Hydrating dry friction reducer in a fluid stream for hydraulic fracturing
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorChad Fisher
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for hydrating dry friction reducer in a fluid stream for hydraulic fracturing includes a discharge pump, a hydrostatic accumulator fluidly coupled to the discharge pump, a mixer fluidly coupled to the hydrostatic accumulator, a friction reducer feeder configured to feed dry friction reducer into the mixer, and a supply pump configured to pump aqueous fluid from a fluid supply into the mixer. The mixer is configured to mix the dry friction reducer from the friction reducer feeder with the aqueous fluid from the supply pump. The hydrostatic accumulator is open to atmosphere.
Claims20
A system for hydrating dry friction reducer in a fluid stream for hydraulic fracturing, comprising:
- a discharge pump;
- a hydrostatic accumulator fluidly coupled to the discharge pump;
- a mixer fluidly coupled to the hydrostatic accumulator;
- a friction reducer feeder configured to feed dry friction reducer into the mixer;
- a supply pump configured to pump aqueous fluid from a fluid supply into the mixer;
- and
- a controller configured to control a flow rate from the mixer and a flow rate from the discharge pump such that a surface level of the fluid in the hydrostatic accumulator is maintained between a first fluid level and a second fluid level,
- wherein an elevation of the first fluid level, an elevation of the second fluid level, or both is higher than an elevation of an outlet of the mixer so that back pressure on the mixer is maintained for at least some surface levels of the fluid between the first fluid level and the second fluid level,
- wherein the mixer is configured to mix the dry friction reducer from the friction reducer feeder with the aqueous fluid from the supply pump, and
- wherein the hydrostatic accumulator is open to atmosphere.
A processor-implemented method for controlling flow through a system for hydrating dry friction reducer in a fluid stream for hydraulic fracturing, comprising:
- flowing aqueous fluid into a mixer;
- adding dry friction reducer into the mixer;
- mixing the dry friction reducer with the aqueous fluid inside the mixer to form a slurry;
- flowing the slurry through an outlet of the mixer to a hydrostatic accumulator at a first flow rate;
- flowing the slurry from the hydrostatic accumulator through a discharge pump at a second flow rate;
- and
- controlling the first flow rate and the second flow rate such that a surface level of the slurry in the hydrostatic accumulator remains between a first level and a second level,
- wherein an elevation of the first level is higher than an elevation of the outlet of the mixer and an elevation of the second level is higher than the elevation of the first level so that back pressure on the mixer is maintained.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.