Keeping Acoustic Sand Monitoring Simple

Non invasive sand monitoring has been used extensively in the oil and gas industry for over the past 20 years. The sensing technology over these years has been enhanced with greater signal to noise ratio, but with so many variables including pressure, temperature, velocity and particle size, the ability to offer an accurate volume measurement is nearly impossible without sand injection or sand capture. By detecting sand impact rate and allowing the operator to monitor trends over time, it is possible to give early warnings of impending solids production without the need to enter various parts to an equation which is constantly changing. Is sand quantification, which brings into play the question of solids as it relates to erosion, the goal; or is measurement of trends to control production of solids the goal allowing for mximum production with minimum solids?