Drill Cuttings Cleaning with Sonication and Shaking for Petrophysical Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for preparing drill cuttings for petrophysical analysis are time-consuming and inefficient due to the difficulty in separating contaminants and cavings from the drill cuttings, which are often adhered tightly to the surface and require manual washing and drying, hindering accurate quantitative analysis.
Innovation Solution
A method combining ultrasound waves and mechanical shaking to separate contaminants and saturate drill cuttings using fluid matching the drilling mud, followed by sieving and sonication to remove mud particles and cavings, enabling direct measurement of petrophysical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual washing and drying methods are used to clean drill cuttings, then the cuttings can be prepared for analysis, but the process becomes time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical washing with an automated washing machine that uses a combination of mechanical agitation, water flow, and vibration to clean drill cuttings. The washing machine automatically circulates water through the cuttings, separates contaminants, and dries the sample, eliminating time-consuming manual operations while maintaining cleaning effectiveness for accurate analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The washing machine is designed to automatically perform the complete cleaning process without continuous human intervention. The system self-regulates water flow, agitation intensity, and drying cycles, allowing the drill cuttings to be processed autonomously through multiple washing and drying stages, significantly reducing the time required compared to manual methods.
2Productivity
If solid contaminants are not removed from drill cuttings, then processing time is reduced, but accurate quantitative analysis cannot be conducted
Solution Approach 1:
The washing machine extracts solid contaminants such as barite and clays from the drill cutting sample through a combination of water flow separation and mechanical agitation. The system separates these contaminants based on density and particle size differences, removing them from the cuttings to enable accurate quantitative analysis while maintaining high processing efficiency through automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The washing machine employs mechanical vibration to enhance the separation of solid contaminants from drill cuttings. The vibration facilitates the detachment of adhered contaminants and improves the efficiency of gravitational separation, allowing for effective contaminant removal without requiring excessive manual handling time, thus maintaining both productivity and measurement precision.
3Device complexity
If cavings are not separated from cuttings, then the washing process is simplified, but the measured data cannot provide a credible mud log
Solution Approach 1:
The washing machine uses mechanical vibration to facilitate the separation of cavings from drill cuttings. The vibration helps to loosen and detach larger caving particles from the finer cutting material, enabling their subsequent separation through gravitational settling and filtration. This automated vibration-based separation maintains process simplicity while ensuring reliable mud log data by effectively removing cavings that would otherwise contaminate the sample.
Solution Approach 2:
The washing machine employs hydraulic systems to separate cavings from cuttings through controlled water flow. The system uses varying flow rates and pressures to suspend and transport finer cutting particles while allowing larger, denser cavings to settle and be removed. This hydraulic separation method maintains device simplicity while ensuring high reliability of the resulting mud log data by effectively distinguishing between cuttings and cavings.
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 method efficiently separates contaminants and saturates drill cuttings, allowing for accurate petrophysical data measurement, including bulk density, grain density, and porosity, with reduced processing time and increased efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The ultrasonic bath may include transducers that generate an ultrasonic frequency
Implementation Method 2
The samples can be sonicated to assist in separating the mud contaminants from the surface of the drill cuttings
Implementation Method 3
a mechanical means to induce vibrations or shake the samples inside the sonicator at a predetermined frequency
Implementation Method 4
The samples of drill cuttings obtained from step 404 are placed in multiple sieve-baskets that are individually placed in glass or plastic vessels. New fluid is then added to completely submerge the drill cuttings in the fluid.
Implementation Method 5
The disclosed methods and systems separate and remove both drilling mud and cavings from drill cuttings, and simultaneously saturate the drill cuttings
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Methods and systems for separating mud from drill cuttings are disclosed. The method includes collecting drill cuttings from a shale shaker or a wellhead, placing the drill cuttings in a fluid that matches the fluid in the drilling mud, and filtering the drill cuttings through a sieve having a first mesh size. The method further includes placing the filtered drill cuttings in a sieve basket having a second mesh size, wherein the second mesh size is smaller than the first mesh size, placing the sieve basket in a vessel, and adding the fluid to completely submerge the drill cuttings in the fluid. The method also includes placing the vessel including the sieve basket, the drill cuttings, and the fluid in a sonicator-shaker, and simultaneously sonicating and shaking the vessel to separate the drill cuttings from contaminants thereon.