Caterpillar Inc.

Zhijun Cai

Yanchai Zhang

Bradley K Bomer

Perry Dwain Converse

Xuefei Hu

Casey Alan Otten

Zhaoxu Dong

Daniel Peter Sergison

Eric Alan Reiners

Baoyang Deng

Daniel J Martinez

Jean-Jacques Clar

Benjamin J Hodel

Jeffrey Stephen Alig

Maurice J Dust

Venkata Dandibhotla

Yong Sun

Joseph C Bufkin

Benjamin L Naasz

Evan Earl Jacobson

Brad Robert Van De Veer

Todd R Kabrich

Suresh Baddam Reddy

Corey Lee Gorman

Aaron Robert Shatters

Rustin Glenn Metzger

Conrad G Grembowicz

Eric Wade Cler

Michael Andrew Snopko

Andy Publes

Drew Alan Fehr

Nathan Stephen Pauli

Erik L Olsen

Stephen C Nofsinger

Shane C McBride

Jeffrey Graham Fletcher

Eric W Ohlson

Karl Arthur Kirsch

Ronald C Gayles

Jason T Herlehy

Koti Ratnam Padarthy

Theodore E Wiersema

Wenming Zhao

Thomas E Beccue

Shiferaw Damtie Beyene

Anders Christian Thomsen

Eric Durand

Vardhaman M Lakhani

Kevin R Dluzen

Christopher G Y Haddad

Nausheen Ahmad

Syed Ameenuddin Hussain

A system may determine configuration information associated with a power system for a work site that includes one or more power sources. The system may determine respective operation parameters of the one or more power sources and one or more performance criteria associated with the power system. The system may determine a baseline operation plan for the power system. The system may identify an optimization analysis technique and may process, using the optimization analysis technique, the configuration information associated with the power system, the respective operation parameters of the one or more power sources, and the one or more performance criteria associated with the power system to generate the optimized operation plan for the power system. The system may cause, based on the baseline operation plan for the power system and the optimized operation plan for the power system, one or more actions to be performed.

Optimized operation plan for a power system

A method may include receiving information related to operation or a configuration of a hydraulic fracturing system. The hydraulic fracturing system may include a plurality of electric power source outputs and a plurality of hydraulic fracturing rigs. The method may further include performing, based on the information, asymmetric power management of the plurality of electric power source outputs. The method may further include performing, based on the information, asymmetric load management of the plurality of hydraulic fracturing rigs.

Asymmetric power management and load management

An inference system for monitoring a cementitious mixture for three-dimensional printing is provided. The inference system includes an ambient condition sensor, a temperature sensor, a moisture sensor and an image capturing device. The inference system also includes a controller coupled to the ambient condition sensor, the temperature sensor, the moisture sensor, and the image capturing device. The controller receives sensed ambient conditions, a temperature signal, and a moisture content signal. The controller receives an image feed of a portion of a cementitious mixture. The controller also receives signals indicative of a motor speed and a motor torque associated with a mixing container. The controller builds a model and determines a material suitability of the cementitious mixture using the model based on the received ambient conditions, the temperature signal, the moisture content signal, the image feed, the motor speed, and the motor torque and determines one or more corrective actions.

Monitoring system for three-dimensional printing

A method may include receiving power supply-related information, cost-related information, power demand-related information, and operational priority or site configuration-related information associated with hydraulic fracturing rigs. The hydraulic fracturing rigs may be each associated with a fuel consumption component or an emissions component. The method may further include receiving operational data and determining operational parameters based on the operational data and emissions output predictions for the hydraulic fracturing rigs. The method may further include outputting the operational parameters to a computing device or a controller. The method may further include, based on outputting the operational parameters, receiving operational feedback data and determining whether to modify the operational parameters. In addition, based on the outputting, the method may include determining whether to modify the operational data based on determining to not modify the set of operational parameters and modifying the operational data based on determining to modify the operational data.

Optimizing fuel consumption and emissions of a multi-rig hydraulic fracturing system

An automated hydraulic fracturing system and method for controlling various aspects of a fracking operation is disclosed. A master controller receives various operating parameters, such as desired operating conditions, information about a fracking site, information about trailers and/or other equipment at the fracking site, and/or sensor signals. The master controller may access one or more trailer model(s) that model various parameters of equipment (e.g., engines, transmissions, pumps, trailers, etc.) at the fracking site as a function of controlled operating conditions. The master controller uses the trailer models in conjunction with operating parameters to generate control signals that automatically control the various equipment at the fracking site to optimize various desired outcomes, such as reduced operating costs, reduced emissions, reduced idle time, increased efficiency, etc. The control signals are sent to controllers of the individual equipment to control the operations of those equipment and achieve an overall optimized fracking operation.

Automated hydraulic fracturing operation

A hydraulic fracturing machine includes a pump failure detection system. The hydraulic fracturing machine includes a hydraulic fracturing pump with a power end and a fluid end. The power end includes a plurality of roller bearings, and the fluid end includes a flow of fluid. A particle sensor coupled to the power end is configured to transmit particle information regarding a quantity of particles in the fluid. A temperature sensor, also coupled to the power end, is configured to transmit temperature information regarding a temperature of the fluid. A vibration sensor coupled to the power end is configured to transmit vibration information regarding a vibration of each of the plurality of roller bearings. An electronic control module analyzes the particle information, the temperature information and the vibration information, and calculates a failure warning level based on the analysis.

Hydraulic fracturing pump health monitor

A system and method for protecting a genset from pole slip is disclosed. The system may comprise a generator, a prime mover and a controller. The generator includes a stator and a rotor. The prime mover is configured to drive rotation of the rotor. The controller may be configured to: determine mechanical status of the generator based on data associated with a translational displacement of the rotor; determine electrical status of the generator based on (a) a load angle or (b) the load angle and a rate of change of the load angle associated with rotation of the rotor in the stator; determine an operating condition of the generator based on fusion of the mechanical status and the electrical status; if the operating condition is a pole-slip-warning, activate an output member to display or emit a warning; and, if the operating condition is a pole-slip, activate a protective action.

Generator pole slip detection

A construction system includes an excavator having a hydraulically controlled linkage and a hydraulic robot. The hydraulic robot includes a plurality of arms extending from a base, each arm having a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic robot further includes a robot control system directing movement of the plurality of arms and an end effector platform movable by rotation of the arms.

Hydraulic delta robot control system

A device may receive a power demand for a load and a weather forecast for a time period. The device may determine a first supply of power available from a photo-voltaic (PV) installation for the time period based on the weather forecast. The device may determine a power deficit for the time period based on the power demand and the first supply of power. The device may determine a first cost associated with utilizing a second supply of power available from a battery and a second cost associated with utilizing a third supply of power available from an engine for the time period. The device may determine a power source to overcome the power deficit based on the first cost and the second cost and may cause the PV installation and the power source to supply power to satisfy the power demand for the load.

Micro-grid site predictive control for multipower resource management with machine learning

A rig management system is disclosed. The rig management system may be configured to receive information to be used to control shifting of a transmission to prevent cavitation during use of the hydraulic fracturing rig. The rig management system may be configured to determine a flow rate for a pump based on the information. The rig management system may be configured to determine an output torque of the transmission based on the flow rate. The rig management system may be configured to determine a transmission gear for the transmission based on the output torque and a fuel consumption map, wherein the fuel consumption map identifies a respective fuel consumption rate for different combinations of transmission gears and output torques. The rig management system may be configured to cause the transmission to shift into the transmission gear after determining the transmission gear.

Rig management system for transmission control of a hydraulic fracturing rig

An engine controller to control a plurality of engines is disclosed. The engine controller may identify a plurality of engines configured to provide power to a load, wherein the plurality of engines have a first set of priorities associated with providing the power to the load; receive a plurality of parameters from a plurality of monitoring devices monitoring the plurality of engines; calculate a plurality of metrics corresponding to the plurality of engines based on the plurality of parameters; determine, based on the plurality of metrics, that a switching condition is satisfied to switch from the first set of priorities to a second set of priorities for the plurality of engines; determine the second set of priorities for the plurality of engines based on the plurality of metrics; and cause the plurality of engines to provide respective amounts of power to the load based on the second set of priorities.

Control of multiple engines using one or more parameters associated with the multiple engines

A rig management system is disclosed. The rig management system may gather, from a set of sensors, data that includes: vibration data related to vibration of a valve associated with a pump of a hydraulic fracturing rig during operation of the pump, and pump speed data related to a speed of the pump during operation of the pump. The rig management system may process the data to identify a trend related to the vibration data, wherein the vibration data has been normalized based on the pump speed data. The rig management system may determine a remaining useful life of the valve based on the trend and threshold data that identifies a set of thresholds related to the vibration of the valve. The rig management system may determine that the remaining useful life satisfies a threshold. The rig management system may schedule an operation to be performed on the valve.

Rig management system for analyzing a pump valve of a hydraulic fracturing system

A pump monitoring and notification system for a hydraulic pump includes an accelerometer and a controller. The accelerometer is associated with the hydraulic pump and is disposed relative to the hydraulic pump to generate acceleration data indicative of acceleration of the hydraulic pump. The controller is configured to access a fault threshold, access a time threshold, and determine an acceleration of the accelerometer based upon the acceleration data from the accelerometer. The controller is further configured to determine an RMS average of the acceleration of the accelerometer based upon the acceleration of the hydraulic pump, compare the RMS average of the acceleration of the accelerometer to the fault threshold, and generate an alert signal when the RMS average of the acceleration of the accelerometer exceeds the fault threshold for a time period exceeding the time threshold.

Pump failure differentiation system

A method for detecting a leak in a pump comprises: monitoring discharge pressure time domain signals of the pump; monitoring piston position time domain signals for each piston of a plurality of pistons; filtering the monitored discharge pressure time domain signals and the monitored piston position time domain signals of each piston of the plurality of pistons via a band pass filter; determining, at each pump revolution for each piston, a sum of product of the filtered discharge pressure time domain signals and the filtered piston position time domain signals; determine, at each pump revolution for each piston, an absolute value of each sum; determining, at each pump revolution, a largest absolute value of the determined absolute values; determining a corresponding piston of the plurality of pistons associated with the largest absolute value; and determining a cylinder of the pump associated with the determined corresponding piston as leaking.

System for detecting failure location in a pump

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Dunlap, IL, United States of America

Zhijun Cai