Pulsar SandAlert Lite Second Edition User manual

SandAlert Lite Second Edition
SandAlert Lite
2 CHANNEL PORTABLE SAND MONITORING
SYSTEM
OPERATING HANDBOOK

SECOND EDITION
September 2004
COPYRIGHT
© Pulsar Process Measurement Limited, 1997-. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language
in any form without the written permission of Pulsar Process Measurement Limited.
WARRANTY AND LIABILITY
Pulsar Process Measurement Limited guarantee for a period of 12 months from the date of delivery
that it will either exchange or repair any part of the Sand Monitoring System returned to Pulsar
Process Measurement Limited if it is found to be defective in material or workmanship, subject to
the defect not being due to fair wear and tear, misuse, modification or alteration, accident,
misapplication or negligence.
LICENCE
The Pulsarguard sensor is manufactured under licence from the Rolls-Royce group of companies.
DISCLAIMER
Pulsar Process Measurement Limited gives nor implies any process guarantee for the Sand
Monitoring System or other products, and shall have no liability in respect of any loss, injury or
damage whatsoever arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit described herein.
TECHNICAL ENQUIRIES
Please contact Pulsar Process Measurement Limited or your local distributor for technical support.
COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS
If you have any comments or suggestions about the SandAlert Lite system, then please contact:
Pulsar Process Measurement Limited
Bromyard Road
Worcester
Worcestershire
United Kingdom
WR2 5HP
Tel: [phone] (International [phone])
Fax: [phone] (International [phone])
e-mail: [e-mail] (general information)
e-mail: [email protected] (product support)

CONTENTS
WHAT’S NEW? 1
1 INTRODUCTION 2
2 STRESS WAVE SENSING - THE TECHNOLOGY 2
3 SYSTEM OVERVIEW 2
3.1 Acoustic Sensor 3
3.2 SandAlert Lite 5
3.3 Power Supplies 5
3.4 Signal Processing Technique 5
4 INSTALLATION 7
4.1 Sensor Positioning 7
4.2 How to fit the pipe clamp to the pipe 8
4.3 Electrical Installation of SandAlert Lite 9
5 QUICK GUIDE TO INSTALLATION 10
5.1 Attach the sensor to the pipe 10
5.2 Connecting the sensor to control unit 10
5.3 Switch on the control unit 10
5.4 Connecting to the data collection system 10
6 SANDALERT LITE USER INTERFACE 13
6.1 Main menu 13
6.2 Set-Up 13
6.2.1 Choose Wellhead 13
6.2.4 System Parameters 14
6.2.5 Time and Date Set 15
6.2.6 Upgrade software 15
6.2.7 Diagnostics 15
6.3 Calibration 16
6.6 Passwords 17
6.7 Monitoring 18
7 SYSTEM SPECIFICATION 21
7.1 SenacoPlus Sensor 21
7.2 Pulsarguard 2001 22
7.3 SandAlert Lite 22

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What’s New?
This is the first edition of the manual and therefore nothing is new, but in future editions new
features will be indicated with a symbol throughout this handbook.

SandAlert Lite 2nd Edition Page 2
1 Introduction
The Portable SandAlert Lite System is a dual channel monitoring system that utilises an
intrinsically safe acoustic sensor to non-invasively detect the impacts and abrasions of produced
solids against the inside of the pipe wall. The signal processing of the sensor output signal provides
a reading of the sand impact rate which may be calibrated to give a solids mass flow rate, the values
are then regularly (normally every minute) transmitted via the serial port.
2 Stress Wave Sensing - The Technology
Stress wave sensing relies on the detection of high frequency sounds, or stress waves, which are
generated by processes such as fluid turbulence, cavitation, friction and impacts. At the frequencies
involved sound propagates easily through solids and fluids, but is heavily attenuated in air. As a
result, the Pulsar Process Measurement acoustic sensor can readily provide a non-intrusive method
of detecting the impacts and abrasions of solid particles in the fluid flow, and is immune to
interference from airborne noise and structural vibration. This makes it highly suitable for detecting
solids particles in both oil and gas flowlines.
3 System Overview
The SandAlert Lite system is callled ‘Lite’ as it does not have an inbuilt screen and does not log
data internally. The purpose of the unit is to allow sand detection on two separate channels and
transmit the data serially to the customers data collection system.
The ‘Lite’ comprises two main elements, the acoustic sensors and the SandAlert Lite processor
unit.
The control unit is designed to be run without any user intervention, the unit can be connected to
the transducers and a suitable serial cable and the system will start to send data once power is
applied.
The system can be setup by connecting a standard VGA monitor and IBM (5 pin 180deg connector)
keyboard, this allows access to the menu system described in chapter 6.
A schematic diagram showing the general layout of the system is shown in Figure 1. (Note: Only
one transducer is shown, but two can be connected.

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Figure 1 Schematic Diagram of the SandAlert Lite
3.1 Acoustic Sensor
There are two transducers suitable for sand monitoring:
Pulsarguard 2011G
This sensor is the ‘G’ version, suitable for use with the inbuilt galvanic barriers of the SandAlert
Lite. The sensor transducer is housed in a robust cast Type 316 stainless steel enclosure. There are
two sensor variants available, the Pulsarguard 2011 sensor which is approved to EEx ia IIC T6, or
EEx ia IIC T5 for Tamb up to 92 ºC.
Explanation of the IS approval description:
EEx denotes a CENELEC approval.
ia denotes the device is intrinsically safe category ‘ia’, and therefore is suitable for all
zones (0, 1 and 2).
IIB denotes the gas group. Group IIB gases cover the majority of hydrocarbon gases.
T4 denotes the temperature classification. The surface temperature of the sensor will not
exceed 135 ºC under fault conditions with a 40 ºC ambient temperature.

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The sensor housing is rated at IP68 giving protection against temporary immersion to a depth of 3
metres.
The sensors are powered from a power supply via a galvanically isolated safety barriers, in the
SandAlert Lite unit.
The sensors are attached to the outside of the pipe, on or just after a bend, by means of a universal
pipe diameter (3" to 8") stainless steel sensor/pipe clamps. The sensor is connected to the SandAlert
Lite via in-line connectors and a 100 metre extension cable, although it can be extended to 1000
metres if required.
Note: The Pulsarguard 2011 is available in G or Z form for use with the SandAlert Lite they should
be have a ‘G’ stamped next to the serial number on the tab.
PULSARguard 2001
A new exiting development is the PULSARguard 2001 sensor, this is designed to be more sensitive
to sand and less prone to flow noise making it ideal for use on gas and multi phase wells.
PulsarGuard 2001
The sensor is a Pulsar Process Measurement intrinsically safe acoustic sensor. The sensor is housed
in a robust cast Type 316 stainless steel enclosure. The Sensor is called the PulsarGuard 2001 and
is intrinsically safe, certified to EEx ia IIC T4
Explanation of the IS approval description:
EEx denotes a CENELEC approval.
ia denotes the device is intrinsically safe category ‘ia’, and therefore is suitable for all
zones (0, 1 and 2).
IIC denotes the gas group. Group IIC, typical gas hydrogen..
T4 denotes the temperature classification.
The sensor housing is rated at IP68 giving protection against temporary immersion to a depth of 3
metres.
The sensor is powered from a power supply via galvanic safety barriers, both of which are housed
in the SandAlert Lite unit.

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3.2 SandAlert Lite
The SandAlert Lite is housed in a rugged painted steel case. The electrical interface between
hazardous and non-hazardous area is provided by an internal galvanically isolated safety barrier.
The SandAlert Lite uses a compact processor board with 2 MB RAM, and a hard disk drive on
which the software is installed. An analogue to digital converter (ADC) card converts the analogue
sensor signals to allow further signal processing by the microprocessor.
The SandAlert Lite unit is a blind unit, but provision is made to connect a standard VGA monitor
(15pin high density D type) and keyboard (via a 5 pin Din 180 degree connector), this allows the
user to set up the unit.
Data is transmitted via the RS232 serial port. The SandAlert Lite does not store data on its internal
drive.
3.3 Power Supplies
The SandAlert Lite is powered from a mains power supply which can be within the range of
85 - 264 V ac. In the event of power failure during monitoring, the unit will continue monitoring
when the power is returned, with no loss of data (apart from during the time power was lost). The
mains supply is fused by a 1A antisurge fuse, accessible on the main panel. When power is
supplied, the green ‘Power’ LED, which is to the right of the power inlet socket, will be
illuminated.
3.4 Signal Processing Technique
The high frequency structure borne acoustic signal generated by a sand impact on the internal wall
of the pipe, travels through the pipe structure and is detected by the acoustic sensor. The acoustic
signal is then converted to an electrical signal by the sensor, see Figure 2.
Figure 2 Production of Electrical Signal
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MUST THE SANDALERT LITE BE OPERATED IN A
DESIGNATED HAZARDOUS AREA.

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The electrical signal or sensor output is converted into a digital signal by the ADC in the SandAlert
Lite. The sensor output is then processed to provide a sand impact rate (SIR) in impacts per second
(IPS).
To be counted as a sand impact the peak amplitude of the pulse must exceed the low threshold but
not exceed the high threshold. Therefore, referring to Figure 3, pulse 1 is not counted as the low
threshold > peak amplitude.
Figure 3 Sensor Output
Pulse 2 is counted as 1 sand impact, pulse 3 is not counted as the peak amplitude > high threshold
and is therefore excluded. This is to prevent high energy events, e.g. excessive pipe vibration from
being counted as sand impacts. Pulse 4 counts as 2 sand impacts as it is generated by two sand
particles impacting almost simultaneously. Pulse 5, like pulse 1 does not have sufficient energy to
be counted as the peak amplitude < low threshold.
The SandAlert Lite unit can calculate the lower threshold automatically. This is done by examining
the signal and eliminating the flow related noise in the signal, and counting the number of sand
impacts. To illustrate this, different signals under conditions of high and low flow rates, both with
and without sand impacts are shown below.
Threshold Threshold
a - Low Flow, No Sand b - Low Flow, With Sand

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Threshold Threshold
c - High Flow, No Sand d - High Flow, With Sand
The SandAlert Lite unit eliminates the flow noise by placing a threshold automatically just above
the flow related noise signal, and if the signal goes higher than this then it is due to solid impacts,
which can be seen in band das short duration, high energy spikes, as compared with the flow
related noise that is longer duration, and of lower energy. The threshold is visibly higher in d, due
to the higher level of flow related noise.
There is also an option with the SandAlert Lite to utilise the auto-calibration function of the unit in
order to produce a reading in grams/hour (or lbs/hour). It should be noted however, that because of
the number of variables associated with the conversion from IPS to grams/hour, this reading is only
approximate. The calibration is much more accurate if undertaken by manual sampling, such as
injection or filtration.
The SIR reading remains largely unaffected by the variables, as these relate mainly to flow rate and
solids particle parameters and the SIR is independent of both of these.
The SIR is calculated from the sensor output continuously, once a run has been initiated, and the
words “Time Left = xxx” appear in the title bar of the screen. This happens in the background,
whatever the operator is doing on the SandAlert Lite, i.e. even if the operator is transmitting data
via the serial port, the monitoring still continues. If required the SIR can be converted to a solids
mass flow rate by a calibration routine. The SIR is also averaged and can be plotted both on-screen
and stored to file to provide a trend history. The stored data files can be printed on the internal
printer, displayed on the screen, or transferred to another device via the RS232 serial port.
The SIRs are stored, and at the end of each averaging period (operator selectable), the average of all
the SIR samples is calculated and stored to disk for trend analysis.
4 Installation
Installation, commissioning and servicing of the system must be strictly in accordance with BS5345
Parts I and IV. All equipment and system approvals, specifications, warranties and statements of
fitness for purpose are conditional upon this requirement being met.
The sensor is certified for use in hazardous areas and it is important to ensure that this level of
certification is adequate for the area in which the sensor is intended to be installed. The SandAlert
Lite unit must be situated in a non-hazardous area.
4.1 Sensor Positioning
The acoustic sensor detects the high frequency sound generated by the impacts of sand and other
solid particles e.g. proppant on the inside of the pipe wall. Therefore, the best results will be

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obtained if the sensor is positioned on or just after a bend (within two pipe diameters of the bend),
or fixed restriction to the flow. See Figure 4.
Figure 4 Sensor Positioning
Do not position the sensor in close proximity to a choke, or other variable restriction, since changes
in the choke position may affect the SIR readings. It may be necessary to experiment with the
sensor position to obtain the best results.
4.2 How to fit the pipe clamp to the pipe
The pipe clamp is suitable for pipes with an external diameter range from 3" (75 mm) to
8" (200 mm) by the use of a chain that tightens around various pipe sizes. It has a sensor stud that
fits into the hole in the sensor tab, which ensures the sensor is in contact with the pipe wall after
tightening.
To assemble the pipe clamp pass the guide bar end of the chain assembly around the pipe and
through the pivot block on the saddle, and lock the pivot lever into the chain. Place the sensor
between the clamp foot and the pipe, using a smear of grease, and tighten the threaded stud using
the spanner provided so that there is a solid physical connection between the sensor and the pipe.
Tighten the locking nut with the spanner provided to give a solid, secure attachment.
IMPORTANT: The point of contact with the pipe should be cleaned of paint, to ensure
that the sensor contacts with bare metal. Some suitable grease, such as
silicon grease, should be applied between the pipe and the clamp. This
improves the acoustic coupling.

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Where vibratory conditions exist it is recommended that a thread locking adhesive is used. Also it
is important to ensure that the free end of the chain is cannot fret against the clamp or the pipe, by
tying it up with cable ties.
The PULSARguard 2001 is fitted using stainless steel banding (11mm wide), you can either use a
re-usable “jubillee” clip type toothed band, or by a plain band with crimpable clips. All the above
points regarding position and surface preparation above apply. Always ensure that the pipe is
cleaned to bare metal and that the silicon grease acoustic coupling compound is used between the
base of the sensor and the pipe.
4.3 Electrical Installation of SandAlert Lite
The SandAlert Lite must not be operated in a designated hazardous area. It must be located in a
designated non-hazardous area. The mains supply voltage must be the same as that marked on the
SandAlert Lite, i.e. 85-264 V ac. Irreparable damage may occur if the wrong supply voltage is
applied. Damage of this nature is not covered under warranty.
The cable reel supplied contains 100 metres of two pair screened cable, although it is possible to
extend this to 1000 metres. The free end of the cable connects to the sensor via an in-line
connector. The cable reel connects to the SandAlert Lite via the short interconnection cable.
Route the cable from the non-hazardous area, in which the SandAlert Lite is to be operated, to the
sensor position. Avoid running the cable parallel to HV cables to reduce the risk of electrical noise.
Be careful not to route the cable in such a way as to obstruct doorways or walkways.
IMPORTANT: The sensor cannot be damaged by overtightening since the clamp is in
contact with the metal tab part of the sensor and not the electronics which
are contained within the dome part of the housing.
It is recommended that the clamp is tightened to at least 40 lbf/ft, and the
locking nut is tightened.

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Connect the sensor to the cable using the in-line cable plugs and sockets, the plug and socket will
only mate in the correct way, tighten the collet to secure the connection.
Connect the short interconnection cable from the cable reel to the SandAlert Lite.
Refer to the system diagram (Figure 1) to ensure that all the electrical connections have been made
correctly.
5 Quick guide to installing the system
This section describes how to quickly install the system. For more detailed information, see
section 4.
5.1 Attach the Sensor to the Pipe
The acoustic sensor detects the high frequency sound generated by the impacts of sand and other
solid particles e.g. proppant on the inside of the pipe wall. Therefore, best results will be obtained if
the sensor is positioned on or just after a bend (within two pipe diameters of the bend), or a fixed
restriction to the flow. Do not position the sensor in close proximity to a choke or other variable
restriction, since changes in the choke position may affect the SIR readings.
Attach the sensor to the pipe with the chain clamp and tools provided, remembering that the point
of contact with the pipe should be cleaned of paint, to allow the clamp to contact with bare metal.
Some suitable grease, such as silicon grease, should also be applied between the pipe and the
clamp, and the clamp tightened securely.
In the case of the PULSARguard 2001 use the banding as described in 4.2.
5.2 Connect the Sensor to the SandAlert Lite
Run the cable reel from the sensor back to the SandAlert Lite and connect the plug to either the
channel one or channel two sensor connector.
5.3 Switch on the SandAlert Lite
Ensure that the SandAlert Lite is plugged into the correct power supply, switch on using the power
switch, and the green LED will illuminate. After approximately 1 minute the unit will start
monitoring.
5.4 Connecting to the data collection system
The SandAlert Lite connects to yoour data collection system via its RS232 serial port.
The serial connection is made via the 9 way ‘D’ type connector on the front panel next to the VGA
socket, connections are as detailed in the table below:
SandAlert Lite (9way FEMALE) PC (25way MALE) PC (9way MALE)
PIN 3 (RxD) PIN 2 (TxD) PIN 3 (TxD)
PIN 2 (TxD) PIN 3 (RxD) PIN 2 (RxD)
PIN 5 (SIGNAL GND) PIN 7 (SIGNAL GND) PIN 5 (SIGNAL GND)
The SandAlert Lite could be connected to a PC running terminal to check the data is transmitting
and is of the expected format. Details for connecting to terminal are below:

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Start ‘Terminal’
To use ‘Terminal’, start Windows (by typing “Win” from the Windows directory), and locate the
‘Terminal’ within the Windows ‘Program Manager’. It is likely that it will be found in the
‘Accessories’ group, and the icon should look like that shown below:
If it cannot be found on the computer being used, run ‘File Manager’ (found in the ‘Main’ group),
locate the program ‘terminal.exe’ which will be located in the Windows directory then double-click
the mouse on this since this is the ‘Terminal’ program.
Setup the Communications Parameters
Once the program is running, the “Terminal” must be setup to communicate with the SandAlert
Lite. If using ‘Terminal’, then select the ‘Communications...’ option from the ‘Settings’ menu bar,
and make the selections as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Communications Parameters
The ‘Connector’ section should refer to the Com (serial) port you have connected to.
As data is being transferred, it will be displayed in the ‘Terminal’ window, and will scroll as more
data is received.
Data Format
The data is sent from the SandAlert Lite every minute (this is the default averaging period), the
information is formatted as follows:
DATE - TIME- SIR ch.1 – weight ch.1 - SIR ch.2 – weight ch.2
Typical data:
16/03/04 17:40:00 0000.0 000000.0 0297.0 000000.0
16/03/04 17:41:00 0000.0 000000.0 0185.0 000000.0
16/03/04 17:42:00 0000.0 000000.0 0124.0 000011.2
16/03/04 17:43:00 0000.0 000000.0 0296.0 000026.6

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6 SandAlert Lite user interface
This section describes the set-up of the
Navigating the software menus:
Title screen, this does not stay visible for long as the default operation of the unit is to go straight to
monitoring after power-up.
This is the monitoring screen, the system will automatically go to this screen on power-up.
6.1 To get to the main menu press ESC.

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This is the main menu screen, Type the red number to choose, 1 will take you to the screen above. 2
will take you to ther setup menu below:
6.2. SET-UP
6.2.1 Type 1 to goto the wellhead set-up, then choose the well to be setup, up down arrow keys
allow you to choose well 1 or 2, see below:

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The above mennu allows setup of the well:
1. Threshold: Lets you set the threshold, this is the level that a signal must cross for it to be
counted as an impact. The default and recommended setting is Automatic.
2. Alarm Point: Let you set an Alarm Point based on the number of SIR’s (Sand Impact Rate),
this figure must be higher than the Caution Point. When this level is reached an audible
sound will be heard (medium pitched sound)
3. Caution Point: Let you set a Caution Point based on the number of SIR’s (Sand Impact
Rate), this figure must be lower than the Alarm Point. When this level is reached an audible
sound will be heard (low pitched sound).
4. View Max: This figure is used to scale the display if you set 1000 then a SIR of 500 would
half fill the display. Any value expressed as a percentage would be related to this setting.
N. Next Well: moves you on to the other well
P. Previos Well: this alo moves you to the next well as there are only two . . available in
the SandAlert Lite.
2.2. and 2.3 Wellhead setup and 3. Sensor Output are not available in this software
6.2.4. System Parameters
1. Average Period: The SandAlert Lite is designed to connect to a logging system via an
RS232 serial port. The data that is transmitted is averaged over the period set in this
parameter.

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2. Saver Time: This is the time before the screen saver is activated.
3. Deletion Time: Not appplicable to SandAlert Lite.
4. Display Units: Choose between Sand Impact Rate (SIR) and a % of sand impact rate, based
on View max set up for the wellhead earlier.
5. Rate Unit: Sets the units to be displayed when you have calibrated the system to display
weight
ESC. Takes you back to the Set-up menu.
6.2.5. Allows the setting of the time and date:
You have three choices:
1. Change Date: See below, Enter the correct date.
2. Change Time: Enter the correct time
3. Date Format: Set the date format, English or American
This is an example of the Date set-up screen
6.2.6.Upgrade
This is to allow the software of the unit to be upgraded, follow the on screen instructions carefully
to update the internal software (This action is normally carried out by a Pulsar Engineer).
The first of the Upgrade screens showing the detailed instructions.
6.2.7.Diagnostics

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1. Scandisk, this runs the DOS program scandisk to check the internal hard disk. It should not
be necessary to run this on the SandAlert Lite as no data is written to the hard drive.
2. Defragment, this runs the DOS progrem Defrag, this again should not be necessary with the
SandAlert Lite unit as no changes are made to the files on the hard drive and therefore will
not become fragmented.
3. Check Files, this is to check the logged data files, this is not applicable s\to SandAlert Lite.
4. Factory Defaults, this button resets the system to as it was the day it left the factory.
6.3.Calibration
This set of menus allow you to calibrate the system so it will show quantity rather than just SIR.
Type 3 and Select 1. for Manual Calibration, 2. for Auto Calibrate and 3. for Editing the
calibration figure. It is recommended that the Auto Calibrate mode is chosen and is the one
described below: Type 2 for Auto Calibrate
Choose the application, oil or gas

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Enter the flow rate
Enter the average particle size, and the system then calculates the calibration factor.
This figure can be modified with choice 3 Edit Factor. Be careful changing the factor as it can
change the weight figure dramatically. It is best to stick with Auto Calibrate unless a known weight
of sand is being produced and the system is calibrated at that time.
Edit Factor Screen, it is not recommended to change the calibration factor unless you are sure it is
necessary and understand the consequences.
4. and 5. File Handling and Event Log are not functional in the Lite software
6.6. Passwords: