Granted Patent B2

US 11,466,680 · App. 17/301,475 · Granted Oct 11, 2022

Inventors: Tony Yeung (Tomball, TX); Ricardo Rodriguez-Ramon (Tomball, TX); Andres Alvarez (Tomball, TX); Joseph Foster (Tomball, TX)

Assignee: BJ Energy Solutions, LLC

F04B51/00E21B43/2607F04B15/02F04B49/065G01L3/00G01L5/0061G01L5/0071

Abstract

Claims (61)

1. A method of utilizing a hydraulic fracturing unit profile to operate hydraulic fracturing units for a hydraulic fracturing system, the method comprising:

determining if one or more pump controllers are available, each of the one or more pump controllers associated with a pump of a hydraulic fracturing unit;

in response to an availability of one or more pump controllers, for each pump associated with the one or more pump controllers:

obtaining pump assembly data, pump maintenance data, and pump event and alarm history data, and

determining a pump maintenance cycle based on the pump maintenance data and pump event and alarm history data;

determining if one or more engine controllers are available, each of the one or more engine controllers associated with an engine of the hydraulic fracturing unit;

in response to an availability of one or more engine controllers, for each engine associated with the one or more engine controllers:

obtaining engine assembly data, engine maintenance data, and engine event and alarm history data,

determining life expectancy of consumables associated with the engine based on the engine maintenance data and engine event and alarm history data, and

determining engine maintenance cycle based on the engine maintenance data and engine event and alarm history data;

building a hydraulic fracturing unit profile for each of the hydraulic fracturing units including pump and engine data and determined characteristics; and

determining which of the hydraulic fracturing units not to utilize for a hydraulic fracturing operation based on each hydraulic fracturing unit profile.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydraulic fracturing unit profile for each of the hydraulic fracturing units includes one or more of:

(a) pump assembly data,

(b) pump maintenance data,

(c) pump event and alarm history data,

(d) the pump maintenance cycle,

(e) maximum pump flow,

(f) maximum pump pressure,

(g) maximum pump speed,

(h) engine assembly data,

(i) engine maintenance data,

(j) engine event and alarm history data,

(k) the engine maintenance cycle, or

(l) maximum power output.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

obtaining, for each pump associated with the one or more pump controllers, real-time pump operation data; and

obtaining, for each engine associated with the one or more engine controllers, real-time engine operation data.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein pump event and alarm history data and engine event and alarm history data are obtained substantially continuously and in real-time.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the hydraulic fracturing profile for each of the hydraulic fracturing units are updated continuously and in real-time based on one or more of:

(a) updated pump event and alarm history data,

(b) updated engine event and alarm history data,

(c) real-time pump operation data, or

(d) real-time engine operation data.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

determining whether to derate a pump based on pump event and alarm history data, real-time pump operation data, and maximum power output.

7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

displaying each hydraulic fracturing unit profile in a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein engine maintenance data and engine event and alarm history data include one or more of levels of consumables associated with the engine, age of consumables associated with the engine, time periods of a change or maintenance of consumables associated with the engine.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining the life expectancy of consumables associated with the engine based on the time periods of a change or maintenance of consumables associated with the engine and engine assembly data.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

monitoring consumables level and age associated with the engine;

determining whether a consumable level is low; and

determining whether the consumable reached a low consumable level at an unexpected time based on one or more of life expectancy, age of the consumable, level of the consumable, or engine assembly data.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

in response to a determination that a failure occurred at the unexpected time:

shutting down the engine; and

initiating maintenance of the engine.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

monitoring consumables level and age associated with the engine;

determining whether a failure of a consumable has occurred; and

determining whether the failure occurred at an unexpected time based on one or more of life expectancy, age of the consumable, level of the consumable, or engine assembly data.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

in response to a determination that a failure occurred at the unexpected time:

shutting down the engine; and

initiating maintenance of the engine.

14. The method of claim 3 , wherein a supervisory controller is configured to:

obtain data,

perform determinations, and

build the hydraulic fracturing unit profile.

Assignments (5)

Continuity (3)

Cited By (23)

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