Drawworks Hydraulic Brake Performance Assessment System

A drawworks operable within a drilling rig, the drawworks comprising:

• a rotatable spool having a drum;
• and
• a braking system comprising:
• a rotor associated with the rotatable spool such that the at least one rotor rotates with the rotation of the rotatable spool;
• a first hydraulic disc brake comprising a master cylinder assembly, and a caliper assembly, the caliper assembly comprising a caliper and opposing brake pads supported by the caliper and operable to engage the rotor, wherein the master cylinder assembly is operable with the caliper assembly to manipulate at least one of the opposing brake pads to apply a clamping force to the rotor;
• a second hydraulic disc brake comprising a master cylinder assembly, and a caliper assembly, the caliper assembly comprising a caliper and opposing brake pads supported by the caliper and operable to engage the rotor, wherein the master cylinder assembly is operable with the caliper assembly to manipulate at least one of the opposing brake pads to apply a clamping force to the rotor;
• and
• a brake sensor system operable with the braking system, and comprising first and second sensors and an operations module,
• wherein the first sensor is operable with the first hydraulic disc brake of the braking system to measure a displacement distance of one of the opposing brake pads and the rotor, and to output corresponding sensor data,
• wherein the second sensor is operable with the second hydraulic disc brake of the braking system to measure a displacement distance of one of the opposing brake pads and the rotor, and to output corresponding sensor data
• wherein the operations module comprises a computing device operable to receive the sensor data from the first and second sensors and to determine one or more performance characteristics of the braking system based on the sensor data.

A brake sensor system operable with a drawworks of a drilling rig, the brake sensor system comprising:

• a plurality of sensors, each operable with a respective hydraulic disc brake of a braking system of a drawworks of a drilling rig, wherein each respective hydraulic disc brake comprises a master cylinder assembly, and a caliper assembly, the caliper assembly comprising a caliper and opposing brake pads supported by the caliper and operable to engage a rotor, wherein the master cylinder assembly is operable with the caliper assembly to manipulate at least one of the opposing brake pads to apply a clamping force to the rotor;
• a plurality of braking system interfaces, each comprising a mounting assembly operable to support a sensor of the plurality of sensors on a respective hydraulic disc brake in a position suitable for measuring a displacement distance between at least one of the opposing brake pads and the rotor, and to output corresponding sensor data;
• and
• an operations module comprising at least one processor, and one or more memory devices including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:
• selectively operate the plurality of sensors, each sensor configured to measure a displacement distance between the rotor and at least one of the opposing brake pads of a hydraulic disc brake of the plurality of hydraulic disc brakes;
• receive the sensor data from one or more sensors of the plurality of sensors;
• determine one or more performance characteristics of the braking system of the drawworks based on the sensor data;
• and
• communicate the one or more performance characteristics to an operator.

A method for facilitating the determination, in real-time, of one or more performance characteristics of a braking system of a drawworks of a drilling rig during a drilling operation, the method comprising:

• configuring a drawworks with a rotatable spool having a drum;
• configuring the drawworks with a braking system operable with the rotatable spool, the braking system comprising at least one rotor operable with at least one hydraulic disc brake comprising a master cylinder assembly and a caliper assembly, the caliper assembly comprising a caliper and opposing brake pads supported by the caliper and operable to engage the rotor, wherein the master cylinder assembly is operable with the caliper assembly to manipulate at least one of the opposing brake pads to apply a clamping force to the rotor;
• configuring the drawworks to comprise a brake sensor system operable to measure a displacement distance between at least one of the opposing brake pads and the one or more rotors, and to output corresponding sensor data to an operations module;
• and
• facilitating the determination of one or more performance characteristics of the braking system based on the sensor data.