US-12624685-B2 - Mobile fracturing pump transport for hydraulic fracturing of subsurface geological formations

US12624685B2US 12624685 B2US12624685 B2US 12624685B2US-12624685-B2

Abstract

A first fracturing pump is selectively engaged or disengaged a from an electric prime mover based on operation of a first lever by a user. The first lever, the electric prime mover, and the first fracturing pump are mounted on a mobile transport. A second fracturing pump is selectively engaged or disengaged a from the electric prime mover based on operation of a second lever by the user. The second lever is also mounted on the mobile transport. The electric prime mover is operable to drive one of the first and second fracturing pumps that is engaged with the electric prime mover while not driving the other of the first and second fracturing pumps that is disengaged from the electric prime mover by operation of a corresponding one of the first and second levers.

Inventors

Jeffrey G. Morris
Neal Jensen
Adrian Benjamin Bodishbaugh

Assignees

TYPHON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS (U.S.), LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231227

Claims (20)

1 . A fracturing pump transport comprising: an electric prime mover including a motor shaft, wherein the motor shaft is a dual shaft extending in both directions from the electric prime mover; a first fracturing pump including a pump shaft; a driveline that transmits drive of the motor shaft to the pump shaft of the first fracturing pump; a coupling disposed on the driveline, the coupling in an engaged position transmitting the drive of the motor shaft to the pump shaft, and the coupling in a disengaged position isolating the drive of the motor shaft from the pump shaft; an actuator configured to selectively move the coupling between the engaged position and the disengaged position; and a second fracturing pump, wherein the electric prime mover is disposed between the first and second fracturing pumps, and wherein the electric prime mover is operable to transmit drive to a pump shaft of the second fracturing pump to drive the second fracturing pump without driving the first fracturing pump after the coupling in the disengaged position isolates the drive of the motor shaft from the pump shaft of the first fracturing pump.
2 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is an electric actuator.
3 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the driveline includes at least one universal joint to allow for misalignment between the motor shaft and the pump shaft.
4 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the coupling is a sliding sleeve coupling that includes a sleeve adapted to be moved back and forth by the actuator to move between the engaged position and the disengaged position.
5 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 4 , wherein the sliding sleeve coupling is a static coupling configured to move between the engaged position and the disengaged position statically.
6 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is a hydraulic actuator.
7 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the driveline includes at least one fixed coupling to allow for misalignment between the motor shaft and the pump shaft.
8 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the coupling allows for dynamic movement between the engaged position and the disengaged position.
9 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the coupling includes one of an air clutch, a torque tube, an electro-magnetic clutch, and a hydraulic clutch.
10 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 1 , wherein the driveline is a first driveline, and the coupling is a first coupling disposed between a first end of the dual shaft and the pump shaft of the first fracturing pump, the fracturing pump transport further comprising: a second driveline that transmits drive of the dual shaft to the pump shaft of the second fracturing pump; a second coupling disposed on the second driveline, the second coupling in an engaged position transmitting the drive of the dual shaft to the pump shaft of the second fracturing pump, and the second coupling in a disengaged position isolating the drive of the dual shaft from the pump shaft of the second fracturing pump; and a second actuator configured to selectively move the second coupling between the engaged position and the disengaged position.
11 . The fracturing pump transport of claim 10 , wherein each of the first coupling and the second coupling is independently movable between the engaged position and the disengaged position.
12 . A method for pumping fracturing fluid with a fracturing pump transport that includes an electric prime mover including a motor shaft, a first fracturing pump including a first pump shaft, a second fracturing pump including a second pump shaft, and a driveline that transmits drive of the motor shaft to the first pump shaft, the method comprising: selectively moving a coupling using an actuator between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the coupling being disposed on the driveline, the coupling in the engaged position transmitting the drive of the motor shaft to the first pump shaft, and the coupling in the disengaged position isolating the drive of the motor shaft from the first pump shaft, wherein the motor shaft is a dual shaft extending in both directions from the electric prime mover, wherein the electric prime mover is disposed between the first and second fracturing pumps, and wherein the electric prime mover is operable to transmit drive to the second pump shaft to drive the second fracturing pump without driving the first fracturing pump after the coupling in the disengaged position isolates the drive of the motor shaft from the first pump shaft; and pumping pressurized fracturing fluid into a wellbore using the second fracturing pump without driving the first fracturing pump.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the actuator is an electric actuator.
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the driveline includes at least one universal joint to allow for misalignment between the motor shaft and the first pump shaft.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the coupling is a sliding sleeve coupling that includes a sleeve that is adapted to be moved back and forth by the actuator to move between the engaged position and the disengaged position.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the sliding sleeve coupling is a static coupling configured to move between the engaged position and the disengaged position statically.
17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the driveline includes at least one fixed coupling to allow for misalignment between the motor shaft and the first pump shaft.
18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the coupling includes one of an air clutch, a torque tube, an electro-magnetic clutch, and a hydraulic clutch.
19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the coupling is a first coupling disposed between a first end of the dual shaft and the first pump shaft of the first fracturing pump, the method further comprising: selectively moving a second coupling between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the second coupling being disposed between a second end of the dual shaft and the second pump shaft of the second fracturing pump, the second coupling in the engaged position transmitting the drive of the dual shaft to the second pump shaft, and the second coupling in a disengaged position isolating the drive of the dual shaft from the second pump shaft.
20 . A system comprising: a source of electric power; and a fracturing pump transport coupled to the source of electric power, the fracturing pump transport comprising: an electric prime mover including a motor shaft, wherein the motor shaft is a dual shaft extending in both directions from the electric prime mover; a first fracturing pump including a pump shaft; a driveline that transmits drive of the motor shaft to the pump shaft of the first fracturing pump; a coupling disposed on the driveline, the coupling in an engaged position transmitting the drive of the motor shaft to the pump shaft, and the coupling in a disengaged position isolating the drive of the motor shaft from the pump shaft; an electric actuator configured to selectively move the coupling between the engaged position and the disengaged position; and a second fracturing pump, wherein the electric prime mover is disposed between the first and second fracturing pumps, and wherein the electric prime mover is operable to transmit drive to a pump shaft of the second fracturing pump to drive the second fracturing pump without driving the first fracturing pump after the coupling in the disengaged position isolates the drive of the motor shaft from the pump shaft of the first fracturing pump.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/500,525, filed Oct. 13, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/294,786, filed Mar. 6, 2019, U.S. Pat. No. 11,168,554, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/253,686, filed Aug. 31, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,378,326, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/971,450, filed Dec. 16, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,534,473, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/094,773, filed Dec. 19, 2014, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND Hydraulic fracturing has been commonly used by the oil and gas industry to stimulate production of hydrocarbon wells, such as oil and/or gas wells. Hydraulic fracturing, sometimes called “fracing” or “fracking” is the process of injecting fracturing fluid, which is typically a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals, into the subsurface to fracture the subsurface geological formations and release otherwise encapsulated hydrocarbon reserves. The fracturing fluid is typically pumped into a wellbore at a relatively high pressure sufficient to cause fissures within the underground geological formations. Specifically, once inside the wellbore, the pressurized fracturing fluid is pressure pumped down and then out into the subsurface geological formation to fracture the underground formation. A fluid mixture that may include water, various chemical additives, and proppants (e.g., sand or ceramic materials) can be pumped into the underground formation to fracture and promote the extraction of the hydrocarbon reserves, such as oil and/or gas. For example, the fracturing fluid may comprise a liquid petroleum gas, linear gelled water, gelled water, gelled oil, slick water, slick oil, poly emulsion, foam/emulsion, liquid carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen gas (N2), and/or binary fluid and acid. Implementing large-scale fracturing operations at well sites typically requires extensive investment in equipment, labor, and fuel. For instance, a typical fracturing operation uses a variety of fracturing equipment, numerous personnel to operate and maintain the fracturing equipment, relatively large amounts of fuel to power the fracturing operations, and relatively large volumes of fracturing fluids. As such, planning for fracturing operations is often complex and encompasses a variety of logistical challenges that include minimizing the on-site area or “footprint” of the fracturing operations, providing adequate power and/or fuel to continuously power the fracturing operations, increasing the efficiency of the hydraulic fracturing equipment, and reducing any environmental impact resulting from fracturing operations. Thus, numerous innovations and improvements of existing fracturing technology are needed to address the variety of complex and logistical challenges faced in today's fracturing operations. SUMMARY The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosed subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of the technology disclosed herein. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is discussed later. A system for pumping and pressurizing fracturing fluid, the system comprising: a mobile transport, an electric prime mover that comprises a shaft and mounted on the mobile transport, a drive line assembly, a fracturing pump mounted on the mobile transport that is coupled to an end of the shaft via the drive line assembly. The drive line assembly comprises an engagement coupling configured to selectively engage and/or disengage the fracturing pump and the electric prime mover, and an engagement panel mounted on the mobile transport and configured to receive a remote command and trigger, in response to the remote command, engagement and/or disengagement of the fracturing pump and the electric prime mover. A fracturing pump transport comprising: a first fracturing pump, a second fracturing pump, a dual shaft electric motor that comprises a shaft having a first end and a second end, a first drive line assembly that comprises a first engagement coupling that allows for selective engagement and/or disengagement of the first fracturing pump with the first end of the shaft, a second drive line assembly that comprises a second engagement coupling that allows for selective engagement and/or disengagement of the second fracturing pump with the second end of the shaft, and an engagement panel that allows for selective engagement and/or disengagement at the first engagement coupling, selective engagement and/or disengagement of at the second engagement coupling, or both based on receiving a remot