METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR METERING PROPPANT
A method and system for metering proppant discharged from a storage container is disclosed. In certain embodiments, a method may comprise loading a known amount of a first proppant type into a storage container, detecting proppant at or adjacent to a discharge outlet of the storage container via one or more sensors coupled to the storage container, operating a metering device at a predetermined speed, wherein the metering device may be coupled to the discharge outlet of the storage container, and wherein the metering device may comprise one or more pockets for receiving the first proppant type. In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise dispensing a known amount of the first proppant type from the storage container via the metering device, wherein an encoder coupled to the metering device may emit pulses during the dispensing. In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise determining an amount of the first proppant type dispensed by at least one pocket of the one or more pockets of the metering device based at least in part on the pulses and determining a relationship between the known amount of the first proppant type dispensed by each pocket and a speed of the metering device.
1 . A system comprising:
a storage container;
a metering device coupled to the storage container, wherein the metering device comprises one or more pockets for receiving proppant;
an encoder coupled to the metering device, wherein the encoder emits one or more pulses; and
a control unit coupled to the metering device, wherein the control unit is configured to determine an amount of a first proppant dispensed by at least one of the one or more pockets based at least in part on the one or more pulses.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the storage container is a silo.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the metering device is coupled to a discharge outlet of the silo.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the storage container further comprises one or more sensors for detecting the presence of one or more proppants.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more sensors determine the presence of the one or more proppants based, at least in part, on triple modular redundancy.
6 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more sensors are capacitive proximity sensors.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the metering device comprises at least 12 pockets for receiving proppant.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine a relationship between an amount of the first proppant dispensed by at least one of the one or more pockets of the metering device based at least in part on a speed of the metering device.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine a relationship between an amount of a second proppant dispensed by at least one of the one or more pockets of the metering device and a speed of the metering device based at least in part on the relationship between the amount of the first proppant dispensed by at least one of the one or more pockets of the metering device and the speed of the metering device.
10 . A system comprising:
a storage container;
a metering device coupled to the storage container, wherein the metering device comprises one or more pockets for receiving proppant;
an encoder coupled to the metering device; and
a control unit coupled to the metering device, wherein the control unit is configured to:
instruct loading a first amount of a proppant into the storage container;
prompt the emission of one or more pulses from the encoder; and
determine a second amount of the proppant dispensed by at least one of one or more pockets of a metering device based at least in part on the one or more pulses.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the control unit is further configured to detect the presence of the proppant using one or more sensors.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control unit is further configured to detect the presence of the proppant using one or more sensors based at least in part on triple modular redundancy.
13 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the control unit is further configured to determine a relationship between the second amount of the proppant dispensed by at least one pocket of the one or more pockets of the metering device based at least in part on a speed of the metering device.
14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the control unit is further configured to determine a weight of the proppant dispensed by the metering device per each of the one or more pockets.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the control unit is further configured to calculate a total amount of the proppant dispensed based at least in part on the determined weight of the proppant dispensed by the metering device per each of the one or more pockets.
16 . A method comprising:
coupling a metering device to a storage container, wherein the metering device comprises one or more pockets;
loading a first amount of a proppant into the storage container;
coupling an encoder to the metering device;
emitting one or more pulses from the encoder; and
determining a second amount of the proppant dispensed by at least one of one or more pockets of the metering device based at least in part on the one or more pulses.
17 . The method of claim 16 further comprising detecting the presence of the proppant in the storage container using one or more sensors.
18 . The method of claim 16 further comprising determining a relationship between the second amount of the proppant dispensed by the at least one of the one or more pockets of the metering device based at least in part on a speed of the metering device.
19 . The method of claim 16 further comprising determining a weight of the proppant per pocket dispensed by the metering device.
20 . The method of claim 16 further comprising calculating a total amount of the proppant dispensed based at least in part on the determined weight of the proppant per pocket dispensed by the metering device.