Patent Application
20140251689
1. Field of the Disclosure
The subject matter disclosed herein is generally directed to methods and apparatuses for monitoring and measuring fluid that is flowing through a conduit. More specifically, the present disclosure is directed to systems, methods, and apparatuses that may be used for obtaining samples of a fluid flowing through a conduit, and/or for determining the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the conduit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drilling fluids are used when drilling or completing wells for a variety of reasons. Common uses for drilling fluids include: lubrication and cooling of drill bit cutting surfaces, cleaning the wellbore and transportation of cuttings to the surface, controlling formation pressure, maintaining well stability, and transmitting hydraulic horsepower to downhole motors.
Drilling fluids are pumped down through the drill string to the drill bit. The drilling fluids pass through the drill bit and then are returned back to the surface through the annulus between the outside of the drill pipe and the wellbore wall. To control formation pressure, maintain wellbore stability, lubricate the drill bit, and provide other functions, drilling fluids often include suspended additives, including barites, clay, and other materials. These additives are blended with the drilling fluid at the surface so that the drilling fluid being pumped through the drill string into the wellbore has the desired properties.
As the drilling mud exits the drill bit and returns to the surface, it may become mixed with drill cuttings and fluids from the formation. In order to maintain the composition of the drilling fluid being pumped into the drill string, the drilling fluid is cleaned and treated at the surface before being recirculated into the well. During the cleaning and treating process, the drilling fluid can be tested at a variety of locations and time intervals to determine fluid characteristics such as density and viscosity. In many applications, the testing of drilling fluid commonly requires the direct involvement of rig personnel, who oftentimes must manually obtain samples of the drilling fluid. These manually obtained drilling fluid samples are then analyzed using a variety of testing equipment and procedures known in the art.
Depending on the specific drilling rig setup and the overall configuration of the drilling fluid circulation system, manually obtaining drill fluid samples in an effective manner may be problematic. Moreover, as the overall automation of many common drilling rig operations continues to increase, it is recognized that automating the drilling fluid sample acquisition activity, that is, obtaining samples without the direct involvement of rig personnel, may also be advantageous.
One problem that must sometimes be addressed is the loss of circulation materials, i.e., drilling mud and its constituents, to the formation during the drilling operation. Depending on the characteristics of the geological formations being drilling through and the formulation of the drilling mud, a portion of the drilling mud may flow into one or more of the formations instead of returning up the annulus of the wellbore. In such cases, it can be difficult to adequately control pressures within wellbore since the hydrostatic load of the drilling fluid on the formation can be reduced below optimum levels. Furthermore, an increase of returned drilling fluid volume can sometimes occur, which may also be detrimental to the drill fluid characteristics. For example, the returned drilling fluid volume can increase due to the influx of liquids, gases, or both from the surrounding formation. In the event that the volume increase is due to additional liquid, then the mud weight can drop and the system used to control mud weight must make adjustments relatively quickly in order to maintain the proper pressure conditions within the well.
Accordingly, it is important to continuously monitor the flow rate of drilling fluid into the well versus the flow rate of the mixture of drilling fluid and drill cuttings, i.e., the drilling fluid mixture, back out of the well during the drilling operation so that the proper drilling environment, i.e., pressure and stability, is maintained within the wellbore. For example, when the flow rate of returned drilling fluid drops below the flow rate of drilling fluid into the well, the amount of drilling fluid pumped into the well can be increased in order to maintain the proper pressure gradient in the well. Additionally, in such cases the formulation of the drilling fluid can be adjusted to include so-called “lost circulation materials,” can reduce or even prevent the loss of drilling fluid into the surrounding formation by blocking and/or plugging porous areas in the walls of the wellbore. Accordingly, the ability to accurately monitor the flow rate of the returning drilling fluid in real time can often be an important aspect of an overall drilling operation.
In some prior art drilling applications, a “paddle wheel” type flow indicator is sometimes used to obtain an estimation of the flow rate of returned drilling fluid mixture through a flowline. In a paddle wheel type flow indicator, the paddle wheel—which typically consists of plurality of radial blades, or paddles, mounted on a rotating wheel—“floats” on the upper surface of the drilling fluid as the fluid flows through the flow line. In some cases, paddle wheel is mounted on a hinged support arm, which allows the paddle wheel to move up or down along an arc defined by the hinged support arm so that paddle wheel stays substantially on contact with the upper surface of the drilling fluid as the drilling fluid level changes within the flow line.
However, the prior art paddle wheel flow indicator has several limitations that are due at least in part to the fact that the paddle wheel, by design, only contacts the upper surface of the flowing drilling fluid. For example, since the paddle wheel normally floats along the upper surface of the drilling fluid as it flows through the flow line, it can only measure a surface velocity of the flowing drilling fluid, and not a true volumetric flow of the fluid. Furthermore, as drilling progresses during a typical drilling operation and drilling fluid and drill cuttings are returned from the wellbore, a bed of stationary drill cuttings may tend to build up, at least temporarily, in the bottom of the flow line, e.g., below the paddle wheel. Therefore, the accuracy of the paddle wheel flow indicator can be compromised as there is no way to accurately ascertain how much of the cross sectional area of the flow line has gradually become at least partially occluded by a bed of stationary drill cuttings that is sporadically present below the paddle wheel. Moreover, assuming that a substantially constant volumetric flow of returned drilling fluid is flowing through the flow line, the surface velocity of the drilling fluid—as measured by the paddle wheel—will gradually increase as the bed of stationary drill cuttings build up due to the partially occluded, i.e., reduced, flow area through which the returned drilling fluid flows.
This type of variation in the flow area of a flow can be further exacerbated during a common drilling operation known as a “sweep”. During the sweep operation, a relatively small amount of highly viscous fluid, or a relatively short term burst of a high volumetric fluid flow, is pumped down the well in order to “sweep” the well-bore clean of any drill cuttings that may have been too heavy to be carried up by the standard mud rheology. When this sweep of high viscosity or high flow rate fluid returns the surface, it is highly turbulent and carries a large amount of coarse particles. This fluid returning from the sweep operation also acts to rinse away the bed of stationary drill cuttings from the bottom of the flow line relatively quickly, thus causing a significant increase in the cross-section area that is available for flow. Accordingly, after the flow effects of the sweep operation have passed and normal operation resumes, there can often be a substantial decrease in the surface velocity of the flowing drilling fluid for any given value of volumetric flow, due at least in part to the temporary absence of the stationary bed of drill cuttings in the bottom of the flow line.
In view of the foregoing, there is a continuing need to accurately monitor and measure a flow of drilling fluid through a conduit during well drilling operations. The present disclosure is directed to various systems, methods, and apparatuses that may be used to address at least some of the issues and problems outlined above.
The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects disclosed herein. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of the subject matter disclosed here. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later.
In one illustrative embodiment, an apparatus includes a body having a central axis and a fluid inlet coupled to the body, wherein the fluid inlet is adapted to receive a flow of a fluid. The apparatus also includes, among other things, a fluid outlet that is also coupled to the body, wherein the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are substantially coaxially aligned so as to define a flow axis through the apparatus, and the flow axis is laterally offset from and perpendicular to the central axis of said body. Additionally, the illustrative apparatus further includes and a rotating blade assembly that is disposed within the body and includes a plurality of blades, wherein the rotating blade assembly is adapted to be controllably rotated about the central axis so as to control a fluid level of the flow of fluid entering the fluid inlet.
In another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is disclosed that includes, among other things, a body having a central axis, a fluid inlet coupled to the body, the fluid inlet being adapted to receive a flow of a fluid, and a fluid outlet coupled to the body. Additionally, the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are substantially coaxially aligned so as to define a flow axis through the apparatus, and the flow axis is laterally offset from and perpendicular to the central axis of the body. Furthermore, the disclosed apparatus also includes a sample outlet that is disposed on the body, and a rotating blade assembly disposed within the body, wherein the rotating blade assembly includes a plurality of blades and is adapted to receive a sample portion of the flow of fluid entering the fluid inlet and to discharge the received sample portion out of the apparatus through the sample outlet.
Also disclosed herein is an illustrative method of operating a flow apparatus that includes introducing a flow of a flow mixture to a fluid inlet of the flow apparatus, wherein the fluid inlet is coupled to a body of the flow apparatus and has a flow axis that is laterally offset from and substantially perpendicular to a central axis of the body. The method further includes, among other things, controlling a fluid level of the flow of the flow mixture introduced to the fluid inlet, wherein controlling the fluid level includes at least one of increasing the fluid level and decreasing the fluid level by controllably rotating a blade assembly that includes a plurality of blades and is disposed within the body about the central axis while flowing the flow of the flow mixture through the flow apparatus.
The disclosure may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:
While the subject matter disclosed herein is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Various illustrative embodiments of the present subject matter are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
The present subject matter will now be described with reference to the attached figures. Various systems, structures and devices are schematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation only and so as to not obscure the present disclosure with details that are well known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attached drawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples of the present disclosure. The words and phrases used herein should be understood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art, is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have a special meaning, i.e., a meaning other than that understood by skilled artisans, such a special definition will be expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional manner that directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for the term or phrase.
The subject matter disclosed herein is generally directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for obtaining samples of a fluid flowing through a conduit without direct reliance upon manual intervention by sampling personnel—e.g., automatic sampling. Furthermore, the disclosed apparatuses may also be used as part of a flow measurement system that is adapted to determine the flow rate of fluid through a conduit that is coupled to the apparatus. For example, in certain illustrative embodiments, the apparatus may include a rotating blade assembly that is adapted to sweep, that is, remove, a sample portion of the fluid from the conduit for testing. Additionally, the disclosed apparatus may be operated in such a manner that the rotational velocity of the rotating blade assembly may be substantially proportional to the flow rate of fluid flowing through the conduit. Moreover, in at least some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatuses may be configured so that both the automatic sampling operation and the flow measurement operation are performed substantially simultaneously.
In the description set forth below, the various illustrative embodiments of the fluid sampling and flow measurement apparatus 100 shown in
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
In the illustrative embodiment depicted in
As shown in
One or both of the fluid inlet 114 and the fluid outlet 116 may be integrally formed with the body 112, the upper portion 118, or the lower portion 120. Furthermore, either one or both of the fluid inlet and outlet 114, 116 may be separately constructed and thereafter coupled to the body 112 via welding, brazing, mechanical fasteners, and the like, as previously described.
In at least some illustrative embodiments, one or more sensors 119 may be coupled to the fluid inlet 114. For example, as shown in
As shown in illustrative embodiments of
In certain embodiments, e.g., wherein the apparatus 100 is a fluid sampling apparatus 100 that is used to obtain a sample of a fluid flowing through a conduit, a sample outlet 128 may be disposed at the bottom end of the lower shell portion 120. In some exemplary configuration, the sample outlet 128 may be substantially coaxially aligned with the central axis 129 of the body 112. As illustrated in
In other illustrative embodiments, e.g., wherein the apparatus 100 is not used to obtain a sample of a fluid flowing through a conduit, the apparatus 100 may not include a sample outlet nozzle 127 and/or a sample outlet 128. Instead, the lower shell 120 may have a substantially flat bottom plate defining the lower boundary of the body 112, similar to the substantially flat top plate 118t defining the upper boundary of the body 112. In such embodiments, the apparatus may be substantially operated so as to function as a flow meter, i.e., a flow measurement apparatus 100, as will be further described below.
Referring back to
As is shown in
As shown in the exemplary embodiments depicted in
For example, in order to reduce and/or prevent fluid bypass, the blades 134 may be sized and configured so as to provide a substantially minimal gap between the edges 134e and the inner surfaces 118s and 120s. In at least some embodiments, the gap between the edges 134e and the inner surfaces 118s and 120s may be approximately ¼″ or even less, such as approximately ⅛″. Furthermore, in such embodiments, the edges 134e may be hard faced, such as with additional weld-deposited material or tungsten carbide tiles and the like, so as to reduce and/or eliminate inordinate wear of the blades 134 and/or the adjacent inner surfaces 118s and 120s. In other embodiments, such as configurations wherein the gap between the edges 134e and the inner surfaces 118s and 120s may be greater than approximately ¼″, flexible wiper material (not shown), such as neoprene or urethane and the like, may be attached along the edges 134e of each blade 134. In such embodiments, the flexible wiper material may thus span the blade edge 134e gap during blade assembly 130 rotation so as to flexibly contact the inner surfaces 118s and 120s, thereby acting to substantially reduce fluid bypass during operation of the fluid sampling and flow measurement apparatus 100, as noted above.
As shown in
In at least some illustrative embodiments, the configuration of the upper chamber cover plate 139u may be adapted to substantially conform to the shape and curvature of the inner surface 118s of the upper shell portion 118, as was previously described with respect to the outer edges 134e of the blades 134. Similarly, the lower chamber cover plate 139L may also be configured so as to substantially conform to the shape and curvature of the inner surface 120s of the lower shell portion 120.
In certain embodiments, each sample chamber 136 may also include a chamber inlet 138 that is adapted to allow a sample portion of the fluid flowing through the sampling apparatus 100 to enter the chamber 136 and a chamber outlet 142 that is adapted to discharge the sample portion out of the chamber 136 and through the sample outlet 128. In some embodiments, the chamber inlet 138 may be positioned on the leading side of the sample chamber 136—that is, on the front side of the chamber 136 in the direction of blade assembly 130 rotation and fluid flow through the apparatus 100 (as described in further detail below)—and may have any size, shape, and configuration that may be necessary to allow the desired volume of fluid to enter the sample chamber 136.
For example, as shown in the exemplary embodiment of the rotating blade assembly 130 depicted in
The chamber outlet 142 may be disposed at the bottom of the sample chamber 136, as shown in
Referring now to
In at least one exemplary embodiment, each of the plurality of blades 134, including the blades 134 and/or chamber inlet blades 134i that define the sides of the sample chambers 136, may have a substantially equal angular spacing. In other words, the angular spacing 136c between the blades 134 and/or 134i that define the sides of the sample chambers 136 may be substantially the same as the angular spacing 134c between each of the remaining blades 134. However, in other embodiments, the angular spacing 136c may be greater than or less than the angular spacing 134c, depending on the design and operating parameters of the sampling apparatus 100, such as the characteristics of the fluid flowing through the apparatus 100, and the like. For example, the angular spacing 136c between the blades 134 and/or 134i that define the sides of the sample chambers 136 may be established based on the required volumetric size of the fluid sample obtained from the apparatus 100 during operation, e.g., a smaller angular spacing 136c for smaller sample sizes and a larger angular spacing 136c for larger sample sizes.
In other exemplary embodiments, the angular spacing 134c may not be uniform between each adjacent pair of blades 134, but instead may be adjusted based on other design parameters of the apparatus 100, such as the proximity of a given blade 134 to a given sample chamber 136. Similarly, in those illustrative embodiments wherein two or more sample chambers 136 are included in the rotating blade assembly 130, the angular spacing 136c between the blades 134 and/or 134i defining each given sample chamber 136—and the corresponding the size of that sample chamber 136—may also be different, as required.
In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the center shaft 132 may be coupled to the rotatable shaft 124 (see,
As can be seen in
For example, as is shown
In certain embodiments, the flow restriction created by the first blade 134a on the fluid flowing through the apparatus 100 gradually increases as the first blade 134a sweeps across the flow axis 113 and reaches its greatest at the point where the first blade 134a is substantially perpendicular to the flow axis 113. After the first blade 134a rotates beyond the perpendicular point relative to the flow axis 113, the flow restriction through the apparatus 100 cause by the first blade 134a gradually decreases until the first blade 134a sweeps out of the flow window between the fluid inlet 114 and the fluid outlet 116. However, as the rotating blade assembly 130 continues to rotate around the central axis 129, a second blade 134b rotates into position behind the first blade 134a and acts to gradually increase and then gradually decrease the flow restriction through the apparatus 100 in similar fashion to the first blade 134a as described above.
As is shown
Therefore, in certain illustrative embodiments, the rotating blade assembly 130 may be adapted to separate a controlled volume of fluid, i.e., sample portion, from the flow of fluid through a conduit, e.g., the flow line 103 shown in
During operation of the fluid sampling and flow measurement apparatus 100, the rotating blade assembly 130 is rotated by the drive motor 126 so as to bring chamber inlet 138 adjacent to the substantially horizontally oriented side 120h of the lower shell portion 120, that is, at or near the bottom of the body 112 when the apparatus 100 is oriented at the sampling angle 129a, as shown in
As the rotating blade assembly 130 continues to rotate, the sample chamber 136 may then be rotated up and away from its position adjacent to the substantially horizontal side 120h of the lower shell portion 120 at the bottom of the body 112. Furthermore, during this sample chamber 136 upward rotation, a gravity-assisted discharge of the fluid sample commences through the chamber outlet 142, into the sample outlet nozzle 127, and out of the apparatus through the sample outlet 128. Eventually, the sample chamber 136 is rotated upward until the chamber inlet is adjacent to the substantially vertically oriented side 120v of the lower shell portion 120 and the sample chamber is positioned substantially above the sample outlet nozzle 127 and the sample outlet 128. With the sample chamber 136 in this position adjacent to the vertically oriented side and above the sample outlet 128, the gravity-assisted discharge of the sample fluid portion from the sample chamber 136 through sample outlet 128 may be substantially maximized.
As is further illustrated in
In many drilling fluid circulation systems, the flow line 203 is generally not completely full of the drilling fluid 202, as may normally be the case when liquids that are pumped through a flow line under high pressures. Instead, under the gravity-assisted flow regime that is commonly used to circulate drilling fluids, the depth 202d of the drilling fluid 202 as it flows through the flow line 203 may only be between approximately ⅓ to ½ of the flow line diameter, and the remaining volume of the flow line 203 is substantially ambient pressure.
As noted above with respect to
In a first case, the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 may be such that the blades 134 and sample chambers 136 sweep along the flow axis 113 at a speed that is less than the flow speed of the drilling fluid 102 through the flow line 103. As noted with respect to the prior art flow line system 203 depicted in
In a second case, the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 may be such that the blades 134 and sample chambers 136 sweep along the flow axis 113 at a speed that is greater than the flow speed of the drilling fluid 102 through the flow line 103. In such cases, the sweeping action of the relatively faster moving blades 134 and/or sample chambers 136 may act to “pump” the drilling fluid downstream of the flow measurement apparatus 100, such as in a manner that is similar to, for example, a centrifugal pump and the like. Therefore, the depth (i.e., level) of the flow 101 of drilling fluid 102 entering the apparatus 100 from upstream may tend to decrease over time as the drilling fluid 102 is swept, or “pumped,” downstream. Furthermore, the downstream depth of the flow 101 of drilling fluid 102 may also decrease over time, and will generally be greater than the upstream depth.
Finally, in a third case, the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 may be such that the blades 134 and sample chambers 136 sweep along the flow axis 113 at a speed that is substantially the same as the flow speed of the drilling fluid 102 through the flow line 103. In such cases, the depth (i.e., level) of the flow 101 of drilling fluid 102 inside of the flow line 103 that is entering the flow measurement apparatus 100 from upstream may tend to remain substantially constant over time, since the rotating blade assembly 130 is being operated to allow the drilling fluid 102 to move through the apparatus 100 at a substantially constant speed, i.e., with minimal flow restriction. Additionally, the depth of the flow 101 of drilling fluid 102 downstream of the apparatus 100 may also remain substantially constant, and furthermore may also be substantially the same as the upstream depth.
In view of the above-described three different relative angular velocity regimes under which the rotating blade assembly 130 may be operated, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in art after a complete reading of the present disclosure that, in those embodiments wherein the rotating blade assembly 130 is rotated at an angular velocity such that the depth (i.e., level) of the flow 101 of drilling fluid 102 upstream of the apparatus 100 is substantially constant, then the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 can be considered to be substantially directly proportional to the flow speed of the drilling fluid 102 through the flow line 103 and the apparatus 100. Furthermore, since the geometry (i.e., the inside diameter) of the flow line 103 is known, the volumetric flow rate of the drilling fluid 102 flowing through the flow line 103 may be quantitatively determined based upon the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 and the actual depth of the drilling fluid 102 inside of the flow line 103 and upstream of the apparatus 100. In this way, the apparatus 100 may be operated to substantially function as a flow meter, i.e., a flow measurement apparatus 100.
Various illustrative methods that may be used to operate the apparatus 100 as a flow meter will now be described in conjunction with
In operation, the sensor data obtained by one or more of the sensors 119a/b (and/or the sensors 120a/b) on the drilling fluid 102 as is flows into and/or out of the apparatus 100 may be used by the control system 106 to control the operation of the drive motor 126 based on the specific desired operating regime. For example, in those illustrative embodiments wherein external changes to the drilling conditions may cause the flow rate in the flow line 103 upstream of apparatus 100 to decrease, the sensors 119a/b will operate to obtain data relevant to the decreased flow and transmit the obtained data to the control system 106. Based on the data transmitted by the sensors 119a/b, the control system 106 will respond to increase the depth (i.e., level) of drilling fluid 102 upstream of the apparatus 100 by controlling the drive motor 126 so as to reduce the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130, which may thus create a greater flow restriction through the apparatus 100, thereby increasing the depth of the flow 101 of drilling fluid 102 upstream of the apparatus 100.
Similarly, when changes in the drilling conditions cause the flow rate of the returned drilling fluid flowing through the flow line 103 to increase, the sensors 119a/b will operate to detect an increase in fluid level upstream of the apparatus 100, and the control system 106 will respond to the increased level data detected by the sensors 119a/b by controlling the drive motor 126 so as to increase the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130. In other words, the control system 106 may use relevant sensor data obtained by the sensors 119a/b (and or 120a/b) to control the drive motor 126 such that the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 is either periodically or substantially continuously adjusted up and/or down as the fluid flow through the flow line 103 changes with changing drilling conditions so that the depth (i.e., level) of the drilling fluid 102 upstream of the apparatus 100 remains substantially constant. In this way, the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 will be directly proportional to the flow rate of fluid in the partially filled flow line 103.
In at least one illustrative operating regime of the apparatus 100, the depth 102a of the drilling fluid 102 flowing through the flow line 103 to the apparatus 100 may initially be substantially the same as the fluid depth 202d of the drilling fluid 202 flowing through the prior art system of
In at least one embodiment, the control system 106 may be used to initially reduce the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 for only a limited amount of time, such that a pool 104 of drilling fluid 102 is formed upstream of the apparatus 100, that extends for a distance 105 and has a maximum depth 102b. Thereafter, the control system 106 may be used to maintain the depth 102b of drilling fluid 102 upstream of the apparatus 100 at a substantially constant level by controlling, either periodically or substantially continuously, the rotational speed of the drive motor 126 based on the sensor data obtained by the sensors 119a/b (and/or 120a/b) as previously described. In this way, the angular velocity of the rotating blade assembly 130 may be adjusted so that the depth 102b immediately upstream of the apparatus 100 remains substantially constant, and the flow rate of the drilling fluid 102 through the apparatus 100 can therefore be determined on substantially a real-time basis from the angular velocity of the blade assembly 130. In certain embodiments, the increased depth 102b of the drilling fluid 102 upstream of the apparatus 100 may tend to increase the level of overall flow control accuracy of the apparatus 100, which may thus provide an increased degree accuracy for the subsequently determined flow rate through the apparatus 100.
In at least some embodiments, as the rotating blade assembly 130 is rotated during operation, each of the blades 134 may pass through and across substantially the entire projected flow path that is defined between the fluid inlet 114 and the fluid outlet 116, that is, the blades 134 may sweep across substantially the full width and full height of the flow path through the apparatus 100. Due to this substantially complete sweeping motion of the blades 134, together with the previously noted close fit between the edges 134e of the blades 134 and the inside surfaces 118s/120s of the body 112, and/or the use of wipers (not shown) affixed to each blade 134, the build-up of a bed of stationary drill cuttings along the horizontally oriented bottom side 120h of the apparatus 100 may be substantially prevented. In this way, drill cuttings that normally tend to settle out of the fluid flow at the bottom the bottom of the conduit (e.g., the flow line 103 shown in
The above-described subject matter therefore discloses various systems, methods, and apparatuses that may be used to determine the flow rate of a fluid flowing through a conduit, such as, for example, a drilling fluid flow through a flow line of a drilling fluid circulation system. Furthermore, the present subject matter also discloses systems, methods, and apparatuses that may be used to automatically obtain samples of a fluid flowing through a conduit, e.g., a drilling fluid through a flow line.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. For example, in at least some embodiments, the method steps set forth above may be performed in a different order. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61774367 | Mar 2013 | US |
