RU2793261C1 - Plug valve with telemetry unit - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: testing equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to valves equipped with telemetry units. The plug valve contains a housing integrated with an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, a shut-off element made in the form of a cylindrical plug with a central hole is installed inside the housing. To monitor the current state of the wall thickness of the inlet and outlet pipes, the first and second rangefinders are installed in them, for the possibility of monitoring the fluid in the pipeline, the first and second pressure sensors are installed inside the inlet and outlet pipes, a temperature sensor and an acidity and alkalinity sensor of solutions are installed in the outlet pipe, the outputs of these sensors are connected to digital and analog measuring inputs a telemetry unit equipped with a wireless communication module.

EFFECT: possibility of studying the resistance of shut-off valves to block the movement of the working medium in pipelines, the ability to control the temperature and acidity of the working medium in pipelines, the transmission of telemetry data to a remote automated control system in real time.

8 cl. 2 dwg

Description

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to gate valves equipped with telemetry units, with optical sensors connected to their measuring inputs for measuring nozzle wall thickness, fluid temperature and pressure sensors, as well as acidity or alkalinity of solutions. The device can be useful for studying the resistance of shut-off valves used to block the movement of the working medium in pipelines and oil pipelines.

A plug valve is known from the prior art (RU192276U1, IPC B60T 17/04, F16K 5/04, publ. 09/11/2019), equipped with an isolated zone for controlling the flow of the working medium. The valve contains a hollow body, a movable locking element made in the form of a cylindrical plug, and a sealing element with sealing elements installed on both sides of the cylindrical plug. At the same time, the movable locking element is installed in the valve body on bearings installed coaxially relative to the vertical axis of the plug, and the sealing element is made with the possibility of elastic deformation and change in the degree of curvature under the pressure of the working medium.

The disadvantage of the known plug valve is the absence in its design of nodes that allow opening and closing the valve automatically, in addition, the design of the valve body does not provide technological holes for installing sensors in them that provide the ability to control the working environment, as well as determine the condition and degree of wear of the internal surfaces of the nozzles crane body.

The closest technical solution to the claimed invention and selected as a prototype is a device for implementing a method for emergency diagnostics of high pressure pipelines (RU2442072C1, IPC F17D 5/02, G01N 29/14, publ. 10.02.2012). The method using a known device (RU2221230C2, IPC G01M 3/24, F17D 5/02, publ. 01/10/2004) allows the detection of corrosion defects in the main pipelines for transporting hydrocarbons, one of which includes local thinning of the pipe wall to a thickness of less than 50 % of nominal. The diagnostic device contains at least two acoustic sensors, the outputs of which are connected through filters and analog-to-digital converters to the inputs of a multi-channel block for receiving and processing information, the output of which is connected to the input of a microprocessor system for monitoring the condition of the pipeline, equipped with a node for analyzing data and determining emergency points on the pipeline, as well as an indication module that allows you to determine the location of the accident and the intensity of the leak in the emergency section.

A disadvantage of the known diagnostic device is the complexity of its adaptation for use as a telemetry node plug valve. In addition, the use of acoustic sensors as part of the device does not provide the required reliability of measuring the wall thickness of the tap nozzles.

The technical problem to be solved by the claimed invention is to enable experiments to determine the average resource of plug valves used as part of manifolds, using a valve equipped with a telemetry unit, during operations related to the stimulation of oil production.

This problem is solved by the fact that the plug valve contains a body made integral with the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe, while a locking element is installed inside the body, made in the form of a cylindrical plug with a central hole. To control the current state of the wall thickness of the inlet and outlet nozzles, the first and second rangefinders are installed in them, and for the possibility of monitoring the fluid in the pipeline, the first and second pressure sensors are installed inside the inlet and outlet nozzles, in addition, a temperature sensor and an acidity and alkalinity sensor are installed in the outlet nozzle solutions, while the outputs of the said sensors are connected to the digital and analog measuring inputs of the telemetry unit, equipped with a wireless communication module.

A positive technical result, provided by the set of features of the device disclosed above, is the ability to study with its help the resistance of shut-off valves used to block the movement of the working medium in pipelines and oil pipelines during operations related to the stimulation of oil production, in particular, hydraulic fracturing, carried out with using proppant under operating pressure up to 105 MPa. An additional positive result from the use of the device is the ability to control with its help the temperature and acidity of the working medium in pipelines with the possibility of transmitting telemetry data to a remote automated process control system in real time.

The invention is illustrated by drawings, where in Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of a plug valve in isometric projection; in fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the telemetry unit.

A plug valve with a telemetry unit is arranged as follows.

The basis of the plug valve is the body 1, made integral with the inlet 2 threaded pipe, equipped with a mechanical seal 3 and outlet 4 pipe, with a locking segment 5 fixed on its outer surface and a locking ring 6 with a nut 7. Inside the body on inserts 8, 9, equipped with seals, 10, a locking element 11 is installed, made in the form of a cylindrical plug with a central hole made perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plug, while sealing metal 12, 13 and plastic 14, 15 seals are installed on the lower and upper fillets of the plug. From below, the body 1 is closed with a cover 16, fixed on the lower end surface of the body 1 with bolts 17. To ensure the possibility of lubricating the internal cavity of the valve, a removable grease fitting 18 is installed in the cover. the drive shaft 21 installed in the adapter 22, fixed on the upper end of the housing 1 by bolting 23, 24. In this case, the shaft 21 is connected to the output shaft of the gearbox 25, bolted 26, 27 on the outer surface of the adapter, and the input shaft of the gearbox 35 can be connected to the handwheel 28 or to the output shaft of the electric motor.

The design of the plug valve and its main components considered above provides reliable shutoff of the aqueous acid solution entering the housing 1 from the side of the inlet 2 branch pipe, at a pressure of the working medium up to 105 MPa.

To control the current state of the wall thickness of the inlet 2 and outlet 4 nozzles, the first and second rangefinders 29, 30 are installed in them, and for the possibility of monitoring the fluid in the pipeline inside the inlet 2 and outlet 4 nozzles, the first and second pressure sensors 31, 32 are installed, additionally in the outlet branch pipe 4 is equipped with a temperature sensor 33 and a sensor for the acidity and alkalinity of solutions 34. The mentioned sensors are inserted into the pipes through technological channels with a diameter of 16 mm and a M20x2.5 thread.

The outputs of the sensors are connected to the digital and analog measuring inputs of the telemetry unit, fixed in a sealed casing (conventionally not shown in the figures) on the outer surface of the body 1 of the plug valve and is made on the basis of a microcontroller 35, which can be used as an STM8L152 chip (STM8 8-bit MCUs // St.com URL: http://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers/stm8-8-bit-mcus.html?querycriteria=productId=SC1244 (Accessed: 02/09/2022)) containing a microprocessor core 36, connected via a system bus to FLASH program memory 37, SRAM data memory 38, a serial asymmetric bus for connecting low-speed peripheral components, which is an I ² C interface 39 that implements digital measuring inputs of the telemetry unit, a multichannel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 40, the lines (ADC0÷ADC3) of which, equipped with operational amplifiers, are analog measuring inputs of the telemetry unit, non-volatile electrically reprogrammable memory EEPROM 41, universal synchronous-asynchronous transceiver USART 42 and a general-purpose I/O interface grouped into four GPIOs - input-output ports 43, 44, 45, 46.

At the same time, the first and second rangefinders 29, 30 are connected to the I ² C interface 39 (serial asymmetric bus), made in the form of laser distance sensors VL53L0X (Laser distance sensor VL53L0X // MCU Store. URL: https://mcustore.ru/ store/datchiki-i-sensory/datchik-rasstoyaniya-lazernyj-vl53l0x-gy-530/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA89zvBRDoARIsAOIePbAKYLBUlgB sySS-4FmwgHK5KG8k2w9CO0-86m76K25SK7HJMBKzRFgaAoVHEALw_wcB (дата обращения: 09.02.2022)), к линиям ADC0÷ADC3 аналого-цифрового преобразователя 40 подключены pressure sensors 31, 32, temperature sensor 33 and sensor of acidity and alkalinity of solutions 34. As pressure sensors 31, 32, a model RTM-M pressure transducer can be used (RTM-M pressure transducer // Orleks.ru. URL: https:/ /www.orleks.ru/datchiki-davleniya-s-unificirovannym-vyhodnym-signalom/rtm-m-preobrazovatel-davleniya/ (date of access: 12/10/2020)), as a temperature sensor 33, a unified thermoelectric collapsible converter can be used TPK models (Thermoelectric collapsible converters, unified TPK, TPL with a thermometric insert of the BT type // Energoavtomatika. URL: https://kipia.ru/catalog/izmeritelnye-pribory/izmerenie-temperatury/termopreobrazovateli/5-preobrazovateli-termoelektricheskie/ (date of access: 10.12.2020)) with a thermometric insert, and as a sensor of acidity and alkalinity of solutions can an immersion probe with a buffer solution pH = 7.0 should be used (Liquid acidity sensor (Troyka-module) // Amperka. URL: https://amperka.ru/product/troyka-ph-sensor (accessed: 14.02.2022) ). A wireless communication module 47 is connected to the universal synchronous-asynchronous transceiver USART 42, made in the form of a radio module, which can be used as an HC-12 chip with a UART interface (HC-12: a radio module with a UART interface at 433 MHz // Programmer's Notes. URL : https://eax.me/hc-12 (date of access: 02/09/2022)), a power output 48 is connected to the first GPIO input-output port 43, which can be connected to an electric motor (conditionally not shown in the figures), which is a six-channel assembly based on Darlington keys, which can be used as a ULN2003 chip uln2003-description-i-sxemy-primeneniya/ (date of access: 02/09/2022)), a character LCD display 49 based on the HD44780 controller (HD44780 // All-Audio.pro. Articles) is connected to the second GPIO input-output port 44. , diagrams, references URL: https://all-audio.pro/c14/instruktsii/hd44780.php#simvol-nyy-lcd-display-16x2-hd44780 (date of access: 02/09/2022)), and to the third GPIO - I / O port 45 is connected to a keyboard 50 containing sixteen keys, and the fourth GPIO I / O port 46 is left as a reserve.

A plug valve with a telemetry unit operates as follows.

Initially, the valve is assembled, then sensors 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 are installed in the technological channels of nozzles 2 and 4 of the valve, they are sealed, the outputs of sensors 29, 30 are connected to the digital inputs of the telemetry unit, the outputs of sensors 31, 32, 33 and 34 is connected to the analog inputs of the mentioned block. In the case of an electric motor reducer 25 being used as a drive, the power output 48 of the telemetric unit is switched with the electric motor power line. After performing these steps, the valve is fixed on the pipeline fittings using the thread of the inlet pipe 2 and the nut 7 of the outlet pipe 4.

In the case of using the handwheel 28 as part of the crane, the operations of opening and closing the valve are performed manually, in the case of using the electric motor as part of the crane, the valve is opened and closed using a telemetry unit, while the microcontroller 35 is based on the control program stored in the FLASH program memory 37 , controls the power output 48 and, accordingly, the speed and direction of rotation of the motor shaft, by generating a PWM signal at the output of the first GPIO port 43.

After opening the valve, when the central hole of the locking element 11 is coaxial to the pipeline, before the start of the technological operation associated with hydraulic fracturing (HF), the microcontroller 35, in accordance with the control program, polls the rangefinders 29 and 30, determining the inner diameter of the nozzles 2 and 4, indirectly measuring thus their wall thickness. After the hydraulic fracturing process starts and the working acid solution with proppant enters the valve body, the microcontroller iteratively interrogates sensors 31, 32, 33, 34, thereby measuring the pressure in the inlet 2 and outlet 4 pipes, as well as the temperature of the working medium and its acidity. The measured values of the parameters of the working environment are buffered in the SRAM data memory and transmitted via a wireless communication channel to a remote automated process control system (APCS). When the minimum or maximum values of temperature, pressure and/or acidity of the solution are exceeded, the process control system can automatically decide to stop the technological operation, signal this to the operator and/or transmit a control command for emergency closing of the valve via a wireless communication channel. During the entire operation of closing the valve, the microcontroller 35 interrogates the sensors 31 and 32, measuring the pressure in the inlet 2 and outlet 4 pipes, compares the values obtained and, if after moving the locking element 11 to the “closed” position, a drop is not recorded in the outlet pipe 4 pressure of the working medium in relation to the pressure in the inlet 2 branch pipe, the microcontroller 35 transmits a signal about the emergency condition of the valve via a wireless communication channel to the automated process control system.

After the successful completion of the hydraulic fracturing process, the microcontroller re-interrogates rangefinders 29 and 30, determining the inner diameter of nozzles 2 and 4, fixing their wear. The data obtained in this way is stored in the EEPROM memory and can be used later in the construction of statistical regression models to predict the dynamics of the thinning of the walls of the valve nozzles and its time between failures. During the entire technological process, the microcontroller displays the instantaneous measured values of pressure, temperature and acidity of the working solution using the LCD display 49.

The parameters of the control program (settings) of the microcontroller 35, for example, the polling frequency of the sensors, can be changed before and after the fracturing process using the keyboard 50 using the LCD display 49 to display information.

Thus, the plug valve considered in this application with a telemetry unit is a high-tech device that allows you to remotely monitor the parameters of the working acid solution with proppant during hydraulic fracturing, as well as control the change in the inner diameter of the valve nozzles, which allows you to quickly evaluate the performance of the valve without the need for it. dismantling and measuring the wall thickness of the pipes manually.

Claims (8)

1. A plug valve with a telemetry unit, containing a body made integral with the inlet pipe and outlet pipe, while a locking element is installed inside the body, made in the form of a cylindrical plug with a central hole, characterized in that to control the current state of the wall thickness of the inlet and outlet the first and second rangefinders are installed in them, and for the possibility of monitoring the fluid in the pipeline, the first and second pressure sensors are installed inside the inlet and outlet nozzles, in addition, a temperature sensor and a sensor for acidity and alkalinity of solutions are installed in the outlet nozzle, while the outputs of the said sensors are connected to digital and analog measuring inputs of the telemetry unit equipped with a wireless communication module. 2. The plug valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the telemetry unit is made on the basis of a microcontroller containing a microprocessor core connected via a system bus to a FLASH program memory, SRAM data memory, a serial asymmetric bus for connecting low-speed peripheral components, representing I ² C-interface 39, which implements the digital measurement inputs of the telemetry unit, a multichannel analog-to-digital converter, the lines of which, equipped with operational amplifiers, are analog measurement inputs of the telemetry unit, non-volatile electrically reprogrammable memory EEPROM, a universal synchronous-asynchronous USART transceiver and an input interface - General purpose output grouped into four GPIO I/O ports. 3. Plug valve according to claim 1, characterized in that the rangefinders are made in the form of laser distance sensors. 4. Plug valve according to claim 1, characterized in that a submersible probe with a buffer solution pH=7.0 is used as a sensor for acidity and alkalinity of solutions. 5. Plug valve according to claim 2, characterized in that a wireless communication module made in the form of a radio module is connected to the universal synchronous-asynchronous USART transceiver. 6. The plug valve according to claim 2, characterized in that a power output is connected to the first GPIO input-output port, configured to connect to an electric motor, which is a six-channel assembly based on Darlington keys. 7. Plug valve according to claim 2, characterized in that a character LCD display is connected to the second GPIO input-output port. 8. Plug valve according to claim 2, characterized in that a keyboard containing sixteen keys is connected to the third GPIO input-output port.

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