APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PUMPING GASEOUS FLUID

摘要

An apparatus, system and method for pumping gaseous fluid are described. The centrifugal pump of the invention homogenizes at least a portion of the gas and liquid contained in produced well fluid thereby improving the efficiency of the pump in electric submersible pump (ESP) applications and decreasing the downtime of the ESP system. The impeller of the invention comprises an increased inlet area. The centrifugal pump of the invention comprises a single shroud located on the bottom side of an impeller, an increased inlet area of the impeller and an increased clearance gap between the impeller and a diffuser. One or more truncated vanes extend substantially upstream from the single shroud, wherein each truncated vane sits at a mid-pitch location between untruncated vanes starting from the bottom side of the impeller.

主权项

1. A semi-open impeller for an electric submersible pump (ESP) assembly comprising:
a single shroud coupled to a bottom side of an impeller, wherein a top side of the impeller is open to a diffuser; at least two untruncated vanes extending substantially upstream from the single shroud, wherein each of the at least two untruncated vanes has an untruncated vane chord length; at least two truncated vanes extending substantially upstream from the single shroud, wherein each truncated vane sits at a mid-pitch location between two of the at least two untruncated vanes starting from the bottom side of the impeller; and wherein the at least two truncated vanes extend from an outer circumference of the single shroud and each truncated vane has a truncated vane chord length between about 50% and about 75% of the untruncated vane chord length as measured from a hub of the impeller.