Shaker screen life is treated as critical issue to tell quality of the screen usually. However, the performance of filtration and efficiency should be treated seriously, too.

Shaker screen life impacted by factors below

Shaker screen quality itself

Shaker screen rightness for drilling phase (Cuttings content, Geology condition)

Shale shaker condition (Any broken on shaker deck? Tensioning tool?)

Drilling mud property (density/gravity/viscosity)

Mud engineer professionality

Mud workers' operation is legal or not

Shaker Screen life

How to improve screen life?

Making sure that correct selection on screen mesh size and screen panel type for shaker. Let the operators be trained before operate shaker or screen. Especially for some screen replacement and handling. They should use the installation tools properly and legally.

Then, consult the engineer on screen operation or replacement during well drilling. Such as the mesh size, the hole pattern, and even the cut point (D100). More accurate selection provides better performance and better screen life

How to evaluate screen quality?

Not only consider the screen life but we should also consider the screen performance. Then how to evaluate screen performance? The filtration or cut point accuracy. We can test the mud after an operation while. Analyze the cuttings or solid content. Doing the test on drilling fluids property.

Or, we can evaluate mud loss or saving then calculate mud cost. If we have saved cost or increased cost. Of course, we need to do such evaluation at a certain same condition or similar condition

Have you ever faced problem on screen quality and performance? You may use the original NOV Brandt screen but last only 10 hours or less. You may use the screen made by Derrick but only last about 4 hours.

Screen life is not the only issue to evaluate screen quality. Please consider the factors completely and get the optimal products and suppliers.

Let us know if you need more information.

Screen performance is one issue verify or classify shaker screen quality. How to measure it?

Screen performance

Shale shaker screen performance is measured by the amount of solids that pass through them (conveyance) and the specific sized materials they are separating (cut point). The cut point or separation point is measured in microns.

In order to illustrate just how small the screen openings are, please consider these issues, knowing that 26000microns equals one inch. Actually, a human hair is approximately 90 microns in diameter. Talcum power is roughly 30 micron in diameter; thus, performance of solids control equipment is measure by its ability to remove particles in these size ranges

Screen performance

However, on each shaker, the shaker screen performance may slightly different. No matter how, shaker screens need to fit well and seal totally on the shaker bed.

Realize followings during operation

Most people do not realize how much material the shakers actually process. If we take a 12 1/4" hole being drilled to a depth of 8500ft, the screens have conveyed 382.56tons of drilled materials. This doesn't include the constant weight of fluid used to remove cuttings from the well bore

Most of this material is very abrasive on the top layer of wire cloth. If you had ever tried to tear a piece of 210 mesh wire cloth, you will understand how fragile it really is. So when you hear a consultant ask " Why did my screens fail in 3 days? " remember the figures we ever listed before you decide on premature failure of a screen

Shale shaker screen weight and performance

Some clients or users ask, why your replacement screen are heavier than OEM ones? Yes, some of our screen panels will be heavier than original ones, but this will not affect your operation and screen performance actually.

AIPU Shaker screens

Every manufacturer of shaker screen builds their screens in a different manner. Some screens are lighter than others, and some screens are heavier than others. Some are made of a lightweight composite material, while some are made from heavy steel tubings.

Please find below example:

If a shale shaker is under normal operating conditions, the shaker bed will be flooded with at least 50 gallons of drilling fluid. Some shakers will run 84 gallons of fluid. At 10 ppg this equals 840 pounds displaced over the 4 screens, an average of 210 pounds of fluid per screen.

Now, do you really think 8-10 pounds in screen weight will mater? If so, how can the shaker withstand 17ppg mud weight with an average of 357 pounds of drilling fluid per screen? As you can see the weight between OEM screens and replacement screens really making no sense on shaker in field application.

Please contact us freely for more shaker screen performance information

Shaker screen failures will lead to many problems. What will cause screen failure? How should we solve it?

Shaker screen failures

Shaker screen failures

Including surface cloth broken (with large crack), rubber strip pill off from panel, the screen common abrasion on screen cloth and support frame or back plate. If they are composite screens, the screen cloth may pill off from composite frame. Furthermore, the improper fabrication may lead whole screen panel crack. Such as the welding line or point between plate and tubes.

When we face the failures please treat it seriously but rationally. We need to find out the causes for solutions.

Screen failure causes

The causes of premature screen failure are:

• Mishandling of screen panels during storage
• Improper handling during installation
• Improper installation of shaker screen to shaker basket
• Improper selection on mesh size
• Shale shaker is not in good condition
• Over/Under tensioning
• Dirty, worn or improperly installed deck rubbers
• Improper cleaning of the screens while in storage
• Extremely high mud weight
• Heavy solids loading
• Improperly manufactured screens
• Use of high pressure wash guns to clean or un-blind screens

Screen failure solutions

Shaker screen is rather important for well drilling. We ever talked about this many times. Solve the screen failures are more important than change screen suppliers. As we are not sure if new supplier can provide right screen based on present working condition

If we face screen failures we have to send feedback to screen supplier. Get them as more detail as we can. Such as working condition, service life, supposed failure reason, compared with original screens performance which aspect should be improved. We can get the record of original screen operation compared with replacement screen operation under the same working condition. Then we'll find more helpful reference.

According to practical failures and technique support we can confirm the causes. Then provide the solutions. For example, if the failure is because of bad shaker condition we have to maintain or repair shaker firstly.For almost causes, we can find we need to operate shaker and screens properly. Do the operation according to manufacturers' guidance and instruction.

Different users will always give us different feedbacks on same model screen. So on same failures we may also have various solutions. Please contact us if you have such problem or confusion