A recent project that BNRC has completed was for AquaTek. AquaTek is involved in the transfer of water for fracking and wanted to automate as much of the process as possible.
Fracking uses large amounts of water that can be sourced from specialty constructed ponds or tanks and pumped for miles using special hose and multiple pumps. BNRC was tasked to develop a system that could monitor the level of the water source, switch sources when the current source levels are low, and provide the data to a connected device anywhere in the oilfield.
The final system we delivered was an IoT based system using Edge Computing. An operator is able to select the starting source and turn on the system. The Edge Computers verify the water level of the source, determine what pumps are needed and automatically turn on the pumps in the correct order so as not to destroy the hoses or seals.
During operation the source levels are automatically monitored. The system determines when the source is low, automatically switches to a new source (shutting down and restarting pumps in the correct order) and notifies the user by SMS. If the old source is refillable (from ground water or a municipal system) the refill system is activated. The system also monitors pump pressure and pump fuel level. If a problem occurs or if pump fuel becomes low, preselect phones are notified by SMS. If pressure levels exceed preprogrammed levels (low or high) or fuel becomes critically low, the system notifies the operators by SMS and shuts down the pumps in the prescribed sequence.
Data sent to the cloud includes water levels, pump pressures, fuel usage and run time allowing the operator to determine water usage, spot problems with pumps and understand the health of their system.
The system uses a verity of ways to communicate with the cloud that includes cellular, WiFi and radio.
To learn more about Fracking: https://www.fractracker.org/resources/oil-and-gas-101/explore/