Rev.

Date of issue Reason for issue Issued by Checked by Approved by

1 09.10.17 Issued for Information RHA MTO RHA

ClampOn document number ClampOn document title

62-320-00169 Software Manual - Sand Monitor
ClampOn project reference Replaced by Replacement for Number of pages
- - 62.320.0044.08 29
Software Manual
Sand Monitor

CONTENTS
1 GENERAL ............................................................................................................ 5
1.1 Purpose........................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. 5
1.3 Revisions ......................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 Health, safety and environment .................................................................................... 5
1.5 Support ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.6 About ClampOn .............................................................................................................. 5
2 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Features .......................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Requirements ................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Installation ...................................................................................................................... 6
2.4 Starting Sand Monitor .................................................................................................... 6
2.5 Splash screen .................................................................................................................. 6
2.6 Main window .................................................................................................................. 7
2.7 Navigating the program ................................................................................................. 7
2.7.1 Using a mouse ............................................................................................................................. 7
2.7.2 Using a keyboard......................................................................................................................... 7
3 SETTINGS ............................................................................................................ 8
3.1 Password protection ...................................................................................................... 9
3.2 General settings ............................................................................................................. 9
3.2.1 Logging ........................................................................................................................................ 9
3.2.2 Trends ........................................................................................................................................ 10
3.2.3 Units .......................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.4 Access ........................................................................................................................................ 10
3.2.5 Modbus ..................................................................................................................................... 11
3.3 Sensor settings ............................................................................................................. 12
3.3.1 Tag & Description ...................................................................................................................... 12
3.3.2 Communication ......................................................................................................................... 12
3.3.3 Calculations ............................................................................................................................... 14
3.3.4 Alarms ....................................................................................................................................... 17
3.3.5 Modbus ..................................................................................................................................... 18
3.3.6 Adding a sensor ......................................................................................................................... 18
3.3.7 Renaming a sensor .................................................................................................................... 19
3.3.8 Removing a sensor .................................................................................................................... 19
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4 MONITORING ................................................................................................... 19
4.1 Overview....................................................................................................................... 19
4.1.1 Sensor status ............................................................................................................................. 19
4.2 Alarms and events ........................................................................................................ 20
4.2.1 Viewing the event log ................................................................................................................ 20
4.2.2 Event files .................................................................................................................................. 20
4.2.3 Opening an old event log .......................................................................................................... 20
4.2.4 Printing ...................................................................................................................................... 20
4.2.5 Save log ..................................................................................................................................... 20
4.2.6 Deleting events.......................................................................................................................... 20
4.3 Trends ........................................................................................................................... 20
4.3.1 Selecting sensor ......................................................................................................................... 21
4.3.2 Selecting trends ......................................................................................................................... 21
4.3.3 Period ........................................................................................................................................ 21
4.3.4 Move back ................................................................................................................................. 22
4.3.5 Scales ......................................................................................................................................... 22
4.3.6 Cursor ........................................................................................................................................ 22
4.3.7 Sensor and general status ......................................................................................................... 22
4.3.8 Numeric values and statistics .................................................................................................... 22
4.3.9 Saving a trend ........................................................................................................................... 23
4.3.10 Printing a trend ......................................................................................................................... 23
4.4 Parameter tuning ......................................................................................................... 23
4.4.1 Zero offset ................................................................................................................................. 23
4.4.2 Rate over/under-estimation ...................................................................................................... 23
5 SPECIAL FEATURES............................................................................................ 23
5.1 Toolbox ......................................................................................................................... 23
5.1.1 Dataview ................................................................................................................................... 24
5.1.2 MBView ..................................................................................................................................... 24
5.1.3 ObjectView ................................................................................................................................ 24
5.1.4 Adding a tool ............................................................................................................................. 24
5.2 Start-up Plug-Ins ........................................................................................................... 24
6 PROBLEM SOLVING AND FAQ ........................................................................... 24
6.1 The sensors are missing ............................................................................................... 24
6.2 The Sand Rate is “NaN” ................................................................................................ 24
6.3 I cannot communicate with the sensor(s).................................................................... 24
6.4 The sensor signal keeps dropping out / repeated malfunction alarms ....................... 25
6.5 The Modbus link does not work ................................................................................... 25

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6.5.1 No communication .................................................................................................................... 25
6.5.2 Disabling serial mouse driver on port ....................................................................................... 25
6.5.3 Bad communication .................................................................................................................. 26
6.5.4 There is communication, but data is missing or wrong ............................................................ 26
6.6 I cannot view the trend period that I want .................................................................. 26
6.7 The time stamps in the log files are wrong .................................................................. 26
6.8 Changing the date and time ......................................................................................... 26
6.9 I cannot connect to the server ..................................................................................... 27
6.10 I keep getting sand alarms ........................................................................................... 27
6.11 The Sand rate seems wrong ......................................................................................... 27
6.11.1 Manual samples shows sand, but the Sand Monitor says the rate is 0 g/s .............................. 27
6.11.2 A sand rate is indicated, but manual samples shows nothing .................................................. 28
6.11.3 A sand rate is measured, but it seems to high/low ................................................................... 28
6.11.4 We get alarms every time we move the chokes........................................................................ 28
6.12 The calculated flow velocity is wrong .......................................................................... 28
6.13 The internal velocity is wrong ...................................................................................... 28
6.14 How to make a backup of the system setup ................................................................ 28
6.15 How to change the save location for settings and temporary files ............................. 29

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1 GENERAL If information is sent by fax or e-mail, please provide
a contact name and number so that ClampOn can get
1.1 Purpose back to you.
This document describes how to install, configure, 1.6 About ClampOn
use and troubleshoot the ClampOn Sand Monitor
ClampOn AS is the leading worldwide supplier of
software, used in connection with ClampOn particle
topside and subsea non-invasive ultrasonic intelligent
monitors to monitor, log and calculate solids rates
sensors. The company was established in 1993 and its
and alarms.
head office is located in Bergen, Norway. A branch
office, ClampOn Inc., is located in Houston, Texas,
1.2 Abbreviations USA.
COM COM-port in this document refer to a serial
If you have any questions or require further
port on the PC
information, please visit www.ClampOn.com for
DSP Digital Signal Processing, or reference to the
contact details.
native protocol of ClampOn DSP Particle
Monitors
MB Mega Byte
PC Personal Computer
RAM Random Access Memory
TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol
UTC Universal Coordinated Time

1.3 Revisions
1 Issued for information. First issue.

1.4 Health, safety and environment

ClampOn aims to take all reasonable steps to protect
the environment, people and other parties’ assets
and to prevent its operations, production,
development and maintenance causing emissions to
air, water and soil.

1.5 Support
ClampOn support and service staff are available to
offer assistance with installation, commissioning and
other matters. Contact details for ClampOn can be
found on the website (see Section 1.6). Before
contacting ClampOn we ask you to please have the
following information ready:

 Location/installation.
 ClampOn project reference, typically
“051.xxxx.xx”, “5 10x xxx”, or “xxxx.200.xx”.
 Serial number(s) on the sensor(s) and other
equipment, typically xx-xx-xxxx.
 Brief description of the problem.

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2 INTRODUCTION The installation wizard will guide you through the rest
of the installation process. In this document, the
Before using this manual, you should have a working recommended values are given but you are free to
knowledge of the computer type that the program change these values as you wish. However, ClampOn
will be running on. You should know the basics of recommends keeping the default values.
graphical user interfaces, file management, etc. You
should also have an idea of how the ClampOn The software depends on a free run-time engine
Ultrasonic Intelligent Sensors are integrated into your (RTE) from National Instruments (similar to how java
monitoring system, and finally, what sand monitoring applets require the Java RTE from Sun). This can be
is all about. If you need to review these things, please downloaded from www.ni.com. The license
check your Windows documentation, ClampOn agreement in the installer is the license for this run-
system and hardware documentation, and your own time engine.
system documentation.
It is possible to copy/move Sand Monitor to another
2.1 Features computer by simply copying the directory in which it
was installed. However this will only work if the new
ClampOn Sand Monitor acquires data from ClampOn computer is running the same operating system and
particle monitors and uses this data to create logs, you install the run-time engine as well.
and present sand rates and alarms. The user interface
provides access to trends, alarms and configurations
as well as the tools needed to view and evaluate this 2.4 Starting Sand Monitor
information, generate reports and adjust the system Alternative 1:
if necessary (provided you have an administrator From the Start menu, select "All Programs".
account). The software can also act as a Modbus Select "ClampOn "
slave (ASCII, RTU, and TCP/IP) and has a TCP/IP based Select "ClampOn Sand Monitor x.x".
client server interface allowing you to relocate sand
management tasks from offshore to onshore offices
without diminishing your accessibility. Alternatively, Alternative 2:
it is possible to manage the server more easily Browse to the executable and
offshore without having to physically move to the double-click on it, or put the path to
location where the server is situated. it in the run-dialog. The default path
(if you did not change it during the
2.2 Requirements installation) is:

The minimum requirements to run Sand Monitor are: c:\Program Files\ClampOn\Sand Monitor
x.x\ClampOn Sand Monitor x.x.exe
 Intel Pentium III based computer
 256 MB RAM
 500 MB free hard disk space 2.5 Splash screen
 XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 10 The first thing you will see when the application
 256 colour, 800*600 resolution display launches is a “splash screen”. The splash screen is
shown the first 10 seconds while the rest of the
application is loaded. It tells you which software
2.3 Installation version you are running, the names of the developers
To install the ClampOn Sand Monitor software: etc.
The full version number (in
1. Start Windows the upper right corner of the
2. Insert the ClampOn Sand Monitor installation splash screen) can be helpful
medium (CD/USB drive) if you contact ClampOn for
3. Browse to the inserted medium. support.
4. Double-click the setup.exe file.
You can also see the splash screen by choosing

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“About” from the Help-menu in the main window of 2.7.2 Using a keyboard
the application.
There are a number of keyboard shortcuts in
When the application has loaded the splash screen
ClampOn Sand Monitor 3.x, some are visible, and
will disappear and the main window will pop up.
some are hidden (described in section 2.7.2.4).

2.6 Main window 2.7.2.1 Navigating in a window

With a keyboard the main way of navigation is to use
the [TAB] key. The [TAB] key is used to move
between different objects (buttons, text boxes etc.).
You will see a rectangular box around the object
currently active. Use [Shift + TAB] to move back one
step.

In pull-down menus you select an item using the up

and down arrows. In numeric inputs you can
increment or decrement the value in the same way
(instead of writing a new number). To change a
certain part of the number you just move the cursor
The main window of ClampOn Sand Monitor gives a inside the control box using the left and right arrows
system overview. It shows a list of all the particle until the cursor is next to that digit and then use up
sensors; their tag, status and current reading, the IP or down to change it.
address of the computer (to be used for remote
connections), how many remote connections there In some dialog
are, the current time and a general status. boxes there are
From the main window you also have access to set up
different tabs
the system and view the event log and trends of the which include
different sensors. Double-click on a tag to get a trend information, text
window, click on the general status to see the event boxes and button choices. To move between these
log or use the menu to enter the system setup. different tabs, use the [TAB] key first (until you don’t
By default there is one sensor included in the setup see any rectangular box in the view) and then use the
so the first time you start the application the sensor [←] or [→ ] key to select the right tab.
list will show one tag and that tag will normally go
into alarm status after a few seconds due to the fact
that it has not been configured to match your
hardware yet.

[Ctrl + ] keys is used to go to the next level in a tab.

2.7 Navigating the program This combination of function keys should be used
All navigation in the program can be done either by when you have more tabs in the next level (see
mouse or by keyboard. In most cases using a mouse figure) or if you don’t have any function key to select
is the best option. a text box or a button. In some cases you must press
the [Ctrl + ] keys several times to go to the wanted
field.
2.7.1 Using a mouse
With the mouse you simply click on an object to [Ctrl + ] keys is used to go up one level.
select it, or double-click to launch what the object is
linked to. In some cases double-clicking while holding Example – to change the sensor ID of a certain
down the Ctrl or Shift-key will launch alternative sensor:
links.

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 Press the [TAB] key until you don’t see the 2.7.2.4 Hidden shortcuts
rectangular box.  Refreshing the event log or a trend (e.g. if
 Press the [→] key to select the Communication you have selected the last 6 hours and do not want to
tab. wait for the once a minute automatic refresh) can be
 Press the [TAB] key to go into the tab page. done by pressing F5.
 Press [Ctrl + ] twice to go into the  In many windows pressing [ESC] will exit the
communications structure. window as if the cancel button was pressed.
 Press [Tab] twice to highlight the ID input.  If [ESC] is pressed while the main window (i.e.
the sensor list) is active you will be asked whether
you want to log off. This is useful if you are about to
2.7.2.2 Menus leave the computer, and do not want others to get
To select and navigate menus you first press [Alt + access based on your login (which normally would
The underlined letter in the menu name] (Alt+F in the stay valid for a given idle time).
example below) and then use the arrow keys to move  [Clear] will clear the event log if you have the
up, down or sideways in the menus. Press [Enter] to event log displayed (equivalent to pressing the Clear
select the menu item you have highlighted. button).
Most menu items have shortcuts shown on their right  Ctrl+Shift+F8 will show a menu called
side (e.g. Ctrl+Q to exit). You can select the item by Toolbox. Toolbox provides access to different plug-in
pressing the keys indicated, instead of navigating tools for debugging, testing etc.
through the menu.  In the sensor setup window F2 will activate
the sub-tab of the calculation page. F3 will activate
the sub-tab of the Modbus page.

3 SETTINGS
The different system settings are available from the
File-menu in the main/overview window.

2.7.2.3 Moving between windows ++

If you have more than one window open (e.g. a
couple of trends in addition to the sensor list) you can
move between them using the standard Windows
shortcut [ALT+TAB]. Hold down [ALT] and cycle
through the available windows by repeatedly
pressing [TAB] until you get to the window you want,
then release the [ALT] key.
If you want to minimize, maximize or close a window
the Windows shortcut is [ALT+Space].

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The settings fall into two categories; the general: 3.2.1 Logging
“Logging”, “Trends”, “Units”, “Access” and
“Modbus”, and the sensor specific: “Sensors”.

3.1 Password protection

By default the software will be installed with a local
user (Named: “Local”) with administrator access and
as long as such a user exists local users will not be
asked for a password.
However, should the access settings have been
changed (i.e. local admin deleted), any attempts to
edit the settings will prompt the user for a name and
password. 3.2.1.1 Directories
The directories section of the logging settings is
where you choose where the software should store
its log files. It is vital that you choose a directory on a
storage medium that you have read and write access
to, is always online, has a high read/write speed and
has a capacity to store at least a few years of data.
ClampOn Sand Monitor will generate one log file per
sensor per month. Depending on the logging
frequency (3.2.1.2) the files can get as large as 40MB
each. Event logs will normally only take up a few
If for some reason no user name or password is
hundred kBs.
known you will have to contact ClampOn for support,
or reinstall the software.
Read more about access settings in section 3.2.4. 3.2.1.2 Logging frequency
3.2 General settings The ClampOn Particle Sensors typically produce a
measurement every second. Logging all of these will
When you change anything in any of the general
require quite a lot of storage capacity so to reduce
settings it will affect all of the system. Modify the
the amount of data we set a change criterion. The
trend defaults (3.2.2) e.g. and all trends will look as
“Log if value has changed”-criterion will be applied to
specified the first time they are opened.
all the different variables that are logged. If any of
In some cases this means that the general settings
them have changed from its last logged value by
must be handled with extra care. If e.g., you set up
more than the given percentage all variables with
the system with certain units (3.2.3), changing the
that time stamp will be stored. If the criterion is set
units later will require that all related settings must
to 0% all values will be logged. Unless the storage
be adjusted accordingly (alarm limits, the inputs and
capacity is low it is recommendable to set the change
outputs on links to other systems etc.).
criterion to 5-10%.
In addition to trend defaults and units there are
If there is little change and/or the change criteria has
general settings for things like where and how often
been set very high the “At minimum write once every
to log data (3.2.1), protocols, ports and IDs for links
…. minute” value is there to ensure that you at least
to other systems and user names and passwords
get some data from periods where the change
(3.2.4 and 3.2.5).
criteria has not been fulfilled. A good value here is 1-
30 minutes.
The time of origin of the data logged based on this
minimum criterion will be random (which means that
over time both lower and higher values will be
covered).

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3.2.2 Trends systems, the alarm limit values you have set etc.
Remember to take that into consideration if you want
to change the units e.g. to get different units on the
trends.
Should the available units not fit your needs either do
a conversion in the external systems or contact
ClampOn to get your choice of units implemented.
There is a “Quick Config” menu which allows you to
choose between different predefined sets of units
typically found in different regions of the world:
“Metric”, “UK” and “US”. After selecting one of these
Whenever you pull up a trend the measurements of a quick configurations you may adjust them by
sensor the period, parameters (and their associated selecting from the pull-down menus next to the
colour) and scale ranges first shown will be based on different parameters.
the trend settings.
Scale ranges should be set to cover the normal range
of the chosen parameter. Alternatively you can check
3.2.4 Access
the “Autoscaling”-box. If auto scaling is enabled the
scale range will automatically adjust to the shown
data (may zoom in too close if the data has not varied
much).

If you check the “Maximize Windows” box trend

windows will maximize when they open. With this
feature disabled trend windows will try to align and
size themselves to give room for multiple trends and
the sensor list.
3.2.4.1 Users
As mentioned in section 3.1 the settings are/can be
3.2.3 Units password protected. System users are defined in the
access settings. Remote clients will always have to log
in using a user name and password. Local users can
either be asked to provide a password, or you can
create a user named “Local” and give that user
administrator access. If such a user exists local users
will not be prompted for a password.
Add users by clicking on the add button.
The difference in access level between “User” and
“Administrator” is that administrators can modify the
settings of the system, both locally and via a remote
connection. Users only have access to view trends
and event logs.
To delete a given user select the user in the user list
and then click delete.
ClampOn Sand Monitor supports a number of
predefined units for the different kinds of input and
outputs it has. Units are defined centrally so how you 3.2.4.2 Server
set up the units will affect all parts of the software For remote connections you must set up a TCP/IP
that handles values with a unit. You cannot have port to listen to. Make sure the client applications are
different units for the same type of parameter in set up to use the same port and that there is no
different parts of the application. This makes it firewall in between that will block that port.
important to ensure that the units you choose fit the The server name does not have any other
ones you will receive from / are to send to external functionality than to identify the server so that clients
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can see the server they are connected to identified by Modbus TCP/IP protocol is based on the “Modbus
something more understandable than an IP address. Application Protocol v.1.0” by modbus.org.
The name can e.g. be the name of the
installation/platform on which the sensors are
installed. 3.2.5.2 Mode
Choose between the three different versions of
Modbus; the serial RTU or ASCII versions or the
3.2.4.3 Idle time network based Modbus TCP/IP.
If a local user has logged in to access the settings it is
nice to not have to provide the user name and
password repeatedly. The idle time decide, for local 3.2.5.3 Slave Address
users, how long their last login is kept valid, i.e. how Make sure the slave address matches the address the
long after an initial login the software will assume master will poll. The address given here is in decimal
that the user is the same and allow access without notation (some systems use hex).
asking for the password again.
For remote users the idle time determines how long a
client-server connection will be kept open if there are 3.2.5.4 Port Number
no requests from the client. This way dead If one of the serial modes has been chosen, the port
connections will not be allowed to take up server number refers to the serial port on the PC (COM1,
resources. COM2 etc.). If you have selected Modbus TCP/IP, it
The idle time should normally be kept at least 15 refers to the TCP/IP port and should normally be set
minutes. If a local user does not want the leave his to 502 - as defined by the protocol specification.
login valid he can always log out by pressing “Escape”
while having the main window active (a confirmation
dialog will pop up). 3.2.5.5 Baud Rate, Parity and Buffer Size
With Modbus RTU or ASCII you need to specify the
baud rate and parity, make sure it’s the same as on
3.2.5 Modbus the master. The buffer size is the number of bytes
that can be temporarily stored in the serial port
buffer (until it is read by the application), it can
normally be left at 2000.

3.2.5.6 Loop and Interbyte Time

The loop time tells the software how long it should
stay idle after processing all the incoming commands.
ClampOn Sand Monitor can act as a Modbus slave. It If e.g. the master has sent two commands to the
supports RTU, ASCII and TCP/IP modes and can have slave the slave will process and reply to these
two separate channels (they can run different modes, commands and then wait the given loop time prior to
have different IDs etc. but the registers are shared). checking the port for new commands. The loop time
In TCP/IP mode it accepts multiple simultaneous TCP limits the processor load, but also how fast the
connections. response time is. Leaving it at the default value will
The general Modbus settings cover the normally work fine, however if the master get
communications setup of the two channels. If there timeout errors reducing the loop time may be a
will be no Modbus link set the mode of both channels solution.
to “Not in use”. The Interbyte Time is the silence time the software
should interpret as the end of a message (the
Modbus RTU protocol e.g. specifies that all units
3.2.5.1 Protocol specifications should mark the end of their messages with a silence
The serial Modbus protocol (RTU and ASCII mode) time of at least 3.5 character times).
simulated by ClampOn Sand Monitor is based on In other words; ClampOn Sand Monitor will start
Modicon’s specification “PI-MBUS-300” Rev. J. The processing the incoming data as soon as it has been
an interbyte time since any new data was received. In
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some cases Modbus masters can halt their
transmission to do other tasks and if that halt can be
longer than the given interbyte limit the slave will 3.3.1 Tag & Description
start processing a partial message and fail to reply. The tag page shows the tag of the currently selected
Typically such a problem will cause sporadic errors sensor and provides a description field where you can
that increase in frequency with the length of the put useful notes about the sensor (e.g. the well
commands sent by the master (due to a higher name, location of the sensor, when and by whom it
probability of a halt during the transmission). You was installed, sensor serial number, how the sand
may reduce the interbyte time to shorten the production has been historically, the last time the
response time, however make sure it’s fits the silence settings were reviewed/modified and by whom etc.).
time added by the master and that it is above the halt The description is available to, and can be especially
time that may occur mid-transmission. helpful for, remote users.

Be careful to give sensors the correct tag as early as

3.2.5.7 Register Value Range possible. If you need to edit the tag (by pressing the
ClampOn Sand Monitor only uses 16 bit input and edit button on the tag page) all log files and event log
output registers. If the Modbus master is set up to entries related to the previous tag will keep the old
use unsigned registers set the minimum to 0 and the tag and the old log data will be unavailable from
maximum to 65535. If the master interprets the within the software (unless you rename it back).
registers as signed integers set the range from This can be used as an advantage if you are moving
-32768 to +32767. In some rare cases there are other the same sensor between different flow lines. By
interpretations used, just make sure the sand changing the tag accordingly every time, the data will
monitor software is set up to match the master. be logged in separate files and will thus be easier to
separate later on. Should you move the sensor back
to a flow line it has been on before, change the tag to
3.3 Sensor settings what it used to be and you will have access to the
previous history from that flow line without any
other data mixed in.
Tags must be more than 4 characters long and can
only contain characters that are valid in Windows file
names.

3.3.2 Communication

The sensor settings is where you manage the sensors

in the system. You can add or delete sensors to be
monitored, set up how the software communicates
with the sensors/retrieves the data from the sensors,
control how the solids rates are calculated and set
alarm limits on the measurements.
For each sensor you have available a set of input and
holding registers and you can choose which ones to
use and how the values should be scaled to fit into
the registers (16 bit).
On the left side of the sensor settings window you 3.3.2.1 Protocol
have a list of the sensors currently set up and on the ClampOn particle sensors support a number of
right side you have pages (tab control) showing the different protocols and baud rates. The protocol and
settings of the sensor currently selected from that baud rate is normally chosen during production,
list. however it can also be changed later by
reconfiguration and/or reprogramming. ClampOn
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keeps track of how the sensors are set up so if you do
not have that information available try to use the
default setting. If that does not work, contact 3.3.2.3 ID
ClampOn for support. The sensor identification number is used to address
messages to the sensors if they run a master-slave
The default is to use the protocol named “ClampOn protocol. The type of ID number varies between the
DSP” and a baud rate of 9600. The DSP protocol protocols though. The DSP protocol uses the last part
exists in two versions, DSPI and DSPII, the former is of the sensor serial number as the ID (if the serial is
the native protocol for all sensors produced later 03-04-2761 e.g. the ID to input is 2761). For direct
than year 2000, except the SandQ model which uses Modbus the ID is the slave ID the sensor has been
the latter. The DSP protocols are master-slave based configured with - a value from 1 to 255. Check the
and are the only protocols that provide access to sensor documentation to find out what ID to use.
absolutely all the functionality of the sensors (all
other protocols support what is necessary for particle
monitoring though). Regardless of the operational 3.3.2.4 Sample Rate
settings all sensors run the DSP protocol during Normally the ClampOn sensors produce a new
initialization (10 second boot up period). measurement every second and should be polled
every second. In some cases the sensor output is
Topside sensors produced earlier than the year 2000 averaged over a number of seconds and the sample
(The “2000”-model) will normally run the “ClampOn rate can be adjusted accordingly.
2000”-protocol at a baud rate of 2400. Sub-sea Unlike the other protocols the DSP protocol supports
sensors are typically set up with the 21B, 21B MS, buffering so if for some reason you cannot or do not
13B MS or Modbus (“Modbus (direct)”) protocol. The want to poll a sensor every second you can reduce
baud rates can vary but is most often 2400 or 9600. the sample rate without losing any data (all the one-
second samples will be kept in the memory of the
ClampOn Sand Monitor can communicate directly sensor and transferred in a batch when the software
with the sensors or it can retrieve the measurements polls it). To be able to produce the same signal to
via a Modbus link to a control system. The latter is external systems though, the software will buffer and
often the solution if a direct link is difficult to provide, read the signals one by one so the trend will be
e.g. if the sensors are sub-sea. If the raw signal of the slightly delayed (what you see now may have been
sensor is coming in on the Modbus link set the measured by the sensor 5 seconds ago).
protocol to “Modbus (via CS)” and go to the Modbus Even if you set the sample rate to 1 second the
holding registers tab to set the register address and software may not be able to keep that rate if the
scaling. number of sensors on the same multi-drop line is
high or the link has a high latency. Due to the
Depending on the protocol the necessary additional buffering however, that will only result in a small
inputs (ports, baud rates etc.) will be enabled below time offset if the DSP protocol is used.
the protocol menu (the ones not necessary will be
greyed out).
3.3.2.5 Baud Rate
To test whether the communications settings work The baud rate of the serial communication must
you can save the settings and see if the sensor status match that which the sensor is set up with. You
turns green (there may be other alarms though so if it cannot run different baud rates on one and the same
stays red check the event log to see if there is a multi-drop line so make sure all sensors sharing a line
malfunction alarm ON or better yet open a trend run at the same baud rate.
window and check if the raw value trend / current
value is showing a value other than zero).
3.3.2.6 Reply timeout
The timeout is the number of milliseconds (1/1000 of
3.3.2.2 Port a second) the software will wait for the sensor to
The port is the serial port (“COM-port”, RS232, 485 or reply to polls. Normally the reply should be close to
422) to which the sensor is connected (may be a immediate (10-50 ms), however to accept that the
multi-drop line with several sensors). sensor may be slow sometimes, or if the link has a
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high latency (.e.g. if it is a transparent link to a subsea value at different flow rates can either be
sensor the latency might be several seconds) the approximated based on experience from other
timeout should have a good margin. For direct links a installations or they can be accurately calibrated
timeout of 120-250 ms is OK. based on local observations and sand injections.
On some installations they vary so little with the flow
velocity and/or or the velocity varies so little, that
3.3.2.7 Interbyte time you can set them manually. The best option in most
Once a reply has been received from the sensor the cases however is to set up the software to
software will determine the end of the reply by continuously receive information about the current
looking for a halt in the transmission. The length of flow conditions and then automatically adjust the
that silence to be interpreted as the end of a message parameters accordingly.
is the interbyte time. Sometimes there are halts
occurring during transmission (from byte to byte) as
well so the silence time it is to interpret as the end 3.3.3.2 Zero
must be higher than those temporary halts. If set too Although the particle monitor itself removes most of
high though, the software will wait unnecessarily long the background noise, there will always remain a
before processing replies, and might not be able to certain energy contribution from non-particle related
sustain the requested sample rate. sources. Due to the in-built intelligence of the sensor
Normally the interbyte time should be set to 20-50 however, this contribution does not vary very much
ms. If the link is going through a third party system (the S/N ratio is very high) and can therefore be
though the interbyte-time could occasionally jump removed by simply subtracting it from the raw value.
much higher and you will need to adjust it The zero value is in other words the adjustment of
accordingly to avoid signal dropouts. the zero level to match the signal level when there is
no sand. The zero level does however vary somewhat
with the flow velocity (of the fluid/gas flow in the
3.3.3 Calculations pipeline), so to make the system adjust by itself even
The particle sensor itself will not output a particle if the flow rates change radically you need to make a
rate. Instead it outputs a raw signal that must go graph or table of which zero to use at different flow
through a relatively simple calculation in order to find velocities.
the corresponding rate of solids. The basic formula is
very simple:
3.3.3.3 Step
After subtracting the zero from the raw value we
3.3.3.1 Sand Rate have a value that represents the energy generated by
The formula to calculate the sand rate is: sand particles colliding with the pipe wall. This energy
can be related to a sand mass – and that relation is
Exp given by the step value. The step value is in other
 RawValue  Zero 
SandRate   words an energy/gram of sand relation. The energy
 Step  of particles colliding is however related to their
velocity (remember the formula for kinetic energy:
In words: If there is no sand the raw signal will have a E=½mv2), and so you want to have a graph or table of
certain background noise value (zero). If we subtract which step to use at different flow velocities, just like
that zero level we have the signal increase caused by the one for the zero value.
whatever sand is currently produced. By knowing
how much the signal increases depending on the
sand rate (step) we can calculate the sand rate.
3.3.3.4 Exp
If the formula is to work at a very wide range of sand The higher the sand rate the less of a signal increase
rates the step is no longer constant and we need to you get (i.e. the step factor varies with the sand rate).
compensate for the nonlinearity by using an Normally it is only relevant to know an exact sand
exponential. Normally Exp can be ignored and simply rate if it’s within a certain range though; if it exceeds
set to 1. that rate the rate is already so high that it becomes
These parameters, zero, step and exp – are all less important what it is. This is why we normally say
dynamic, i.e. they vary with the flow velocity. Their that the nonlinearity effect can be ignored (Exp= 1). If
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sand injections are performed to cover a wide range
of sand rates however, the nonlinearity can be found
and compensated for.

3.3.3.5 Parameter base

By understanding what parameters go into the sand
rate calculation, you can now choose how those
parameters are to be set.
From the “Parameters are”-menu you can either The suggestion function will automatically retrieve
choose to used fixed values, or you can set them to the data from the last half hour and base the zero
automatically adjust to the flow velocity. level on that, however if the sensor has not been
measuring for that long yet or the flow has been
Select “velocity” if you have SandQ monitors or can
unstable you can always override that value.
set up a link to an external system that can provide
Enter the current flow rates, pressure and
live process data. Even without live process data it
temperature (representative to where the sensor is
can be advantageous to choose this and set up a
mounted) and the suggestion function will calculate
table covering the parameters at different flow
velocities. You can then use a manually found velocity the flow velocity and find an empirical step value
(either given from a link to a control system or based on that and the type of flow line. The type of
directly entered in the sand monitor software) to get flow line is automatically chosen based on the GOR
values from that table. This will simplify maintenance, (gas-oil ratio).
You can also skip inputting the flow rates etc. and just
but requires an initial effort involving analysis of
adjust the type of line and flow velocity directly if
historical data.
these are already known.
If the suggested values look OK press the “Use”
Fixed parameters
button to set the fixed parameters.
If the flow rate in the line changes later you may see
that the zero level changes and that you need a
different step value to get an accurate sand rate. In
that case you will need to adjust the fixed
parameters. If the need for adjustment becomes very
frequent it may be an idea to consider setting up a
live feed of process data and have the parameters
adjust automatically.

Tip: If you have done sand injections and have found

the suggested step values to be wrong you can
With fixed parameters, inputs to manually enter the replace the default suggestions by exporting a zero-
parameter values are shown to the right of the step table and save it in the Settings folder with the
parameter base menu. If the flow is stable and you name “CalcOil.txt” or “CalcGas.txt”. The suggestions
have observed the raw signal from the sensor and will then be based on those tables instead. The
found the minimum raw value measured the last half Settings folder is located in the local AppData folder
hour type that value in as the zero level. It may be a under ClampOn\Sand Monitor\
good idea to add a 5-10% margin to the observed
minimum. If you know the step factor for the current
flow conditions (e.g. from injection tests or 3.3.3.6 Sand concentration
ClampOn’s empirical data) enter that as well, and as The sand rate calculation outputs the mass per unit
mentioned earlier the exp can normally be kept at of time, however to get a concentration value (mass
1,0. per volume of liquid) you can manually enter or
To help you pick the parameters though there is also calculate a liquid rate to be used to calculate that.
a suggestion button. The liquid rate (oil & water) is set on the “Flow
Conditions”-page.

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Parameters based on the flow velocity received from external systems or if you want to
override that incoming value.

“Modbus” is the selection to make if you have

available live feed of that parameter from an external
system. Set up the associated holding register (3.3.5)
and Modbus link (3.2.5) and the value will be updated
from that link.

“Internal” is only available as a source for the velocity

reading. You can choose this if you have a sensor with
SandQ technology. The sensor will then measure the
particle velocity and report it using the DSPII protocol
If you choose to base the parameters based on the
(Make sure you have the communication set up to
velocity the lookup table below will be enabled. In
run on that protocol).
the table you enter the parameters for different
velocities starting at the lowest velocity. Based on the
“Lookup table” is a possible flow rate source. Use this
velocity the software will then find the rows with the
if a link to an external system can provide a
closest reference velocities and find the interpolated
parameter that, based on a performance curve, can
zero, step and exp values for the current flow
be used to determine the flow. Often the well
velocity. It will not extrapolate below the lowest
performance is tested monthly and there are curves
velocity so it is not necessary to have a row for a
available that relate the flow to a pressure or the
velocity of 0.
choke settings. Ideally you set the control system to
The zero, step and exp lookup tables can be exported
retrieve those tables from where they are normally
and imported as tab delimited text files. You can
stored, calculate the flow rates and send those to the
make and edit the files elsewhere using a text editor
sand monitor, however you can also put the tables
or spreadsheet application and then import them,
into the sand monitor software, send it the live
just make sure the format of the file stays the same
lookup reference and the software will do the flow
(export to see the format).
calculation. If any of the flow rates are set to be
The velocity can in turn either be given manually or
found using a lookup table the lookup page will be
calculated. Set up how the different necessary
enabled:
parameters are found from the “Flow Conditions”-
page:

On the lookup page you choose what value the

lookup should be based on: THP, WHP or Choke. You
can then enter the flow rate values at different
For each of the flow condition parameters you can
reference values in the table. The software will
select a “source”: fixed, Modbus, internal or lookup
interpolate between the given points.
table. The sources available vary between the
parameters though.
Often the performance curves available only describe
the oil rate. The gas and water rates are found based
“Fixed” means that the value used will be the given
on a GOR and watercut value. If this is the case fill in
manual input. Choose this if the data cannot be
the oil part of the table first and then click the ratios
button. You will then be asked to provide the GOR
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and watercut, and the gas and water parts of the of no solids are prevented from resetting the alarms
table will be calculated and filled in based on those if the overall production is above limits.
ratios. Similarly the malfunction alarm has delays to prevent
short communication errors from setting the alarm
and ensure that lasting intermittent problems will.
There are two types of sand alarms; Hi and HiHi. The
idea is that the Hi level should be set at a level which
can be tolerated for some time and so has a rather
long set delay. To be able to react quickly to
extremely high sand rates there is also a HiHi alarm
which should be set at a very high sand rate, but with
The GOR will be assumed to be a relation in the units a relatively short delay time.
you have chosen to use for the oil and gas rate. Make
sure the GOR units are the same, otherwise you will
need to convert it to the right units.
3.3.4.1 Enable/disable
The watercut is defined as: Alarms can be disabled if for some reason you do not
100%*Water rate / (Water rate + Oil rate). want to use them (e.g. if the sensor is being tested
The lookup table can be exported or imported as a and you do not want it to result in sand alarms in the
tab delimited text file. As long as you make sure the control system). If you want to use an alarm though,
format of the text file is kept correct you can in other you need to check the “Enabled” box next to it.
words make and modify the tables in any text editor
or spreadsheet application and then import them.
3.3.4.2 Alarm limits
Hi alarm
3.3.4 Alarms Let’s say that you can tolerate to produce around 5
kg of sand per day. In average that means just 0,06
g/s. Normally the solids will come in batches though
so even though the day total is well below 5 kg the
rate can easily exceed the limit momentarily
(remember that the rate is measured every second).
This means that you should either set the Hi limit a
bit higher and/or set the set delay relatively long to
avoid frequent and unnecessary alarms.
What the limit should be varies with the erosion rates
it may cause (depends on the flow velocity, fluid
properties, pipe geometry etc.), how big a problem
the volume of it may cause etc. It needs to be
To be notified if there is something wrong with the evaluated on a case by case basis. For an oil well
sensor signal or if the measured sand rate is high you
flowing at a very low velocity it may be acceptable to
can specify different alarm limits. If the limits are have 0, 5 - 5 g/s for longer periods of time, for a gas
exceeded it will be shown as a red status light on the well with high velocities 0,05 to 1 g/s might only be
sensor list in the main window, in the status text in acceptable for a short time.
the trend windows and the time and nature of the
alarm will be described in the event log. In addition
HiHi alarm
alarms are communicated to external systems as part
Where the Hi alarm is meant to pick up lasting
of a status code.
production of low but unacceptable rates of solids
Due to the fact that solids production can vary a lot the HiHi alarm can be used to draw more immediate
(large changes every second) and that choke attention when there is very high production of
adjustments and rapid transients in the flow may solids. Due to the fact that the limit is set very high
cause spikes in the signals, the alarms also have set
the alarm will also be less prone to be falsely set by
and reset delays. This ensures that there are no spurious signals and can therefore have a much
alarms due to spurious signals and that short periods shorter set delay. Again the limit needs to be
evaluated by qualified personnel for the given flow
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line, however to give an example this limit could be The reset delay should normally be chosen so that it
set at 5-10 g/s with a set delay of 10-120 seconds. fits the set delay. If you can tolerate an hour above
Malfunction alarm the limit resets should naturally not be made after
A particle detector will normally give out a raw signal just a few seconds.
that is well above zero and never 0. In other words; if
the signal is below a certain value or there is no signal
from the sensor (equal to the signal being zero) there 3.3.5 Modbus
is a malfunction in the sensor or the communications
link. Due to the fact that the sensors are polled very
frequently (and that they may buffer the readings
anyway) it can and should be tolerated that this
happens once in a while (reflected in the set delay),
however if it lasts for several poll cycles (set delay
should relate to the sample rate) or if communication
is only intermittent an alarm should be raised.
Disable this alarm if the sensor is not yet connected
to the system or if it is temporarily out of operation.
Default values are a limit at 200, set delay at 10
seconds and reset delay at 2 seconds. To receive support data from external systems and to
hand off results there are a number of Modbus
registers associated with each sensor. For the former
3.3.4.3 Set delay the software uses holding registers (4X), for the latter
When a limit is exceeded the software will not it uses input registers (3X). All registers are 1-indexed
necessarily raise the alarm immediately, it only starts so if the Modbus master is 0-indexed register 40000
to count how many seconds the limit has been for the master will be 40001 in the ClampOn Sand
exceeded. If that time is equal to or above the given Monitor.
set delay then the alarm is set. Make sure to enable all the registers that are to be
For most situations it is recommendable to have such read and written (if you have specified that process
a delay to avoid that short transients trigger the data received on the Modbus link should be part of
alarm. Due to the nature of solids production and the the sand rate calculation you still have to enable the
method and high refresh rate of the measurement registers for those values) and that the register
the signals are prone to produce such momentary addresses and scaling matches that of the Modbus
conditions. master. Scaling is done to be able to send very large
Examples of this are described in sections 3.3.4 and or fractional values even though the registers are just
3.3.4.2. 16 bit integers. The range does not need to match the
In the same way it is useful to have a reset delay so real physical range possible on the installation, only
that the mentioned counter or the set alarm is not be wide enough to contain that range.
reset by temporary returns to the accepted range. What variant of the Modbus protocol to use, ports,
slave IDs etc. is set in the general Modbus settings,
see section 3.2.5.
3.3.4.4 Reset delay
If e.g. the sand rate has exceeded the hi-limit for 18 3.3.6 Adding a sensor
seconds, drops to zero for just two seconds and then
jumps back up above the limit you do not really want
the alarm counter, checking if the alarm condition
has been above the limit more than the given set
delay, to start all over again. To avoid that temporary
drops below the alarm limits prevent the alarm from
ever being set you specify a reset delay. This means
that if the signal drops it must stay below the alarm
limit more than the given number of seconds for the To add a sensor to be monitored click on the add
software to reset the alarm counters or alarm. button. You will be asked to provide a tag for the new

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sensor. Make sure you choose the tag carefully, read 4 MONITORING
more about tags in section 3.3.1.
Once you have entered a new tag and clicked OK the With all sensors configured and the system set up
sensor will be added to the sensor list and you are ready to start using the ClampOn Sand
automatically selected and its default settings Monitor. Let us have a look at how you can use the
displayed on the tab control. Continue by adjusting software daily to get a good picture of the solids
its settings. production and the maintenance tasks required to
The maximum number of sensors is 200. Contact ensure reliable system performance.
ClampOn if you need to extend beyond that limit. 4.1 Overview

3.3.7 Renaming a sensor

To rename a sensor select it from the sensor list and

click the edit button on the tag page. There are some
considerations to make when you do this, read more The main window of ClampOn Sand Monitor provides
about in the tag section (3.3.1). an overview of the current measurements and the
status of each sensor. The general status (worst case)
is shown in the bottom left corner.
3.3.8 Removing a sensor You can reduce the size of the window to be able to
To remove a sensor you simply select it from the see it at all times. If there are more sensors than fit
sensor list and click the delete button (you can always into the shown part of the list you can use the scroll-
cancel the settings window if you decide not to later). bar on the bottom of the list to see the rest of the
The sensor will disappear from the sensor lists and its list.
configuration will be deleted, however all log files The displayed measurements are momentary values
and event log entries related to it will not be deleted. (updated every second). The sensor status indicators
If you want to delete the log files you must do that in may, depending on the type of alarm and reset delay
Windows Explorer. The minimum number of sensors (3.3.4.4), hold their condition even after the status
in the system is 1 so you will not be allowed to delete has returned to OK.
them all.
An alternative way of removing a sensor without
actually deleting its configuration is to move its
4.1.1 Sensor status
configuration file (<tag>.ini) from the The status indicator of the sensors has three states;
Settings\Sensors\ directory and then open the sensor green (OK), yellow (warning) and red (alarm or error).
settings. Sensor settings will then reload the The indicator will also show an abbreviated
configuration files and the sensor will not be description of the sensor state:
included.  OK – Everything as it should be
Similarly you can load new sensors by copying new  NA – Not applicable. Shown if all alarms are
sensor .ini files into that directory - useful if someone disabled.
(ClampOn support e.g.) has created or modified a  I-IO – Invalid input. The process data are not
sensor configuration for you. realistic.
Note: Editing and/or changing settings by working  Rsv – Sensor or COM-port reserved for other use
directly on the .ini files should only be done by (sand monitoring temporarily down).
qualified personnel.  Hi – Sand alarm, the rate has exceeded the high
limit (3.3.4.2).

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 HiHi – Sand alarm, the rate has exceeded the set and reset delays (3.3.4.3). If a sensor malfunctions
high-high alarm (3.3.4.2). in a way that generates a lot of false alarms
 Error – Malfunction alarm (3.3.4.2). There is no disconnect it, disable the alarm or remove the sensor
communication with the sensor / no signal received. from the system setup.

4.2 Alarms and events 4.2.3 Opening an old event log

You can always open and view previous event logs by
selecting “Open” from the File-menu. If you have
opened such a file you can return to the current log
by selecting “Current log file” from the same menu.

4.2.4 Printing
To print the event log select print from the file-menu.
The log will be reformatted and sent to the notepad
to be printed in a readable fashion.
To view a detailed description of current alarms and
see the alarm and event history open the event log.
4.2.5 Save log
To get a copy of the log, e.g. to send it to ClampOn as
4.2.1 Viewing the event log part of a support request, choose “Save as…” from
There are three different ways to view the event log. the file-menu. You could alternatively browse to the
To view the log and automatically filter it to just see original file itself and copy it directly, but the safest is
the entries associated with a certain sensor press to do a save as…
shift and double-click on the sensor in the list in the
main window.
You can also open the event log by selecting it from 4.2.6 Deleting events
the File-menu of the main window or a trend In the current log you can choose to remove all or
window, or by clicking on the general alarm indicator some of the entries by using the clear button. It will
in the lower left corner of the main window. only clear the shown entries so you can filter the list
to only clear a certain part of it.
Clearing is password protected (3.1) so unless you
4.2.1.1 Filtering have logged in or there is a local admin defined you
The event log contains events and alarms from all will be asked to identify yourself as an administrator.
sensors and a number of other sources. There are 4
different types of log entries: “Information”,
“Warnings”, “Errors” and “Alarms”. To make it easier 4.3 Trends
to find the entries you are interested in you can
choose to only display a given type of entry and filter
out just the ones originating from a given source. The
source can be a sensor (in which case you just enter
the sensor tag in the source input box) or a part of
the software (“Event Manager” e.g.).

4.2.2 Event files To see the current or historic trends associated with a
To ensure that the event log is kept at a manageable sensor you can either double-click on it in the sensor
size the software will automatically start on a new file list (main window) or select trend from the file menu
once the file reaches a certain size. The old file will be (shortcut: Ctrl+N) and then choose the sensor from
renamed with a time stamp and an entry will be the sensor menu.
added to the new file that informs of this. Try to Trend windows also give you access to all the current
avoid alternating alarm conditions by adjusting the readings, sand totals and statistics and show the

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sensor and general system status (in case you do not 4.3.3 Period
see the main window).
You can have up to three trend windows open at a
time. If you try to open a fourth window the
application will just activate one of the existing trend
windows.
What the trend windows show by default when they
are opened and whether they maximize or not is
based on the trend settings (see 3.2.2).

4.3.1 Selecting
sensor
To see the trends of
a different sensor The plotted time period is selected from the
pull down and select “Period”-menu.
from the “Sensor”-menu (or use Alt+S and the arrow The first 5 options in the menu will show you a
keys). To see the trends of an additional sensor open continuously updated picture of the last
a new trend window (4.3). measurements. The measurements are taken from
memory, have a 1-second resolution and have not
yet been compressed.
4.3.2 Selecting trends If you choose to see a longer period the data will be
The trend read from the log files. The “Last N hours”-options
windows show will refresh once a minute, the historic option will be
three different fixed to the given period.
plots. You can The logged data may have been compressed based
change what on the logging criteria (3.2.1.2). To avoid too much
values to plot memory usage the software will ensure that the
from the three number of samples displayed is below a certain limit.
plot menus. The If the number of samples available in the log file
menus have a exceeds that limit the data will be decimated to fit on
coloured square the trend (only every n-th point will be drawn). This
on them which means that you may see more details if you reduce
tell you which of the length of the chosen period.
the plots they are The historic option will ask you to specify a period,
linked to. either based on a from and to date and time, or you
Unlike the others the “Sand Hi Limit” and “Sand HiHi can choose one of the predefined periods: Last day,
Limit” options will just show the current value as a week, month or year.
flat line. So if the limits have been changed during the
period shown you will not see that change.

4.3.2.1 Hiding a plot

If a plot makes it difficult to see another plot you can
hide it by un-checking the check-box next to the plot
menu.

4.3.2.2 Plot defaults

See section 3.2.2 to read about setting the default The currently chosen period will be indicated above
plot properties. the plot and will be marked off in the period menu.

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4.3.4 Move back If you cannot see the cursor, try clicking on the cursor
icon and select “Bring to Center”. You can change
the colour, width and other properties of the cursor
the same way.
The cursor can either be set to snap to the closest
trend (showing the value of that parameter) or be
free (allowing you to select any time, not just the
If the trend is set to show a period of 60 minutes or
ones where you have a sample value available).
less you can move the shown frame back in time (up
to three hours back). This function is otherwise
disabled and greyed out. To move back when viewing 4.3.7 Sensor and general status
historic data you must bring up the historic period
selection window by choosing “Histroical…” from the
Period-menu.

4.3.5 Scales

The status of the sensor you are looking at the trend

for is indicated with a “S:” prefix on the left side of
the trend window. The general system status is
shown with a “G:”-prefix. This way you always know
the status of the system even if you do not see the
main window.
The trend scales can be edited by selecting them with
the mouse and entering a new number.
You can also make the scales adjust themselves to fit 4.3.8 Numeric values and statistics
the displayed data. To turn on automatic scaling, Just under the
select “Autoscale” from the Edit-menu (or press status indicators
Ctrl+A). there is a menu
Default scale ranges can be set in the Trend settings and a list of values.
(3.2.2). Choose “Sand” to
see the current
sand rate,
4.3.6 Cursor concentration
(based on the sand rate and given liquid rates), sand
totals and averages, “Process” to have a look at the
process data or “Calculation” to see the calculation
parameters currently in use.
If e.g. the sand rate seems to be wrong, and the
sensor is set to find the calculation parameters
automatically, checking the process data is a good
way to start finding the cause. If the process data is
To find out exactly when an event occurred, or the
OK (or not in use), then check and adjust the
value of a parameter at a given time, you can use the
calculation parameters
trend cursor. Grab the cursor and drag it to the point
(3.3.3.1).
of interest and the time and value of the selected
The sand option will give
trend will be shown on the
you the total and
cursor indicator in the
average for the displayed
bottom left corner of the
trend period. The values
trend window.
are calculated on the
shown values however,
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so if you have chosen a very long or data rich period 4.4.1 Zero offset
the data may have been decimated. Due to this the
Zero offset errors are normally fairly simple to see as
total and average for such periods are rough
they will result in a constant sand rate. There may be
estimates. Zoom in on the trend to get higher
some variation in the sand rate, but the bulk of it will
accuracy.
be a constant offset. If you see such an error, return
“Process” will show the
to the sand calculation settings and adjust the zero
gas rate (Qg), oil rate
(see 3.3.3.2).
(Qo), water rate (Qw),
pressure (P),
temperature (T) and 4.4.2 Rate over/under-estimation
either THP, WHP or
Choke position If the sensor is set up to calculate the sand rate based
depending on what is on fixed parameter, make sure you adjust them
used in the sand calculation (if none of them are used according to the current flow conditions (3.3.3.3).
However, if the step factor for the given velocity
the default value shown is the THP, however then it
might not be a realistic results in an incorrect sand rate the factor will need
to be adjusted (alternatively the exp as well). To
value).
Finally “Calculation” is calibrate the step and exp values we need a known
reference.
the option that will
display the values behind You can choose to calibrate based on a fluid sample,
the given sand sand trap or an emptying of a separator, however a
measurement; the raw calibration is never better than the reference. Sand
traps e.g. are, contrary to popular beliefs, often
signal, the zero level,
extremely inaccurate (variable efficiency). Choose a
step and exp. At the
bottom it shows the resulting sand rate. reference that has an accuracy similar to that you
require of the reading.
The optimal solution is to inject known quantities of
4.3.9 Saving a trend the right type of sand into the flow line and adjust
the parameters so that they give the correct result.
To save the trend currently displayed select “Save as”
ClampOn has the equipment and expertise to
from the File-menu or press Ctrl+S. The data will be
perform such injections, contact our service
saved as a tab delimited text file that you can import
department (3.3.3.3) to get further details.
e.g. into a spreadsheet application.

4.3.10 Printing a trend 5 SPECIAL FEATURES

To print the trend you see select Print from the File
menu or press Ctrl+P. The software will always use
5.1 Toolbox
the default printer. To do special tasks like testing or simulating a
Modbus link, debugging, logging of internal data etc.
the ClampOn Sand Monitor application has a plug-in
4.4 Parameter tuning feature that allows the necessary tools to be added
As time goes by and the fluid composition changes when required.
the zero level might change. The velocity can increase To open the toolbox,
beyond what the system has been configured for, or activate the main
the step factors need adjustments due to changes in window (the sensor list)
viscosity and other influences. Flow rate lookup and press Ctrl+Shift+F8.
tables must be updated as the well performance You will be asked to log
changes. in as a user with
If the sand rate seems to be off - start by checking the administrative rights. If
flow rate, pressures and temperatures. When you the login is successful a
have made sure that those parameters are updated, small menu will pop up
and OK, evaluate whether the zero level for the showing the tools
current flow velocity needs adjustments. available in the toolbox.
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Click on the tool you want to use.
In the standard release there are only three tools 5.2 Start-up Plug-Ins
available: “DataView”, “MBView” and “ObjectView”. It is possible to expand the functionality of the
ClampOn Sand Monitor application by placing plug-
5.1.1 Dataview ins in a sub-directory of the application folder named
The DataView tool provides an overview of all the “Startup”. The plug-ins can e.g. add a 4-20 mA
process data related to each sensor (whether used in interface to the software.
the sand rate calculation or not). This is especially Depending on your requirements ClampOn may
useful when you need to check that all settings decide to add such plug-ins to your installation. By
and/or data sources are functioning correctly. being able to keep the standard application, start-up
plug-ins makes it easier and safer to customize the
software.
5.1.2 MBView

6 PROBLEM SOLVING AND FAQ

6.1 The sensors are missing
The sensor settings are stored as text based .ini files
in the sub-directory <app.dir>\Settings\Sensors.
If for some reason these files get corrupted or
deleted you may see that there are no sensors
configured the next time you start the software. In
such a case you can either replace the files (e.g. if you
have taken backup of them earlier or by reinstalling
the software) or rebuild them by doing the
configuration procedure again (3.3).
MBView is a tool that gives access to read and write
to the internal Modbus registers. Use this feature to
debug link problems or to simulate Modbus inputs 6.2 The Sand Rate is “NaN”
when no link is available yet. This normally indicates that one of the factors in the
Put in a start address and a number of registers to sand calculation is invalid. Ensure that the “Exp” and
view the data of interest. To write to a register, select “Step” value in use (manual or in lookup table) is
it from the list, write a value in the value input box above zero (3.3.3.3).
and press enter.

6.3 I cannot communicate with the

5.1.3 ObjectView sensor(s)
ObjectView is a debugging tool that enables you to If you have configured the sensor and the raw value
see the status of internal functions in the software. coming is still shown to be zero and the malfunction
This tool should only be used by ClampOn personnel alarm is set, there are a number of things that may be
or under guidance from a ClampOn representative. the cause.

5.1.4 Adding a tool 1. Check that the sensor is properly connected to

the power supply, that the power supply is on and its
To add a tool you place it in sub-directory of the serial output connected to the PC.
application folder named “Toolbox”. If no such 2. Restart the software to make sure it is not an
directory exists create one and then move the tool initialization issue.
into it. Tools are special files that only ClampOn can 3. Make sure you have selected the correct signal
make so make sure the tool you add comes from type. Depending on the signal type you may need to
ClampOn. Contact ClampOn if you have a request for ensure that you have set the correct COM port and
a new tool. sensor ID (shown in the setup window if it’s required
for the selected signal type).

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4. Reconfigure, save and check if raw data starts to checked on the holding registers page of the sensor
come in. settings.

If no raw data is coming in the way forward depends

on the signal type: 6.4 The sensor signal keeps dropping out
/ repeated malfunction alarms
 ClampOn 2000 or 21B Protocol Bad wiring or dirty contacts may cause repeated
If the sensor is communicating using the ClampOn dropouts. If you have several sensors on the same
2000 or 21B protocol you can check the serial port line or the sensor is running old software you may
and sensor by quitting the software and launching need to adjust some of the timers that are involved in
HyperTerminal (or any other tool that can read the the polling (3.3.2.6 & 3.3.2.7).
serial port). Configure HyperTerminal to read at 2400
baud, 8 data bits, No Parity, 1 stop bit and hardware
flow control. You should see a string (AA 2345BB 6.5 The Modbus link does not work
e.g.) coming in every second. If it does not, there
might be a problem with the serial port, sensor or 6.5.1 No communication
cabling/wiring. You can test the port e.g. by using a If there is no communication at all - cables, ports and
null-modem and another PC. In some cases the Modbus port and slave ID configuration needs to be
operative system can misinterpret the data as data checked. The ClampOn Sand Monitor application acts
from a serial mouse and enable a mouse driver on as a slave so make sure the other end is polling, that
the port. This garbles the data. To fix this you need to the slave ID is set correctly on both sides and that the
disable the serial mouse driver on the port (see hardware interface is the same (normally RS232 or
6.5.2). RS485). See section 3.2.5 on how to configure the
baud rate etc. of the Modbus link. Some changes
 ClampOn DSP protocols, Modbus (direct), 21B MS here do not go into effect immediately, you may have
or 13B MS to restart the application (this might be a good first
o Port - If the sensor is using a master-slave approach in any case). If the port is configured
protocol the sensor will only send data if polled by correctly but the link is still not working see if
the PC. Using a null-modem you can check whether inadvertently any of the sensors have been
the port is working (should see binary poll commands configured to use the same port.
from the PC every second).

o ID- If you only have one sensor on the port 6.5.2 Disabling serial mouse driver on
(no multi-dropping) and you are unsure of the sensor port
ID you can use the broadcast ID instead if you are In some cases the operative system can misinterpret
using the dsp protocol; set the ID to 65535. the Modbus data as a serial mouse and activate a
Otherwise you will need to find the ID from the mouse driver on the port which in turn garbles the
sensor documentation. data (use HyperTerminal or similar to check what is
actually coming in on the port). If this is the case you
o Baud rate - By default all DSP sensors run at need to disable / uninstall the serial mouse driver on
2400 or 9600 baud, however in some cases they may that port. In Windows 2000 or XP this can be done in
be delivered configured to use a different baud rate. the device manager (right click on “My Computer”,
select Properties-> Hardware-> Device manager). In
o Timeout and Interbyte time WinNT 4.X or older you need to add a
Make sure the timeout and interbyte time is “NOSERIALMOUSE” switch to the end of the/all boot
sufficiently long. descriptor lines in the BOOT.INI file.

 Modbus (via CS) /NoSerialMouse disable detection on

If the signal from the sensor is to be received on a all COM ports
Modbus link check that the Modbus link is up and /NoSerialMouse=COMx disable detection on
running (see 6.5). If the Modbus link is running and COMx port
raw values are written make sure “Use“-checkbox is /NoSerialMouse=COMx,y,z disable detection on
COMx, y, and z ports
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67_2004_08.dat” it is the log for sensor S-45-67 for
e.g. if you are using port 6 for the Modbus link you August 2004.
would add /NoSerialMouse=COM6. Depending on
the boot descriptor line it will look something like
this: 6.7 The time stamps in the log files are
wrong
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(7)\WINNT="Windows If you are looking at a trend on the PC running the
NT ..." /NoSerialMouse=COM6 Sand Monitor application the clock on the PC might
be wrong. By looking at the date and time on the PC
(This can also be a problem for sensors running the and comparing it to your own wristwatch you should
DSP protocol, if so just add their COM ports to the be able to figure out the correct time stamp. You may
switch, e.g. /NoSerialMouse=COM6,2,3,4). also want to adjust the time zone settings.

6.5.3 Bad communication  The importance of the time zone settings

The time zone settings (Windows Control Panel ->
If there is communication but there are numbers of Regional Options) are very important when it comes
faults / timeouts you may need to adjust the timeout to recognising the time stamps. Let’s say that a spike
or inter-byte time. of sand is registered on a PC in Houston, Texas at
03:36. If the PC had the time zone set correctly the
6.5.4 There is communication, but data is spike will be shown to have occurred at 03:36 on all
other PCs with Houston time, however if someone in
missing or wrong Norway looks at the file the spike will be shown to
Data loss may be caused by an incorrect register have occurred at 10:36 the same day. This is due to
address or if two or more inputs/outputs have been the fact that the data is actually logged as UTC. This
set to use the same address (3.3.5). Also make sure makes it important to have the correct time zone set
you are using the right Modbus function code when on the PC.
polling the data (04 for input registers and 06 or 16
for holding registers, no other function codes will give
correct results). 6.8 Changing the date and time
The data that is logged is given a time stamp when it
If the correct data seems to be transferred but the reaches the ClampOn system. The ClampOn Sand
value is incorrect, check that the scaling (3.3.5) is Monitor software represents dates as an unsigned
identical on both sides (master and slave). Normally 32-bit number of seconds since midnight, January the
the Sand Monitor application uses unsigned 16 bit 1st, 1904 UTC. Since the time and date is based on
registers i.e. values are scaled to fit a 0-65535 range. the computer clock, it is vulnerable to changes in the
If however the master is using signed integers and system clock configuration. If you, for some reason,
scales from -32768 to 32767 or from 0 to 32767 then want to change the clock of the operative system,
you need to adjust this. this will affect the ClampOn Sand Monitor too.
A possible consequence might be an empty or
corrupted area in the log. If you e.g. turn the system
6.6 I cannot view the trend period that I clock back, then the Sand Monitor program will
want stamp new arriving data with a time that other data
You can only view data from months that the already has been stamped with. This will not have
software has been running. If the data at the time any immediate and obvious effect until you require a
was logged to a different directory than the one report for a time frame that contains the time period
currently set in the Logging settings (3.2.1) or the log that you affected when you changed the system
files have been removed trend viewing will fail as clock. Now, normally you would not have to do any
well. Make sure the month and year you have adjustments to the system clock anyway, most
selected is valid and if necessary check the log file computer clocks tend to work quite OK as long as
directory (using Windows Explorer) to see what data they have power…however in the case of daylight
is available. The data is logged in monthly files, one saving time you may see a glitch.
for each sensor. If e.g. you see a log file named “S-45-

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6.9 I cannot connect to the server Hardware issues like installation, pipe contact, sensor
fault etc. can cause incorrect sand readings, however
Make sure that the PC running Sand Monitor is
in this manual we will focus on software issues only.
connected to the network, is running TCP/IP, and has
a valid IP address (try pinging it from another PC on
The sand rate is found using the Raw value from the
the net). If the PC is running other TCP/IP services
sensor by deducting the signal that occurs when
check that the port settings are not in conflict with
there is no sand (Zero level) and dividing the excess
any of these other servers. If there is a firewall
signal by a scaling factor (Step). If the Zero level is too
between the PC you are running the client application
high you may not detect some or any of the sand
on and the server PC the firewall might be blocking
present in the flow. If the Zero is too low some
traffic on the port in use. Check if there is a different
background noise will be interpreted as sand and
port you can use or if the network administrator can
may trigger alarms. Similarly if the Step is too high
open up for traffic on the port you want to use.
the excess signal will be reported as a lower sand rate
than it actually is and higher if the Step is too low.
6.10 I keep getting sand alarms The values of both Zero and Step are functions of
flow velocity (for a fully automated system that
If the alarm levels are set so that the alarms indicate
function is defined by the Zero and Step lookup table
that the sand production exceeds the amounts in the system setup).
tolerated over time then actions according to local
sand procedures should be followed (normally the In other words; if the Sand rate is wrong the Zero and
situation needs to be reviewed before a decision is Step values in use may be wrong. They may be wrong
made on whether to keep the flow rate steady and because they are based on the wrong flow velocity or
wait for the sand rate to drop or reducing the choke
the flow velocity is correct but the Zero and Step
opening straight away), however in many cases it
values need to be adjusted for that flow velocity. The
might be necessary to evaluate whether the sand first step in figuring out why or if the Sand rate is
alarms really are reasonable and also whether there incorrect is thus to check what flow velocity the Zero
might be other causes to the repeated signal rise.
and Step values are based on. To do this you need to
find out the current flow rates, temperature and
Often sand alarm limits are calculated based on pressure and calculate the flow velocity. If the system
kg/day limits found from erosion studies. If you have gets these values via e.g. a Modbus link you only
used this to set the instant alarm level on the g/s need to check that the process data it receives are
measurement from ClampOn you will often see that correct. If you are using manual Zero and Step values
the alarms trigger frequently. Such daily rate or the system receives a velocity via a Modbus link
restrictions will typically amount to an extremely low
you need to recalculate the velocity, e.g. using the
g/s limit – e.g. around 0.1 g/s. The momentary sand velocity calculator built into the suggestion function
rate on the other hand can easily jump to much more (3.3.3.5). If you find that the velocity is OK (if you use
than 0.1 g/s during a day without the situation
manual Zero and Step values this means that the
actually being serious at all – the total during the day velocity is the same as last time you found it when
from those ten spikes and that 10 minute batch of you found what Zero and Step to use), then you need
sand that came during the day might just be 200 to adjust the Zero and/or Step for that velocity. If the
grams. Generating alarms instantly, based on an
velocity is incorrect you need to fix that first.
erosion-based daily rate restriction is, in other words,
generally not a good idea, it is too prone to be Assuming the flow velocity is OK here are the
triggered by short bursts of sand or flow related corrections needed in the different scenarios you
noise. To avoid this either increase the limit or the set may have:
delay.
Repeated alarms can also indicate that the Zero
and/or Step values used in the sand calculation needs 6.11.1 Manual samples shows sand, but
to be adjusted, see the sections below on incorrect the Sand Monitor says the rate is 0
sand readings.
g/s
6.11 The Sand rate seems wrong Zero level is too high or the sensor is installed
incorrectly or has bad contact with the pipe. (It may

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also be that the manual sample showed “old” sand if falsely indicate some amounts of sand even though
the test point was not washed sand free prior to the flow velocity input is correct and the Zero is as it
starting the test cycle). should be for normal conditions. If such transient
periods cause alarms you may need to change the
flow rate more gradually/slower. An alternative is to
6.11.2 A sand rate is indicated, but manual use a slightly higher Zero at the given velocity and/or
samples shows nothing have the Modbus link report the process data /
This may very well just be caused by inefficiency by velocity faster if it’s not already doing so every
the manual sample or that the manual sample was second.
taken just before or after the sand batch measured
by the sensor. If these reservations can be ruled out 6.12 The calculated flow velocity is wrong
the Zero level must be too low. The easiest way to
recognise such a zero offset condition is that the If the system is using process data to calculate the
indicated sand rate is unnaturally constant, it’s just a sand rate, incorrect data may cause the sand reading
flat line….indicating the actual Zero level, not a sand to be unreliable. If the flow velocity seems wrong
rate. Find the minimum raw value the last hour of check the process data in the statistics section of the
stable flow, add 10% and update the Zero level for a trend window. If the system is set to use live data
the current flow velocity (may need to be done by check that the values are up to date and correct (if
adjusting the two closest rows in the lookup table). e.g. the pressure transmitter is out of order it will be
reflected by the sand monitoring), if not you may
need to check the Modbus link (see description
6.11.3 A sand rate is measured, but it earlier in this manual). If you have set some of the
seems to high/low data not to be received via Modbus or the Modbus
register not to be in use you may need to update the
This may be due to the Step value alone or a
manual input or re-enable the register.
combination of the Zero and Step value. Firstly find
the correct Zero level by finding the minimum raw
value the last hour (needs to be steady flow rate) and 6.13 The internal velocity is wrong
adding 10%. Update the Zero value and see if the
Make sure you are indeed using a sand monitor with
sand rate is still too high or low, if it is and you know
SandQ technology and that the communication
the correct sand rate/total (e.g. if you are doing sand
protocol is set to be DSPII. If the SandQ reports an
injections, otherwise use the value given by the
incorrect velocity it may be due to bad contact with
suggestion function or contact ClampOn for an
the pipe, a bad installation or mounting location.
evaluation) calculate what the Step should be to get
Check the SandQ manuals to find out how the sensor
the correct rate/total and update the settings.
should be mounted and/or whether the current flow
conditions are within the operational range of the
6.11.4 We get alarms every time we move unit.
the chokes
Moving the choke can produce short spikes of 6.14 How to make a backup of the system
ultrasonic noise from the choke itself; such spikes setup
may in some cases trigger an alarm if the set delays
Setting up the Sand Monitor application can be quite
are short. This is one reason it can be
a bit of work. The settings are saved in a directory
recommendable to always check whether the flow
called Settings. If you temporarily want to use a
rate has changed in the last 20 minutes e.g. if you see
different configuration or want to take a backup of
an alarm.
the configuration in case the files should be lost or
If the flow has been changed only take action if the
corrupted copy that directory. The easiest way to do
alarm is raised repeatedly or the condition is lasting.
this is to select “Export settings” from the Help-menu
However after a change in the choke opening you
in the main window. If you need to restore the old
also get a transient period before the flow stabilises
configuration simply extract the exported directory,
again. During this transient period (normally 1-2
remove or delete the current Config folder and move
bottoms up times) the Zero level may fluctuate
the exported one back in...The settings folder is
outside the normal range, causing the sensor to

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located in the user’s local AppData folder. On Vista
this typically means:

“C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\ClampOn\Sand
Monitor\Settings”

6.15 How to change the save location for

settings and temporary files
Note that you can change the location where the
application stores its settings and temporary files by
starting the application with a path as an argument:

"<App Path>" "<settings directory path>"

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