ESP Impeller Defect Inspecting Based on the Fluid Energy Analysis Method

Abstract:

The primary energy losses of electric submersible pump (ESP) are waterpower loss and volumetric loss. Owing to the limit of current casting technique of the ESP impeller, some fractions of casting residua will be settled in the flow passage of impeller and cause local jam-up in the flow passage, which will increase additional waterpower loss and reduce the pump efficiency. Because of the complicated structure of ESP impeller, conventional nondestructive testing (NDT) is difficult to inspect the defects fast and efficiently. Fluid energy analysis method based on the boundary layer theory and the flow resistance theory analyzes the fluid kinetic energy loss caused by obstacles in the flow passage of impeller and the change of flow rate caused by the change of flow resistance. Based on the similarity principle of fluid movement, abnormal change of waterpower construction in flow passage of impeller can be reflected by measuring and analyzing the impact pressure change generated by flow rate of each flow passage using air as flow medium. The theoretic analysis and experimental results show that this method can identify the defective impeller quickly, efficiently and correctly and will be of some revelatory action on measuring the waterpower structure change of complicated impeller machinery with small size.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 516-517)
• Pages: 1086-1092
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.516-517.1086
• Online since: May 2012
• Authors: Yue Shen, Ling Tan Zhang, Heng Zhang, Shi Li Cui
• Keywords: Defect, Electric Submersible Pump (ESP), Energy Loss, Flow Passage, Impeller

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