Gas Lock Detection in Electrical Submersible Pumps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for detecting and addressing gas locks in electrical submersible pump assemblies (ESPs) often result in system shutdowns and lost production, as they rely on operator intervention and unsatisfactory threshold settings, leading to potential damage and inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that uses sensors to detect gas locks by monitoring fluid properties such as pressure, temperature, and vibration, allowing for automated detection and resolution without shutdown, by maintaining pump speed to separate gas and liquid, reducing speed for flushing, and optimizing operating speed based on real-time data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional low current threshold monitoring is used to detect gas lock, then gas lock detection is achieved, but system shutdown occurs resulting in lost production time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary gas lock detection using multiple parameters (vibration, temperature, pressure) before complete gas lock occurs. By detecting early signs through vibration patterns and temperature changes, the system can take preventive action before shutdown becomes necessary, thus maintaining production continuity while ensuring reliable detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors multiple parameters and provides real-time feedback to adjust pump operation. By using feedback from vibration sensors, temperature sensors, and pressure transducers, the system can dynamically adjust pump speed or trigger alerts before gas lock causes shutdown, resolving the contradiction between reliable detection and continuous production.
2Reliability
If low current threshold is set for gas lock detection, then gas lock can be detected, but false alarms or missed detections occur due to unsatisfactory threshold settings
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes from single-parameter (current) detection to multi-parameter detection including vibration frequency, temperature, and pressure. By monitoring multiple parameters simultaneously, the system achieves more accurate gas lock detection without relying on difficult-to-optimize current thresholds alone, reducing both false alarms and detection failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces electrical current-based detection with mechanical vibration-based detection using accelerometers and vibration sensors. This substitution provides more direct and reliable detection of gas lock conditions caused by gas bubbles interfering with pump mechanics, avoiding the threshold setting problems inherent in electrical current monitoring.
3Reliability
If pump is stopped for gas lock resolution, then gas lock can be cleared, but production efficiency decreases due to shutdown
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic vibration monitoring and temperature checking to detect gas lock conditions. By implementing periodic detection cycles with multiple parameters, the system can identify gas lock early and resolve it through controlled pump speed adjustments rather than complete shutdown, maintaining production efficiency while ensuring effective gas lock clearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts pump operating parameters based on real-time sensor data. Instead of static shutdown protocols, the system uses dynamic control to modulate pump speed and operation in response to detected gas conditions, resolving gas lock while minimizing production interruption and maintaining overall productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables reliable detection and breaking of gas locks without operator intervention, improving production efficiency and reducing the risk of motor damage by maintaining continuous operation and optimizing pump performance.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor can be a vibration sensor attached to a tubing string to measure an acceleration of the fluid within the tubing string to determine a vibration signature responsive to the measured acceleration of the fluid
Implementation Method 2
maintaining a pump operating speed allows the well fluid to remain above the pump in a static condition and allows the gas bubbles in the fluid to rise above the fluid, facilitating a separation of gas and liquid above the pump
Data Source
AI summary
A device and method can detect, and also break, an occurrence of gas lock in an electrical submersible pump assembly in a well bore based upon surface or downhole data without the need for operator intervention. To detect an occurrence of gas lock, an instantaneous value is monitored using a sensor. Then a controller compares the instantaneous value to a threshold value over a predetermined duration to thereby detect the occurrence of gas lock in the electrical submersible pump assembly. Sensors can include, for example, a differential pressure gauge, a pressure gage located in a pump stage located toward the inlet, a fluid temperature sensor located toward the discharge, a free gas detector located near the pump discharge, an electrical resistivity gage, a flow meter located within surface production tubing, and a vibration sensor attached to a tubing string to measure a vibration signature.