Controller assembly for simultaneously managing multiple engine/pump assemblies to perform shared work

• US 10,415,557 B1
• Filed: 11/15/2013
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tucson Embedded Systems Inc., Turbine Powered Technology, LLC
• Original Assignee: Tucson Embedded Systems Inc.
• Inventors: Crowe, David, Crom, Elden
• Primary Examiner(s): Plakkoottam, Dominick L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tremarche, Connor J
• Application Number:
  US14/081,048
• Time in Patent Office: 2,132 Days
• Field of Search: 417 2
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/00 Plural gas-turbine plants; Combinations of gas-turbine plants with other apparatus; Adaptations of gas-turbine plants for special use
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/02 Plural gas-turbine plants having a common power output
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/00 Controlling gas-turbine plants; Controlling fuel supply in air- breathing jet-propulsion plants controlling air intakes F02C7/057; controlling turbines F01D; controlling compressors F04D27/00; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/18 by bleeding, bypassing or acting on variable working fluid interconnections between turbines or compressors or their stages F02C3/113 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/22 by adjusting turbine vanes
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/26 Control of fuel supply F02C9/48 takes precedence; fuel valves F02C7/232
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 9/42 specially adapted for the control of two or more plants simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 17/00 Pumps characterised by combination with, or adaptation to, specific driving engines or motors
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2201/12 Parameters of driving or driven means
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2205/05 Pressure after the pump outlet
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 23/04 Combinations of two or more pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/06 Control using electricity regulating by means of floats actuating electric switches F04B49/04
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 13/02 Units comprising pumps and their driving means
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0066 by changing the speed, e.g. of the driving engine
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/021 to prevent overspeed
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2270/06 to match engine to driven device
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 9/04 Control effected upon non-electric prime mover and dependent upon electric output value of the generator

Abstract

A pumping system includes a pump array of multiple pump-engine assemblies. Each pump-engine assembly comprises a pump and a gas turbine engine driving the pump. A manifold is coupled to the pumps. A master controller is coupled to each of the pump-engine assemblies either directly or via one or more intermediate controllers. The master controller and any intermediate controllers are collectively programmed to respond to user input including a desired hydraulic output at the manifold by automatically calculating and applying inputs to the individual pump-engine assemblies to provide the desired hydraulic output.

Claims

1. A pumping system, comprising:

a pump array comprising multiple pump-engine assemblies, each pump-engine assembly comprising a pump and a gas turbine engine driving the pump, where each of the pumps is coupled to a manifold;

for each pump-engine assembly, at least one pump-engine assembly sensor coupled to one or more of the following;

an output of the gas turbine engine, an output of the pump;

a manifold sensor coupled to the manifold to measure hydraulic output at the manifold;

multiple sub-controllers each connected to a different one of the pump-engine assemblies; and

a master controller coupled to a user interface, to each of the sub-controllers, and to the manifold sensor, the master controller programmed to perform operations responsive to receiving a user specified hydraulic output target via the user interface, said operations comprising;

computing a pump-engine assembly output target for each pump-engine assembly that would collectively produce a hydraulic output of the user specified hydraulic output target at the manifold as measured by the manifold sensor;

providing the computed pump-engine assembly output targets to the sub-controllers;

where each sub-controller is programmed to perform operations responsive to receiving one of the computed pump-engine assembly output targets from the master controller, said operations comprising;

computing combustion inputs that would cause the gas turbine engine of the pump-engine assembly connected to the sub-controller to produce an output of the received pump-engine assembly output target as measured by the pump-engine assembly sensor;

providing the computed combustion inputs to the gas turbine engine.

2. The pumping system of claim 1, where the user specified hydraulic output target is free from any details of configuration and operation of the pump-engine assemblies.

3. The pumping system of claim 1, where the master controller and the sub-controllers comprise different subcomponents of a machine, a computing device, or a circuit.

4. The pumping system of claim 1,

where each of the pump-engine assembly output sensors provides an output including at least the following:

(a) measurement of mechanical output including temperature, speed, and torque of the pump-engine assembly'"'"'s gas turbine engine, and (b) measurement of hydraulic output including pressure and flow rate produced by the pump-engine assembly'"'"'s pump; and

where the manifold sensor provides an output including at least measurements of pressure and flow rate at the manifold.

5. The pumping system of claim 1,

where the master controller is programmed such the computing operation comprises applying a proportional-integral-differential control loop having operational parameters including the measured hydraulic output at the manifold;

where each of the sub-controllers is programmed such that the computing comprises applying a proportional-integral-differential control loop with operational parameters including the measured output of the gas turbine engine and the measured output of the pump.

6. The pumping system of claim 1, where the master controller is programmed to operate each pump-engine assembly independently of other pump-engine assemblies.

7. The pumping system of claim 1, where the pump array and master controller provide a black box permitting an operator to specify output comprising manifold flow characteristics without specifying any inputs required to produce the specified manifold flow characteristics.

8. A control system programmed to manage a pumping system comprising a pump array including multiple pump-engine assemblies, each pump-engine assembly comprising a pump and a gas turbine engine driving the pump;

for each pump-engine assembly, at least one pump-engine assembly sensor coupled to one or more of the following;

an output of the gas turbine engine, an output of the pump;

a manifold coupled to the pumps;

a manifold sensor coupled to the manifold to measure hydraulic output at the manifold;

the control system comprising;

multiple sub-controllers, each connected to a different one of the pump-engine assemblies; and

a master controller coupled to a user interface, to each of the sub-controllers, and to the manifold sensor, the master controller programmed to perform operations responsive to receiving a user specified hydraulic output target via the user interface, said operations comprising;

computing a pump-engine assembly output target for each pump-engine assembly that would collectively produce a hydraulic output of the user specified hydraulic output target at the manifold as measured by the manifold sensor;

providing the computed pump-engine assembly output targets to the sub-controllers;

where each sub-controller is programmed to perform operations responsive to receiving one of the computed pump-engine assembly output targets from the master controller, said operations comprising;

computing combustion inputs that would cause the gas turbine engine of the pump-engine assembly connected to the sub-controller to produce an output of the received pump-engine assembly output target as measured by the pump-engine assembly sensor;

providing the computed combustion inputs to the gas turbine engine.

9. The control system of claim 8, where the master controller and the sub-controllers comprise different subcomponents of a machine, a computing device, or a circuit.

10. A method of managing a pumping system comprising a pump array including multiple pump-engine assemblies, each pump-engine assembly comprising a pump and a gas turbine engine driving the pump;

for each pump-engine assembly, at least one pump-engine assembly sensor coupled to one or more of the following;

an output of the gas turbine engine, an output of the pump;

a manifold coupled to the pumps;

a manifold sensor coupled to the manifold to measure hydraulic output at the manifold;

multiple sub-controllers, each connected to a different one of the pump-engine assemblies; and

a master controller coupled to a user interface and to each of the sub-controllers and to the manifold sensor;

the method comprising machine-implemented operations of;

operating the master controller to perform operations including receiving a user specified hydraulic output target via the user interface, computing a pump-engine assembly output target for each pump-engine assembly that would collectively produce a hydraulic output of the user specified hydraulic output target at the manifold as measured by the manifold sensor, and providing the computed pump-engine assembly output targets to the sub-controllers;

operating each of the sub-controllers to perform operations including receiving one of the computed pump-engine assembly output targets from the master controller, computing combustion inputs that would cause the gas turbine engine of the pump-engine assembly connected to the sub-controller to produce an output of the received pump-engine assembly output target as measured by the pump-engine assembly sensor, and providing the computed combustion inputs to the gas turbine engine.

11. The method of claim 10, where the user specified hydraulic output target is free from any details of configuration and operation of the pump-engine assemblies.

12. The method of claim 10,

where the operations further comprise:

each of the pump-engine assembly output sensors providing an output including at least the following;

(a) measurement of mechanical output including temperature, speed, and torque of the pump-engine assembly'"'"'s gas turbine engine, and (b) measurement of hydraulic output including pressure and flow rate produced by the pump-engine assembly'"'"'s pump; and

the manifold sensor providing an output including at least measurements of pressure and flow rate at the manifold.

13. The method of claim 10,

where the computing operation performed by the master controller comprises applying a proportional-integral-differential control loop with operational parameters including the measured hydraulic output at the manifold;

and

where each of the sub-controllers is programmed such that the computer operation performed by the sub-controller comprises applying a proportional-integral-differential control loop with operational parameters including the measured output of the gas turbine engine and the measured output of the pump.

14. The method of claim 10, comprising operating each pump-engine assembly independently of other pump-engine assemblies.

15. The method of claim 10, comprising operating the pumping system as a black box permitting an operator to specify output comprising manifold flow characteristics without specifying any inputs required to produce the specified manifold flow characteristics.

16. A hydraulic fracturing pumping array with automated manifold pressure regulation, comprising (a) multiple pump-engine assemblies each including a pump driven by a gas turbine engine, where the pumps are coupled to a common manifold;

(b) a parent feedback circuit programmed to calculate respective pump-engine assembly target outputs that upon being produced by each pump-engine assembly would collectively produce a user specified hydraulic output as measured by a manifold sensor, and to send the respective calculated pump-engine assembly target outputs to different ones of a plurality of child feedback circuits, and (c) the plurality of child feedback circuits, each connected to the parent feedback circuit and one of the pump-engine assemblies, and programmed to calculate gas turbine engine combustion inputs that upon being fed to the connected pump-engine assembly'"'"'s gas turbine engine would cause the connected pump-engine assembly to produce the respective calculated pump-engine assembly target output as measured by a pump-engine assembly sensor.

17. A control system providing automated manifold pressure regulation in a hydraulic fracturing pumping array with multiple gas turbine engines and multiple pumps each pump driven by one of the gas turbine engines, where the pumps are coupled to a common manifold, the control system comprising:

(a) a primary feedback circuit programmed to calculate respective pump target outputs that upon being produced by each pump would collectively produce a user specified hydraulic output as measured by a manifold sensor, and to send the respective calculated pump target outputs to different ones of a plurality of secondary feedback circuits, where the hydraulic output comprises at least one of pressure and flow, and (d) the plurality of secondary feedback circuits, each secondary feedback circuit connected to the primary feedback circuit and a different one of the gas turbine engines, each secondary feedback circuit programmed to calculate gas turbine engine combustion inputs that upon being fed to the connected gas turbine engine would cause the connected gas turbine engine to produce the respective calculated pump target output as measured by a pump sensor.