Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02689810 2010-01-07
DRILLING MUD TANK
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to drilling mud and, more
specifically, to a mud tank for
processing drilling mud during drilling operations.
In drilling technology, drilling mud is used for removal of drill cuttings and
to maintain hydrostatic
equilibrium within the wellbore by pumping the drilling mud of a predetermined
density down the
drill string to the nozzles on the drill bit, whereupon the mud and cuttings
are transported back
up through the surface casing to a mud pit where it is screened to remove
large particles and
de-sanded prior to reuse.
The present invention provides a mud tank having a base with peripherally
depending walls
forming a receptacle for processing the wellbore aggregate by placing a screen
shaker over the
receptacle to remove particles larger than the screen mesh as the wellbore
mixture is pumped
into the receptacle. The receptacle is designed with divergent walls extending
from a culvert
spanning the length of the receptacle forming egress of the wellbore mixture
for further
processing.
Straddling the culvert is a cap, also having divergent walls extending from
the cap apex with the
cap divergent walls fixedly spaced away a predetermined distance from the
receptacle divergent
walls providing passage of the mud slurry into the culvert while preventing
larger particles from
entering. Preferably the spacing is approximately 1/4 inch along both
longitudinal cap edges.
Accordingly, the aggregate within the mixture hereinafter referred to as sand,
will be channeled
to the culvert and moved for further processing to the desander, as opposed to
falling out of
solution into the nooks and crannies of the prior art mud tanks requiring
additional processing
tasks.
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Furthermore, the culvert cap prevents larger particles from impeding the flow
to the desander
having drain slits extending the length of both sides of the cap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other tanks, which provide for fluid flow. While these tanks may be
suitable for the
purposes for which they where designed, they would not be as suitable for the
purposes of the
present invention as heretofore described.
It is thus desirable to provide a tank for processing drilling mud having
means for channeling the
wellbore mixture into a desander.
It is further desirable to provide said tank with a culvert having a cap
thereover incorporating
means for regulating particle size and to prevent blockage of the culvert
flow.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is a mud tank having a first and second compartment,
each forming a
tank with an aperture in the common wall separating the tanks serving as an
overflow from one
tank to the other.
All mud is drawn out of the front tank and all mud is deposited into the rear
tank, which creates
a flow from the rear tank to the front tank.
There are only two paths for mud to get to the front tank, both through the
sand trap and
through the overflow in the common wall forming a center divider.
Mud will take the path of least resistance, most often this is the sand trap
at the bottom of the
tank. This loads the sand trap pipe and forces the mud to flow from the rear
tank to the front
tank.
The desander pump draws a suction on the forward sand trap, which keeps the
mud and sand
moving to the desander pump with a small amount of mud flowing from the front
tank into the
sand trap. Because the mud from the shaker and desander cones is deposited
into the rear
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tank, the rear tank will overflow through the center divider to the front
tank. Now, mud in the
front tank is clean with the desander cones continuously reprocessing the mud
so that the mud
in the front tank gets cleaner and cleaner. The suction point for the downhole
pump is above the
bottom of the tank there by clean mud is .drawn off the top of the front mud
tank.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a drilling mud tank
that prevents the
accumulation of sediment within the mud tank.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a drilling mud tank
having a base with walls
depending therefrom with a substantially center partition dividing the tank
into a first and second
compartment with an aperture for passage of drilling mud therebetween.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a drilling mud tank
having a longitudinal
channel with walls divergently extending from a trough whereby sand will
gravity feed into the
channel.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a drilling mud
tank wherein said
channel has a spaced apart cover with said space providing for the flow of mud
and sand into
the channel while preventing passage of larger particles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mud tank wherein said
covered channel is
in communication with a desander pump.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a mud tank having a
port for supplying a
source of clean drilling mud.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a mud tank
wherein said desanding
process deposits cleaned mud and wellbore mud aggregate into a compartment in
communication with a second compartment through a pair of passages.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mud tank for
processing drilling mud
having a pair of tanks with a divider possessing an aperture for the mud to
overflow from one
compartment into the other.
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Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a mud tank for
processing drilling mud
having a pair of tanks with a divider possessing an aperture positioned below
the channel cap
and extending to the channel walls forming passage to the desander cones via
the desander
pump.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a mud tank
that cycles all wellbore
material in an efficient manner providing clean drilling mud at an economical
cost.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description
proceeds.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing
a mud tank for
processing drilling mud during drilling operations that overcomes the
limitations of the prior art.
The present invention provides a mud tank having a base with peripherally
depending walls
forming a receptacle for processing the wellbore aggregate by placing a screen
shaker over the
receptacle to remove particles larger than the screen mesh as the wellbore
mixture is pumped
into the receptacle. The receptacle is designed with divergent walls extending
from a culvert
spanning the length of the receptacle forming egress of the wellbore mixture
for further
processing.
Straddling the culvert is a cap, also having divergent walls extending from
the cap apex with the
cap divergent walls fixedly spaced away a predetermined distance from the
receptacle divergent
walls providing passage of the mud slurry into the culvert while preventing
larger particles from
entering. Preferably the spacing is approximately 1/4 inch along both
longitudinal cap edges.
Accordingly, the sand within the mixture will be channeled to the culvert and
moved for further
processing to the desander, as opposed to falling out of solution into the
nooks and crannies of
the prior art mud tanks requiring additional processing tasks.
Furthermore, the culvert cap prevents larger particles from impeding the flow
to the desander
having drain slits extending the length of both sides of the cap.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the
description to follow. In
the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which forms a
part hereof,
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and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the
invention may be
practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable
those skilled in the
art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other
embodiments may be utilized
and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of
the invention. In
the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or
similar parts
throughout the several views.
The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a
limiting sense, and the
scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be
described, by way of
example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of the present invention in use;
FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of the present invention in use;
FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an external view of the present invention in use;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the present invention in use;
FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the present invention in use;
FIG. 9 is orthographic views of the present invention; and
FIG. 10 is orthographic views of the present invention.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS
Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference
characters denote similar
elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the Improved
Drilling Mud Tank
Assembly of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used,
the following
numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures.
TABLE-US-00001 10 Improved Drilling Mud Tank Assembly of the present invention
12 mud
tank 14 sand trap assembly 16 center wall 18 shaker screen 20 desander cone 22
dirty tank of
12 24 clean tank of 12 26 cap of 14 28 large debris 30 sand 32 sand dump chute
34 trap gap 36
suction port 38 desander pump 40 desander cone inlet 42 cone return line 44
sloped walls of 12
46 overflow spillway 48 dirty mud 50 clean mud 52 extra outlet to drill 54
sand trap cutout
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention.
This discussion
should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those
particular embodiments,
practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as
well. For definition
of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended
claims.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of the present invention 10 in use. The present
invention 10 is a
mud tank assembly 10 that is part of a mud cleaning system. The mud tank 12
serves as a
reservoir for the mud that a well driller uses to drill with. The mud is a
mixture of bentonite (clay)
and water. The mud is pumped down the drill pipe while the well is being
drilled. The mud
comes out of the drill pipe at the bottom of the well and carries the rocks
and sand from the
bottom to the surface. The mud carrying the solids is pumped via the sand
guzzler to a shaker
18 which is a vibrating screen that separates the rock and large items from
the mud. The mud
and sand fall through the screen into the mud tank. The large items fall onto
the ground. The
mud in the tank is then pumped through desander cones 20 that spin the mud so
that the sand
is thrown to the outside of a vortex. The clean mud leaves the top of the cone
20 and returns to
the mud tank while the sand leaves the bottom of the cone 20 and falls to the
ground. The mud
tank assembly 10 includes the mud tank 12 divided interiorly into a rear dirty
section 22 and a
front clean section 24 by a center wall 16 and a sand trap assembly 14
covering the bottom of
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the tank 12.
FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of the present invention 10 in use. The mud
tank 12 is a major part
of the system. The mud carrying the sand falls from the shaker 18 into the
dirty section of the
tank 12. The tank 12 has sides that slope down toward the center. In the
bottom of the tank 12,
at the center is a sand trap formed by an inverted "V" cap welded to the
bottom of the tank 12.
There is a 1/4" gap between the "V" sides of the cap that run the length of
the tank 12 in both
sections thus allowing the sand to be pulled into the trap gap. A desander
pump draws mud
from the tank 12 via the sand trap. Because there is a 1/4" gap or opening in
the sand trap, the
sand is drawn in the entire length of the sand trap. That is how the inside of
the tank 12 is kept
clean. Large debris 28 is prevented entry into the dirty section of the mud
tank 12 by the shaker
18 and the removed sand 30 is deposited by the sand dump chute
FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention 10. The present invention 10
provides a mud tank
12 that controls the flow of sand within by having sloped walls so sand is
diverted into a suction
and out to the desander pump. A sand trap runs along the bottom of the tank 12
that spreads
the suction across the length thereof. The tank 12 is divided into two parts
that separates the
dirty mud from the clean mud. A shaker 18 is set over the dirty side and the
clean mud is
pumped back down the drill hole from the clean side.
FIG. 4 is an external view of the present invention 10 in use. The mud
carrying the sand falls
from the shaker 18 into the dirty section of the tank 12. The tank 12 has
sides that slope down
toward the center. In the bottom of the tank 12, at the center is a sand trap
which is an inverted
"V"-shaped trap cap welded to the bottom of the tank 12. There is a 1/4" gap
between the "V"
sides that run the length of the tank 12 on both sides thus pulling the sand
through the gap into
the trap. A desander pump draws the sand from the sand trap through a suction
port and it is
delivered to the desander cones 20 via the desander cone inlet 44. The
desander cones 20
create a vortex that propel the heavier sand particles outward while drawing
the cleaned mud
out of the top into the cone return line 42 and back into the mud tank 12
where it is reprocessed.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention 10. Shown is a
perspective view of the
present invention 10 providing a tank 12 that controls the flow of sand within
having a sand trap
assembly 14 integral therewith including sloped walls 44 and the trap cap 26
at their juncture
with a trap gap 34 therebetween through which sand is diverted therein and
into a suction port
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36 and out to the desander pump. The sand trap 14 runs along the bottom of the
tank 12 and
spreads the suction thereacross. The tank 14 is divided into two parts by a
center wall 16 with
an overflow spillway 46 that separates the dirty mud from the clean mud. A
shaker is set over
the dirty side 22 and the clean mud is pumped back down the drill hole from
the clean side 24.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention 10. Shown is a
perspective view of the
present invention 10 providing a tank 12 that controls the flow of sand within
having sloped walls
44 so sand is diverted into a suction port 36 and out to the desander pump. A
sand trap 14 runs
along the bottom of the tank 12 that spreads the suction across the length
thereof. The tank 12
is divided into two parts that separate the dirty mud 48 from the clean mud
50. A shaker is set
over the dirty side 22 and the clean mud 50 is pumped back down the drill hole
from the clean
side 24. The dirty mud 50 in the dirty section 22 is high, therefore it will
flow through the suction
port 36 to the desander pump via the sand trap 14.
FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the sand trap 14 in use. The sand 30 sinks to the
bottom of the dirty
section 22 and is guided to the sand trap 14 by the sloped walls 44. The sand
30 enters the
sand trap 14 through the gaps 34 between the walls 44 and the cap 26 and is
subsequently
drawn therethrough past the clean section to the desander pump 38.
FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the present invention 10 in use. Mud from
drilling is dumped on the
shaker screen 18 and the sand 30 sinks to the bottom of the dirty section 22
and is guided to
the sand trap 14 by the sloped walls 44. The sand 30 enters the sand trap 14
through the gaps
34 between the walls 44 and the cap 26 and is subsequently drawn therethrough
past the clean
section to the desander pump 38.
FIG. 9 is a plurality of orthographic views of the mud tank 12 of the present
invention 10. Shown
are the primary components of the mud tank 12 including the suction port 36,
the center divider
16, the extra outlet to the drill 52, the sand trap 14, the sand trap cutout
54 and the sloped walls
44 and cap 26 which define the sand trap 14.
FIG. 10 is a plurality of orthographic views of the present invention 10.
Shown is the mud tank
12, the suction port 36, the extra outlet to drill 52, the center divider 16,
the sand trap 14 and its
gaps 34.
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It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or
more together may
also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the
type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described
and are pointed
out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details
above, since it will be
understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in
the forms and
details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those
skilled in the art
without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the
present invention that
others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various
applications without
omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute
essential characteristics of
the generic or specific aspects of this invention.
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