Granted Patent B1

US 12,366,150 · App. 18/764,925 · Granted Jul 22, 2025

Inventors: Todd Ryan Kabrich (Tomball, TX); Timothy Josiah Lee (Morton, IL); Prabhu Jayaraman (Tomball, TX); Yuesheng He (Sugar Land, TX)

Assignee: Caterpillar Inc.

E21B43/2607F01N1/24

Abstract

Claims (50)

1. A hydraulic fracturing system, comprising:

a trailer having an unenclosed trailer bed;

a fluid pump mounted on the unenclosed trailer bed;

an engine, operably coupled to the fluid pump, mounted on the unenclosed trailer bed; and

a sound-dampening system comprising a sound-dampening panel mounted on the engine, the sound-dampening panel configured to dampen sound produced by at least one moving part of the engine.

2. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel comprises at least one sound-dampening layer and an outer shell layer laminated onto the at least one sound-dampening layer.

3. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel comprises a lamination of a foam layer, a rubber layer, and a plastic layer, and

wherein a thickness of the foam layer is at least 5 times a thickness of the rubber layer and at least 5 times a thickness of the plastic layer.

4. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel is in a plate configuration, and

wherein the sound-dampening panel is mounted on a surface of the engine.

5. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel is in an enclosure configuration, and

wherein the sound-dampening panel is mounted over a housing of the engine.

6. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel is flexible, and

wherein the sound-dampening panel is mounted conformingly on a rounded surface of the engine.

7. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel is in a plate configuration and mounted on a surface of the engine, and

wherein the sound-dampening system further comprises an additional sound-dampening panel in an enclosure configuration that is mounted over a housing of the engine.

8. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel is mounted over an oil pan, on a crankcase of an engine block, on an inspection port cover of the engine block, or over a plurality of valve covers.

9. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , further comprising a turbocharger connected to the engine,

wherein the sound-dampening system further comprises an additional sound-dampening panel mounted on a turbocharger housing of the turbocharger.

10. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , further comprising a transmission and a flywheel coupling the engine to the fluid pump,

wherein the sound-dampening system further comprises an additional sound-dampening panel mounted on a transmission housing of the transmission or a flywheel housing of the flywheel.

11. The hydraulic fracturing system of claim 1 , wherein the sound-dampening panel is mounted at a location on the engine from which sound is emitted, and the sound-dampening panel is form fitted to match a contour of the engine at the location.

12. A pump system, comprising:

a fluid pump;

a transmission in a transmission housing;

a flywheel in a flywheel housing;

an engine operably coupled to the fluid pump by the transmission and the flywheel; and

a sound-dampening system, comprising:

a first sound-dampening panel mounted on the engine;

a second sound-dampening panel mounted on the transmission housing; and

a third sound-dampening panel mounted on the flywheel housing.

13. The pump system of claim 12 , further comprising a turbocharger, in a turbocharger housing, connected to the engine,

wherein the sound-dampening system further comprises a fourth sound-dampening panel mounted on the turbocharger housing.

14. The pump system of claim 12 , wherein the first sound-dampening panel is in a plate configuration, and

wherein the first sound-dampening panel is mounted on a surface of the engine.

15. The pump system of claim 12 , wherein the first sound-dampening panel is in an enclosure configuration, and

wherein the first sound-dampening panel is mounted over a housing of the engine.

16. The pump system of claim 12 , wherein the first sound-dampening panel is mounted at a location on the engine from which sound is emitted, and the first sound-dampening panel is form fitted to match a contour of the engine at the location on the engine,

wherein the second sound-dampening panel is mounted at a location on the transmission housing from which sound is emitted, and the second sound-dampening panel is form fitted to match a contour of the transmission housing at the location of the transmission housing, and

wherein the third sound-dampening panel is mounted at a location on the flywheel housing from which sound is emitted, and the third sound-dampening panel is form fitted to match a contour of the flywheel housing at the location on the flywheel housing.

17. A trailer system, comprising:

a trailer bed;

an engine mounted on the trailer bed; and

a sound-dampening system comprising a plurality of sound-dampening panels mounted on the engine, the plurality of sound-dampening panels configured to dampen sound produced by moving parts of the engine.

18. The trailer system of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of sound-dampening panels are mounted respectively over an oil pan, on a crankcase of an engine block, on an inspection port cover of the engine block, and over a plurality of valve covers.

19. The trailer system of claim 17 , further comprising a turbocharger connected to the engine,

wherein the sound-dampening system further comprises an additional sound-dampening panel mounted on a turbocharger housing of the turbocharger.

20. The trailer system of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of sound-dampening panels include:

a first sound-dampening panel in a plate configuration that is mounted on a surface of the engine, and

a second sound-dampening panel in an enclosure configuration that is mounted over a housing of the engine.

Assignments (1)

References Cited (16)