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Keywords

ESP, CFD simulation, head loss, performance curve, turbulence models

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

Most of the industrial f elds, especially oil and gas, involve the application of electrical submersible pump (ESP) for f ow transport. The pump performance will deteriorate depending on conditions of usage. The main parameters that af ect or inf uence the pump performance curve are pump types, f uid f ow rates, gas fractions, the impellers’ geometry, rotational speeds and f uid properties. In this work, the pump performance curve was studied as the governing parameters such as f ow rates, meshing elements and turbulence models were varied. A computational f uid dynamics simulation (CFD) was applied and the f ndings were compared with the manufacturer’s data for single-phase f ows. The main purpose was focused on getting the right technique to investigate this problem. The various turbulence CFD models were analysed and sources of errors were explained. The corresponding pump head losses were discussed and the main improvement or the criteria to obtain the highest ef ciency were suggested. The results show that the k-epsilon with enhanced wall treatment is the best CFD technique since it produces the most accurate results and the least errors by allowing f exibility in large pressure gradient and rapid changes in f ow properties.

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Publication Date

31-12-2020

First Page

26

Last Page

34

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