Análise de imagem aplicada em processo de peneiramento vibratório

Abstract

Throughout the stages of oil well drilling, the drilling fluid, which is used to return the drilled solids generated by the action of the drill back to the surface, must be cleaned so that it can be returned and reused in the process. A series of sequential equipment was used for this, which basically consist of shale shakers, hydrocyclones and decanting centrifuges. In the present work, the focus is on shale shakers, which are the first line of defense in the solids-removal chain when the drilling fluid returns to the surface. It is known that its operation interferes in the operation of other solids-removal equipment, so its understanding and optimization become fundamental. For a better understanding of the dynamics that take place on its screen and of the variables that may influence its operation, a prototype of a shale shaker was equipped with a video camera and the experiments, that followed a 2k planning, were recorded for later analysis. Therefore, the aim of this work was to better understand the image analysis tool, its concepts and fundamentals, and to apply this technique to the recorded experiments. It was sought to analyze by qualitative form how the applied g-force, feed rate, sieve screen tilt and volumetric concentration could interfere in the amount of liquid removed from the drilling solids and the occupied screen area. For this, the videos were divided into frames and for each experiment a triplicate analysis was performed, in which the images were studied with the binarization technique. It was evaluated that all variables have a considerable influence, especially the g-force and sieve screen tilt, but they could not be analyzed separately, since the combined effect produces better operating conditions. It was also concluded that the image analysis tool, although little explored in the graduation course, can be extremely useful in the field of engineering studies.