mud pump pressure problems free sample

I’ve run into several instances of insufficient suction stabilization on rigs where a “standpipe” is installed off the suction manifold. The thought behind this design was to create a gas-over-fluid column for the reciprocating pump and eliminate cavitation.

When the standpipe is installed on the suction manifold’s deadhead side, there’s little opportunity to get fluid into all the cylinders to prevent cavitation. Also, the reciprocating pump and charge pump are not isolated.

The suction stabilizer’s compressible feature is designed to absorb the negative energies and promote smooth fluid flow. As a result, pump isolation is achieved between the charge pump and the reciprocating pump.

The isolation eliminates pump chatter, and because the reciprocating pump’s negative energies never reach the charge pump, the pump’s expendable life is extended.

Investing in suction stabilizers will ensure your pumps operate consistently and efficiently. They can also prevent most challenges related to pressure surges or pulsations in the most difficult piping environments.

If you run a mud rig, you have probably figured out that the mud pump is the heart of the rig. Without it, drilling stops. Keeping your pump in good shape is key to productivity. There are some tricks I have learned over the years to keeping a pump running well.

First, you need a baseline to know how well your pump is doing. When it’s freshly rebuilt, it will be at the top efficiency. An easy way to establish this efficiency is to pump through an orifice at a known rate with a known fluid. When I rig up, I hook my water truck to my pump and pump through my mixing hopper at idle. My hopper has a ½-inch nozzle in it, so at idle I see about 80 psi on the pump when it’s fresh. Since I’m pumping clear water at a known rate, I do this on every job.

As time goes on and I drill more hole, and the pump wears, I start seeing a decrease in my initial pressure — 75, then 70, then 65, etc. This tells me I better order parts. Funny thing is, I don’t usually notice it when drilling. After all, I am running it a lot faster, and it’s hard to tell the difference in a few gallons a minute until it really goes south. This method has saved me quite a bit on parts over the years. When the swabs wear they start to leak. This bypass pushes mud around the swab, against the liners, greatly accelerating wear. By changing the swab at the first sign of bypass, I am able to get at least three sets of swabs before I have to change liners. This saves money.

Before I figured this out, I would sometimes have to run swabs to complete failure. (I was just a hand then, so it wasn’t my rig.) When I tore the pump down to put in swabs, lo-and-behold, the liners were cut so badly that they had to be changed too. That is false economy. Clean mud helps too. A desander will pay for itself in pump parts quicker than you think, and make a better hole to boot. Pump rods and packing last longer if they are washed and lubricated. In the oilfield, we use a petroleum-based lube, but that it not a good idea in the water well business. I generally use water and dish soap. Sometimes it tends to foam too much, so I add a few tablets of an over the counter, anti-gas product, like Di-Gel or Gas-Ex, to cut the foaming.

Maintenance on the gear end of your pump is important, too. Maintenance is WAY cheaper than repair. The first, and most important, thing is clean oil. On a duplex pump, there is a packing gland called an oil-stop on the gear end of the rod. This is often overlooked because the pump pumps just as well with a bad oil-stop. But as soon as the fluid end packing starts leaking, it pumps mud and abrasive sand into the gear end. This is a recipe for disaster. Eventually, all gear ends start knocking. The driller should notice this, and start planning. A lot of times, a driller will change the oil and go to a higher viscosity oil, thinking this will help cushion the knock. Wrong. Most smaller duplex pumps are splash lubricated. Thicker oil does not splash as well, and actually starves the bearings of lubrication and accelerates wear. I use 85W90 in my pumps. A thicker 90W140 weight wears them out a lot quicker. You can improve the “climbing” ability of the oil with an additive, like Lucas, if you want. That seems to help.

Outside the pump, but still an important part of the system, is the pop-off, or pressure relief valve. When you plug the bit, or your brother-in-law closes the discharge valve on a running pump, something has to give. Without a good, tested pop-off, the part that fails will be hard to fix, expensive and probably hurt somebody. Pop-off valve are easily overlooked. If you pump cement through your rig pump, it should be a standard part of the cleanup procedure. Remove the shear pin and wash through the valve. In the old days, these valves were made to use a common nail as the shear pin, but now nails come in so many grades that they are no longer a reliable tool. Rated shear pins are available for this. In no case should you ever run an Allen wrench! They are hardened steel and will hurt somebody or destroy your pump.

One last thing that helps pump maintenance is a good pulsation dampener. It should be close to the pump discharge, properly sized and drained after every job. Bet you never thought of that one. If your pump discharge goes straight to the standpipe, when you finish the job your standpipe is still full of fluid. Eventually the pulsation dampener will water-log and become useless. This is hard on the gear end of the pump. Open a valve that drains it at the end of every job. It’ll make your pump run smoother and longer.

Working with some of the world"s leading suppliers of low-pressure equipment, we offer low-pressure pump packages and agitating units to suit every operation.

Cavitation is an undesirable condition that reduces pump efficiency and leads to excessive wear and damage to pump components. Factors that can contribute to cavitation, such as fluid velocity and pressure, can sometimes be attributed to an inadequate mud system design and/or the diminishing performance of the mud pump’s feed system.

When a mud pump has entered full cavitation, rig crews and field service technicians will see the equipment shaking and hear the pump “knocking,” which typically sounds like marbles and stones being thrown around inside the equipment. However, the process of cavitation starts long before audible signs reveal themselves – hence the name “the silent killer.”

Mild cavitation begins to occur when the mud pump is starved for fluid. While the pump itself may not be making noise, damage is still being done to the internal components of the fluid end. In the early stages, cavitation can damage a pump’s module, piston and valve assembly.

The imperceptible but intense shock waves generated by cavitation travel directly from the fluid end to the pump’s power end, causing premature vibrational damage to the crosshead slides. The vibrations are then passed onto the shaft, bull gear and into the main bearings.

If not corrected, the vibrations caused by cavitation will work their way directly to critical power end components, which will result in the premature failure of the mud pump. A busted mud pump means expensive downtime and repair costs.

Washouts are one of the leading causes of module failure and take place when the high-pressure fluid cuts through the module’s surface and damages a sealing surface. These unexpected failures are expensive and can lead to a minimum of eight hours of rig downtime for module replacement.

To stop cavitation before it starts, install and tune high-speed pressure sensors on the mud suction line set to sound an alarm if the pressure falls below 30 psi.

Although the pump may not be knocking loudly when cavitation first presents, regular inspections by a properly trained field technician may be able to detect moderate vibrations and slight knocking sounds.

Gardner Denver offers Pump University, a mobile classroom that travels to facilities and/or drilling rigs and trains rig crews on best practices for pumping equipment maintenance.

Severe cavitation will drastically decrease module life and will eventually lead to catastrophic pump failure. Along with downtime and repair costs, the failure of the drilling pump can also cause damage to the suction and discharge piping.

When a mud pump has entered full cavitation, rig crews and field service technicians will see the equipment shaking and hear the pump ‘knocking’… However, the process of cavitation starts long before audible signs reveal themselves – hence the name ‘the silent killer.’In 2017, a leading North American drilling contractor was encountering chronic mud system issues on multiple rigs. The contractor engaged in more than 25 premature module washes in one year and suffered a major power-end failure.

Gardner Denver’s engineering team spent time on the contractor’s rigs, observing the pumps during operation and surveying the mud system’s design and configuration.

The engineering team discovered that the suction systems were undersized, feed lines were too small and there was no dampening on the suction side of the pump.

Following the implementation of these recommendations, the contractor saw significant performance improvements from the drilling pumps. Consumables life was extended significantly, and module washes were reduced by nearly 85%.

Although pump age does not affect its susceptibility to cavitation, the age of the rig can. An older rig’s mud systems may not be equipped for the way pumps are run today – at maximum horsepower.

The pump supply line from the tank should be plumbed from the opposite side of the tank than where the bypass return is located. This will minimize air bubbles caused by agitation being drawn into the pump

The most common cause for low performance is worn nozzles. Pumptec recommends that nozzles made from hard materials, not brass, should be used with our pumps. The erosion resulting from high-pressure water is powerful and will increase nozzle size, which will result in lower pressure over time.

Avoid the common mistake of adjusting the regulator bypass pressure higher to compensate for lower spray pressure. If increasing adjustment does not increase spray pressure, then replace the nozzle.

As the pump operates, the valves can begin to degrade from exposure to chemicals, heat, cavitation, and abrasives. The small pits in a valve disc or seat will allow small amounts of fluid to leak during each compression stroke and result in less flow going out the nozzle. A preventative maintenance schedule needs to be followed, especially when using harsh or abrasive chemicals.

The primary causes of water leakage are worn seals. Causes of worn seals include wear over time, lack of proper maintenance, abrasive fluids and excessive heat. It is important to monitor pump systems to determine causes of wear and fix them. Pumptec’s seal designs will reveal worn seals in the form of drips below the pump. The leakage would need to be substantial to noticeably affect performance. To prevent seal damage, avoid:

Occasionally pressure gauges can become fatigued and damaged causing malfunction. A good diagnostic practice is to replace the pressure gauge with a known good gauge as a check.

Most Pumptec pumps have stainless steel plungers standard. After extended use or pumping abrasive fluids, the plungers can become grooved, damaging the seal. Plungers with grooving are not reusable and need to be replaced. Pumptec packages plungers and seals together in kits because they should be replaced at the same time.

When excessively high temperature fluids are run through the pump, the seals and elastomers can become deformed and fail. Proper care must be taken to not exceed 140°F fluid temperature in the pump at any time, including idle time.

Pinched hoses and clogged filters will starve the pump of fluid and damage seals as a result of excessive vacuum. Operating the pump without any fluid can increase seal temperature and damage seals. Be sure you always have adequate amounts of fluid available to the pump.

My first days as an MWD field tech I heard horror stories surrounding what is commonly referred to as “pump noise”. I quickly identified the importance of learning to properly identify this “noise”. From the way it was explained to me, this skill might prevent the company you work from losing a job with an exploration company, satisfy your supervisor or even allow you to become regarded as hero within your organization if you’ve proven yourself handy at this skill.

“Pump noise” is a reference to an instability in surface pressure created by the mud pumps on a modern drilling rig, often conflated with any pressure fluctuation at a similar frequency to pulses generated by a mud pulser, but caused by a source external to the mud pulser. This change in pressure is what stands in the way of the decoder properly understanding what the MWD tool is trying to communicate. For the better part of the first year of learning my role I wrongly assumed that all “noise” would be something audible to the human ear, but this is rarely the case.

In an ideal drilling environment surface pressure will remain steady and all pressure increases, and decreases will be gradual. This way, when the pulser valve closes(pulses), it’s easily detectable on surface by computers. Unfortunately drilling environments are rarely perfect and there are many things that can emulate a pulse thus causing poor or inaccurate data delivery to surface. The unfortunate circumstance of this means drilling operations must come to halt until data can once again be decoded on surface. This pause in the drilling process is commonly referred to at NPT or non-productive time. For those of you unfamiliar these concepts, I’ll explain some of the basics.

A mud pulser is a valve that briefly inhibits flow of drilling fluid traveling through the drill string, creating a sharp rise and fall of pressure seen on surface, also known as a “pulse”.

Depending on if the drilling fluid is being circulated in closed or open loop, it will be drawn from a tank or a plastic lined reservoir by a series(or one) mud pumps and channeled into the stand pipe, which runs up the derrick to the Kelly-hose, through the saver sub and down the drill-pipe(drill-string). Through the filter screen past an agitator or exciter, around the MWD tool, through a mud motor and out of the nozzles in the bit. At this point the fluid begins it’s journey back to the drilling rig through the annulus, past the BOP then out of the flow line and either over the shale shakers and/or back in the fluid reservoir.

Developing a firm grasp on these fundamentals were instrumental in my success as a field technician and an effective troubleshooter. As you can tell, there are a lot of components involved in this conduit which a mud pulser telemeters through. The way in which many of these components interact with the drilling fluid can suddenly change in ways that slightly create sharp changes in pressure, often referred to as “noise”. This “noise” creates difficulty for the decoder by suddenly reducing or increasing pressure in a manner that the decoder interprets a pulse. To isolate these issues, you must first acknowledge potential of their existence. I will give few examples of some of these instances below:

Suction screens on intake hoses will occasionally be too large, fail or become unfastened thus allowing large debris in the mud system. Depending on the size of debris and a little bit of luck it can end up in an area that will inhibit flow, circumstantially resulting in a sudden fluctuation of pressure.

Any solid form of drilling fluid additive, if improperly or inconsistently mixed, can restrict the flow path of the fluid resulting in pressure increase. Most notably this can happen at the pulser valve itself, but it is not the only possible outcome. Several other parts of this system can be affected as well. LCM or loss of circulation material is by far the most common additive, but the least overlooked. It’s important for an MWD technician to be aware of what’s being added into the drilling fluid regardless if LCM isn’t present. Through the years I have seen serval other improperly mixed additives cause a litany of pressure related issues.

This specifically is a term used to refer to the mud motor stator rubber deterioration, tearing into small pieces and passing through the nozzles of the bit. Brief spikes in pressure as chunks of rubber pass through one or more nozzles of the bit can often be wrongly interpreted as pulses.

Sometimes when mud is displaced or a pump suction isn’t completely submerged, tiny air bubbles are introduced into the drilling fluid. Being that air compresses and fluid does not, pulses can be significantly diminished and sometimes non-existent.

Formation cuttings staying downhole can cause what is known as a pack-off of the anulus, which typically cause slower trends in pressure. A pack-off is less likely to cause significant decoding issues, but can.

Failed surface equipment such as transducers and transducer cables can occasionally allow current external to the circuit into the signal wire, resulting in what appears to be a pressure increase on the decoder. When experiencing poor decoding these are some of the first pieces of equipment to be replaced.

As many of you know the downhole mud motor is what enables most drilling rigs to steer a well to a targeted location. The motor generates bit RPM by converting fluid velocity to rotor/bit RPM, otherwise known as hydraulic horsepower. Anything downhole that interacts with the bit will inevitably affect surface pressure. One of the most common is bit weight. As bit weight is increased, so does surface pressure. It’s important to note that consistent weight tends to be helpful to the decoder by increasing the amplitude of pulses, but inconsistent bit weight, depending on frequency of change, can negatively affect decoding. Bit bounce, bit bite and inconsistent weight transfer can all cause pressure oscillation resulting in poor decoding. Improper bit speed or bit type relative to a given formation are other examples of possible culprits as well.

Over time mud pump components wear to the point failure. Pump pistons(swabs), liners, valves and valve seats are all necessary components for generating stable pressure. These are the moving parts on the fluid side of the pump and the most frequent point of failure. Another possible culprit but less common is an inadequately charged pulsation dampener. Deteriorating rubber hoses anywhere in the fluid path, from the mud pump to the saver sub, such as a kelly-hose, can cause an occasional pressure oscillation.

If I could change one thing about today’s directional drilling industry, it would be eliminating the term “pump noise”. The misleading term alone has caused confusion for countless people working on a drilling rig. On the other hand, I’m happy to have learned these lessons the hard way because they seem engrained into my memory. As technology improves, so does the opportunities for MWD technology companies to provide useful solutions. Solutions to aid MWD service providers to properly isolate or overcome the challenges that lead to decoding issues. As an industry we have come a lot further from when I had started, but there is much left to be desired. I’m happy I can use my experiences by contributing to an organization capable of acknowledging and overcoming these obstacles through the development of new technology.

When two (or more) pumps are arranged in serial their resulting pump performance curve is obtained by adding theirheads at the same flow rate as indicated in the figure below.

Centrifugal pumps in series are used to overcome larger system head loss than one pump can handle alone. for two identical pumps in series the head will be twice the head of a single pump at the same flow rate - as indicated with point 2.

With a constant flowrate the combined head moves from 1 to 2 - BUTin practice the combined head and flow rate moves along the system curve to point 3. point 3 is where the system operates with both pumps running

When two or more pumps are arranged in parallel their resulting performance curve is obtained by adding the pumps flow rates at the same head as indicated in the figure below.

Centrifugal pumps in parallel are used to overcome larger volume flows than one pump can handle alone. for two identical pumps in parallel and the head kept constant - the flow rate doubles compared to a single pump as indicated with point 2

Note! In practice the combined head and volume flow moves along the system curve as indicated from 1 to 3. point 3 is where the system operates with both pumps running

In practice, if one of the pumps in parallel or series stops, the operation point moves along the system resistance curve from point 3 to point 1 - the head and flow rate are decreased.

High Pressure Pumps Market Research Report: Information, by Type (Dynamic and Positive Displacement), by Pressure Range (30 Bar to 100 Bar, 101 Bar to 500 Bar and Above 500 Bar), by End User (Oil & Gas, Chemical & Pharmaceutical, Power Generation and Manufacturing Industries) and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa and South America) - Forecast till 2030

New York, US, Feb. 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR),”High-pressure Pumps Market Information by Type, Pressure Range, and End User, and Region - Forecast till 2030”, The High-Pressure Pumps Market will be worth USD 3.23 billion by 2025. The High-Pressure Pumps Market was valued at USD 2.51 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.24% between 2022 and 2030.

High-pressure pumps are commonly used in the automotive, textile, food, and industrial industries. These industries" explosive growth is likely to drive the market for high-pressure pumps in the next years. High-pressure pumps are designed to resist higher-than-average pressures. The pump is selected based on available space, the type of liquid to be pumped, its volatility, and the presence of many particulates in the liquid.

The components used in highly pressurized pumps range from ductile iron to exotic materials such as titanium and zirconium, depending on the purpose. The flammability, poisonous effect, and corrosive or erosive character of the liquid decide the type of high-pressure pump to be utilized.

The Global High-Pressure Pump is divided into three types: container pumps, popular pumps, and drum pumps. Container pumps are frequently built of high-quality stainless steel and have been thoroughly tested to survive decades of operation. These pumps have been thoroughly examined and are built to last.

When compared to other types of high-pressure pumps, another advantage of the container pump is its ease of management and sanitization. The drum compressor is well-known for its ability to perform brilliantly even in demanding settings. This pump is available in stainless steel, polypropylene, or an aluminum alloy. High-pressure water pumps are utilized in a variety of purposes, including cleaning and cutting. They"ve been used for cleaning in industrial applications, offshore cleaning, floor cleaning, and heat transfer cleaning.

The chemical industry"s soaring demand for green chemical compounds is expected to increase demand for high-pressure pumps. Many companies employ high-pressure pumps for water and wastewater treatment, as well as modern water hydraulic applications in industries such as mining, water treatment, and paper. Furthermore, the employment of high-pressure pumps in underground mining stations, descaling systems, reverse osmosis for saltwater, pool oil-water circulation and water-jet cutting systems are only a few of the many industrial uses.

The high-pressure pumps market size is expanding at a rapid pace owing to the surging demand from emerging markets, as well as limited supply and raw material availability. Furthermore, fast-paced urbanization in emerging countries has resulted in an increase in the market for high-pressure pumps, as they are a cost-effective way to meet the demand for water supply, and increasing manufacturing industries around the world are driving the overall growth of the Global High-Pressure Pumps Market.

The drop in the oil and gas industry, as well as the starting cost, is the result of fluctuating raw material costs caused by trade barriers and customs charges, which hampered the overall market of the Global High-Pressure Pumps Market throughout the forecast period.

Having said that, technical advancements have helped cut costs while improving performance, resulting in growing usage by a variety of industries that employ high-pressure pumps, including power generation, petrochemical goods, mining, and many others.

The high-pressure pumps business might expect significant market growth in the face of a pandemic crisis. The market value was estimated at a billion market in 2020. This suggests that significant growth in the high-pressure pumps market growth can be expected in the near future.

Low, medium, and high-temperature superconductors are examples of superconductor wire. The high-pressure pump market is divided into two types: dynamic and positive displacement. The increased use of dynamichigh-pressuree pumps has the potential to drive market expansion. The increased utility of positive displacement high-pressure pumps in the market can benefit the market in the next years.

The high-pressure pumps market is divided into three pressure range segments: 101 Bar to 500 Bar, 30 Bar to 100 Bar, and above 500 Bar. The high utility rate of 30 Bar to 100 Bar high-pressure pumps can assist market expansion.

Power generation, chemical and pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries are the end-user categories of the global high-pressure pumps market.

According to MRFR"s geographical assessment of the global high-pressure pump market, the increase in construction projects in the Asia Pacific will allow the region to take the lead. The regional evaluation of the high-pressure pumps market aids in the knowledge of major market trends in different areas and explains the impact of various geographic factors on the market. Furthermore, an increase in FDI in CCS projects may aid the expansion of the APAC high-pressure pumps market over the study period. The increased adoption of high-pressure pumps to address wastewater and sewage treatment requirements in North America will boost the regional market.

Submersible Pumps Market Research Report Information By Well Type, By Operation, By Power Rating, By Industry, and By Region – Market Forecast Till 2030