Air Valve and Cone Splitter for Unbiased Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sample collection systems, particularly static cone splitters, face challenges in collecting unbiased samples from material streams, especially when dealing with varying flow rates and high liquid content, as they can introduce bias due to flow disturbances, air entrainment, and siphoning, making it difficult to obtain representative samples, especially in coiled tubing drilling applications.
Innovation Solution
A sample collection system incorporating a valve arrangement with an air valve that operates automatically based on flow rates, allowing air to enter at minimum functional flow rates to prevent vacuum formation and ensuring unbiased sampling, and evacuating air at higher flow rates to maintain pressurization, coupled with a static cone splitter design that divides the material stream into balanced sub-streams using a cone member with equal flow area openings, preventing blockages and ensuring even distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a static cone splitter is used to collect samples from a material stream, then the sampling mechanism is simple and has no moving parts, but the sample collection becomes biased due to flow disturbances, air entrainment, and siphoning effects
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the material stream into multiple sub-streams using a cone splitter with multiple openings, allowing simultaneous sampling from different portions of the stream. This segmentation prevents preferential sampling of any single sub-stream while maintaining system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
An air valve is introduced as an intermediary component to control air entrainment in the system. The air valve opens to allow air entry when flow rate decreases, preventing vacuum formation and siphoning effects that would otherwise bias the sample collection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the material stream flow rate varies, then the system must adapt to different flow conditions, but static cone splitters cannot function accurately over varying flow velocities
Solution Approach 1:
The air valve operates dynamically in response to flow rate changes. At higher flow rates, the valve remains closed to maintain pressurization. At lower flow rates, the valve opens to allow air entry and prevent vacuum formation, enabling the system to adapt to varying flow conditions while maintaining sampling accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the pressure parameter dynamically through the air valve mechanism. By allowing pressure to equalize with atmospheric pressure when flow rate decreases, the system maintains accurate sampling across a wide range of flow velocities without requiring mechanical adjustment.
3Stress or pressure
If the air valve remains closed at high flow rates, then pressurization is maintained, but air entrapment occurs causing sampling bias
Solution Approach 1:
The air valve provides automatic feedback control based on flow rate conditions. When flow rate decreases and vacuum conditions develop, the valve opens to release air. When flow rate increases and pressurization is achieved, the valve closes automatically, eliminating the need for external control while preventing sampling bias.
4Measurement precision
If mechanical splitters are used to collect full cross-section samples, then representative sampling is achieved, but the sampling mechanism disturbs the flow and biases the sample
Solution Approach 1:
The cone splitter distributes the material stream into multiple local sub-streams through its openings, with each opening capturing a portion of the cross-section. This local sampling approach maintains flow continuity while achieving representative sampling without the need for mechanical movement that would disturb the overall flow.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables the collection of unbiased samples across a wide range of flow rates, preventing sample bias and ensuring reliable representation of the material stream, even at high liquid content, without the need for moving parts or external power, thus reducing the risk of equipment failure and allowing for efficient sampling in coiled tubing drilling operations.
Implementation Method 1
the air valve, which, at the minimum functional flow rate of the material stream, remains open allowing air to enter the valve arrangement to allow the material stream to flow without restriction at substantially atmospheric pressure
Implementation Method 2
at flow rates higher than the minimum functional flow rate the air valve is arranged to allow the evacuation of air from the system until the system is full of material stream at which point the air valve closes
Implementation Method 3
the flow resistance of the portions of the material stream about the slant surface at entry into the openings is substantially equal
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a sample collection system for collecting sub-samples from a material stream, the system including a valve arrangement and a static cone splitter, and wherein the valve arrangement is arranged to enable operation of the static cone splitter to collect a non-biased sample of the material stream fed to the static cone splitter under first and second operational conditions, the first operational condition requiring the material stream to be at substantially atmospheric pressure and flowing at a minimum functional flow rate, and the second operational condition requiring the material stream to be pressurised above atmospheric pressure and at a flow rate higher than the minimum functional flow rate. The invention also relates to a static cone splitter for use with the system, together with a cone member for use with the static cone splitter.