1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to downhole electrical submersible pumps (ESP) and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for a stackable multi-stage diffuser with anti-rotation lugs for an ESP.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-stage diffuser pumps are typically assembled in a stack of diffuser components that are nested together. The diffuser stack slides inside a housing along an axis of the housing. The diffuser stack is subjected to compression by a bearing that is threaded into the housing until it makes contact with the top of the diffuser stack. The bearing is tightened to a calculated length, thus compressing the stack. This design prevents the diffusers from spinning inside the housing during operation due to the impellers that rotate inside them. The stack typically has grooves with O-rings that are located on the outer diameters (OD) of the diffusers to seal directly against the inner diameter (ID) of the housing itself. The O-rings are axially spaced apart in approximately one-foot increments throughout the axial length of the stack to contain any leakage between the diffuser faces and the housing. Although the O-rings are closely spaced apart, they are not used at every stage since the assembly and/or disassembly from the housing would become very difficult. In addition, the O-rings on the OD of the diffusers must slide across the internal threads of the housing when installing the stack into the housing, which can potentially cut and damage the O-rings. Thus, an improved diffuser stack design that overcomes these limitations would be desirable.
One embodiment of a system, method, and apparatus for a stackable multi-stage diffuser with anti-rotation lugs for an ESP is disclosed. Each stage of the diffuser assembly is provided with one or more “cast-in” lugs and complementary recesses in the diffuser walls. The lug features may comprise cast elements that do not require additional milling operations. The machine turning operations required for other portions of the design are virtually identical to those of other designs and thus add negligible cost to the part.
When stacked in assembly order, the lugs of one diffuser nest inside the recesses of an adjacent diffuser. The diffuser sections are thus interlocked with each other and mechanically locked in place to prevent rotation relative to the housing and each other as the impellers rotate inside the diffusers. The diffuser stack rests on the base of the assembly and the stages are nested and sealed to each other as described herein.
In one embodiment, each stage of the stack has an o-ring to provide sealing between the stages without burdening assembly, and there is only one direct seal between the stack and the housing. This design is simpler than conventional designs since the entire stack will easily slide into the housing without interference. Also, by utilizing an o-ring between every stage, the head performance per stage may be increased without losses due to leakage.
Since there is no compression required in this stack due to the cast-in lugs for anti-rotation, the stack is held in place by other simpler devices, such as a retaining ring on the ID of the housing. Replacement of the conventional threaded top compression bearing allows for more stages per housing to be assembled, thus increasing value.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in view of the following detailed description of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.
So that the manner in which the features and advantages of the present invention, which will become apparent, are attained and can be understood in more detail, more particular description of the invention briefly summarized above may be had by reference to the embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings which form a part of this specification. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only some embodiments of the invention and therefore are not to be considered limiting of its scope as the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
Referring to the drawings,
Referring to
An impeller 20 (only one shown) is typically located within each diffuser 21 to form a “stage” or sub-assembly. Impeller 20 also includes a bore 33 that extends the length of impeller 20 for rotation relative to diffuser 21 and is engaged with shaft 29. Impeller 20 also contains passages 34 that correspond to the openings in the diffuser 21. Washers (not shown) are placed between the upper and lower portions between the impeller 20 and diffuser 21.
Impellers 20 rotate with shaft 29 to increase the velocity of the fluid 18 (
Referring again to
Each diffuser 21 comprises a cylindrical body having at least one lug 41 (e.g., three) extending therefrom in an axial direction. A complementary recess 43 is formed in the cylindrical body extending in the axial direction opposite the lug 41. In the embodiment shown, the lugs 41 and recesses 43 are generally rectangular in profile, but arcuate in shape to match the curvature of the cylindrical diffuser 21. The lugs 41 and recesses 43 may be symmetrically arrayed castellations that engage and nest in equal numbers as shown.
The complementary recesses 43 receive and nest respective lugs 41 on axially adjacent diffusers 21 to form an interlocked stack that prevents relative rotation between the diffusers 21 and the housing 27. However, in one embodiment, the recesses 43 and lugs 41 do not make axial contact with each other (see small axial gaps therebetween illustrated in
In addition, a sealing member, such as an o-ring 45 (
In one embodiment, an upper end of the stack of diffusers 21 are mechanically locked to the housing with a retaining ring 71 that is mounted in an inner circumferential recess 73 formed in the housing 27. A retaining tube 75 is mounted to and extends from the retaining ring 71 and is coupled to the diffusers 21 with, e.g., a housing adapter 77 that mechanically engages an adjacent one of the diffusers 21, such that the housing adapter 77 vertically supports the stack in the housing 27. In the embodiment shown, the retaining ring 71 and the retaining tube 75 are located above the stack. The housing adapter 77 is sealed to the adjacent diffuser with an o-ring 45 (described above) that seals against surface 47. The housing adapter 77 also has a housing seal member 79 for sealing with the housing 27. In one alternate embodiment, a groove may be milled on the ODs of the diffusers to accept complementary keystock in order to hold the stages together.
In certain applications such as steam assisted gravity drain (SAGD), the heat of the well may cause the housing to stretch which would cause previous designs to lose compression. This loss of compression for stages is such that the rate of thermal expansion for the stage material is different than that of the housing which, through thermal cycling, eventually causes the stages to compression set. Any subsequent thermal cycling where the stage expansion cannot keep up with the housing expansion will lose compression on the stage stack. However, with the invention, any housing stretch is compensated for and the lugs still maintain their locked position between stages. Also, with the previously required compression bearing eliminated from the invention, the housing is not subjected to any undue stress from the torquing of the bearing.
While the invention has been shown or described in only some 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.
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2376528 | Wislicenus | May 1945 | A |
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4579509 | Jacobi | Apr 1986 | A |
4872808 | Wilson | Oct 1989 | A |
5839205 | Hung | Nov 1998 | A |
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6439835 | Chien et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
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6854517 | Gay et al. | Feb 2005 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080292454 A1 | Nov 2008 | US |