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The Importance of Proper Shaker Screen Selection
Shaker Screens are one of the most important, (and overlooked) pieces of equipment on the drilling rig. The Shale Shakers are your first line of defense against drilled solids & your primary solids control equipment. They are a key factor in determining the success of your drilling mud and centrifuge.
It is very important to have the right shaker screen selected for your formation cuttings, bit type, and mud properties. On surface holes drilled solids are usually larger solids which can be removed easily with a coarse mesh shaker screen. A mesh of 50, 84 or 110 is usually adequate. However, intermediate and main hole cuttings are typically finer - therefore requiring a finer mesh. I would recommend a minimum mesh of 110 all the way up to 320's & beyond for very fine sand. The screen selection will also depend on ROP, how well the hole is cleaning and if you are adding LCM or other products which you may want to reuse.
Maintaining your Shaker Screens is as important as the screen selection. In normal drilling it is important to ensure that the fluid comes about 25%-50% of the way across the screen furthest from the flow line. Try to have the Shaker deck as level as possible. This will allow for more consistent wear across the screens and typically means that the right size mesh has been selected. Jacking or raising the Shaker deck up, increases the amount of time that the solids will be on the shaker screens closer to the flowline. This will decrease the shaker screen life. Be careful when cleaning shaker screens, not to puncture the mesh as this will diminish the effectiveness of the screen. A shaker screen with the top layer of mesh gone is also less effective and should be replaced. When a shaker screen has a hole in it there is no protection against drilled solids. Why leave things to chance. This will have a dramatic effective on your drilling fluid. Replacing a shaker screen is a lot cheaper then replacing a mud system, or rebuilding mud pumps & directional tools; not to mention the increased costs on the completions side of the well. It is also important to ensure that the shaker deck rubbers, shaker bypass and other shaker components are in good working order at all times. If you open the bypass while drilling, all the shale goes below the shakers and into the mud tanks - providing zero efficiency. The shale always manages to end up in the screen box of the feed pump which reduces the amount of volume processed by the centrifuge. The screen box is a great indicator.
The more effective the shaker screens the more successful the Centrifuge will be. Centrifuges are not rock crushers or magical machines, to some people's disappointment I'm sure. Centrifuges will help to dramatically reduce mud costs, transportation costs, completion costs & misc. costs of rebuilding equipment.
Try these tips for increased success on your current or next drilling project.
If you have found this information valuable please pass it along to your colleagues and friends who may benefit.
Thank you and have a great day.
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Mud Puppy Recycling Systemby DTHProducts3,553 views
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