CLAMPON DSP PARTICLE MONITOR

• ClampOn Product

• Topside Product

• Particle Monitor

Any owner or operator of a factory would surely like to operate it as efficiently and profitably as possible. An oil or gas well can be regarded as a factory, and the ClampOn sand detector gives operators the best tool for maximizing profits. ClampOn’s DSP systems operate on thousands of wells every year, and the company is the world’s largest supplier of sand monitoring systems. ClampOn is the natural choice for sand monitoring and management programs!

PARTICLE MONITOR

HOW IT WORKS

The ClampOn DSP Particle Monitor is based on the ClampOn “Ultrasonic Intelligent Sensor” technology. The sensor is installed in/immediately after a 90 degree bend, where the particles/solids impact the inside of the pipe wall, generating ultrasound. The ultrasonic signal is transmitted through the pipe wall and picked up by the acoustic sensor.

The ClampOn sensor is delivered fully calibrated and there is no need for individual site calibration to operate this unit, which can be simply clamped to the pipe wall.
In the patented intelligent ClampOn sensor, the signal is processed internally by a DSP engine and filtered before being sent onwards to the computer or the control system (no Calculating Interface Unit required). Here the user can evaluate the data in real time and make the decisions needed for profitable production.

ADVANTAGES

Sand production in oil and gas wells is a serious issue facing oil and gas producers. The challenge is not merely to avoid sand production, but also to increase commercial well productivity, as even small quantities of particles in the well flow can cause significant damage. As an operator you are interested in maximum production and profit from your wells, no matter what technology you use. Operators all over the world have made ClampOn their preferred supplier of sand monitoring systems, due to the patented technology that turns their wells into profit generators.

Read our article: Sand monitoring challenges under HPHT flow conditions

– ClampOn sensors with their high-performance filter are unbeatable. The ClampOn SandQ with improved filtration of acoustic noise offers unparalleled performance, particularly when monitoring sand in challenging high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) conditions >>

The ClampOn DSP model incorporates a new filtering technique that makes the particle monitor an extremely useful tool for analyzing the true nature of sand production, helping to control it and finally, increasing the profit from the well! This filtering technique is the result of integrating our experience of thousands of wells, analyzing data and using the results to enhance the technology used in our DSP model.

The enormous capacity of the DSP sensor (the only one on the market) makes it possible to scan through a frequency range of 1 MHz 128 times per second. This illustrates the capacity of our technology and of the filtering technique that is at the heart of acquiring and processing sand data.

The following figures show a sensor installed close to a choke valve on a gas well operating at high pressure and high velocity. The figures illustrate what the signal looked like when using a traditional/alternative system compared to using the new DSP filtering technology. The new filter (ref. Figure 2) was able in this case to reduce unwanted noise by a factor of 500 compared to alternative solutions.

Digital signal processing – the way ahead

The DSP features complete digitalisation, eliminating analogue filters, circuits and amplifiers. The technology incorporates a powerful DSP unit with a large amount of flash RAM, running-feature packed modular software. The sensor operates simultaneously in several ultrasonic frequency ranges, allowing a whole series of new signal processing features to be implemented, including the latest filtering technique. Different types of chokes or flow conditions that generate sound unrelated to sand noise are analyzed and reduced dramatically via the advanced processing and filtering technique in the DSP model. It also improves accuracy and repeatability, important factors in quantifying sand production and a crucial tool in your daily sand management operation.

No other technology comes close to what the ClampOn Sensor offers customers who need to generate profitable and sand-free production!

Figure. 1. The signal from the sensor experienced on a high flow rate – high pressure gas well using a traditional/alternative sensor without DSP filtering technology

Figure 2. Sensor signal experienced on the same well, now with the new ClampOn DSP filter. This shows how the sensor has completely removed the flow noise, allowing the operator to monitor the true nature of the sand being produced.

INTEGRATION

All our instruments are equipped with both digital and analogue interface, and comply with all common protocols. Our instruments can easily be integrated into any existing or new control system. A computer with our software is often used in-between our instruments and the control system. The computer will be used for sand calculation by using the RAW data from our sand detectors and flow data from third party systems, then output calculated sand rate to the control system. All recorded data will also be stored for analyzing and calibration purposes. We always recommend using the digital interface due to following benefits:

• Two way communication enabling instrument software update and configuration

• Full signal range resolution

• All sensor data can be transmitted

• No signal loss

Typical Integration – example

SPECIFICATIONS

Particle Monitor

Method of operation

Passive acoustics (ultrasonic)

Processing

Intelligent DSP electronics inside sensor unit

Method of installation

Non-intrusive, clamped to pipe surface

Minimum particle size*

Oil/water: 25 microns/1 PPM

Air/gas: 15 microns/1 PPM

Minimum sand rate*

0.01 g/s

Minimum flow velocity*

0.5 m/s

Uncertainty*

±5% (with calibration by means of sand injections)

Repeatability

Better than 1%

Interface options

RS485 (ASCII, binary, ModBus RTU), 4-20mA

Two-way communication

Yes

Software upgrading

Yes

Pipe surface temperature

-40 ºC to 125 ºC [-40 ºF to 257 ºF ]**

Flow regimes

Oil, gas, water, multiphase

Diagnostic features

Intelligent “health check”

Ingress protection

Ex ia, Ex db: IP 66 & IP 68

Housing material

SS 316L

Ex approval

Ex ia, Ex d

Dimensions

Ex ia: ø80 mm x 144 mm [ø3,1” x 5,7”]
Ex d: ø112 mm x 132 mm [ø4,4” x 5,2”]

Sensor weight

Ex ia: <3 kg
Ex db: <5 kg

Power Consumption

Max 2.2 Watt

* Depending on flow conditions
** Depending configuration/certification

All specifications are subject to change without notice.

DATASHEET

Instrument Datasheet ClampOn DSP Particle Monitor Ex ia »

Instrument Datasheet ClampOn DSP Particle Monitor Ex d e »

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ClampOn DSP Particle Monitor Brochure »

ClampOn Support & Sand Management Brochure »

ClampOn Sand Monitoring Brochure August 2021 »

Quality, not quantity