www.kayden.ca The Importance of Proper Shaker Screen Selection Shaker Screens are one of the most important, (and overlooked) pieces of equipment on the drilling rig. The Shale Shakers are your first line of defense against drilled solids & your primary solids control equipment. They are a key factor in determining the success of your drilling mud and centrifuge. It is very important to have the right shaker screen selected for your formation cuttings, bit type, and mud properties. On surface holes drilled solids are usually larger solids which can be removed easily with a coarse mesh shaker screen. A mesh of 50, 84 or 110 is usually adequate. However, intermediate and main hole cuttings are typically finer – therefore requiring a finer mesh. I would recommend a minimum mesh of 110 all the way up to 320’s & beyond for very fine sand. The screen selection will also depend on ROP, how well the hole is cleaning and if you are adding LCM or other products which you may want to reuse. Maintaining your Shaker Screens is as important as the screen selection. In normal drilling it is important to ensure that the fluid comes about 25%-50% of the way across the screen furthest from the flow line. Try to have the Shaker deck as level as possible. This will allow for more consistent wear across the screens and typically means that the right size mesh has been selected. Jacking or raising the Shaker deck up, increases the amount of time that the solids will be on the shaker screens …
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