Damage Accumulation Metering for Hydraulic Fracturing Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional maintenance scheduling for oilfield equipment, such as those used in hydraulic fracturing, relies on broad rules based on operating time or cycles, leading to inefficient maintenance and potential equipment failures due to lack of precision in determining useful life.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a damage accumulation monitoring system that uses sensors to track various parameters like operation time, cycles, and usage conditions to calculate a damage accumulation rate, allowing for precise prediction of maintenance needs and remaining useful life, expressed as a percentage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional maintenance scheduling based on operating time or cycles is used, then maintenance can be performed periodically, but the precision of determining useful life is poor leading to wasteful replacements or equipment failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter basis for maintenance scheduling from simple operating time or cycle counts to a composite damage accumulation index. This index integrates multiple parameters including operating time, cycles, temperature, pressure, and load conditions. By transforming the single parameter (time) into a multi-parameter composite index, the system achieves precise measurement of actual equipment damage, thereby improving both the precision of useful life determination and the reliability of equipment operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the conventional mechanical/time-based maintenance scheduling system with an intelligent monitoring and calculation system. Instead of relying on mechanical counters or simple time tracking, the system uses sensors to collect operational data and employs algorithms to calculate damage accumulation. This substitution of mechanical systems with intelligent systems enables precise, real-time assessment of equipment condition, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If maintenance is performed based on broad time-based rules, then scheduling is simple, but maintenance may be performed when not actually needed causing waste
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables equipment to essentially monitor and report its own condition through integrated sensors and damage calculation algorithms. The equipment self-assesses its damage accumulation status and triggers maintenance alerts when thresholds are approached, eliminating the need for complex external scheduling decisions. This self-service approach maintains ease of scheduling while preventing wasteful replacements by basing maintenance timing on actual damage levels rather than arbitrary time intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where operational data continuously feeds into the damage accumulation calculation, which in turn provides real-time maintenance recommendations. This closed-loop feedback system allows the maintenance schedule to dynamically adjust based on actual equipment condition, making the scheduling process as easy as monitoring the feedback signals while preventing waste by only triggering maintenance when damage thresholds are actually reached.
3Ease of operation
If conventional time-based maintenance scheduling is used, then implementation is straightforward, but equipment replacement may not be performed when actually needed leading to failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows equipment to self-monitor and self-report its maintenance needs through integrated sensors and algorithms. The equipment automatically tracks its own damage accumulation and generates maintenance alerts, making implementation as straightforward as responding to these alerts. This maintains ease of operation while dramatically improving reliability by ensuring maintenance is performed based on actual damage conditions rather than arbitrary schedules.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces simple mechanical time-based scheduling with an intelligent monitoring system that substitutes complex calculation algorithms and sensor networks. While the underlying system is more complex, the user interface remains simple through automated alerts and recommendations. This substitution improves reliability by using actual operational data and damage models, while maintaining ease of operation through automated decision support.
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic fracturing system with damage accumulation monitoring includes a plurality of hydraulic fracturing equipment positioned at a wellsite, including one or more pumps configured to pressurize a fracturing fluid and a distribution system fluidly coupled to receive and consolidate fracturing fluid from the plurality of pumps for injection into a wellhead. The hydraulic fracturing system also includes a damage accumulation monitoring system, including a plurality of sensing devices integrated into respective components of the plurality of hydraulic fracturing equipment, the plurality of sensing devices configured to measure a plurality of usage parameters of the respective components, and a processing device configured to receive the plurality of usage parameters and determine respective damage accumulation measurements of the respective components based at least in part on the usage parameters.