Seal Bladder Bonding Sleeves for Submersible Well Pump Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing submersible well pump assemblies face difficulties in securely attaching and easily removing pressure equalizing bladders from retainers, leading to costly retainer replacement during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The use of rigid sleeves bonded to the bladder openings and secured with retaining rings and set screws, allowing for easy disassembly and reuse of retainers without adhesive bonding, which minimizes leakage and facilitates maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesively bonded connection is used to secure bladder ends to retainers, then sealing performance is improved, but ease of repair deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into separate functional components: the retainer with cylindrical wall, the sleeve that interfaces with the bladder, and the retaining ring that secures the assembly. This segmentation allows the bladder to be replaced by simply removing the retaining ring and sleeve, without affecting the retainer or requiring adhesive removal, thus enabling easy repair while maintaining sealing through the sleeve-retainer interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve acts as an intermediary component between the bladder and the retainer. It provides the sealing interface with the retainer's cylindrical wall while being easily removable with the bladder. The retaining ring serves as another intermediary that facilitates easy installation and removal of the sleeve-bladder assembly without damaging the retainer, resolving the contradiction between secure sealing and ease of repair.
2Reliability
If adhesively bonded connection is used to secure bladder ends to retainers, then sealing performance is improved, but loss of substance worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The design enables recovery and reuse of the expensive retainer component. The sleeve and retaining ring are designed to be easily removed and replaced with the bladder, allowing the retainer to be recovered and reused in subsequent installations. This eliminates the need to discard retainers during maintenance operations, reducing material loss while maintaining sealing performance through the reusable retainer-sleeve interface.
3Ease of repair
If mechanical fastening with retaining rings is used to secure sleeves to retainers, then ease of repair is improved, but sealing performance worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The design merges two functions into the sleeve component: mechanical fastening (through the retaining ring interface) and sealing (through the interface with the retainer's cylindrical wall). This integration ensures that the same component that enables easy removal also provides the sealing function, resolving the contradiction between ease of repair and sealing performance. The first and second seal rings further reinforce this merged function.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve serves as an intermediary that provides both mechanical attachment (via the retaining ring) and sealing (via the seal rings and cylindrical wall interface). This dual-function intermediary resolves the contradiction by ensuring that the easy-to-remove mechanical fastening system does not compromise sealing, as the sealing function is provided by the sleeve-retainer interface rather than the fastening mechanism itself.
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 efficient disassembly and reuse of retainers, reducing maintenance costs and improving bladder sealing performance by preventing leakage and simplifying the replacement process.
Implementation Method 1
A first seal ring seals between the first sleeve and the cylindrical wall of the first retainer. A second seal ring seals between the second sleeve and the cylindrical wall of second retainer.
Implementation Method 2
A first retaining ring secures to the cylindrical wall of the first retainer to retain the first sleeve on the first retainer. A second retaining ring secures to the cylindrical wall of the second retainer and retains the second sleeve on the second retainer.
Implementation Method 3
A first set screw extends through the first sleeve into a mating recess on the cylindrical wall of the first retainer. A second set screw that extends through the second sleeve into a mating recess on the cylindrical wall of the second retainer.
Implementation Method 4
Rigid first and second sleeves are bonded to and within the first and second openings, respectively
Data Source
AI summary
A well pump seal section housing connects between a pump and a motor. Upper and lower retainers at upper and lower ends of the housing have outward facing cylindrical walls. A bladder has an interior in fluid communication with dielectric lubricant in the motor. Rigid upper and lower sleeves are bonded within upper and lower openings of the bladder. The sleeves slide over the cylindrical walls of the retainers and are sealed by seal rings. Fasteners secure the sleeves to the cylindrical walls.