SIMULATION OF PROGRESSING CAVITY PUMP

Abstract

Progressive cavity pumps (PCP) have been extensively used as artificial lift equipment in various oil field assemblies. These pumps have been under renewed attention from researchers and the pumping community in recent times. The first designs of these pumps were introduced by Dr. Rene Moineau in the early 1930s. Currently not many publications are available on this subject. Technical articles have been submitted mainly in dedicated symposiums. In this report, an introduction is made to the advantages of PC pumps, their operating principles and their geometry with simplified formulae that show the working of a progressing cavity, and explain the progressing cavity which moves fluid from inlet to discharge. This discussion starts with single-lobe rotor geometry and gradually expands to multi-lobe units. Subsequently, the multi-lobed pump under consideration in this project is defined and objectives of the computational model are proposed in light of the literature review available. Mesh generation methodology used in the project is discussed and subsequently a mesh is generated for the four lobed stator and three lobed rotor progressing cavity pump. A test is carried for flow behavior in a static mesh. Finally, objectives for future work concerning dynamic meshes are suggested