Like all of our pressure transmitters the hammer union pressure transducer uses piezoresistive principles to monitor pressure on a diaphragm. The real difference is how it’s constructed to handle the shock, vibration, weather, and rough handling that prevails on a drilling or production rig.
To do this right, we started with a long hard look at the challenges our customers were facing with competitor units. This presented a number of opportunities for us to improve on reliability and usability in the field.
Vibration Resistance
One of the biggest problems faced in the field were frequent failures due to vibration. Other pressure transmitters that were bolted together were literally splitting in half and flying apart - causing failure and a safety hazard. So we introduced a fully welded body.
Shock Resistance
Another problem faced by our customers had to do with the rough handling in the field. When a rig is set-up, moved, and taken down, equipment is disassembled very rapidly and tossed into piles. Most sensors are relatively delicate instruments and would not handle being tossed around. So part of our design and testing process included repeatedly throwing (not dropping) our sensors off of our roof into a concrete docking bay, about a 30 foot drop, until we couldn’t break it anymore. We have the chipped concrete to prove it.
Wide Connection Access
Field usability was another focus as we redesigned the hammer union pressure transducer. Common problems that other manufacturers had overlooked became apparent when talking to our customers. For starters, connecting cables to the sensors was very difficult. Our customers couldn’t fit their fingers in very well to tighten the connection. We solved this easily by designing ours with a wide top access. No more difficulty wiring the sensors.
Drain Holes
Second, the protective housing around the electrical connections were holding water - never good to have right at an electrical connection point. Some (not all) competitor units had drain holes, but very small ones. These would often clog with mud, or the environment would be wet enough to overwhelm the small holes. So we made yet another very simple industry first by making large drain holes that eliminate any possibility of puddles.
Hammer union pressure transducers are an important tool on an Oil & Gas rig. They provide critical measurements during drilling & production operations, such as the following:
- Acidizing
- Measurement While Drilling
- on Choke Manifolds
- Extraction
- Fracturing and Cementing
- on Mud Pumps
- New Well Development
- Nitrogen Injection
- on Service and Cement Trucks
- on Standpipes
- Stimulation
- and Wellhead Measurement
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