Centrifugal pump with inducer intake

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/033,112, filed Mar. 2, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,141.

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to electrical submersible well pumps, and in particular to a centrifugal pump with an impeller and diffuser located before the first impeller of the pump.

2. Description of the Related Art

A common electrical submersible well pump of a type used for oil wells has a centrifugal pump that is driven by a downhole electrical motor. The pump has a large number of stages, each stage having an impeller and diffuser. These pumps work well for delivering large volumes of liquid, principally oil and water, of medium viscosity.

Significant amounts of gas present can present problems because a centrifugal pump does not operate efficiently with large amounts of entrained gas. A gas separator may be incorporated into the pump assembly for separating out gas prior to reaching the first pump stage. Still, in some cases, the fluid pressure is inadequate at the first stage due to the presence of gas in the well fluid.

High viscosity well fluid can also present problems for centrifugal pumps because the viscous fluid may not feed adequately into the first stage. Inadequate feed pressure at the first stage may also occur in highly deviated or horizontal wells.

According to the present invention, a centrifugal pump for use in an electrical submersible well pump assembly is provided that includes a multi-stage submersible pump having impellers for displacing well fluid. An inducer is attached to the pump for inducing well fluid to flow into the pump. The inducer has a helical flight similar to an auger. A diffuser is provided between the inducer and the first impeller of the pump for channeling flow from the inducer into the eye of the impeller. The diffuser is a mixed flow type, having passages that incline inward from the upstream end to the downstream end.

The inducer converts rotational energy to head and flow. The diffuser converts the rotational energy from the inducer into velocity head and channels the flow into the eye of the first impeller of the pump. These attributes are useful in high gas environments and high viscosity environments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an electrical submersible pump assembly installed in a well and having a diffuser in accordance with this invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B comprise an enlarged sectional view of a lower portion of the pump of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 1, an electrical submersible pump assembly 11 is shown installed within a well 13 . Well 13 contains a well fluid 15 , which flows inward from perforations 17 . In the application of this invention, well fluid 15 will typically be a heavy viscous crude or it may contain a large percentage of gas.

Pump assembly 11 includes a centrifugal pump 19 which has a well fluid inlet or lower intake 21 . Pump 19 is suspended by a string of production tubing 20 , and its lower end is mounted to a conventional seal section 23 . An electrical motor 25 is supported on the lower end of seal section 23 . Seal section 23 seals well fluid from lubricant within electrical motor 25 and also reduces the pressure differential between the hydrostatic pressure in the well and the internal pressure of the lubricant in the motor. Additionally, seal section 23 has thrust bearings for absorbing axial thrust generated by pump 19 . Electrical motor 25 is a large AC motor which is supplied with electrical power through a power cable (not shown) extending down from the surface.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the lower end of pump 19 has a pump base 29 affixed thereto. Pump base 29 is secured by bolts (not shown) to seal section 23 (FIG. 1 ). Pump base 29 is a tubular member having a sidewall 30 that defines a bore 28 . Intake ports 21 are located in sidewall 30 .

An axial shaft 43 extends through pump base 29 . Shaft 43 couples to a shaft (not shown) extending upward from seal section 23 (FIG. 1 ), which is driven by electrical motor 25 (FIG. 1 ). An inducer 45 is mounted to shaft 43 and located within bore 28 . Inducer 45 is a helical screw pump, having a hub 47 that slides over shaft 43 and rotates with shaft 43 by means of a key. A flight 49 extends outward from hub 47 . Flight 49 is helical and has an outer periphery in close proximity to sidewall 30 of pump base 29 . Inducer 45 has a length that is less than the length of pump base 29 .

Pump base 29 has a set of exterior threads 51 on its upper end. A tubular housing 53 secures pump base 29 to an upper portion of pump 19 . Pump base 29 may be considered to be a lower portion of housing 53 . Pump 19 has a large number of substantially identical pumping stages, each stage having a rotating impeller 55 and stationary diffuser 57 , as shown also in FIG. 2 A. Unlike a conventional centrifugal pump, the lowermost element of pump 19 is one of the diffusers 57 , not one of the impellers 55 . The first stage of a typical prior art pump will have an impeller 55 as the upstream element rather than a diffuser 57 .

Pump 19 is preferably a mixed flow type as opposed to a radial flow type. That is, each stage creates significant axial flow as well as radial flow. A radial flow stage principally creates radial flow. Each diffuser 57 has a plurality of diffuser passages 59 , each having a lower or upstream end 61 and an upper or downstream end 63 . The upstream ends 61 are spaced radially from shaft 43 a greater distance than the downstream ends 63 . Being a mixed flow type, the passages 59 incline radially inward from the upstream ends 61 to the downstream ends 63 . A significant axial distance exists between upstream ends 61 and downstream ends 63 . Conversely, in a radial flow diffuser (not shown), the passages extend principally radially and not axially.

A guide vane 65 is optionally mounted between inducer 45 and the first diffuser 57 . Guide vane 65 is keyed to shaft 43 for rotation therewith and has a plurality of blades 67 . Guide vane 65 serves to prevent fluid pre-rotation as the fluid passes from inducer 45 into the lowermost diffuser 57 . However, guide vane 65 could be omitted, allowing flow to pass directly from inducer 45 into the lowermost diffuser 57 .

In operation, electrical power is supplied to motor 25 to drive pump 19 . As indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1, well fluid 15 flows into intake ports 21 . Inducer 45 rotates with shaft 43 , acting as a low pressure pump stage to induce flow into the lowermost diffuser 57 . Guide vane 65 , if employed, receives the flow from inducer 45 and tends to reduce swirling of the well fluid. The well fluid flows through passages 59 of the lowermost diffuser 57 , then into the eye or inlet of the lowermost impeller 55 . The lowermost diffuser 57 converts the flow from inducer 45 into velocity head.

The invention has significant advantages. In high gas environments the invention mixes the gas and liquid and raises fluid pressure at the entrance of the first pump stage. In high viscosity environments the invention positively feeds fluid to the first pump stage. In a horizontal application, the inducer and diffuser increase the feed pressure at the first pump stage. Another benefit is that pressure and flow will be provided to the first impeller even if there is partial blockage of the intake of the first impeller since inducer is a positive displacement device.

While the invention is shown in only one of its forms, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible to various changes without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a gas separator may also be employed with the pump assembly.