Flexure membrane for drilling fluid test system

A method for filtration testing, comprising:

• receiving filtrate originating from a test fluid into a receiver chamber defined within a housing of a dynamic receiver, the housing having a flexure membrane arranged within the receiver chamber and the flexure membrane defining a membrane cavity and having a first end that is closed and a second end that is open and secured to an inner wall of the receiver chamber;
• compressing the flexure membrane with the filtrate and thereby displacing a hydraulic fluid from the membrane cavity;
• acting on a piston arranged within the receiver chamber with the hydraulic fluid displaced from the membrane cavity;
• and
• measuring axial displacement of the piston with a measuring device and thereby determining a filtration rate of the test fluid.

A test fixture for filtration testing, comprising:

• a test cell defining a piston chamber and having a filter medium arranged therein to filter a test fluid under pressure such that filtrate from the test fluid is able to exit the test cell;
• a dynamic receiver in fluid communication with the test cell and defining a receiver chamber, the dynamic receiver having a flexure membrane arranged within the receiver chamber and defining a membrane cavity, the flexure membrane having a first end that is closed and arranged adjacent a fluid inlet into the receiver chamber and a second end that is open and secured to an inner wall of the receiver chamber;
• a piston arranged in the receiver chamber adjacent the second end of the flexure membrane;
• and
• a measuring device operatively coupled to the dynamic receiver to measure axial displacement of the piston,
• wherein the filtrate enters the receiver chamber at the fluid inlet and acts on the flexure membrane to displace hydraulic fluid from within the membrane cavity, and the hydraulic fluid acts on and moves the piston, and wherein a filtration rate of the test fluid is determined based on the axial displacement of the piston.