shale shaker

Speaking about the most essential pieces of drilling equipment, the shale shaker is tentatively the most important. Shale shaker separates drilling liquid such as mud from solids (also known as cuttings). Shale shaker screens are the most important components of a shale shaker as they help in separating liquids from solids by utilizing drilling fluid efficiently.

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It is a mesh screen made out of woven metal which is inserted in the shale shaker. When solids or cuttings are generated from drilling equipment, they are covered in drilling liquid. These cuttings are jolted over shale shaker screens and all the solid particles are captured. Replacement shaker screens are suitable for fitting to different types of shale shakers.

PARTS OF SHAKER SCREENS

Shaker screen comprises of the following parts &#;

Screen Frame &#; The main screen is supported on a frame just like a canvas. It is made up of different materials such as flat steel sheets, square steel tubing, plastic style composites, etc. The outer perimeter of the frame is divided into small separate inner panels. These smaller panels can be of square, hexagonal, rectangular, and triangular shapes. They provide maximum rigidity and support for the mesh attached to them. The idea is to minimize the area for panels to increase the screen surface available for work.

Screen Mesh &#; A metal wire is woven to create a very thin, yet strong metal cloth called screen mesh. To increase the conductance of the screen mesh, the metal cloth is woven with rectangular openings which facilitate in minimizing the amount of material in the way. The screen is built with multiple screen mesh to maximize screen life. These multiple layers trap even the finest number of particles and keep the screen surface available for use for a long time.

Binding Agent &#; Binding agent is the substance used to bind the mesh to the screen frame. It provides maximum adhesion to both mesh and the screen frame. This binding agent is highly characteristic and can handle strong vibrations, corrosive drilling fluids, abrasive cuttings, and high heat.

TYPES OF SHAKER SCREENS

Various types of shaker screens used in shale shakers &#;

Flat Screen &#;Flat screen is commonly used in the Derrick shaker screen. It is cost-effective and traditional. Its screen panel is made up of two or three layers of stainless-steel screen bonded to a steel support plate.

Pyramid Screen &#; Pyramid screen is also used in the Derrick shaker screen. It costs higher and is made up of new screening technology that can increase the handling capacity of fluids and screening performance. It also has more screen area as compared to a flat-screen.

Metal Framed Screen &#; These are metal framed and are widely used across the industry. These screens enable the operators to switch motion on the fly as drilling conditions change. These screens are highly efficient in separating solids from drilling equipment.

Composite Screens &#; Composite screen is made with composite material with steel reinforcement. They have much higher quality, performance, storage life, delamination resistance, and improved handling.

Hook Strip Screens &#; Hook strip screens are constructed with two or three stainless steel layers bonded to a steel support plank. Accessory rubber plugs are inserted to the rips of the screen to cut down production costs.

ADVANTAGES OF SHAKER SCREENS

The benefits of using shale shaker replacement screens are &#;

Increased Shaker Capability &#; Some shaker screens help in increasing the total amount of usable API non-blanked screen area. This helps in significantly increasing the usable screen area which results in an improved fluid handling capacity as well.

Fine Separations &#; Shaker screens provide enhanced permeability, gravity, and vibration which allow more fluid to pass through the top of the screen. Shaker screens have the capability of making separations as fine as 40 microns.

Replaceable &#; Shaker screens are replaceable and can fit almost all types of shakers for the efficient use of existing equipment. There is no need to modify or replace the existing shaker which ultimately saves a whole lot of money.

Drier Cuttings &#; Shaker screens minimize fluid loss by spreading thinner layers of fluid over an increased screen area which results in faster drying. This enables shakers to screen 1 to 2 API sized particles which ultimately increases efficiency and time.

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If you are seeking replacement shaker screens for your drilling equipment, then consider EV Oilfield Services&#; quality made shaker screens. Our screens are made by international and the U.S. Patented technology for superior quality, durability, and long life. These screens come in a wide range of mesh designs and customizable screen options that fit any application to provide remarkable separation for solid and liquid materials. We can provide perfect shale shaker replacement screens at an extremely affordable price.

Shale shaker is the main solids removal equipment. Today, offshore and onshore drilling projects where more effective fluids/solids separation is required in addition to the reduction of costs related to shale shakers performance.

Why  Choose Shale Shaker in Drilling

Low Cost

Since the screening of shale shaker is a relatively low-cost process that does not waste any appreciable amount of barite or chemical, it is the most desirable means of solids control. In essence, the only cost of screening mud is the rental cost of the equipment and replacement of screens.

Performance well

Efforts should be made to maximize the amount of drilled solids removed by shale shaker. This means that 100 percent of the mud stream should be screened at all times through as fine a screen as possible without screening out an excessive amount of barite. API specifications on barite call for a maximum of 3 percent barite retained on a 200-mesh screen. This means that screens approaching 200 mesh can be used without wasting an excessive amount of barite.

Shaker screen performance

A woven wire cloth made from stainless steel is normally used for mud screening on shakers. This wire cloth is usually specified by mesh. The mesh is the number of openings per linear inch. Unfortunately, the mesh designation is not sufficient to describe the screen. The wire size which is used also influences the opening size and the percent open area of the screen. The finer the wire diameter the greater will be the screen capacity. However, screen life will be less and the opening size greater &#; both of which are undesirable.
There must be a compromise between opening size, capacity, and screen life.

Screen designations have also been complicated by screens that have rectangular rather than square openings. Such a screen may have 80 openings per inch in one direction and 40 in the other direction. This screen would be specified as an 80 x 40 mesh screen. Obviously, it would have a greater capacity than a square 80 mesh but would allow some particles to pass that would be retained on a square 80 mesh.

Much confusion has resulted from insufficient screen description. Through indiscriminate use of the term &#;equivalent&#;, screens have been represented as one size when they are actually something else. To properly describe a screen, the mesh and opening size in both directions and the percent open area are needed.

Particle sizes and screen openings are usually measured in microns. A micron is 1/ of a millimeter or 0. inches. Figure 1. shows the size ranges of various types of particles and the size ranges removed by different screens and solids control equipment.

Drilled solids may exist in the mud system in any size ranging from the finest dispersed bentonite, 0.05 microns, up to the largest cutting or sloughing. The purpose of shale shaker screening is to remove as much as possible of the drilled solids larger than the barite particles. In this manner bentonite, barite, and the liquid phase of the mud containing the chemicals are salvaged; the coarse, drilled solids are discarded. Since only a very small amount of mud that adheres to these larger particles is lost from the system, screening is a very economical way to remove drilled solids.

The drilled solids normally reduce in size with time and continued circulation in the mud system. When they enter the barite size range, it becomes impossible to separate them from the barite until they are further reduced in size and become smaller than the baste particles. At this time a centrifuge can be used to separate a portion of the liquid fraction of the mud containing these small particles along with the chemical and bentonite. This operation is expensive and removes only a small fraction of the total drilled solids. This makes it imperative that we remove as much of the drilled solids as possible the first time they reach the surface.

For many years, shakers did not exist that would handle the high volume requirements with fine screens. Conventional shakers were generally equipped with 12 to 20 mesh screens. This allowed all particles less than about 840 microns to become incorporated in the mud and caused dilution to be necessary to control the mud properties.

Recent improvements in shale shakers allow the use of much finer screens than is possible with the conventional shakers. These new shakers are normally somewhat larger and operate at a higher vibrational frequency than conventional shakers. Some are designed so that the speed and amplitude can be easily changed to fit the needs of various muds. Under normal conditions, they will handle about 400 gal/min of mud with an 80-mesh, 178-micron, screen. Table 1. shows the opening size, wire diameter, and percent open area for a number of different screens representative of those most commonly used on shakers. These specifications may vary somewhat, depending on the manufacturer, but should serve as a guide.

Table 1 -Representative Shaker Screen Descriptions / Opening Size Wire Dia. Percent Mesh Microns Inches Inches Open Area 10 0.075 0.025 56.3 20 838 .033 .017 43.6 40 381 .015 .010 36.0 60 234 . . 30.5 80 178 .007 . 31.4 100 140 . . 30.3 120 117 . . 30.9 160 97 . . 37.64 200 74 . . 33.6

Increased mud viscosity will reduce shaker screen capacity. As a rule, the capacity will be reduced by about 2 percent for every 10 percent increase in viscosity. Often, it is necessary to start with coarse screens and change to finer screens as the flow rate is decreased or the drilled solids content is reduced. Where flow rates are low, it has sometimes been possible to screen high-weight muds with two shale shakers using screens as fine as 200 mesh.

Careful attention should be given to maintaining the shale shaker in good working condition and ensure that the finest screens that will handle the entire mud stream are used at all times. Every pound of solids that are missed by the shaker will cost several times as much to be treated or removed from the mud system by another means.

If the pounds of drilled solids removed by the shale shaker per day can be estimated, this number divided into the shaker rental and screen replacement costs will give the cost per pound of solids removed.  A comparison of these two numbers will indicate the advantage derived from the shaker. In most situations, the shaker costs will be less than dilution costs from spud to total depth.

Muds that retard dispersion or lift the cuttings out of the hole in a minimum length of time also aid screening efficiency. This ensures that the particles remain as large as possible, thus allowing the maximum amount to be removed by screening. Oil muds are particularly good at inhibiting the dispersion of shale particles. Normally, a fine-screen shaker will control the buildup of drilled solids content in an oil mud with only a minimum amount of dilution being necessary.

For more information, please visit Swaco Shaker Screen types.