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Home > KOSUN News >
Solids control system main equipment - drilling fluid shale shaker
Oct 15, 2025
In oil and gas drilling engineering, solids control systems are crucial for maintaining the performance of drilling fluids, ensuring drilling safety, and controlling the overall cost. As the primary purification treatment equipment of this system, the performance of the shale shaker directly determines the working load and overall solid control efficiency of subsequent equipment such as the vacuum degasser, desander, desilter and decanter centrifuge.
Core Working Principle of Drilling Fluid shale shaker
The separation process of the drilling fluid shale shaker is based on the principle of physical vibration, which rapidly separates the larger drill cuttings in the drilling fluid returning from the wellhead. This process mainly relies on the synergy of the following three core links:
Excitation and motion: The core power of the equipment comes from the exciter. After being powered on, the exciter generates a high-speed rotating centrifugal force, which is transmitted to the entire screen box, driving the taut screen to produce high-frequency and small-amplitude vibrations. Depending on the design, the screen mesh will form motion trajectories such as straight lines, ellipses or circles, to convey solids in the optimal way and promote the passage of liquids through the screen.
Screening and separation: The drilling fluid carrying drill cuttings is evenly spread at the front end of the screen. Under intense vibration, the liquid drilling fluid and fine solid particles smaller than the screen mesh size rapidly pass through the screen under the action of gravity and inertial force and flow back to the circulating mud tank, achieving the initial recovery and utilization of the drilling fluid.
Chip removal and collection: Solid drill cuttings larger than the screen mesh size cannot pass through the screen. Instead, they move continuously forward along the screen surface under the conveying effect brought by the screen vibration and are eventually discharged from the chip removal port, achieving effective separation of the solid and liquid phases.
Operators can adjust the frequency and amplitude of vibration according to the viscosity and density of the drilling fluid as well as the characteristics of the formation cuttings to achieve the best screening effect under specific working conditions.
The wide application scope of drilling fluid shale shakers
Due to its efficient and reliable primary screening capacity, the drilling fluid shale shaker is an indispensable standard configuration in modern drilling operations.
Its application scope covers almost all drilling scenarios:
Onshore and offshore drilling: From conventional onshore drilling RIGS to complex offshore drilling platforms, shale shakers are the standard starting units of solids control systems, used to handle various water-based and oil-based drilling fluids.
Different well types and depths: Whether in shallow directional Wells, cluster Wells, or in deep Wells, ultra-deep Wells and horizontal Wells with extremely high technical requirements, shale shakers all undertake the key task of the first purification. Their stable operation is the foundation for ensuring the cleanliness and safety of the wellbore when encountering complex strata during drilling.
Various geological conditions: soft sand layers, sticky mudstone or hard rock layers can produce drill cuttings of different particle sizes and properties. By choosing screens of different mesh sizes (hole diameters), shale shakers can flexibly adapt and effectively separate solid particles ranging from millimeter to nearly a hundred micrometers.
Continuous processing while drilling: Unlike the subsequent intermittent processing equipment, the shale shaker can continuously and real-time process the drilling fluid returning from the wellhead, ensuring that the quality of the drilling fluid in the circulation system is always under control.
Continuous Development of Equipment Performance: Enhancement of Efficiency and Reliability
With the development of drilling technology towards high efficiency and environmental protection, the technology of drilling fluid shale shakers is also continuously advancing. Industry-leading equipment typically integrates the following proven technical solutions to enhance overall performance:
Balanced vibration force distribution: By optimizing the layout and dynamic design of the exciter, the uniform distribution of the excitation force on the surface of the screen is achieved. This helps to improve the screening efficiency, reduce local wear of the screen, and lower the operating noise of the equipment.
Modularization and maintenance convenience: The adoption of modular design components (such as quick-tensioning screen frames and integrated lubrication points) makes daily maintenance, screen replacement, and replacement of vulnerable parts more convenient, significantly reducing non-production time.
Adaptive control strategy: Equipped with an adjustable controller, it allows operators to precisely adjust vibration parameters according to actual needs, enabling a device to better adapt to different drilling stages ranging from rapid drilling to fine control.
In conclusion, the drilling fluid shale shaker, with its mature physical screening principle, constitutes the cornerstone for the efficient operation of the solids control system. Its reliability and adaptability have enabled it to be widely applied in various drilling operations worldwide. Selecting a shale shaker that is scientifically designed, stably operated and easily maintained is the primary and crucial step in building an efficient solids control system and ensuring the smooth progress of drilling projects.
Given the differences in geological conditions, drilling fluid systems and performance requirements faced by various drilling projects, a single equipment configuration often fails to meet the optimal demands of all working conditions. Relying on a mature technical platform, Kosun can provide customers with a variety of configuration options for drilling fluid shale shakers, aiming to specifically enhance the processing efficiency and economy in certain operation scenarios.
