Retractable Platform for Hydraulic Fracturing Pump Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic fracturing equipment's heavy-duty pumps and engines require frequent maintenance of eroded components, posing hazards due to their elevated position and limited space for maintenance personnel, and the heavy tools used for assembly and disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic fracturing system with electric pumps powered by electric motors, a variable frequency drive for motor diagnostics, and a retractable platform assembly on a trailer that allows safe access to pump components, featuring a stowed and deployed configuration for easy maintenance and safety barriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If pumps and engines are mounted on heavy duty trailers at elevated positions, then transportation capability and space utilization are improved, but maintenance safety and accessibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is designed to be movable between a retracted position during transportation and an extended position during maintenance operations. This dynamic configuration allows the platform to provide safe accessibility to elevated pump components when needed while maintaining a compact profile during transport, thus resolving the contradiction between space utilization and maintenance safety.
Solution Approach 2:
A movable platform assembly acts as an intermediary structure between the ground and the elevated pump components. This platform provides a safe working surface at an intermediate height, eliminating the need for personnel to work at dangerous heights while still providing access to the pump components for maintenance.
2Stability of the object's composition
If pumps are positioned at elevated heights on trailers, then stability during transportation is improved, but accessibility for maintenance personnel deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The platform transitions between retracted and extended positions dynamically. During transportation, it remains retracted to maintain stability and a low center of gravity. During maintenance, it extends to provide accessible working height, thus resolving the contradiction between transportation stability and maintenance accessibility.
3Strength
If heavy duty tools are used for pump assembly and disassembly, then structural integrity is maintained, but personnel safety and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The movable platform serves as an intermediary workspace that allows personnel to perform maintenance operations with proper tools and footing. By providing a stable, elevated working surface, personnel can safely handle heavy tools and components without the safety risks associated with working from ground level or unstable positions.
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic fracturing system has a pump driven by an electrically powered motor. The pump pressurizes fluid which is piped into a wellbore to fracture a subterranean formation. The pump and motor are mounted on a trailer that is hitched to a tractor. A platform assembly is mounted onto the trailer, and which is selectively moveable between deployed and stowed configurations. The platform assembly includes a platform, a lateral rail assembly mounted to the platform, and gates on the forward and aft ends of the platform. The rail assembly and gates define a safety barrier to prevent operations personnel from falling off the platform. In the stowed configuration the platform assembly is anchored in place over wheels on the trailer. In the deployed configuration, the platform assembly provides work surface so that operations personnel can readily access the pump on the trailer.