Molded Plastics Shaker Screen With Wire-Reinforced Ribs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shaker screens for drilling muds, constructed with wire-reinforced GRP frames, lack sufficient stiffness to prevent whipping and separation from edge supports, leading to fluid bypass and damage, especially when spanning larger areas.
Innovation Solution
A rectilinear moulded plastics frame with orthogonal ribs internally reinforced by two layers of orthogonal intersecting wires and metal box-section members at the edges, providing a rigid structure that maintains tension and prevents flexing during vibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If wire-reinforced GRP frames are used to reduce weight, then the frame becomes lighter and easier to handle, but the frame lacks sufficient stiffness and whips violently during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The frame combines GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) with internal wire reinforcement and box-section members to create a composite structure that achieves both light weight and high stiffness. The GRP provides corrosion resistance and lightweight properties, while the embedded wires and box sections provide the necessary structural rigidity to prevent whipping during operation.
2Area of stationary object
If the screen area is increased to improve throughput, then more drilling mud can be processed, but the frame becomes insufficiently supported and separates from edge supports
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is divided into multiple reinforced sections with box-section members at critical locations (edges and corners) and wire reinforcement throughout the rib structures. This segmentation allows the large-area frame to maintain adequate support and stiffness across its entire span, preventing separation from edge supports while enabling increased screen area for higher throughput.
3Productivity
If the frame spans larger areas to increase filtering capacity, then more mud can be processed, but excessive whipping causes slurry to bypass the screen and contaminate the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The frame incorporates curved or rounded transitions in its rib structures and box-section connections, which help distribute stresses more evenly and reduce violent whipping motions. This curvature design, combined with the reinforced structure, maintains seal integrity across large areas, preventing slurry bypass and environmental contamination while preserving high filtering capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A frame over which woven wire mesh is to be stretched and secured to form a sieving screen and which can be used to screen solids from drilling mud recovered from down-hole when drilling for oil or gas. The frame comprises a rectilinear molded plastics frame having edge regions by which it is secured in place in a shaker. Within the frame is a plurality of rectilinear windows formed by an orthogonal array of intersecting ribs also of molded plastics material. Some of the ribs are internally reinforced by a structure comprising two spaced apart layers of orthogonal intersecting spaced apart wires, running parallel to the length and breadth of the rectilinear shape of the frame within the ribs to increase their rigidity. The edge regions of the frame are reinforced internally by metal box-section members joined at their four corners and defining perimeter reinforcement, and the ends of the wires are secured to the box-section members. The latter are encapsulated in the same plastics material from which the orthogonal array of intersecting ribs are molded. Alternate ribs are not reinforced with wires, and the non-reinforced ribs only extend partway between the upper and lower faces of the frame. Lengths of wire bent to form spacers and adapted to fit between upper and lower wires of the rib reinforcing structure, are joined to the upper and lower wires so as to extend therebetween and maintain the desired separation of the two layers of wires during the plastics encapsulation/molding process.