The present invention relates to a slurry removal system. In particular, the present invention relates to a slurry removal system that uses an eddy pump to homogenize a mixture of liquid and solid material.
In conventional drilling, drill cuttings that are generated post drilling operations, which are pumped up and out through the center of the drill. The drill cuttings can include shavings, soil bits, under-earth mud and soil deposits etc. These cuttings need to be treated before being moved elsewhere, because they are mixed with fluids like diesel fuel and mud drilling fluid.
It has been found that excavator size makes it difficult to scoop the cuttings out of a tank without disturbing other assemblies and structures, since the tank generally forms a tight work area. Thus it is an expensive, inefficient, and hazardous procedure using excavators. Further, the excavators process is cumbersome and takes significant time with many excavator trips, in order to empty the tank.
In view of the state of the known technology, one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a slurry removal system that includes a tank, an eddy pump and a pipe system. The tank is configured to receive a mixture of solid material and liquid. The eddy pump has a pump inlet connected to the tank and a pump outlet. The pipe system is connected to the pump outlet and including a discharge line and a recirculation line. The eddy pump is configured to pump the mixture of solid material and liquid from the tank through the pump inlet to the recirculation line to form an essentially homogeneous mixture, and configured to pump the essentially homogeneous mixture from the tank through the pump inlet to the discharge line to remove the homogeneous mixture from the tank.
Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method of removing slurry. The method comprises depositing a mixture of solid material and liquid into a tank, and pumping the mixture of solid material and liquid with an eddy pump having a pump inlet connected to the tank and a pump outlet through a pipe system connected to the pump outlet and including a discharge line and a recirculation line. The eddy pump pumps the mixture of solid material and liquid from the tank through the pump inlet to the recirculation line to form an essentially homogeneous mixture when the recirculation line is in an open state, and pumps the essentially homogeneous mixture from the tank through the pump inlet to the discharge line to remove the homogeneous mixture from the tank when the discharge line is in an open state.
The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings.
Selected embodiments will now be explained with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the following descriptions of the embodiments are provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Referring initially to
As shown in
The pump 14 can be an eddy pump, for example, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/176,495, filed Oct. 31, 2018 and entitled Eddy Pump, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
As discussed, the pump 14 can be disposed on the pump deck 40 and is in communication with the tank 12. As shown in
As shown in
The rotor 46 includes a back plate 54, a conical center portion (hub) 56 and a plurality of blades 58. The rotor 46 can be cast, molded, forged, machined, or formed in any suitable manner. Thus, the back plate 54, the conical center portion 56 and the plurality of blades 58 can be formed as a unitary one-piece member. The rotor 46 can be an alloy, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, zinc, bronze, rubber, plastic or any other suitable material or combination of materials. Moreover, it is noted that the rotor 46 can be any suitable mater or design. Thus, while the rotor 46 is preferable a unitary one-piece member, the rotor 46 can be formed from in multiple steps or by multiple pieces that are assembled in any suitable manner.
In one embodiment, the back plate 54 is a generally circular plate having a first side (defining a first planar surface) 54a, a second side (defining a second planar surface) 54b and an outer circumferential edge 60. The first or upper side 54a faces the interior of the housing 44 and has a protrusion or shaft 63 extending therefrom. The protrusion 62 is connected to or connectable to a drive shaft from the drive motor 42. The second side 54b has the plurality of blades 58 disposed thereon. As shown in
As shown in
The conical center portion 56 helps hydraulically by causing suction which enables the fluid to flow inside the housing 44 smoothly from the inlet 50 and facilitates laminar movement towards the outlet or end of the rotor 46 and subsequently to the discharge. This induction of laminar flow aids in reduction of eddy currents and recirculation inside the housing 44, increasing pump efficiency. The size of the conical center portion 56 (length, diameter, and angle) can depend on the particle size, allowing better clearances of the particles, as long as laminar flow can be maintained towards the discharge. The conical center portion 56 also helps create better eddy current from the suction to the inlet 50 of the rotor 46 while preventing turbulence at higher flow rates than the best efficiency point allowing the pump 14 a flow rate 140% of the design best efficiency point. The size of the cone can be reduced or increased to control power consumption.
As shown in
The first longitudinal side and a second longitudinal side of the blades 58 are opposite each other. The first and second longitudinal sides extend in the longitudinal direction, generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rotor 46 and taper away from each other in the radial direction. That is, as shown in
In one embodiment, each of the blades 58 tapers upwardly from the peripheral edge of the back plate 54 to the conical center portion 56. The bottom surface of each blade 58 extends from a first end to a second end. The first end is adjacent the conical center portion 56 and the second end is adjacent to the outer surface. The second end preferably is higher than the first end when measured from the second side 54b of the back plate 54. For example, in one embodiment, the first end is approximately 3.17 inches from the back plate and the second end is 5 inches from the back plate. However, it is noted that the first and second ends can be any suitable distance from the back plate. Moreover, if the size of the rotor 46 is changed the change in heights of the first and second longitudinal ends can change accordingly. That is, in this embodiment the difference in the heights of the first and second ends is about 58 percent. In other words, the height of the second end is 58 percent higher than the height of the first end.
The outer surface of the blades 58 can be seen in at least
Additionally, the bottom surface of the blades 58 forms an angle of 75 degrees with the outer surface and an angle of about 15 degrees with a line parallel to the second side 54b of the back plate 54. This tapering results in the conical center portion 56 having a height from the second side 54b of the back plate 54 that is greater than the height of the first end and less than the height of the second end. Thus, in one embodiment, the conical center portion 56 has a height of 4.27 inches. Thus, as can be understood, the height of the conical center portion 56 is about 83 percent of the height of the second end and about 38 percent greater than the height of the first end. However, the height of the conical center portion 56 can be any suitable height.
Thus, as can be understood, the height of each of the blades 58 increases from the center of the rotor 46 towards the outside diameter or the peripheral edge of the back plate 54, on the suction side of the rotor 46. This structure enhances the eddy currents for improved suction of fluid and creates clearance for larger particle sizes. The rotor blade height at outside diameter is kept close to the height of the discharge or the diameter of the discharge so as to be capable of pushing fluids directly into the discharge. This configuration reduces leakage, recirculation, and pressure losses. The tapering blade height also helps reduce the torque, and thus reduce the power consumed versus uniform blade height from center to outer diameter. The outer blade height can also be varied in proportion to the outlet diameter of the housing 44, keeping the dimensions similar if desired.
As shown in
A rotor having five blades is the preferable number of blades to reduce eddy current formation and recirculation between the rotor blades. It has been found that too few blades can cause turbulence and may not enable higher flow rates to create the required pressure differential. Too many blades may reduce clearances prohibiting larger size particles from passing through the pump 14 and may reduce fluid volume allowable for ideal flow rate. However, the rotor 46 can have any suitable number of blades that will enable some flow with a suitable amount and size of particles to pass through the housing 44.
Embodiments described herein reduce Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) because the embodiments can handle lower suction pressures and subsequent cavitation significantly better due to smoother streamlines relative the conventional systems. This improves the suction performance of the pump 14 and reduces the chances of cavitation and pump damage.
As can be understood, embodiments of the pumps described herein do not rely on the centrifugal principle of conventional pumps. Instead of a low tolerance impeller of a conventional pump, the pumps described herein use a specific geometric, recessed rotor 46 to create a vortex of fluid or slurry like that of a tornado. That is, the Eddy Pump 14 operates on the tornado principle. The tornado formed by the Eddy Pump 14 and the rotor 46 generates a very strong, synchronized central column of flow from the pump rotor to the pump inlet 50 and creates a low-pressure reverse eddy flow from the pump inlet 50 to the pump discharge. This action also results in an area of negative pressure near the pump seal. The negative pressure allows the pump 14 to achieve zero leakage.
Further open rotor design described herein has high tolerances that enable any substance that enters the intake to be passed through the discharge without issues. This translates to a significant amount of solids and debris that passes through without clogging the pump 14. In one embodiment, the pump 14 is capable of pumping up to 70% solids by weight and/or slurries with high viscosity and high specific gravity.
The configuration of the rotor 46 so as to be recessed also creates eddy current that keeps abrasive material away from critical pump components. This structure improves pump life and reduces pump wear.
The tolerance between the rotor 46 and the housing 44 easily allows the passage of a large objects significantly greater than that of a centrifugal pump. For example, in a 2-inch to 10-inch Eddy Pump 14 the tolerance ranges from 1-9 inches. Thus, this type of pump is preferably for pumping the solid materials from the drilling operation.
The embodiments described herein can have additional advantages, such as low maintenance, minimal downtime, low ownership costs and no need for steel high-pressure pipeline.
Since the Eddy Pump 14 is based on the principle of Tornado Motion of liquid as a synchronized swirling column along the center of intake pipe that induces agitated mixing of solid particles with liquid, suction strong enough for solid particles to travel upwards into the housing or volute 44 and generating pressure differential for desired discharge is created. This eddy current is formed by the pressure differential caused by the rotor 46 and strengthened by turbulent flow patterns in the housing or volute 44 and suction tube. Eddy currents are strengthened by the presence of solid particles which increase the inertial forces in the fluid. The formation of the eddy depends on the suspended solid particles that causes suction. Unlike conventional vortex pumps, the rotor 46 directly drives the fluid through the pump 14 with no slip. The Eddy Pump 14 uses the movement of particles and the wake induced from these solid particles to generate Eddy Current and induce suction. Hence, efficiency is 7-10% better than conventional vortex pumps, with respect to horsepower. The eddy current generated by the Eddy Pump 14 ensures steady movement of the mixture that leads to excellent non-clumping capabilities and the power to pump a very high concentration of solids, up to 70% by weight, and highly viscous fluids.
As shown in
As shown in the schematic illustration in
Taken individually, the shakers 16, centrifuge 18 and water jet guns 20 are conventional components that are well known in the art. Since individually, the shakers 16, centrifuge 18 and water jet guns 20 are well known in the art, these structures will not be discussed or illustrated in further detail herein. Rather, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the components can be any type of structure that can be used to carry out the present invention.
As shown in
Thus, as illustrated in
Additionally, the boom arm 26 can couple to a pipe the leads the reserve pit (see
As shown in
A connecting line 83 is disposed between the pressurized line 84 from the reserve pit 22 and the recirculation line 72. A valve 86 can be disposed in the connecting line 83. The pressurized line 84 from the reserve pit 22 is at a high pressure and can operate the water jet guns 20 and the centrifuge 18 as described herein. A flush line 86 for the slurry extends from the second pipe 76 to the connecting pipe 83. Thus, as can be understood, in one embodiment the pipe system 24 includes first pipe 70, recirculation line 72, second pipe 76, piping 78, connecting line 83, pressurized line 84, flush line 87 and any valves, connectors, lines or other pipes and/or structures necessary or desired.
As can be understood, during a drilling operation, solid material and fluid are formed. The solid material and fluid pass through the shakers 16 and then the solid material can be deposited in the tank 12. Some fluid can also be deposited in the tank 12 and/or fluid can already be disposed in the tank 12. The water jet guns 20 and the centrifuges 18 can be employed to break up the solid material and/or separate the materials. As discussed herein, the reserve pit pump 22a and the flush line 87 can be operated at this time to pressurize the flush line 87 and operate the water jet guns 20 and the centrifuge 18.
When the cuttings reach a 2 foot level in the tank 12 the pump 14 can be activated. As shown in
Once the slurry in the tank 12 reaches a 3 foot level, the valve 80 can be opened and the valve 74 can be closed. The slurry is pumped from the tank 12 to the reserve pit 22 until the tank 12 is empty. At this time, the valve 86 can be opened and flush water can be added to clean the recirculation line 72 and aid in the slurry cuttings for ease of pumping to the reserve pit 22. This process can be performed for about 15 seconds or any other suitable time.
After this process is completed, the valve 86 can be closed. When the tank 12 is empty, the valve 74 opens and the valve 80 closes. The valve 88 is also opened and water can be flushed down the flush line 87 for about one minute (or any other suitable time) to ensure the line 87 is flushed and the solid material is cleaned. The tank 12 can then be reloaded the process repeated.
It is noted that while many of the steps described herein can be performed manually, the process can also the automatic. That is, the described system 10 can include sensors 90 that detect the level of material in the tank 12 and a computer control system 92 that opens and closes the valves at the proper timing and levels. Moreover, any portion or portions of the system 10 described herein can be manual and/or automated and/or a combination thereof
In other words, the system 10 can include an computer control system or electronic controller 92 that controls and operates the entire system 10 automatically. As can be understood, in such a system 10, the electronic controller 92 preferably includes a microcomputer with a control program that controls the pumps 14, valves 74, 80, 86, 88 and boom arm 26 as discussed above. The electronic controller 92 can also include other conventional components such as an input interface circuit, an output interface circuit, a graphical user interface (GUI) and storage devices such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) device and a RAM (Random Access Memory) device. The microcomputer of the electronic controller 92 is programmed to control the pumps 14, valves 74, 80, 86, 88 and boom arm 26. The electronic controller 92 is operatively coupled to the pumps 14, valves 74, 80, 86, 88 and boom arm 26 in a conventional manner. The internal RAM of the electronic controller 92 stores statuses of operational flags and various control data. The electronic controller 92 is capable of selectively controlling any of the components of the system 10 in accordance with the control program. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the precise structure and algorithms for the electronic controller 92 can be any combination of hardware and software that will carry out the functions of the present invention.
Referring now to
Additionally, as shown in
Moreover, the suction system can be in communication with the electronic controller 92 discussed herein and the valves 124 can be automatically or manually operated, as desired.
Referring now to
In this embodiment, the slurry removal system 210 includes a pump system 214 that includes a plurality of eddy pumps 14 (e.g., first eddy pump 14a and second eddy pump 14b). As can be understood, the pumps can work in combination or separately alone.
In this embodiment, as shown in
As illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Thus, as can be understood, once the material M has been deposited into the tank, the operator can lift the end of the tank that is distal relative to the outlet of the tank using the control panel. The operator can then open the required valves (either manually or automatically through the control panel) to operate the jets and send the material M to the boom or to the reservoir pit. The operator can then operate the pump system to move the material M to the desired location.
The embodiments described herein can remove and/or store oil drillings in a safe, efficient and economic manner. Further, the use of the automated valve system can prevent or reduce clogging of the valves and enable an operator to operate the valves from a safe distance.
In understanding the scope of the present invention, the term “comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to be open ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not exclude the presence of other unstated features, components, groups, integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words having similar meanings such as the terms, “including”, “having” and their derivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “portion,” “member” or “element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single part or a plurality of parts.
The term “detect” as used herein to describe an operation or function carried out by a component, a section, a device or the like includes a component, a section, a device or the like that does not require physical detection, but rather includes determining, measuring, modeling, predicting or computing or the like to carry out the operation or function.
The term “configured” as used herein to describe a component, section or part of a device includes hardware and/or software that is constructed and/or programmed to carry out the desired function.
The terms of degree such as “about” and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed.
While only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the size, shape, location, or orientation of the various components can be changed as needed and/or desired. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting each other can have intermediate structures disposed between them. The functions of one element can be performed by two, and vice versa. The structures and functions of one embodiment can be adopted in another embodiment. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is unique from the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, also should be considered a separate description of further inventions by the applicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodied by such features. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments according to the present invention are provided for illustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.