US-12624700-B2 - Submersible pump with stage erosion control

US12624700B2US 12624700 B2US12624700 B2US 12624700B2US-12624700-B2

Abstract

A technique facilitates long-term operation of a submersible pump which may be used in an electric submersible pumping system. According to an embodiment, the submersible pump comprises at least one stage, e.g. a plurality of stages. Each stage uses an impeller which may be rotated within a diffuser to establish a fluid flow through the pump. Additionally, each stage comprises an erosion control system positioned between the impeller and the diffuser to reduce erosion and/or the effects of erosion so as to extend the life of the submersible pump.

Inventors

Raju Ekambaram
David Milton Eslinger
Kean Wee Cheah
Stanislav Ivanov
Teng Fei Wang
Arthur Ignatius Watson
Jose Angel Caridad Urena

Assignees

SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230426

Claims (13)

1 . A system for use in a well, comprising: an electric submersible pumping system having: a submersible motor; a motor protector; and a submersible pump powered by the submersible motor, the submersible pump comprising a housing containing a plurality of stages arranged to pump well fluid, each stage having an impeller that is configured to discharge the well fluid into a corresponding diffuser, the impeller being mounted on a shaft and being rotatable relative to the diffuser, each stage further comprising an erosion control system positioned between the impeller and the diffuser to extend the life of the submersible pump, wherein the erosion control system includes: an impact wall, the impact wall having a constant distance from a centerline of the submersible pump, the impact wall including a first thickness extending along an inner surface of the housing and coupled by an inclined transition section to a wall of the diffuser downstream of the impact wall, the wall having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness, such that an undeviated fluid flow discharged from the impeller directly impacts the impact wall; and a tubular protective sleeve disposed radially between the shaft and the diffuser, wherein the tubular protective sleeve axially abuts a first impeller of a first stage and a second impeller of a second stage, and wherein the tubular protective sleeve extends into a diffuser exit flow region.
2 . The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the erosion control system is located at least in part in a break water zone of the diffuser where the well fluid exits the impeller and impacts the impact wall.
3 . The system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a truncated impeller tip which reduces the outside diameter of the impeller.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein an end of the impact wall at least partially defines an upstream end of the diffuser.
5 . A method, comprising: assembling an electric submersible pumping system having a submersible motor, a motor protector, and a submersible pump powered by the submersible motor; providing the submersible pump with a housing containing a plurality of stages arranged to pump well fluid, each stage having an impeller that discharges the well fluid into a corresponding diffuser, the impeller being mounted on a shaft and rotatable relative to the diffuser; and protecting each stage of the plurality of stages with an erosion control system positioned between the impeller and the diffuser to extend the life of the submersible pump, wherein the erosion control system includes: an impact wall, the impact wall having a constant distance from a centerline of the submersible pump, the impact wall including a first thickness extending along an inner surface of the housing and coupled by an inclined transition section to a wall of the diffuser downstream of the impact wall, the wall having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness, such that an undeviated fluid flow exiting the impeller directly impacts the impact wall; and a tubular protective sleeve disposed radially between the shaft and the diffuser, wherein the tubular protective sleeve axially abuts a first impeller of a first stage and a second impeller of a second stage, and wherein the tubular protective sleeve extends into a diffuser exit flow region.
6 . The method as recited in claim 5 , further comprising positioning the erosion control system at least in part in a break water zone of the diffuser where the well fluid exits the impeller and impacts the impact wall.
7 . The method as recited in claim 5 , further comprising forming the erosion control system by truncating at least a portion of an impeller tip of the impeller.
8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein an end of the impact wall at least partially defines an upstream end of the diffuser.
9 . An electric submersible pump comprising: a housing containing a plurality of stages, each stage comprising: an impeller; and a diffuser, wherein the impeller is disposed about a shaft and is configured to rotate relative to the diffuser, and wherein at least one of the plurality of stages comprises a tubular spacer disposed along an inner surface of the housing axially between consecutive diffusers, the tubular spacer including an inner surface a constant distance from a centerline of the electric submersible pump at a location where an undeviated fluid flow discharged from the impeller directly impacts the tubular spacer, a hardness of the tubular spacer is greater than a hardness of the diffuser; and a tubular protective sleeve disposed radially between the shaft and the diffuser, wherein the tubular protective sleeve axially abuts a first impeller of a first stage and a second impeller of a second stage, and wherein the tubular protective sleeve extends into a diffuser exit flow region.
10 . The pump of claim 9 , wherein the spacer comprises white iron.
11 . The pump of claim 9 , wherein the spacer comprises ceramic or cermet.
12 . The pump of claim 9 , wherein the spacer replaces a lower tubular portion of an upper diffuser of the consecutive diffusers.
13 . The pump of claim 9 , wherein an end of the tubular spacer at least partially defines an upstream end of a stage of the plurality of stages.

Description

BACKGROUND This application is a national stage entry under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2023/019934, entitled “SUBMERSIBLE PUMP WITH STAGE EROSION CONTROL,” filed Apr. 26, 2023, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/363,717, entitled “SUBMERSIBLE PUMP WITH STAGE EROSION CONTROL,” filed Apr. 28, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In hydrocarbon well applications, electric submersible pumping systems often are used to pump fluid such as hydrocarbon-based fluids. The electric submersible pumping system may be conveyed downhole and used to pump oil from a downhole wellbore location to a surface collection location along a fluid flow path. In a variety of applications, the electric submersible pumping system employs a submersible, centrifugal pump having a plurality of stages with each stage comprising an impeller and a diffuser. The impeller rotates relative to the diffuser and forces fluid to the next sequential stage and ultimately out of the pump for production to, for example, a surface collection location. In many environments, the produced fluid may contain sand which impacts against pump components during the pumping operation. The sand can create unwanted erosion of pump components and may ultimately lead to pump failure. SUMMARY In general, a system and methodology facilitate long-term operation of a submersible pump which may be used in an electric submersible pumping system. According to an embodiment, the submersible pump comprises at least one stage, e.g. a plurality of stages. Each stage uses an impeller which may be rotated within a diffuser to establish a fluid flow through the pump. Additionally, each stage comprises an erosion control system positioned between the impeller and the diffuser to reduce erosion and/or effects of the erosion so as to extend the life of the submersible pump. However, many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein, and: FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example of a submersible pump positioned in an electric submersible pumping system, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes an erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes another type of erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes another type of erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes another type of erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes another type of erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes another type of erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional illustration of an example of a stage of the submersible pump which includes another type of erosion control system positioned between an impeller and a diffuser, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and/or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible. The disclosure herein generally involves a system and methodology which facilitate long-term operation of a submersible pump which may be used in an electric submersible pumping system. As described herein, various erosion reducin