Ceramic Disc Separator for High-Pressure Well Fluids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional filters used in oil and gas extraction are prone to rapid abrasive wear due to high-speed abrasive flows, leading to premature destruction and increased maintenance costs, and existing ceramic filter designs are susceptible to Hertzian stress-induced rupture under high pressure conditions, limiting their pressure resistance and operational effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A separating device featuring an annular stack of brittle-hard ceramic discs with planar spacers and a perforated pipe, where the discs are centered on bands and fixed without compression springs, providing enhanced pressure resistance and durability by avoiding point pressure loads and maintaining filter gap integrity under varying pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional metallic filters are used, then filtering function is provided, but rapid abrasive wear occurs leading to premature destruction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from metallic to ceramic, specifically using densely sintered ceramic materials with Vickers hardness greater than 15 GPa. This material substitution provides resistance to abrasive particles while maintaining filter functionality, directly resolving the contradiction between filtering capability and durability against abrasive wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter element uses composite construction combining ceramic filtering elements with a metallic support structure. The ceramic provides abrasion resistance while the metallic support provides mechanical strength, creating a composite system that overcomes the limitations of pure metallic filters.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If ceramic filter designs with point contact spacers are used, then abrasion resistance is improved, but Hertzian stress-induced rupture occurs under high pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spacer contact geometry from point contact to planar contact. The spacers are designed with contact areas that have a surface area greater than zero, distributing pressure over a larger area and eliminating Hertzian stress concentrations that cause ceramic rupture under high differential pressure.
3Reliability
If compression springs are used to maintain filter gap, then filtering effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and susceptibility to pressure-induced failure increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes compression springs and other elastic preloading elements from the filter structure. The filter gap is maintained through rigid mechanical positioning using planar spacers and support structures, eliminating the need for elastic components and simplifying the overall device while maintaining filtering effectiveness.
4Ease of manufacture
If steel structures are used for filters, then manufacturing is easy, but rapid abrasive wear occurs due to softer material compared to quartz particles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material hardness parameter by using densely sintered ceramic materials with Vickers hardness greater than 15 GPa, which is harder than the abrasive particles in the flow. This material substitution maintains manufacturability through sintering processes while providing resistance to abrasive wear that plagues softer metallic filters.
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 device achieves significant improvements in external and internal pressure resistance, maintaining filtering effectiveness under extreme conditions and reducing the risk of rupture, while also allowing for cost-effective production and use in curved extraction wells.
Implementation Method 1
the brittle-hard material of the annular discs being chosen from oxidic and non-oxidic ceramic materials... which are subject to rapid abrasive wear
Implementation Method 2
under the effect of the abrasive particles flowing at high speed, steel structures are subject to rapid abrasive wear
Implementation Method 3
the contact area of which is planar, so that the spacers have planiform contact with the underside of an adjacent annular disc... susceptible to Hertzian stress-induced rupture under high pressure conditions
Data Source
AI summary
The subject matter of the invention is a separating device for removing solid particles from liquids and/or gases in extraction wells, comprising a) an annular stack (7) of at least three brittle-hard annular discs (8), the upper side (9) of the annular discs (8) having at least three spacers (10), which are distributed uniformly over the circular circumference of the discs and the contact area (11) of which is planar, so that the spacers (10) have planiform contact with the underside of an adjacent annular disc (8), and the annular discs (8) being stacked and fixed in such a way that between the individual discs (8) there is in each case a separating gap (14) for the removal of solid particles, and the axial projection of the annular discs (8) at the inner and the outer circumference being circular, and the brittle-hard material of the annular discs (8) being chosen from oxidic and non-oxidic ceramic materials, mixed ceramics of these materials, ceramic materials with the addition of secondary phases, mixed materials with fractions of ceramic or metallic hard materials and with a metallic binding phase, powder-metallurgical materials with hard material phases formed in situ and long- and/or short-fiber-reinforced ceramic materials, b) a perforated pipe (1), which is located inside the annular stack (7) and on which the brittle-hard annular discs (8) are stacked, c) at least three bands (15), which are provided axially parallel and uniformly spaced apart on the lateral surface (21) of the perforated pipe (1) located inside the annular stack (7) and onto which the annular discs (8) have been pushed, whereby the annular discs (8) are centered on the perforated pipe (1), and d) an end cap (5) at the upper end and an end cap (6) at the lower end of the annular stack (7), the end caps (5, 6) being firmly connected to the perforated pipe (1). The subject matter of the invention is likewise the use of a separating device according to the invention for removing solid particles from liquids and/or gases in a process for extracting liquids and/or gases from extraction wells.