Wellhead Vibration Monitoring 1

[HarrisonH]

I'm looking for a system to monitor, and record, vibration data at the wellhead. We're in the process of finishing off a large multi-pad well that has had quite a few changes to its drilling schedule. Recently, there's been some concern with flanges coming undone or valves being comprised when skidding & drilling near a well that is already in production. The general consensus is that it won't cause any problems in these neighboring wells, but I'd like some data to know for sure. This is important to know because there will be thousands of feet of, unplugged, hydraulically fractured lateral coming to the surface if there happens to be a problem. The setup doesn't need to be anything fancy or in depth (I just need to see general trends in vibration when certain operations are occurring around the wellhead). It doesn't even need to be industry specific. However, if there is already something out there for this application in particular, that would be OK.

Requirements:
Not handheld -- I need a system that I can apply to the wellhead and leave it.
AND
Is able to record and store data for further analysis.

I've looked up different vibration monitors but I'm not sure how to correctly apply them for what I need. Any ideas?

 

[DLite30]

Since you don't really know what vibration levels you're expecting, I would start with a vibration transmitter that spans 0 to 2 ips (inches per second). General machinery limits are around 1 ips...which varies depending on the geometry of the system. But for well head piping vibrating at 1 ips I would say that would need to be addressed. So for you application, I think 0 - 2 ips is a good range.

Transmitter like this lke this:

PCB Transmitter Link

You're also going to need 12V to 24V DC power available...that can be just a lead-acid battery.

For a data logger, you would want one to measure the 4-20ma loop current. Figure out how often you want to log the data, every 1 second, 5 seconds, 30 secs, etc. And then figure out how often you can get the data downloaded--every 1 day, 2 days, etc, and that will set your memory parameter. Get that figured out, then I would ask the guys that hang out in the PLC section what they might recommend for a datalogger, or just google it yourself, there are a lot of options out there.

You're probably going to need a weather tight enclosure for the datalogger device, and battery.


I wish there was a simple packaged deal out there, because I've needed to do a very similar thing in the past.

 

[HarrisonH]

Thank you! Your post was very helpful. I've contacted PCB and I think the way to go is their wireless monitoring device. It's a little pricey, but seems perfect for the application I need. If I did want to go with the non-wireless monitoring system you linked, would you happen to know a logging device that I should look at.. or maybe a company who specializes in that sort of thing that I could check with? Thanks again

 

[DLite30]

I'm glad that got you going.

For a data logger, I would consider this one from National Instruments.

NI Datalogger

 

[DLite30]

or something as cheap as this one from Omega.

Omega Datalogger