Systems and methods to monitor, detect, and/or intervene relative to cavitation and pulsation events during a hydraulic fracturing operation

A hydraulic fracturing system comprising:

• one or more hydraulic fracturing units, each of the plurality of hydraulic fracturing units including one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps to pump fracturing fluid into a wellhead and one or more turbine engines to drive the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps;
• one or more pump sensors configured to generate one or more pump signals indicative of one or more of pump discharge pressure, pump suction pressure, pump speed, or pump vibration associated with operation of the one or more hydraulic fracturing units;
• one or more blender sensors configured to generate one or more blender signals indicative of one or more of a blender flow rate or a blender discharge pressure;
• a supervisory controller in communication with one or more of:
• the one or more hydraulic fracturing units,
• the one or more pump sensors, or
• the one or more blender sensors,
• the supervisory controller being configured to:
• receive one or more of:
• pump signals indicative of one or more of pump discharge pressure, pump suction pressure, pump speed, or pump vibration associated with operation of one or more of the hydraulic fracturing pumps;
• or
• blender signals indicative of one or more of the blender flow rate or the blender discharge pressure;
• and
• one or more of:
• (a) (i) associate, via the supervisory controller, one or more cavitation values with one or more of the one or more pump signals or the one or more blender signals,
• (ii) combine the one or more cavitation values to determine a combined cavitation value, compare the combined cavitation value to a threshold cavitation value, and
• (iii) when the combined cavitation value equals or exceeds the threshold cavitation value, generate a cavitation notification signal indicative of detection of cavitation associated with operation of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, thereby to cause a reduction of one or more of a pump flow rate of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps or the blender flow rate of a blender;
• or
• (b) (i) determine, based at least in part on the one or more pump signals at a first time, a first average pump suction pressure and a first average pump discharge pressure,
• (ii) determine, based at least in part on the one or more pump signals at a second time after the first time, a second average pump suction pressure and a second average pump discharge pressure, (iii) determine a suction pressure difference between the first average pump suction pressure and the second average pump suction pressure, and a discharge pressure difference between the first average pump discharge pressure and the second average pump discharge pressure, (iv) compare the suction pressure difference to a suction pressure threshold, (v) compare the discharge pressure difference to a discharge pressure threshold, and (vi) when the suction pressure difference is equal to or exceeds the suction pressure threshold and the discharge pressure difference is equal to or exceeds the discharge pressure threshold, generate a pulsation notification signal indicative of detection of pulsation associated with operation of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, thereby to cause reduction of one or more of the pump flow rate of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps or the blender flow rate of the blender.

A hydraulic fracturing control assembly to detect one or more of (a) cavitation or (b) pulsation, associated with operating one or more hydraulic fracturing units, each of the one or more hydraulic fracturing units including one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps to pump fracturing fluid into a wellhead and one or more turbine engines to drive the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, the hydraulic fracturing control assembly comprising:

• one or more pump sensors to generate one or more pump signals indicative of one or more of pump discharge pressure, pump suction pressure, pump speed, or pump vibration associated with operation of the one or more hydraulic fracturing units;
• one or more blender sensors to generate one or more blender signals indicative of one or more of a blender flow rate or blender discharge pressure;
• a supervisory controller in communication with one or more of:
• the one or more hydraulic fracturing units,
• the one or more pump sensors, or
• the one or more blender sensors,
• the supervisory controller configured to:
• (1) receive one or more of:
• pump signals indicative of one or more of pump discharge pressure, pump suction pressure, pump speed, or pump vibration associated with operation of the one or more of the hydraulic fracturing pumps;
• or
• blender signals indicative of one or more of the blender flow rate or the blender discharge pressure;
• and
• (2) one or more of:
• (a) (i) associate, via the supervisory controller, one or more cavitation values with one or more of the one or more pump signals or the one or more blender signals, (ii) combine the one or more cavitation values to determine a combined cavitation value, (iii) compare the combined cavitation value to a threshold cavitation value, and (iv) when the combined cavitation value equals or exceeds the threshold cavitation value, generate one or more cavitation notification signals indicative of detection of cavitation associated with operation of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, thereby to cause a reduction of one or more of a pump flow rate of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps or the blender flow rate of a blender;
• or
• (b) (i) determine, based at least in part on the one or more pump signals at a first time, a first average pump suction pressure and a first average pump discharge pressure, (ii) determine, based at least in part on the one or more pump signals at a second time after the first time, a second average pump suction pressure and a second average pump discharge pressure, (iii) determine a suction pressure difference between the first average pump suction pressure and the second average pump suction pressure, and a discharge pressure difference between the first average pump discharge pressure and the second average pump discharge pressure, (iv) compare the suction pressure difference to a suction pressure threshold, compare the discharge pressure difference to a discharge pressure threshold, and (v) when the suction pressure difference is equal to or exceeds the suction pressure threshold and the discharge pressure difference is equal to or exceeds the discharge pressure threshold, generate one or more pulsation notification signals indicative of detection of pulsation associated with operation of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps, thereby to cause reduction of one or more of the pump flow rate of the one or more hydraulic fracturing pumps or the blender flow rate of the blender.