In-line gear drive with coupled wheels enhances funktionality of electrical submersible progressing cavity pumping unit
Performance of artificial lift equipment can be impaired because of the negative impact of a number of factors (solids, high content of free gas, high oil viscosity, drop pf production rates, etc.). As a result, electric submersible pumping units cannot be used to the best advantage, so operators have to use more expensive technologies and equipment to ensure sustained oil production Today, different types of progressing cavity pumps (PCP) are widely used for oil production. These are PCP systems with different types of motors, with sucker rod drives, back-geared PCP units. The authors offer a new design of a transmission section of an electrical submersible progressing cavity pump (ESPCP). The improved performance is attained through a pseudo-circulating oil system and a floating pinion and sun wheel. The gear mechanism is used in a diametrically-restricted space, so the authors have changed the conventional procedure of gear calculation: first, reference diameters that meet the requirements of assembling, concentricity, and neighborhood were defined, and after that, calculation of gear wheels’ strength was performed. Application of the offered transmission section will allow operation of ESPCP with the output power 28 kW, min rotary speed 200 RPM. Also, it allows maximum pump efficiency, particularly when lifting high-viscosity oil.