Critical valve performance monitoring system
First Claim
1. A monitoring system for use in a pump having multiple chambers, comprising:
- a position sensor positionable on a power end of the pump to sense a position of a member of a rotating assembly of the pump and generate a position signal representing the position of the member during operation of the pump, the position signal being usable in determining a position of a displacement member in each of three or more chambers in a fluid end of the pump;
three or more strain gauges positionable on the three or more chambers to measure strain in the three or more chambers and generate corresponding strain signals representing the strain in each of the three or more chambers, the corresponding strain signals being usable in determining actuation points for corresponding valves in each of the three or more chambers; and
a computing device couplable to the position sensor and the three or more strain gauges, the computing device including a processing device for which instructions executable by the processing device are used to cause the processing device to determine actuation delays of each of the corresponding valves by correlating the position of the displacement member in each of the three or more chambers with the actuation points for the corresponding valves, the actuation delays representing the actuation points relative to the position of the displacement member during operation of the pump and being usable in determining a critical valve limit for the corresponding valves.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A monitoring system may include a position sensor, strain gauges, and a computing device for monitoring valves in a pressure pump having multiple chambers to determine critical valve limits for the valves using strain measurements for each charmber. The strain gauges may determine strain in each chamber of the pressure pump. The position sensor may determine the position of a crankshaft mechanically coupled to a plunger in each chamber. The computing device may receive signals generated by the strain gauges and the position sensor related to the strain in each chamber and the position of the crankshaft, respectively, and may process the signals to determine delays in the actuation of the valves for determining critical valve limits.
32 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A monitoring system for use in a pump having multiple chambers, comprising:
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a position sensor positionable on a power end of the pump to sense a position of a member of a rotating assembly of the pump and generate a position signal representing the position of the member during operation of the pump, the position signal being usable in determining a position of a displacement member in each of three or more chambers in a fluid end of the pump; three or more strain gauges positionable on the three or more chambers to measure strain in the three or more chambers and generate corresponding strain signals representing the strain in each of the three or more chambers, the corresponding strain signals being usable in determining actuation points for corresponding valves in each of the three or more chambers; and a computing device couplable to the position sensor and the three or more strain gauges, the computing device including a processing device for which instructions executable by the processing device are used to cause the processing device to determine actuation delays of each of the corresponding valves by correlating the position of the displacement member in each of the three or more chambers with the actuation points for the corresponding valves, the actuation delays representing the actuation points relative to the position of the displacement member during operation of the pump and being usable in determining a critical valve limit for the corresponding valves. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A pumping system, comprising:
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a pump including a fluid end and a power end, the fluid end of the pump including three or more chambers, each of the three or more chambers having corresponding valves actuatable at corresponding actuation points that are measurable by corresponding strain gauges for each of the three or more chambers, each of the three or more chambers further having corresponding plungers, each of the corresponding plungers being mechanically coupled to a crankshaft in the power end of the pump and actuatable between a first reference point and a second reference point through a plunger transition between the first reference point and the second reference point that is measurable by a position sensor; and a computing device couplable to the pump, the computing device including a processing device for which instructions executable by the processing device are used to cause the processing device to determine actuation delays of each of the corresponding valves by correlating the position of the corresponding plungers with the corresponding actuation points, the actuation delays representing the corresponding actuation points relative to the position of the corresponding plungers during operation of the pump and being useable in determining a critical value limit for the corresponding valves. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for monitoring valves in a pump, comprising:
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receiving, from a position sensor coupled to a power end of the pump, a position signal representing a position of a member of a rotating assembly of the pump; determining, by a computing device, a position of corresponding displacement members operable in each of three or more chambers by correlating the position of the member of the rotating assembly with a ratio representing a mechanical correlation of the member to the corresponding displacement members; receiving, from each of three or more stain gauge coupled to an external surface of a fluid end of the pump, strain signals representing strain in each of the three or more chambers; determining, by the computing device, actuation points corresponding to an opening or a closing of the valves in each of the three or more chambers by identifying discontinuities in the strain signals; and determining, by the computing device, actuation delays for each of the valves by correlating the position of the corresponding displacement members in each of the three or more chambers with the actuation points. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification