Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Fluid Viscosity on Electrical Submersible Pumps Performance

Abstract

Summary Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) are an important artificial lift method used in oil production. ESPs can provide high production flow rate, are flexible, and can be installed in highly deviated wells, subsea deepwater wells, or on the seabed. ESP performance is generally characterized by manufacturers using only water as fluid. However, oil properties are very different from water and significantly alter the pump’s performance. Operating ESPs with viscous fluids leads to degraded pump performance. Therefore, knowing the ESP’s performance when pumping viscous fluid is essential to properly design the production system. In this work, we present an experimental study of ESP performance operating with viscous flow. A total of six ESP models were tested, operating at four different rotational speeds and 11 viscosities, resulting in a comprehensive database of more than 5,800 operating conditions. This database contributes to the literature given the lack of available data. We also perform a phenomenological analysis on the influence of operational parameters, such as viscosity, rotational speed, specific speed, and rotational Reynolds number. The database and analyses performed are central for future models predicting the viscous performance of ESPs. The results from our investigation and tests showed that the increase in viscosity causes (1) a reduction in the head and (2) an increase in drive power, resulting in (3) a sharp decrease in efficiency. However, increasing rotational speed tends to mitigate this performance degradation. Efficiency and flow rate correction factors are virtually independent of the flow rate within the recommended operating region. This is not true for the head correction factor, which is not constant. The pump geometry seems to influence its performance as ESPs with higher specific speed are less impaired by viscous effects. The database obtained in the present work is available in the data repository of the University of Campinas, at the address presented by Monte Verde et al. (2022).

A Numerical Study on Labyrinth Screw Pump (LSP) Performance under Viscous Fluid Flow

“…For the past century in the petroleum industry, various artificial lift methods have been tested and applied in heavy oil wells, including the electric submersible pump (ESP) and progressive cavity pump (PCP), etc. However, this traditional equipment severely suffers from performance degradation in producing viscous fluids due to extra hydraulic losses [1][2][3]. When using the ESP to transport high-viscosity fluids, the strong shearing effect within the rotating ESP impeller results in higher viscous stress and friction losses, not only reducing the pump head and efficiency but also increasing the shaft power [4][5][6][7].…”

Development of a High-Rotational Submersible Pump for Water Supply

“…According to Eurostat data on the electricity cost dynamics in the European market during 2022, it should be noted that considering the growing cost of electricity in the world, the cost of manufacturing pumping equipment increases significantly [14], which in turn causes an increase in its price [15]. Taking this into account, the key factor in increasing the competitiveness of such equipment on the market is its modernization, achieving a higher energy efficiency of the pump than that of analogs existing on the pump equipment market with a simultaneous reduction in the production cost due to a reduction in its weight and overall dimensions [16].…”

“…(1) Development of the structural scheme of the pump and design of the elements of its flowing part with reduced weight and dimensions; (2) Selection of the numerical research method, initial conditions, and turbulence model; ECV pumps are marked as follows. E means driven by a su C means centrifugal pump, W means designed for water suppl diameter of the casing pipe into which the pump is installed, t pump flow rate in m 3 /h, and the third number is the pump head According to Eurostat data on the electricity cost dynamics during 2022, it should be noted that considering the growing world, the cost of manufacturing pumping equipment increases in turn causes an increase in its price [15]. Taking this into acco creasing the competitiveness of such equipment on the mark achieving a higher energy efficiency of the pump than that of pump equipment market with a simultaneous reduction in the reduction in its weight and overall dimensions [16].…”