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Progressing cavity pump with heat management system

Progressing cavity pump with heat management system description/claims

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/955,914, filed on Aug. 15, 2007, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The present invention is directed to a progressing cavity pump, and more particularly, to a progressing cavity pump with a heat management system.

A fluid/material consisting of more than one phase is typically termed a multi-phase fluid/material. For example, a fluid/material which is a combination of gas and liquid is typically called a two phase fluid/material, and a fluid/material which is a combination of gas, solid, and liquid may be called a tri phase fluid/material. When materials are pumped by a progressing cavity pump, liquids, liquid vapor and certain solids in the pumped material may help to lubricate the rotor/stator interface in the pump and provide heat dissipation. However, when pumping two phase, tri phase, or multi-phase materials, a relatively high presence of gas can lead to a lack of sufficient lubrication and/or lack of heat dissipation in the pump, which can cause overheating and damage, particularly to the elastomer material of the pump.

Accordingly, in one embodiment the present invention is a system in which certain parameters are monitored to determine the status of the pump such that corrective action can be instituted, if necessary. In one embodiment, the invention is a progressing cavity pump heat management system including a progressing cavity pump and a controller. The controller is configured to receive data relating to the temperature of materials exiting the pump and the differential pressure across the pump to determine whether corrective action is required. The controller is configured such that if the controller determines that corrective action is required, the controller institutes corrective action to seek to reduce at least one of the temperature of materials exiting the pump or differential pressure across the pump.

In another embodiment the invention is a method for pumping materials including the steps of pumping materials through a progressing cavity pump, monitoring a temperature of materials exiting the pump, and monitoring a differential pressure across the pump. The method further includes the step of instituting corrective action if it is determined that corrective action is required based at least in part upon the monitored pressure and differential pressure.

In yet another embodiment, the invention is a method for pumping materials including the step of providing a progressing cavity pump operatively coupled to a wellhead such that the pump is configured to pump materials provided from the wellhead. The method further includes the step of operating the pump such that the pump pumps material constituting at least 80% gas by volume therethrough for at least two minutes without significant damage to the pump.

FIG. 1 is a perspective, partial cutaway view of a progressing cavity pump with a heat management system; and

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating one method for implementing a heat management system.

As shown in FIG. 1, a progressing cavity pump 10 may include a generally cylindrical stator tube 12 having a stator 14 located therein. The stator 14 has an opening or internal bore 16 extending generally axially or longitudinally therethrough in the form of a double lead helical nut to provide an internally threaded stator 14. The pump 10 includes an externally threaded rotor 18 in the form of a single lead helical screw rotationally received inside stator 14. The rotor 18 may include a single external helical lobe 20, with the pitch of the lobe 20 being twice the pitch of the internal helical grooves of the stator 14.

The rotor 18 fits within the stator bore 16 to provide a series of helical seal lines 22 where the rotor 18 and stator 14 contact each other or come in close proximity to each other. In particular, the external helical lobe 20 of the rotor 18 and the internal helical grooves of the stator 14 define the plurality of cavities 24 therebetween. The stator 14 has an inner surface 26 which the rotor 18 contacts or nearly contacts to create the cavities 24. Particularly when the rotor 18 and/or the stator 14 is an elastomer material the rotor 18 and the inner surface 26 of the stator 14 may form an interference fit therebetween to define the cavities 24.

The rotor 18 is rotationally coupled to a drive shaft 30 by a pair of gear joints 32, 34 and by a connecting rod 36. The drive shaft 30 is rotationally coupled to a motor 38. When the motor 38 rotates the drive shaft 30, the rotor 18 is rotated about its central axis and thus eccentrically rotates within the stator 14. As the rotor 18 turns within the stator 14, the cavities 24 progress from an inlet or suction end 40 of the rotor/stator pair to an outlet or discharge end 42 of the rotor/stator pair. The pump 10 includes a suction chamber 44 in fluid communication with the inlet end 40 into which fluids to be pumped may be introduced. During a single 360° revolution of the rotor 18, one set of cavities 24 is opened or created at the inlet end 40 at exactly the same rate that a second set of cavities 24 is closing or terminating at the outlet end 42 which results in a predictable, pulsationless flow of pumped material.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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