SAND CONTROL SCREEN ASSEMBLY HAVING FLOW CONTROL DEVICES WITH PRESSURE-BALANCED PISTONS

A sand control screen assembly includes a base pipe (202) and a flow control device (216) positioned within a flow path for a fluid that extends between the exterior and the interior of the base pipe. The flow control device includes a housing (302, 502) defining an inlet (308a) that receives the fluid from the flow path and an outlet (308b) that discharges the fluid back into the flow path, and a piston chamber (310, 510) is defined in the housing to fluidly communicate the inlet with the outlet. A pressure-balanced piston (312, 512) is positioned within the piston chamber and movable between a first position, where fluid flow between the inlet and the outlet is prevented, and a second position, where fluid flow between the inlet and the outlet is facilitated. An actuator (314) moves the pressure-balanced piston between the closed and open positions, and an electronics module (220) is communicably coupled to the flow control device to operate the actuator. (FIGURE 2)