sand control in water supply wells

[andrey]

We would like to evaluate the performance of sand control filters (particularly, wire wrapped screens) to eliminate/reduce sand content in water used for pressure maintenance. Could anyone advise on the manufacturers and evaluation techniques?

Thanks.
Andrey

 

[jmw]

Dependent on the sand content one way to monitor filter efficiency is to look at the density of the outflow. Vibrating element density meters have been used successfully to monitor water quality in washing plant and in clay processing plants.

Much depends on the resolution required.
Also, if these are large bore pipelines then an insertion device will work well.

I suggest an internet search under density measurement but to start you off I'll suggest

http://www.solartronmobrey.com

and suggest the 7828 as a suitable instrument.

The vibrating element density sensors e.g. the 7828 fork design, vibrates at the resonant frequency. The resonant frequency varies as the effective mass of the system which is the mass of the ensor and the effective mass of the surrounding fluid. The mass of the surrounding fluid varies with its density. The device includes algorythms to determine % solids in the water.


JMW

http://www.viscoanalyser.com

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[andrey]

Thank you jmw. But what I was really looking for was evaluating the filter performance before installing it. Is there any way to predict how much sand will be carried through the filter and maybe grain size distributions if the grain size distribution before installing the filter is known.

It is an important piece of information for us to be able to estimate what kind of surface treatment would be necessary once the filters are in place and also if the esp's would be working properly with the sand content achieved by filters.

 

[d23]

andrey:

Try this link.

http://www.stanleyfilter.com/

 

[KofK]

It is better to design an appropriate sand control scheme before deciding on using screens (which is one of the options, of course). A suitable scheme depends on flow rate, sand PSD, lithology, formation strength, production method (pump, etc) and frequency of production interruptions. The installation of screen may very well be a suitable option; but in some cases, it may not work at all after some time. Migration of fines and blocked screens may mean a waste of investment in such cases. Sand control is a design field in itself and proper analysis will ensure success. If such an analysis is done already and screens were found to be suitable, you can contact the vendors for sizing and quotes. Reslink can size and supply them. There are others in USA as well. Schlumberger, Baker and Weatherford can do the complete design and installation.

I can't over-emphasise the need of a proper analysis. Wish you all the best!

 

[KofK]

Hi Andrey,

Hope you made some progress. It would be great if you can update on your final plan. My current PhD research is on failure of sand in wellbores. I met a screen supplier yesterday in a conference in Aberdeen. If you need contact details, I can send them. I can also provide you with industry standard technical guidelines. It will be useful if you can state your issue with more technical details.

Regards,