Magnetic Flowmeters for Measuring the Frac Fluid

A piece of equipment used in hydraulic fracturing is the blender truck. It contains the equipment used to prepare and measure the "frac fluid". Frac fluid is composed of water, sand, specialty chemicals, and gels, and is highly erosive and sometimes corrosive. This "blended" mixture of sand, water and chemicals is then injected into a well to hydraulically open cracks in the rock layers below. By opening the cracks, trapped natural gas and petroleum is released and flows more freely. 

Magnetic flowmeters are employed to measure the frac fluid flow and volume.  These flowmeters must accurately meter the frac fluid into the well, stand up to the continual erosive media, and be durable enough to handle the harsh ambient conditions. Standard process magmeters experience shortened lifespans under these conditions and must be pulled from service and repaired. A better alternative is a severe service flowmeters designed specifically for this service.

Thompson Equipment Company (TECO) manufactures an electromagnetic flowmeter (magmeter) designed for frac fluid flow metering. The TECO design incorporates two significant features to improve performance and extend operating life:

1. A ceramic sleeved liner made of “magnesia partially stabilized zirconia”
2. The use of solid tungsten electrodes.

The TECO fracing flowmeter provides huge benefits, namely operators save money through increased uptime, they reduce health, safety and environmental risk, and reduce costs related to magmeter replacement and repair.

Severe Service Magmeters for Fracing Operations

Proven in the heat of a West Texas summer, and the cold of an Alberta winter, this TECO magmeter is designed from the ground up to withstand corrosive slurries, acids, bases and solvents.

Severe Application Meter (TECO)

Magnetic flow meters (magmeters) installed on blender trucks are of particular concern. The application involves accurately measuring the flow of an extremely erosive slurry comprised of sand and “frac water” (a mixture of water and harsh chemicals). Replacing failed magmeters can take up to 4 hours, and requires the shutting down of the entire frac spread.

Calling upon sixty-plus years experience in magmeter application, failure analysis, repair, and design, TECO developed several innovative magmeter features intended to improve longevity in fracing operations.

FRAC Trucks

First, TECO developed a ceramic sleeved liner made of “magnesia partially stabilized zirconia”, a very tough ceramic used in severe-service applications that provides corrosion resistance and durability.

Second, TECO developed electrodes built from a solid tungsten carbide billet, which afford unparalleled wear resistance. Given the sand density in the frac fluid, noise reduction is critically important; so, the tungsten carbide is polished leaving a hard, smooth finish that significantly reduces noise in the electrode circuit.

Erosive sand tears up
other magmeters. 

Finally, TECO designed the magmeter as a drop-in replacement. It operates with a variety of secondaries and matches the “lay length” of the meter being replaced. There is no need for a new transmitter and no need for repiping, allowing for simple retrofit in existing installations.

Internal view of SAM after 500,000,000
pounds of sand flowed though the core.
Upon inspection, the customer found the
flow tube to be looking “brand new”.

In 2017 TECO introduced the SAM (Severe Application Meter) magmeter as a flow meter designed specifically for hydraulic fracturing operations. By specifying SAM, operators save money through increased uptime; decreased health, safety and environmental risk; and reduced costs related to magmeter purchase and repair.

Download the PDF version of this article here.

Contact TECO by visiting https://teco-inc.com of call 800-528-8997 for more information.