Hydraulic Fracturing Valve Control Through Workflow Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in hydraulic fracturing operations is the lack of unified control over fleets of pumps with varying specifications, leading to suboptimal pumping and hydraulic fracture generation due to differences in equipment characteristics and histories, which can result in inefficiencies, safety risks, and non-compliance with standard operating procedures.
Innovation Solution
A controller system is implemented to manage and automate the operation of valves in fracturing equipment, utilizing a computational framework that checks valve states against a workflow specification, identifies discrepancies, and generates sequences for correcting these states, ensuring compliance with operational procedures and reducing human error.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual control of valves is used in hydraulic fracturing operations, then operational flexibility is maintained, but compliance with standard operating procedures deteriorates and human error increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the controller automatically monitors valve states, compares them against workflow specifications, and generates correction sequences without continuous human intervention. This allows the system to self-correct deviations from standard operating procedures while maintaining operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring valve states and comparing them with expected states from workflow specifications. When discrepancies are detected, the system generates feedback signals to trigger corrective actions, ensuring compliance with standard operating procedures through closed-loop control.
2Productivity
If automated control sequences are implemented for valve management, then operational efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into distinct functional modules: a monitoring component that tracks valve states, a comparison component that checks against workflow specifications, and a sequence generation component that creates correction sequences. This modular segmentation improves operational efficiency while managing system complexity through organized functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining workflow specifications and expected valve states before operations begin. This allows the automated control system to efficiently manage operations by comparing real-time states against pre-established criteria, improving productivity without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Reliability
If real-time monitoring of valve states is implemented, then safety and compliance are improved, but data processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Real-time monitoring is implemented through feedback mechanisms where valve states are continuously tracked and immediately compared against workflow specifications. This feedback loop ensures safety and compliance by detecting deviations in real-time and triggering corrective sequences, managing data processing through event-driven architecture rather than continuous heavy processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses an intermediary controller that acts as a mediator between the physical valve system and the monitoring/analysis systems. This intermediary manages data processing requirements by consolidating information from multiple valves and presenting it in a standardized format, improving safety and compliance while reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method can include checking states of valves of equipment with respect to a workflow specification according to a checking order defined by assigned numbers; responsive to the checking of the states of the valves, identifying individual valves that are not in a corresponding state as indicated by the workflow specification; and generating a sequence for changing the state of each of the individual valves that is not in its corresponding state to its corresponding state.