In accordance with presently disclosed embodiments, systems and methods for managing bulk material efficiently at a well site are provided. The disclosure is directed to a container support frame that is integrated into a blender unit. The support frame is used to receive one or more portable containers of bulk material, and the blender unit may include a gravity feed outlet for outputting bulk material from the containers directly into a mixer of the blender unit. The blender unit with integrated support frame may eliminate the need for any subsequent mechanical conveyance of the bulk material (e.g., via a separate mechanical conveying system or on-blender sand screws) from the containers to the mixer. As such, the integrated blender unit may be lighter weight, take up less space, and have a lower cost and complexity than existing blenders.

A method of mixing magnetic particles (3) in a reaction chamber (2) that is part of a microfluidic device and that contains the said particles in suspension, comprises the steps: (a) providing an electromagnetic means (1,1,6,7) to generate magnetic field sequences having polarity and intensity that vary in time and a magnetic field gradient that covers the whole space of the said reaction chamber (2); (b) applying a first magnetic field sequence to separate or confine the particles (3) so the particles occupy a sub-volume in the volume of the reaction chamber (2); (c) injecting a defined volume of the said reagent in the reaction chamber; and (d) applying a second magnetic field sequence to leads the particles (3) to be homogenously distributed and dynamically moving over a substantial portion of the whole reaction chamber volume.

A constrictor valve can be associated with a conduit in fluid communication with a mixer to control a flow of cementitious slurry discharged from the mixer through the conduit. The constrictor valve can include a constrictor housing, a webbing constriction assembly, and a drive mechanism. The webbing constriction assembly includes a pair of rotatable members rotatably mounted to the constrictor housing and a plurality of webbing straps connected to the rotatable members and wrapped around the conduit. The drive mechanism includes a drive shaft and a gear assembly configured to rotate the rotatable members in opposing winding directions in response to the drive shaft rotating in a tighten direction to wrap the webbing straps tighter around the conduit to compress it and to rotate in opposing unwinding directions in response to the drive shaft rotating in a loosen direction to loosen the grip of the webbing straps on the conduit.

Devices and methods manually open glass ampules within the devices. One device may include a holder having at least one deformable side wall, a supporting element, and at least one strainer/filter arranged below the holder so that the content of the opened glass ampule may flows therethrough. A first lever of the device may pivot around a first axis and a free end of the first lever may be pressed against the deformable side wall of the holder. A second lever of the device may pivot around a second axis that may divide the second lever into a short lever arm and a long lever arm. The short lever arm may be pressed against the first lever and a glass ampule may be broken open by pressure of the free end of the first lever.

Provided are a system for manufacturing dispersion liquid of carbon nanotubes and a method of manufacturing a dispersion liquid of carbon nanotubes using the same. The system includes; a mixing device supplied with solvent and carbon nanotubes, and storing a admixture of the solvent and the carbon nanotubes; a first dispersion device connected to the mixing device, performing a primary dispersion of the carbon nanotubes by an operation of a rotor and a stator, and then performing a secondary dispersion to form bent portions in the carbon nanotubes while discharging the carbon nanotubes through penetration holes of the stator; and a second dispersion device performing a tertiary dispersion of the carbon nanotubes to selectively cut the bent portions of the carbon nanotubes by irradiating a laser when the secondarily dispersed admixture recirculates to the mixing device.

A method of determining a dry proppant concentration in a fracturing fluid includes combining a wet proppant with a carrier fluid in a mixer to form the fracturing fluid. The dry proppant concentration of the fracturing fluid leaving the mixer is determined using a moisture content of the wet proppant entering the mixer, wherein use of the moisture content prevents overestimation of the dry proppant concentration. The method can be preformed using a system for injecting fracturing fluid into a borehole, the fracturing fluid including a carrier fluid mixed with a wet proppant including a dry proppant dampened with a dampening liquid. The system includes a mixer operable to receive and mix the carrier fluid and the wet proppant to form the fracturing fluid, a frac pump operable to inject the fracturing fluid into the borehole, and a control system comprising a processor operable to receive a moisture content of the wet proppant before being mixed with the carrier fluid and programmed to determine a dry proppant concentration of the fracturing fluid formed in the mixer using a moisture content of the wet proppant, wherein use of the moisture content prevents overestimation of the dry proppant concentration.

Methods and systems for controlling proppant concentration in a hydraulic fracturing slurry include measuring volumetric flow rates of fracturing fluid input to a blender and hydraulic fracturing slurry output from the blender, using these measured values to calculate a volumetric flow rate of proppant input, a slurry density and/or a slurry volume fraction, adjusting first and second valves to control rates of fluid and proppant delivery to the blender and re-measuring the volumetric flow rates and recalculating until target values of volumetric flow rate of proppant input, slurry density and/or slurry volume fraction are achieved.

A system for making and using a ground product that includes one or more of: a reactor operated to react a guar split with a reagent at a reaction temperature in a range of 120 F. to 180 F. to form a guar derivative, and a treatment and transfer section for optionally treating the guar derivative and transferring the guar derivative to a co-grinder. The co-grinder is operably associated with a heated vacuum system and is operated to co-grind an acid with the guar derivative to form a ground product.

Fluid synthesis system and corresponding method for synthesis of slurry containing abrasive particles. The system and method are configured to substantially segregate the abrasive particles passing through the filter, used at the filtering step of the process, from the sticky components that clog such filter prior to the filtering step of the synthesis process to achieve a sustaining filtration of the slurry as a result of which the filter remains substantially unclogged for the whole predetermined duration of the filtering process.

The invention relates to a method and a colloidal mixer for colloidal processing of a slurry, in particular processing of construction materials, with a colloidal mixer, in which at least one liquid is introduced into a mixing trough, at the lower region of which is arranged an outlet opening with a mixing device having a mixing rotor, which is driven in rotation.

According to the invention, the at least one pulverulent solid component is introduced into the mixing trough, the at least one liquid mixed with the at least one pulverulent solid component is induced to flow by the rotatingly driven mixing rotor and is discharged from the mixing trough through the outlet opening, wherein the mixture is led back again for a certain time via a backflow line into an upper region of the mixing trough for further mixing and, after a desired mixing state has been attained, the mixture is discharged as a finished slurry from the outlet opening by means of a discharge line.

According to the invention, it is provided that air is incorporated into the at least one liquid and/or the mixture in a targeted manner in a finely dispersed form, wherein a relative density of the liquid, or of the mixture, is reduced.