BACKGROUND

Technical Field

This disclosure relates to maintenance and operation of high-pressure fluid systems and related methods, and more particularly, to acoustic emissions monitoring to predict and detect failure of components within a high pressure system.

Description of the Related Art

Operation of high pressure systems results in eventual failure of components of those systems. For example, the pumps used to create the high pressure environment include cylinders, check valves, and seals, among other components, which are subjected to rapid cycling. Failure of one or more components of the high pressure system usually requires a system shutdown to repair or replace the failed component.

Component failures in high pressure systems are often sudden. These types of sudden failure can result in the loss of a workpiece that was in progress when the failure occurred. This can lead to many lost hours of work. Additionally, sudden shutdowns may result in additional damage to the high pressure system that could be avoided if the failing component was replaced during a scheduled maintenance window.

To compensate for this, service intervals for components of a high pressure system are typically conservative, for example replacing a cylinder after 500 hours of use even if the cylinder has not yet failed. While this conservative scheduling can allow for an end user to plan around the maintenance, it usually leaves component life “on the table.”

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments described herein provide systems and methods of monitoring high pressure systems, for example ultra-high pressure systems, using acoustic emissions to monitor and predict failure of components within the high pressure systems.

According to one embodiment, a method of operating a high pressure system includes detecting at least one acoustic emission generated by a defect in a component of the high pressure system, wherein the at least one acoustic emission is detected by an acoustic sensor attached to the high pressure system. The method further includes processing a signal sent from the acoustic sensor in response to the at least one acoustic emission thereby generating a processed signal, analyzing the processed signal; and predicting failure of the high pressure system based at least in part on the analysis of the processed signal.

Additional embodiments described herein provide a method of performing maintenance on a high pressure system, the method including detecting a first acoustic emission generated by the high pressure system at a first time, and processing the first acoustic emission to establish a baseline. The method further includes, subsequent to detecting the first acoustic emission, detecting a second acoustic emission generated by the high pressure system at a second time, processing the second acoustic emission to establish a current data set, and comparing the baseline to the current data set to determine if a defect occurred in the high pressure system between the first time and the second time.

Additional embodiments described herein provide a high pressure system including a plunger, a drive chamber, a high pressure chamber, an end bell assembly, and at least one acoustic sensor. The plunger has a first surface with a first surface area, and a second surface with a second surface area that is smaller than the first surface area. The drive chamber encloses the plunger such that the first surface is translatable within the drive chamber, relative to the drive chamber, and along a first direction normal to the first surface. The high pressure chamber encloses the plunger such that the second surface is translatable within the high pressure chamber, relative to the high pressure chamber, and along the first direction, the high pressure chamber including a first end and a second end, the second end opposite the first end. The end bell assembly couples the first end of the high pressure chamber to the drive chamber, and the at least one acoustic sensor is attached to at least one of the drive chamber, the high pressure chamber, and the end bell assembly.

