Portable Screw Feeder for Metering Fracking Additive

General Description

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest oilfield services companies with operations in more than 80 countries. They have many sites all across the United States where they are engaging in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking is a well stimulation technique in which water is mixed with sand and chemicals and the mixture is injected at high pressure into a wellbore to create small fractures in the hydrocarbon producing formation. Hydraulic pressure is removed and a proppant (typically sand) is introduced to keep the fractures open. Sand, proppant and special chemicals are metered with screw conveyors designed and supplied by KWS to Halliburton as part of the process. Working together, KWS and Halliburton developed a lightweight, portable screw feeder to meter chemical additives to the blend tank during the hydraulic fracturing process. The portable screw feeder mounts to a blender truck and deploys within minutes. KWS has delivered over 100 portable screw feeders to Halliburton and provided an excellent solution to meet the harsh demands of the oil field.

Design Parameters

KWS Advantages

Halliburton was seeking a skilled manufacturer to design and build portable screw feeders for their hydraulic fracturing process. They desired to partner with a company that could provide a reliable product with excellent quality and rapid lead times. Halliburton selected KWS. The expedited schedule would be a project management and manufacturing challenge and KWS excelled at the challenge. KWS engineers received equipment dimensions and 3D models from the Customer and integrated them with the screw feeder design to make sure all the equipment mated perfectly. Several design iterations were made until the final design was complete. Engineering standards were developed for all piece parts and assemblies so the units could be manufactured in quantity. The KWS engineering team optimized the concept and brought it to production. Halliburton is able to order the portable screw feeders in small or large quantities. KWS has maintained an almost perfect quality and delivery rating from Halliburton.

Special Features

Halliburton desired a lightweight but durable screw feeder that was easily portable and able to be mounted on a blender truck. KWS used an aluminum pipe housing to reduce weight. The screw was designed on a single continuous pipe so internal hanger bearings would not be needed. The screw was designed for a hydraulic drive, utilizing the power sources on the blender truck. KWS worked with Halliburton engineers to design the interface between all mating equipment for easy field mounting. The screw feeder was fitted with special brackets so it could be bolted to a pivoting stand in the field.