Automatic separator or shaker with electromagnetic vibrator apparatus

• US 20060243643A1
• Filed: 10/20/2005
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Varco I/P Incorporated (NOV, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Varco I/P Incorporated (NOV, Inc.)
• Inventors: Scott, Eric, Smith, George E., McClung, Guy L. III, Stone, Lyndon, Koederitz, William, Seyffert, Kenneth W., Padalino, Norman, Guggari, Mallappa, McDonough, Kevin
• Granted Patent: US 7,571,817 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 209/309
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 33/0376 supported
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 33/37 in parallel connection
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 33/807 by level measuring
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 1/42 Drive mechanisms, regulating or controlling devices, or balancing devices, specially adapted for screens
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 1/46 Constructional details of screens in general; Cleaning or heating of screens
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 1/4654 Corrugated Screening surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 1/4663 Multi-layer screening surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 13/18 Control
• CPC Class Codes: B07B 2230/01 Wet separation

Abstract

A vibratory separator (in one aspect, a shale shaker) and methods for using it, the separator in certain aspects having a base, a basket movably mounted on the base, screen apparatus on the basket, material flowing onto the screen apparatus for treatment, at least a portion of the screen apparatus not inclined downhill (e.g. said portion horizontal or uphill), electromagnetic vibratory apparatus connected to the basket for vibrating the basket and the screen apparatus, driving apparatus for driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus, and control apparatus (on-site and/or remote) for controlling the driving apparatus and the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus; the material, in one aspect, being drilling fluid material with solids therein.

Claims

1. A shale shaker comprising

a base,

a basket movably mounted on the base and for supporting screen apparatus for treating material including fluid introduced into the vibratory separator,

screen apparatus supported by the basket, the material flowing onto the screen apparatus for treatment, fluid flowing through the screen apparatus for collection therebelow, at least a portion of the screen apparatus not inclined downhill,

electromagnetic vibratory apparatus connected to the basket for vibrating the basket and the screen apparatus,

driving apparatus for driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus, and

control apparatus for controlling the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus.

28. The vibratory separator of claim 1 wherein the basket is made of composite material and the base is made of steel.

2. A vibratory separator comprising

a base,

a basket movably mounted on the base and for supporting screen apparatus for treating material introduced to the vibratory separator,

screen apparatus supported by the basket, the material flowing onto the screen apparatus for treatment, at least a portion of the screen apparatus not inclined downhill,

electromagnetic vibratory apparatus connected to the basket for vibrating the basket and the screen apparatus,

driving apparatus for driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus, and

control apparatus for controlling the driving apparatus and the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus.

3. The vibratory separator of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of the screen apparatus is inclined uphill.

4. The vibratory separator of claim 2 wherein at least a portion of the screen apparatus is horizontal.

5. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

the screen apparatus comprising at least one upper screen apparatus in the basket, the at least one upper screen apparatus having a fluid exit end, and at least one lower screen apparatus in the basket below the at least one upper screen apparatus,

fluid flowable from the at least one upper screen apparatus down onto the at least one lower screen apparatus, and

flow diffusion apparatus mounted below the fluid exit end of the at least one upper screen apparatus and above the at least one lower screen apparatus, so that fluid flowing down from the at least one upper screen apparatus flows onto the flow diffusion apparatus and is diffused thereby.

6. The vibratory separator of claim 2 wherein the vibratory separator is a shale shaker and the material is drilling fluid with drilled cuttings therein.

7. The vibratory separator of claim 5 wherein the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus includes a metal plate spaced-apart from an electromagnet.

8. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

the driving apparatus comprising variable frequency drive apparatus for selectively driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus at a selected frequency,

sensor apparatus connected to the vibratory separator for sensing a parameter indicative of operation of the vibratory separator for providing a signal corresponding to said parameter, and

the control apparatus for receiving signals from the sensor apparatus, for controlling the vibratory separator based on said signals.

9. The vibratory separator of claim 8 wherein the control apparatus is for automatically signalling the variable frequency drive apparatus to change the frequency of the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus so that force applied to the basket is changed.

10. The vibratory separator of claim 9 wherein the control apparatus can change the frequency to maintain vibration of the basket at a natural resonant frequency of the basket.

11. The vibratory separator of claim 10 wherein the control apparatus continuously changes the frequency to continuously maintain the basket vibrating at the natural resonant frequency of the basket.

12. The vibratory separator of claim 8 wherein the control apparatus controls the driving apparatus to drive the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus to de-plug the screen apparatus.

13. The vibratory separator of claim 8 wherein the sensor apparatus comprises a plurality of sensor apparatuses.

14. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

angle adjustment apparatus connected to the basket for adjusting angle of the basket.

15. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

flow sensor apparatus connected to the vibratory separator for sensing the flow of material onto the screen apparatus,

the flow sensor apparatus controlled by and in communication with the control apparatus, and

the control apparatus for adjusting shaker operation in response to signals from the flow sensor apparatus.

16. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus connectible to the basket at a plurality of locations so that a motion profile of the basket is selectively variable between linear, elliptical, and circular motion.

17. The vibratory separator of claim 16 wherein the motion profile of the basket includes a first shape at a material introduction end of the basket and a second shape at a material exit end of the basket.

18. The vibratory separator of claim 16 wherein the basket has a middle area between the material introduction end and the fluid exit end and the motion profile of the basket includes

a thin ellipse shape at the material introduction end,

a medium ellipse shape at the middle area, and

a fatter ellipse shape at the material exit end.

19. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

the control apparatus including interface apparatus for an interface between on-site personnel at a location of the vibratory separator and an entity remote therefrom.

20. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

the vibratory separator on a drilling rig, the control apparatus for monitoring and analyzing a plurality of signals from the sensor apparatus and for transmitting signals indicative of information related to operation of the vibratory separator to a processor on the drilling rig, the processor including a set of health check rules for health checks comprising logical rules, inputs and outputs for defining events associated with the status of the vibratory separator,

the processor for determining a severity code for each event and for reporting the events and severity codes to a central server, the events reported by the processor to the central server in a protocol defining a data structure, the data structure comprising a hierarchical tree node structure wherein results from application of the health check rules are a bottommost node of the tree node structure, and

displaying the event severity codes on a display.

21. The vibratory separator of claim 20 further comprising

the processor for providing to the central server the results as records containing node information regarding an appropriate location for the results in the tree node structure.

22. The vibratory separator of claim 20 further comprising

the control apparatus running health checks in real time to provide results regarding on-going status of the vibratory separator.

23. The vibratory separator of claim 22 further comprising

the control apparatus for indicating a potential failure of the vibratory separator.

24. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

the screen apparatus having an energizable identification apparatus,

reader apparatus for reading the energizable identification apparatus and for sending a signal based on said reading to the control apparatus, and

the control apparatus for automatically shutting down the vibratory separator upon receipt and processing of the signal based on the identity of the screen apparatus.

25. The vibratory separator of claim 24 wherein the control apparatus can automatically shut down the vibratory separator based on a parameter of the material or based on the flow rate of the material.

26. The vibratory separator of claim 2 further comprising

energizable identification apparatus on the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus for identifying the vibratory apparatus.

27. The vibratory separator of claim 26 further comprising

reader apparatus for reading the energizable identification apparatus and for sending a signal based on said reading to the control apparatus.

29. A method for treating material introduced to a vibratory separator, the method comprising

introducing material to a vibratory separator, the vibratory separator comprising a base, a basket movably mounted on the base and for supporting screen apparatus for treating material introduced to the vibratory separator, screen apparatus supported by the basket, the material flowing onto the screen apparatus for treatment, at least a portion of the screen apparatus not inclined downhill, electromagnetic vibratory apparatus connected to the basket for vibrating the basket and the screen apparatus, driving apparatus for driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus, and control apparatus for controlling the driving apparatus and the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus,

treating the material in the vibratory separator, and

controlling the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus with the control apparatus.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the vibratory separator includes angle adjustment apparatus connected to the basket, the method further comprising

adjusting the angle of the basket with the angle adjustment apparatus.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the vibratory separator further includes the driving apparatus comprising variable frequency drive apparatus for selectively driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus at a selected frequency, sensor apparatus connected to the vibratory separator for sensing a parameter indicative of operation of the vibratory separator for providing a signal corresponding to said parameter, and the control apparatus for receiving signals from the sensor apparatus, for controlling the vibratory separator based on said signals, the method further comprising

controlling the variable frequency drive apparatus with the control apparatus.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising

wherein the control apparatus is for automatically signalling the variable frequency drive apparatus to change the frequency of the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus so that force applied to the basket is changed.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein the basket with material therein has a natural resonant frequency and the control apparatus maintains said natural resonant frequency as material flows through the basket.

34. The method of claim 29 wherein the control apparatus controls the driving apparatus to de-plug the screen apparatus.

35. The method of claim 33 further comprising

based on said natural resonant frequency, determining a measure of solids discharged from the vibratory separator.

36. The method of claim 30 wherein the vibratory separator is a shale shaker and the material is drilling fluid with solids therein.

37. A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a computer implement a method for treating material introduced to a vibratory separator, the method including

introducing material to a vibratory separator comprising a base, screen apparatus, a basket movably mounted on the base supporting screen apparatus for treating material introduced to the vibratory separator, the material flowing onto the screen apparatus, at least a portion of the screen apparatus not inclined downhill, electromagnetic vibratory apparatus on the basket for vibrating the screen apparatus, driving apparatus for driving the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus, and control apparatus,

treating the material in the vibratory separator, and

controlling the electromagnetic vibratory apparatus and the driving apparatus with the control apparatus.