Wedge wire laterals (WWL) of filters are designed to remove particulates from fluids to prevent contamination, media passing or damage to downstream industrial processes, equipment and oil and gas reservoirs Figure 1. WWL is the main element for the filtration process and any failure or leaks will lead to media passing and affect to all downstream piping, equipment and meeting water quality specification.
The existing materials is stainless steel 316 and it has frequent failures, corrosion and pitting even before the turnaround and inspection T&I due date, as shown in below picture. The design of the laterals is unique and can't be achieved with traditional manufacturing methods of nonmetallic materials due to laterals technical specifications.
The idea is to use the fourth industrial revolution IR 4.0 of 3D printing technology to design and manufacture the sand filter (WWL) with non-metallic material to withstand the filter operating condition.
