horizontal direction and extends out of the cavity 10; a rotor seal assembly 54, which is arranged at the connection between the rotor shaft 52 and the cavity 10; a rotor bearing support 56, which is installed on the outer wall of the cavity 10 and carries the rotor bearing, and the rotor bearing is sleeved outside the rotor shaft 52; a servo motor 58, which is arranged outside the cavity 10 and connected to the rotor shaft 52 to drive the rotor shaft 52 to rotate, and a coupling 59 can be arranged on the rotating shaft of the servo motor 58. The rotor seal assembly 54 is conducive to providing good sealing of the cavity 10, avoiding leakage of the fluid in the cavity 10, and can seal the high-pressure fluid to be measured in the cavity 10 to achieve high-pressure viscosity measurement.

[0041] The cavity 10 can be made of high pressure (e.g. 6MPa) and high temperature (e.g. 200°C) resistant materials, so as to realize viscosity measurement of high temperature and high pressure fluid. The drilling fluid circulates out from the bottom of the well and is already in a high temperature state. Depending on the well depth, low temperature gradient, and ground environment, the liquid temperature may be between 30 and 200°C. The viscometer 100 of the present invention does not need to be set with an active heating function, and relies on the material itself to achieve application in high temperature environments.

[0042] In some embodiments, the chamber 10 includes a cylinder 12, a first end plate 14, and a second end plate 16 whose axes are arranged in a horizontal direction; the drive assembly 50 also includes an intermediate housing 51 and a motor mounting support 53 coaxially arranged with the cylinder 12, the intermediate housing 51 is connected between the first end plate 14 and the motor mounting support 53, the rotor bearing support 56 is located in the intermediate housing 51, and the rotating shaft of the servo motor 58 is located in the motor mounting support 53. The cylinder 12 can be welded with the inflow pipe 20 and the outflow pipe 22. The rotor bearing support 56 is installed to the first end plate 14, the intermediate housing 51 can provide protection for the rotor bearing support 56, and the motor mounting support 53 can provide installation and protection for the servo motor 58 and the coupling. The cylinder 12, the first end plate 14 and the intermediate housing 51 are connected by detachable fasteners, the intermediate housing 51 and the motor mounting support 53 are connected by detachable fasteners, and the rotor bearing support 56 and the first end plate 14 are connected by detachable fasteners, so that the entire drive assembly 50 can be assembled in a detachable manner, which is convenient for disassembly and maintenance. A seal can be set between the cylinder 12 and the first end plate 14 to ensure good sealing of the cavity 10.

[0043] In some embodiments, the detection component 60 includes: a stator shaft 62 connected to the stator 40, the stator shaft 62 is arranged in a horizontal direction and extends outside the cavity 10; a stator bearing support 64, which is installed to the outer wall of the cavity 10 and carries the stator bearing, and the stator bearing is sleeved outside the stator shaft 62; a magnetic transmission component 66 and a torque sensor 68, the torque sensor 68 is connected to the stator shaft 62 through the magnetic transmission component 66, and the magnetic transmission component 66 includes: a stator shaft magnetic head 662 connected to the stator shaft 62, a sensor magnetic shaft 664 connected to the torque sensor 68 (the torque sensor 68 can be connected to the sensor magnetic shaft 664 through a sensor connecting flange 69) and a magnetically conductive partition 666 separating the stator shaft magnetic head 662 and the sensor magnetic shaft 664. The torque of the stator 40 is transmitted to the torque sensor 68 for measurement via the stator shaft 62 and the magnetic transmission component 66. By providing the magnetic transmission component 66, the torque sensor 68 and the cavity 10 can be effectively separated to prevent the fluid in the cavity 10 from contacting the torque sensor 68 and affecting it.

[0044] In some embodiments, the detection assembly 60 further includes a short section 61, an intermediate flange 63, and a sensor bracket 65 which are coaxially connected in sequence. The short section 61 is connected to the second end plate 16, the stator bearing support 64 is located in the cavity of the short section 61, the magnetic partition 666 is arranged in the center hole of the intermediate flange 63 and closes the center hole, and the torque sensor 68 is located in the sensor bracket 65. The short section 61 can protect the stator bearing support 64, the sensor bracket 65 can provide installation and protection for the torque sensor 68, and the magnetic partition 666 and the intermediate flange 63 jointly separate the cavity of the short section 61 and the cavity of the sensor bracket 65. In some embodiments, the cylinder 12, the second end plate 16 and the short section 61 are connected by detachable fasteners, the short section 61, the intermediate flange 63 and the sensor bracket 65 are connected by detachable fasteners, and the stator bearing support 64 and the second end plate 16 are connected by detachable fasteners, so that the entire detection assembly 60 can be assembled in a detachable manner, which is convenient for disassembly and maintenance. A seal may be provided between the cylinder 12 and the second end plate 16 to ensure good sealing of the cavity 10 .

[0045] In some embodiments, the viscometer 100 also includes a human-machine interface, through which the user can make settings (for example, set the speed), and the test results can be displayed on the human-machine interface; the control module includes: a servo motor controller connected to the servo motor, a torque signal processing unit connected to the torque sensor, and a PLC control unit connected to the servo motor controller, the torque signal processing unit and the human-machine interface. The PLC control unit controls the servo motor controller based on user input to drive the servo motor 58 to drive the rotor 30 to rotate. The speed is steplessly regulated from 0 to 1500 rpm; 3 rpm, 6 rpm, 100 rpm, 200 rpm, 300 rpm, and 600 rpm can also be set for cyclic measurement. The torque signal generated by the stator 40 on the stator shaft 62 is processed by the torque signal processing unit and sent to the PLC control unit for storage and displayed on the human-machine interface. RS-232 / 485 or 4 to 20 mA output can be used, or it can be remotely transmitted by a wireless transmission module.

[0046] In summary, through the technical solution of the present invention, an intelligent online rotational viscometer with simple structure, pipeline installation, high temperature resistance (200° C.) and high pressure bearing (6.0 MPa) can be provided.

[0047] A person skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is only exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of the disclosure of the embodiments of the present invention (including the claims) is limited to these examples; under the concept of the embodiments of the present invention, the technical features in the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, and there are many other changes in different aspects of the embodiments of the present invention as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the embodiments of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An online rotational viscometer, characterized in that: include: Cavity; An inflow pipe and an outflow pipe are connected to the cavity and are arranged on two opposite sides of the cavity in the vertical direction; A rotor, which is a cylinder with an open end and is disposed in the cavity; A stator, which is a cylinder with closed ends and is coaxially arranged in the rotor, with a gap between the rotor and the stator; A driving component and a detecting component are arranged on opposite sides of the cavity in a horizontal direction and are respectively connected to the rotor and the stator, the driving component drives the rotor to rotate, and the detecting component detects the torque of the stator; The control module is configured to control the driving component to drive and obtain the torque detected by the detection component.

2. The viscometer according to claim 1, characterized in that The control module is configured to control the driving component to drive and obtain the torque detected by the detection component at predetermined intervals.

3. The viscometer according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes a switching valve connected to the inflow pipe, and the control module is configured to: after obtaining the torque detected by the detection component, control the switching valve to switch so that the cleaning fluid enters the inflow pipe.

4. The viscometer according to claim 1, characterized in that The distance between the outer wall of the rotor and the inner wall of the cavity is 1-3 mm.

5. The viscometer according to claim 1, characterized in that The drive assembly comprises: A rotor shaft connected to the rotor, the rotor shaft being arranged in a horizontal direction and extending out of the cavity; A rotor seal assembly, arranged at the connection between the rotor shaft and the cavity; a rotor bearing support mounted to the outer wall of the cavity; A servo motor is arranged outside the cavity and connected to the rotor shaft.

6. The viscometer according to claim 5, characterized in that The cavity includes a cylinder whose axis is arranged in a horizontal direction, a first end plate and a second end plate; the drive assembly also includes an intermediate shell and a motor mounting support coaxially arranged with the cylinder, the intermediate shell is connected between the first end plate and the motor mounting support, the rotor bearing support is located in the intermediate shell, and the rotating shaft of the servo motor is located in the motor mounting support.

7. The viscometer according to claim 6, characterized in that The detection component comprises: A stator shaft connected to the stator, the stator shaft being arranged in a horizontal direction and extending out of the cavity; a stator bearing support mounted to the outer wall of the cavity; A magnetic force transmission component and a torque sensor, wherein the torque sensor is connected to the stator shaft via the magnetic force transmission component, and the magnetic force transmission component comprises: a stator shaft magnetic head connected to the stator shaft, a sensor magnetic shaft connected to the torque sensor, and a magnetically conductive partition separating the stator shaft magnetic head and the sensor magnetic shaft.

8. The viscometer according to claim 7, characterized in that The detection assembly also includes a short section, an intermediate flange, and a sensor bracket that are coaxially connected in sequence. The short section is connected to the second end plate, the stator bearing support is located in the cavity of the short section, the magnetic partition closes the center hole of the intermediate flange, and the torque sensor is located in the sensor bracket.

9. The viscometer according to claim 8, characterized in that The cylinder, the first end plate and the intermediate shell are connected by detachable fasteners, the intermediate shell and the motor mounting support are connected by detachable fasteners, the cylinder, the second end plate and the short section are connected by detachable fasteners, and the short section, the intermediate flange and the sensor bracket are connected by detachable fasteners.

10. The viscometer according to claim 7, characterized in that It also includes a human-machine interface; the control module includes: a servo motor controller connected to the servo motor for communication, a torque signal processing unit connected to the torque sensor for communication, and a PLC control unit connected to the servo motor controller, the torque signal processing unit and the human-machine interface for communication.

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