Propell Trailer-mounted Electric Generator, Texas
Location: Granbury, Texas
Owner/Operator: Propell
Propell supports leading well service companies in North America with new equipment technology, equipment renewal, product training, and after sales support.
HGC was retained by Propell to measure the sound levels produced by the operation of a large trailer-mounted electric generator at their facility in Granbury, Texas
Sound intensity measurements
The sound level measurements were conducted outdoors at a large number of positions around the unit while it was operating using a precision sound level meter. In addition, supplemental measurements of sound intensity were conducted to quantify the sound power emission levels of each separate component of the generator unit. The sound intensity measurements were conducted while the generator was operated at full capacity. Unlike simple measurements of sound pressure (e.g., measurements made with a sound level meter), a sound intensity system uses a directional probe to measure both the magnitude and direction of the sound propagating from a source. Sound intensity instrumentation also has a high inherent ability to reject extraneous sounds originating from outside the measurement control-volume and can therefore accurately isolate the sound emitted by each component of an assembly.
Identifying acoustically dominant components
Measurements were conducted under various operating scenarios. The measured sound intensity data was used to quantify the sound power emission level of each component, , in order to rank the components that radiate the greatest amount of sound and contribute to the overall sound levels.
There were three goals for these noise measurements:
- The first was to allow comparison of the actual sound levels with a specification provided by a customer
- The second was to determine the effectiveness of several prospective noise mitigation measures under consideration to further reduce the noise emitted by the equipment
- The third was to provide additional insight to Propell about which subcomponents of the unit were dominant sources of noise that would need to be controlled for additional reductions in the overall noise emission to be achieved.
After the measurements and analysis were completed, noise mitigation concepts were presented
Acoustical consulting services delivered included:
- Using sound intensity methods, measured the sound emitted by various sub-components of the fan assembly, to assist in developing quieter designs
- Identify acoustically dominant subcomponents
- Presented noise mitigation concepts for company consideration
