Patent Publication Number: US-2021188616-A1

Title: System and method for fluid delivery at a temporary site

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This application relates to fluid delivery, and more particularly to a system and method for fluid delivery at a temporary site. 
     Fluid delivery at temporary sites can present challenges, because infrastructure present at permanent fluid delivery locations may not be present. 
     SUMMARY 
     A fluid distribution system according to an example of the present disclosure includes a mobile trailer including a manifold having a plurality of outlets, and a plurality of sub-manifolds, each sub-manifold being configured to receive fluid from a respective one of the outlets and to provide the fluid to a respective plurality of supply lines. Each supply line has a control valve configured to control fluid flow in the supply line and a turbine meter configured to measure an amount of fluid flow through the supply line. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, a controller is operable to adjust the control valves based on one or more trigger conditions. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the controller is configured to open a particular one of the control valves in response to a first trigger condition, and the controller is configured to close the particular control valve in response to a second trigger condition that is different from the first trigger condition. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, at least one point of sale device is provided, the first trigger condition corresponds to receipt of customer information from the point of sale device associated with a particular supply line associated with the particular control valve, and the second trigger condition corresponds to detection by the turbine meter of the particular supply line that fluid flow in the supply line has ceased. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the first trigger condition corresponds to detection of a first fluid level in a storage tank associated with the particular control valve, and the second trigger condition corresponds to detection of a second fluid level in the storage tank, the second level being greater than the first level. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, a pump is configured to pump the fluid from a fluid source through the manifold into the sub-manifolds in conjunction with the controller opening of one of the control valves. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the controller is configured to obtain meter readings from the turbine meters. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the controller is configured to create a log that tracks an amount of fluid dispensed through the supply lines based on the meter readings. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the control valves are pneumatic valves. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the control valves are manual valves or electric valves or hydraulic valves. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, for each of the supply lines, a hose is provided downstream of the turbine meter for dispensing fluid from the supply line, and the hose is wound around a hose reel. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, each of the plurality of sub-manifolds are provided along one or more outer edges of the mobile trailer. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the plurality of sub-manifolds are arranged such that at least a portion of each of the plurality of supply lines are substantially parallel to each other. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, each supply line has a first portion that has a respective one of the turbine meters and a second portion that has a fuel dispensing outlet, and the first and second portions are substantially perpendicular to each other. 
     A method of delivering fluid according to an example of the present disclosure includes transporting a trailer to a temporary fluid delivery site, and delivering fluid from the trailer to fluid vessels at the temporary fluid delivery site. The delivering includes pumping fluid from a fuel manifold to a plurality of supply lines of a sub-manifold, each supply line including a control valve and a turbine meter, operating the control valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines, and determining an amount of fluid delivered through the supply lines based on signaling from turbine meters, each turbine meter associated with a particular one of the supply lines. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, each supply line has an output connected to a hose, and said delivering fuel from the trailer to fluid vessels at the site includes pumping the fuel through the hoses to the fluid vessels. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, operating the control valves includes adjusting individual ones of the control valves based on one or more trigger conditions, and pumping fluid is initiated in response to the one or more trigger conditions. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, adjusting individual ones of the control valves includes opening one of the control valves in response to a first trigger condition, and closing the one of the control valves in response to a second trigger condition that is different than the first trigger condition. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, delivering fluid from the trailer to fluid vessels includes delivering water to the fluid vessels. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, delivering fluid from the trailer to fluid vessels at the temporary fluid delivery site includes delivering fuel to fuel tanks of equipment. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the temporary fluid delivery site is a well site, and the delivering of fuel includes delivering fuel to hydraulic fracturing equipment at the well site. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the control valves are pneumatic vales, and operating the control valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines includes delivering pressure to the pneumatic valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the control valves are electric valves, and operating the control valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines includes delivering electrical signals to the electric valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines. 
     In a further embodiment of any of the foregoing embodiments, the control valves are hydraulic valves, and operating the control valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines comprises delivering pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic valves to control fluid delivery through the supply lines. 
     The embodiments, examples, and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example mobile fluid distribution system for distributing fluid at a temporary site. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example internal layout of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an isolated view of example manifold and example sub-manifold assemblies that can be used in the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example turbine meter that can be used in the sub-manifold assemblies of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another view of one of the sub-manifold assemblies of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example mobile fluid distribution system  20  and  FIG. 2  illustrates an example internal layout of the system  20 . As will be described, the system  20  may be utilized to dispense a variety of fluids at a temporary fluid delivery site. For example, the system  20  could be used to deliver water in an emergency services capacity for a community (e.g., in the event of a natural disaster), or could be used to distribute fuel to vehicles and/or in a “hot-refueling” capacity to multiple pieces of equipment while the equipment is running, such as electric generators or hydraulic fracturing equipment at a well site. Temporary sites such as these, which may need fluid delivery for only matter of days or weeks or months, may be located in remote areas, and may lack the permanent infrastructure that is present at non-temporary sites. Due to their temporary nature, it may not be feasible to build such permanent infrastructure at such sites. Due to its mobility, the system  20  is suitable for delivering fluid at such temporary sites. As will be appreciated, the examples above are non-limiting examples, and it is understood that the system  20  could be used for dispensing other fluids and/or at other temporary sites. 
     In the depicted example, the system  20  includes a mobile trailer  22 . It is to be understood, however, that the system  20  may alternatively be in a vehicle. Generally, the mobile trailer  22  is elongated and has first and second opposed trailer side walls W 1  and W 2  that join first and second opposed trailer end walls E 1  and E 2 . Most typically, the trailer  22  will also have a closed top (not shown). The mobile trailer  22  may have wheels that permit the mobile trailer  22  to be moved by a vehicle from site to site to service different operations. In the depicted example, the mobile trailer  22  has two compartments. A first compartment  24  includes the physical components for distributing a fluid, such as water or diesel fuel, and a second compartment  26  serves as an isolated control room for managing and monitoring fluid distribution. The compartments  24 / 26  are separated by an inside wall  28 A that has an inside door  28 B. If integrated into a vehicle, the same or a similar arrangement may be used, but with a truck cab and engine. 
     The first compartment  24  includes one or more pumps  30 . Fluid may be provided to the one or more pumps  30  from an external fluid source  31 , such as a tanker truck on the site. On the trailer  22 , the one or more pumps  30  are configured to pump fluid from the fluid source  31  into a fluid line  32 , which may include, but is not limited to, hard piping. The fluid line  32  may include a filtration and air eliminator system  36 A and one or more sensors  36 B. Although optional, the system  36 A is beneficial in many implementations, to remove foreign particles and air from the fluid prior to delivery. The one or more sensors  36 B may include a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or a combination thereof, which assist in fluid distribution management. 
     The fluid line  32  is connected with one or more manifolds  38 . In the illustrated example, the system  20  includes two manifolds  38  that are arranged on opposed sides of the compartment  24 . As an example, the manifolds  38  are elongated tubes that are generally larger in diameter than the fluid line  32  and that have at least one inlet and multiple outlets  44 . A sub-manifold assembly  46  is connected to each outlet  44 , and provides branched supply lines to which hoses  48  can be connected for dispensing fluid therefrom. As shown in the example of  FIG. 2 , the sub-manifold assemblies  46  can be arranged along the outer edges of the mobile trailer  22  at side walls W 1  and W 2 . 
     The sub-manifold assemblies  46  provide for convenient attachments of many hoses  48  to the manifolds  38 , and, as will be described below in greater detail, convenient control of fluid delivery through the attached hoses  48 , and convenient monitoring of fluid dispensed into the hoses. The sub-manifold assemblies  46  also provide for independent data capture of fuel dispensing through the various outputs  68  of the supply lines, which enables charging for fluid dispensing by fluid type and customer. 
     Although  FIG. 2  depicts the compartment  24  as including an aisle way and manifolds  38  on either side of the aisle way, this is a non-limiting example and other configurations could be used. 
     Also, although  FIG. 2  only shows twelve hoses  48  as being attached to the trailer  22 , each depicted sub-manifold assembly  46  in the example of  FIG. 2  has three outputs  68 , and there are ten sub-manifold assemblies  46  depicted, so thirty hoses  48  could be attached in  FIG. 2 . Other quantities of hoses  48  could be attached in other arrangements (e.g., with more or fewer sub-manifold assemblies  46  and/or more or fewer outputs at each sub-manifold assembly  46 ). 
     The hoses  48  may be wound around reels  50  that are rotatable to extend or retract their respective hose  48 . Each reel  50  may have an associated motor to mechanically extend and retract the hose  48 . Although only three reels  50  are illustrated in  FIG. 2 , it is understood that other quantities of reels  50  could be utilized (e.g., every hose  48  having a reel  50 , or the reels  50  being excluded entirely), and it is also understood that the reels  50  could be located inside of the compartment  24  if desired. In one example, the trailer  22  is arranged such that some or all of the hoses  48  extend through one or more windows of the trailer  22 . 
     Hoses  48  of different lengths could be used for different applications. For example, dispensing water into containers at an emergency services site may utilize a shorter hose  48  than a refueling application where vehicles or other fuel-consuming equipment are being refueled. 
     In the example of  FIG. 2 , a plurality of point of sale (POS) devices  49  are provided, each being associated with one of the sub-manifold assemblies  46 . Each POS device  49  is in communication with the controller  52  and is operable to provide information, such as payment information, from a user in conjunction with a request to initiate fluid dispending through an outlet of its associated sub-manifold assembly  46 . The POS devices  49  may include a credit card reader for reading credit cards, an electronic display, and a user interface (e.g., a touchscreen), for example. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an isolated view of a plurality of the sub-manifold assemblies  46 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , each sub-manifold assembly  46  includes a sub-manifold  51  having an input  54  connected to an output  44  of the manifold  38  for receiving fluid, and having a plurality of outlets  56  for dispensing fluid to a plurality of supply lines  58 . In the example of  FIG. 3 , the plurality of supply lines  58  are substantially parallel to each other. 
     Each supply line  58  includes a control valve  60  configured to control fluid flow in the supply line  58 , and a turbine meter  62  configured to measure fluid flow through the supply line  58 . In the example of  FIG. 3 , each turbine meter  62  is downstream of the control valve  60  of its respective supply line  58 . Alternatively, this order could switched such that each turbine meter  62  is upstream of its associated control valve  60 . In examples, the control valves  60  are pneumatic valves controlled by pressure from an air compressor (not shown), electric valves controlled by electrical signaling, hydraulic valves controlled by pressurized hydraulic fluid, or manual valves. 
       FIG. 4  schematically illustrates an example implementation of the turbine meter  62 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the turbine meter  62  includes a rotor  84  that corotates with an axle  86 . The rotor  84  includes a plurality of rotor blades  85  that extend radially outward from the rotor  84 . The axle  86  is supported by supports  88 . 
     The rotor  84  is set in the path of a fluid stream  89  of its corresponding supply line  58 . The flowing fluid in the fluid stream  89  impinges the rotor blades  85 , which imparts a force to the blade surface and causing rotation of the rotor  84 . When a steady rotation speed has been reached, the speed is proportional to fluid velocity. 
     The turbine meter  62  translates the mechanical action of the rotor  84  rotation into a user-readable rate of flow (e.g., gallons per minute, liters per minute, etc.). A transmitter  90  is provided for transmitting meter readings to the controller  52 . The transmitter  90  could be configured for wired and/or wireless data transmission. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective view of one of the sub-manifold assemblies  46  which includes supply lines  58 A-C. As shown, each supply line  58 A-C includes a respective first portion  63 A-C and second portion  64 A-C joined by a respective elbow  66 A-C. In the depicted example, the first portions  63 A-C include the control valves  60 A-C and turbine meters  62 A-C, and the second portions  64 A-C include respective fuel dispensing outlets  68 A-C that can be connected to hoses  48 A-C. 
     In one example, the first portion  63 A-C and the second portion  64 A-C of each supply line  58 A-C are substantially perpendicular. In the same or another example, each first portion  63 A-C associated with a particular manifold  38  are substantially parallel to each other, and each second portion  64  associated with a particular manifold  38  are also substantially parallel to each other. 
     Each hose  48  includes a first end  71  and an opposing second end  72 . Although only a single second end  72 A is shown in  FIG. 4 , it is understood that each hose  48  includes a second end  72 . The depicted second end  72 A includes a nozzle  73  inserted into a fluid vessel  74  for delivering fluid to the fluid vessel  74 . The fluid vessel  74  could be a water container, a fuel tank, a fuel tank in a vehicle, etc. Of course, it is understood that other fluid vessels  74  could be used. 
     Although the nozzle  73  is depicted as being inserted into a top of the vessel  74 , it is understood that alternate configurations could be used, such as where the nozzle  73  is inserted into a side of the vessel  74 . Also, it is understood that the end  72 A could vary, and could include a manual pump handle, a quick connect fitting, or some other end portion. In one example, one or both of the ends  71 ,  72  of the hoses  48  use quick-connect fittings. 
     Although each sub-manifold assembly  46  is depicted as having three supplies lines  58  and three corresponding outputs  68 , it is understood that other quantities of supply lines  58  and corresponding outputs  68  could be provided (e.g., two supply lines  58  or four or more supply lines  58 ). Also, although  FIG. 2  shows a single POS device  49  being shared by the multiple outputs  68  of each sub-manifold assembly  46 , it is understood that additional POS devices  49  could be provided (e.g., one per output  68 ). 
     A controller  52  ( FIG. 2 ) is in communication with each of the turbine meters  62  to obtain meter readings. The controller  52  is operable to create a log that tracks an amount of fluid dispensed through the supply lines  58  based on the meter readings from the turbine meters  62 . Although only a single controller  52  is shown, a distributed architecture could be used in some examples in which multiple control units are used that are in communication with each other or a master controller. 
     The control valves  60 , turbine meters  62 , pump(s)  30 , sensor(s)  36 , and POS devices  49  are in communication with the controller  52 , which may be located in the second compartment  26 . The controller  52  includes processing circuitry configured to carry out any of the functions described herein. In one further example, the controller  52  includes a programmable logic controller with a touch-screen for user input and display of status data. For example, the screen may simultaneously show multiple fluid levels of the equipment to which fluid is being delivered. As another example, the screen may show which ones of the supply lines  58  are actively dispensing fluid. 
     In embodiments in which the control valve  60  is a non-manual valve (e.g., pneumatic or electric or hydraulic), the controller  52  is operable to adjust the control valves  60  based on one or more trigger conditions representative of a demand for fluid. In one example, the controller  52  responds to a first trigger condition (e.g., a signal from one of the POS devices  49 ) by opening a control valve  60  corresponding to the POS device  49 , and response to a second trigger condition (e.g., fluid flow through a supply line  58  of the control valve ceasing) by turning off the control valve  60 . 
     By utilizing the turbine meters  62 , the controller  52  can determine how much fluid is dispensed from particular ones of the supply lines  58  and their corresponding sub-manifold assemblies  46 . This could be useful for generating invoices and/or receipts for customers. 
     Consider an emergency services application in which the trailer  22  is used to dispense water and there may be many customers traveling to the trailer  22  for water with containers of various sizes. In one such example, the customers interact with the POS devices  49  to open the particular control valve  60  associated with the supply line  58  of their corresponding hose  48 , and dispense water through the hose  48  using the nozzle  73 . The controller  52  detects when the nozzle  73  is closed based on a reading from the turbine meter  62 , and then correspondingly closes the control valve  60  and generates a record of how much fluid was dispensed by the customer. The controller  52  in some examples then charges the customer using information provided at the POS device  49  (e.g., credit card information). Thus, multiple users can dispense fluid from the hoses  48  of a single sub-manifold assembly  46  and can each be tracked and/or billed separately. The trailer  22  can be used to individually charge users for dispensing fluid while also being mobile. 
     Alternate tracking and billing arrangements could be possible too, such as if a municipality decided to pay for all of the water dispensed for its residents. In such a case, the controller  52  could track all of the water dispensed and then generate an invoice for the municipality. 
     The system  20  could also be used for dispensing other fluids, such as fuel, into the vessels  74 , which could be fuel tanks. In one example, the trailer  22  operates as a mobile fueling station for dispensing fuel into vehicles. 
     In another example, the fluid vessel  74  is a fuel tank, and the trailer  22  is adapted for fueling equipment, such as electrical generators or hydraulic fracturing equipment (e.g., pumpers and blenders). In one such example, the ends  72  of the hoses  48  include a fuel cap fastener instead of a manual nozzle. A sensor (e.g., a fuel cap sensor, not shown) may be provided that to a fuel tank opening of each vessel  74  for determining a fluid level and transmitting a signal to the controller  52  so that the controller  52  can adjust the control valves  60  based on fuel levels. For example, in response to a fuel level that falls below a lower threshold (first trigger condition), the controller  52  opens the control valve  60  associated with the hose  48  to that fuel tank and activates the pump or pumps  30 . The pump or pumps  30  provide fuel flow into the manifolds  38  and through the open control valve  60  such that fuel is provided through the respective hose  48  and fuel cap sensor into the fuel tank. The lower threshold may correspond to an empty fuel level of the fuel tank, but more typically the lower threshold will be a level above the empty level to reduce the potential that the equipment completely runs out of fuel and shuts down. Similarly, once the fuel level reaches an upper threshold (second trigger condition) that is greater than the lower threshold, the controller  52  stops the pump or pumps  30  and closes the control valve  60  that is dispensing fuel. In this “equipment” fueling scenario, the POS devices  49  may be omitted if desired, because it is likely that a single entity would be purchasing all dispensed fuel. 
     Although example embodiments have been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this disclosure. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the scope and content of this disclosure.