Hydraulic fracturing system and method

Abstract

A hydraulic fracturing system and method are disclosed. The system can include a manifold having a first fluid outlet, a second fluid outlet, and a plurality of fluid inlets. The system can also include primary pumps, which are fluidically coupled to one of the fluid inlets, wherein the primary pumps are configured to deliver a first fluid stream to the first fluid outlet and a second fluid stream to the second fluid outlet. The system can further include a supplemental pump fluidically coupled to the second fluid outlet, wherein the supplemental pump is configured to deliver pulses of fluid to the first fluid stream.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A hydraulic fracturing system for introducing fracturing fluid into a wellbore, the system comprising:
 a first pumping system configured to generate a first fluid stream and a second fluid stream; and   a second pumping system configured to generate a pulsed output from the second fluid stream, wherein the pulsed output is delivered to the first fluid stream.   
     
     
         2 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 1 , wherein the pulsed output is delivered to the first fluid stream at a location upstream of the wellbore. 
     
     
         3 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 1 , wherein the first pumping system comprises a plurality of pumps arranged in parallel. 
     
     
         4 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 3 , further comprising a manifold comprising a plurality of inlets and a plurality of outlets. 
     
     
         5 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 1 , wherein the second pumping system comprises a plurality of pumps arranged in parallel. 
     
     
         6 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller in signal communication with the second pumping system, wherein the controller is configured to control the pulsed output generated by the second pumping system. 
     
     
         7 . A hydraulic fracturing system for introducing fracturing fluid into a wellbore, the system comprising:
 a first pumping system configured to generate a fluid stream which is directed to the wellbore; and   a second pumping system configured to generate pulses of fluid, wherein the pulses of fluid are delivered to the fluid stream at a location intermediate the first pumping system and the wellbore.   
     
     
         8 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 7 , wherein a portion of the fluid stream generated by the first pumping system is diverted to the second pumping system. 
     
     
         9 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 7 , further comprising a controller in signal communication with the second pumping system, wherein the controller is configured to control the pulses of fluid. 
     
     
         10 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 9 , further comprising a manifold, wherein the second pumping system comprises a plurality of pumps fluidically coupled to the manifold. 
     
     
         11 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of pumps comprises a first pump and a second pump, wherein the controller is configured to control the first pump to generate pulses of a first magnitude at a first frequency and to control the second pump to generate pulses of a second magnitude at a second frequency. 
     
     
         12 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 11 , wherein the first magnitude is different than the second magnitude. 
     
     
         13 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 11 , wherein the first frequency is different than the second frequency. 
     
     
         14 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of pumps are arranged in parallel. 
     
     
         15 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 7 , wherein the first pumping system comprises a plurality of pumps. 
     
     
         16 . The hydraulic fracturing system of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of pumps are arranged in parallel. 
     
     
         17 . A method for introducing fracturing fluid into a wellbore, the method comprising:
 generating a fluid stream from a first pumping system;   generating a pulsed output from a second pumping system;   directing the pulsed output into the fluid stream downstream of the first pumping system and upstream of the wellbore.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising diverting a portion of the fluid stream from the first pumping system into the second pumping system. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising monitoring the fluid stream from the first pumping system and the pulsed output from the second pumping system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising adjusting the pulsed output from the second pumping system.