COMMUNICATIONS • TELEMETRY
CONNECTIVITY IN THE FIELD One specific example is an application for connecting the remote and distributed data vans and hydraulic pumping units used in the fracturing processes. A typical fracturing process fleet consists of several truck trailers with mounted hydraulic pumpers, hydration units, blenders, proppants, chemical storage tanks, and a site data acquisition and control centre. Each of these trailers serves a unique purpose in the fracturing process. For instance, one trailer will house the blenders, which process the powders, chemicals, gels, and liquids pumped downhole. Another trailer houses the hydraulic pumping unit that delivers fluid and proppant to the wellbore at high pressures and volumes. Tese units combine to provide the pressures needed to open fractures at hole bottom, all while collecting data.
Te site data acquisition and control
centre, commonly referred to as a data van, provides a centralised command centre to control all critical well site equipment while also monitoring, recording and supervising the fracturing treatment. Te data van controls, monitors and records the rate and pressure at which the fracturing fluid is pumped down the wellbore, the proportions of the necessary additives in the fluid, and the proppant concentration. Te data vans’ primary goal is to reduce the number of equipment operators needed to complete the treatment, while greatly improving job quality and safety through centralised real-time data gathering and presentation.
Communication for monitoring and controlling the pressure pumping units (frack trucks)
WIRELESS SOLVES CABLE MAINTENANCE ISSUES Siemens helped one customer solve connectivity issues at its well pads that arose when pump trucks were connected to the data van over hardwire. Te first issue was complex cabling in a congested area. Companies start the drilling process on a pad of land of about three acres, which includes space for the many trucks that become part of an oil and gas drilling process. On a typical three-acre wellpad, there can be between 20 and 50 tractor trailer-mounted fracturing pumps, besides the rest of the required fleet. Tis causes the wellpad to be severely congested especially close to the actual fracking operation. Another issue the customer faced was
frequent cable breakage during setup and dismantling as the pump trucks moved from site to site on different jobs. Maintaining the cables became a major issue.
IWLAN IMPRESSES T
here are several major benefits of IWLAN technology. It is based on the proven standard IEEE 802.11n and can be used in industrial environments without any problems. Deterministic Profinet
communication is possible via IWLAN. Installation and maintenance costs can be reduced while saving time-to-production because contact wires and trailing cables are no longer required for communication. IWLAN offers fast, flexible, and secure expansion possibilities for networks. Mobile operator stations provide universal availability. l
Siemens determined that the answer to this connectivity issue was to use industrial wireless LAN (IWLAN) as a connection between the data vans and the fracturing pump units. Te customer’s data van and pumping fleet were fitted with Scalance W786-1 RJ45 units as access points to communicate on IEEE 802.11n. Tis setup allowed the data van to serve as the point of contact, facilitating operations control, site surveillance and system diagnostics of the fracking operation from a safe distance. Additionally, the Scalance W786-1 RJ45 offers operational reliability in extremely harsh environments due to its high degree of protection (up to IP65) and extended temperature range, from -40°C to 60°C, all while delivering speeds of up to 450mbps. With IWLAN, the customer eliminated the use of cables, which was the main cause of communications failure and frequent maintenance needs. IWLAN also helped save on operating costs and reduce NPT related to communications issues. Furthermore, this solution offered an added value by reducing setup times. Tis is made possible by access points that dynamically establish connectivity without the need for a skilled communications technician on-site. l
Olmo Castaneira Rios and Davinder Harcharan Singh are with Siemens.
www.siemens.com
www.engineerlive.com 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
