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Simulation and Testing of the Hydraulic Performance of the Sliding Vane

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Article  in  SPE production & operations · September 2015

DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA

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 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 3-February-16
Simulation and Testing of the Hydraulic
Performance of the Sliding Vane Pump
Yanlong Zhao, Zhiming Wang*, and Liang Xue, China University of Petroleum, Beijing; and Lixin Zhang and
Zhongxian Hao, PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development
Summary
A new all-metal sliding-vane pump (SVP) and matching lift sys-
tem were developed as an alternative to the low efficiency and
poor high-temperature performance of conventional artificial-lift
systems. Numerical simulation and laboratory tests were used to
conduct a comparative study of the hydraulic performance of the
pump. The effects of pump-lifting-pressure difference and rota-
tional speed on pump rate and efficiency were studied. The test
results showed that, if the rotation speed is fixed, the pump rate
and efficiency will decrease with an increase in required pressure
difference. With a constant pressure difference, the flow rate can
be controlled by varying the pump speed.
On the basis of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and
finite-element-method (FEM) numerical simulation, a numerical
model of the SVP was created. The pressure and fluid-flow distri-
bution in the vane pump were determined under zero pump-pres-
sure-difference condition, which helped realize the working
principles of the pump. The simulation results agreed well with
the test results, thus validating the reliability of the numerical
models in this paper.
Introduction
Artificial lift is a means of lowering bottomhole flowing pressure
to optimize well production. Various artificial-lift methods are
available, such as gas lift, sucker rod pumping (SRP), electrical
submersible pump (ESP), progressing-cavity pump (PCP), and
hydraulic submersible pump (HSP), depending on the application
and availability of lift power. Although each lift method has its
own advantages, various papers have reported unsatisfactory
operational performance, such as reduced lifetime, low efficiency,
poor temperature resistance, and high investment costs in some
particular conditions (Durham et al. 1990; Clegg et al. 1993;
Carvalho et al. 2000). Thermal-production wells are particularly
challenging because of very high fluid temperatures (steam tem-
perature is usually greater than 200 C). This severe working con-
dition is a big challenge for artificial-lift equipment. Efforts to
develop gas lift, ESP, PCP, or HSP technology for harsh-environ-
ment applications have resulted in equipment designed and devel-
oped especially for applications in higher-temperature wells
(Tetzlaff et al. 2007; Lanier and Mahoney 2009). To date, a con-
ventional beam-pump system is still the primary artificial-lift type
because of its high reliability, even though its pump efficiency is
not high enough. For many years, it has been difficult to combine
high pump efficiency with high temperature resistance.
As shown in Fig. 1, the SVP is a positive-displacement pump
that consists of vanes mounted to an eccentric rotor that rotates
inside of the pump cavity, and its concept was invented and
patented by Brunswick in 1874. SVPs have been widely used in
many applications for more than a century, while each type of
vane pump offers unique advantages such as excellent volumetric
efficiency, good adaptability, and long durability.
To obtain higher efficiency, high-temperature resistance, and
lower cost compared with conventional artificial-lift systems in
some particular conditions, the Research Institute of Petroleum
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: wellcompletion@126.com.
Copyright V
C 2016 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Original SPE manuscript received for review 17 August 2014. Revised manuscript received
for review 11 August 2015. Paper (SPE 178434) peer approved 19 August 2015.
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Exploration and Development of the China National Petroleum
Corporation developed a new SVP and the matching multiple-
stage lift system. This new lift method uses a downhole vane
pump to lift oil to the surface. The pump is made up of all-metal
elements, suitable for temperatures up to 250 C, heavy-oil wells,
and high-gas/oil-ratio wells. The vane pump has been tested in 10
wells in the Xinjiang oil field in China from 2012 to 2014 (see
Fig. 2). The installed power of the pump is 5.5 kW at a rated
speed of 160 rev/min, and the pump setting depth is 150 to 500 m.
It meets the demand of lifting in this oil field. Compared with an
SRP system with a similar liquid-production capacity, the energy
consumption of the vane pump is approximately 30% less. Until
now, the longest production period without workover operation is
13 months, and all pumps are in good condition without stripped
or broken rods (Wang et al. 2012; Jin et al. 2013). Although it is
the first attempt to use a vane-pump lift system in thermal-produc-
tion wells in the Xinjiang oil field, it is expected that it will
become another important artificial-lift system. This paper dis-
cusses the hydraulic performance of the vane pump by numerical
simulation and laboratory testing.
Working Principle
The vane pump is made up of all-metal elements, and the construc-
tion of a single-stage vane pump is illustrated in Fig. 1. The rotor
is fixed onto the pump shaft by means of a key, while the vanes
can slide freely in and out of the rotor slots. The rotor is driven by
a surface drive head through the sucker rod, which is similar to
that of the PCP artificial-lift system. When the rotor rotates, the
sliding vanes are pushed onto the inside surface of the stator by
centrifugal force and are sealed on all sides, thus creating vane
chambers that do the pumping work by changing their volume dur-
ing rotation, thereby producing pump pressure. At the intake of the
pump, the vane chambers are increasing in volume to create suc-
tion. At the discharge side of the pump, the vane chambers are
decreasing in volume, forcing the fluid out of the pump.
By use of the eccentric circle model (the inside diameter of the
stator), illustrated in Fig. 1, the theoretical capacity of the pump
can be determined at zero-pressure load condition. The hydraulic
performance of the pump is very complex, and it is difficult to
describe such a complicated system with a mathematical model.
Therefore, it is important to understand the properties and flow
performance of the pump by numerical simulation and testing to
identify the necessary adjustment of equipment parameters.
CFD-Simulation Method
Modeling of a vane pump is a complex task and is especially diffi-
cult when modeling such a complicated system with a mathemati-
cal model. CFD software proved to be a powerful tool for
describing such processes and understanding the flow perform-
ance and the working principles of a vane pump.
Governing Equations. The momentum-conservation equations
are 3D unsteady Navier-Stokes equations, which are given by
@ðqvx Þ @p
þ divðqvx UÞ ¼ divðlgradvx Þ  þ Fx ; . . . . . ð1Þ
@t @x
@ðqvy Þ @p
þ divðqvy UÞ ¼ divðlgradvy Þ  þ Fy ; . . . . . ð2Þ
@t @y
69
 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 3-February-16 Stage: Page: 70 Total Pages: 7

Cover
Stator

Inlet Rotor

2 1 2 1

3 4 3 4

100°
Outlet Vane

(a) (b)

Fig. 1—Numerical-model diagram of an SVP. Inlet and outlet connect exactly with Regions 2 and 4, respectively. Each region occu-
pies 100 .

and e Equation.
  
@ðqvz Þ @p @e @e @ lt @e
þ divðqvz UÞ ¼ divðlgradvz Þ  þ Fz ; . . . . . ð3Þ q þ qtj ¼ lþ
@t @y @t @xj @xj re @xj
 
where vx, vy, and vz represent the velocities in the x-, y-, and z- c1 e @tj @tj @ti qe2
þ lt þ  c2 ;           ð6Þ
direction, respectively; U is the velocity vector at a certain point K @xi @xi @xj K
in the flow field; p is pressure; Fx, Fy, and Fz are the body forces
in the x-, y-, and z-direction, respectively; q is the density of the where K is the turbulent kinetic energy; e is the energy dissipa-
fluid; l is the viscosity; div is the divergence operator (for tion; xi, xj is the coordinate direction; vi, vj is the velocity vector
instance, applying to a vector F: divF ¼ dFx/dx þ dFy/dy þ dFz/ (i, j ¼ x, y, z); lt is the turbulent viscosity lt ¼ ClqK2/e; and rk
dz); and grad is the gradient operator (for example, applying to a and re are Prandtl numbers for turbulent flow.
scalar function s: grads ¼ ds/dx i þ ds/dy j þ ds/dz k). Herein, c1, c2, Cl, rk, and re are empirical coefficients and are
Continuity Equation. The continuity equation is given by taken to be c1 ¼ 1.44, c2 ¼ 1.92, Cl ¼ 0.09, rk ¼1.0, and re ¼ 1.3
(Wang 2004).
@q
þ divðqUÞ ¼ 0: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ð4Þ
@t CFD Model. In this study, the 3D CFD model of the SVP was
Control Equations for K and e for the Turbulence created with SolidworksV R software by Dassault Systèmes Solid-

Model. K Equation. works Corporation (see Fig. 1), and meshed and calculated with a
   commercial CFD package (AutodeskV R CFD software) (see Fig. 3).

@K @K @ l @K As shown in Fig. 1, there are two working conditions. In Case

q þ qtj ¼ lþ t 1, when the rotor rotates to the position of Fig. 1a, there are three
@t @xj @xj rk @xj
  vane chambers connected to the intake side of the pump (Region
@tj @tj @ti 2) and three vane chambers connected to the discharge side of the
þ lt þ  qe:                ð5Þ
@xi @xi @xj pump (Region 4). In Case 2, there are two vane chambers

Fig. 2—Field application of SVPs in the Xinjiang oil field. Ten SVP artificial-lift systems have been put into use since 2012. This
shows the installation of SVPs. We installed the drive head and other equipment after setting the anchor, then turned on the motor
and launched the production.

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 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 3-February-16
Fig. 3—Diagram of mesh generation: unstructured meshes and 1,007,163 cells.
connected to the inlet (Region 2) and to the outlet (Region 4),
respectively, when the rotor rotates to the position of Fig. 1b.
These two conditions occur alternately.
Under the mesh order in the CFD software, automatic mesh
diving operation is performed directly in the model (see Fig. 3)
and is based on FEM. To simulate the angular motion of the rotor
and the sliding of the vanes, the overlapping network and dynamic
mesh techniques are adopted for the numerical model, which also
increases the calculation velocity and accuracy.
Model Assumptions.
1. There is no heat transfer between fluid and environment
(i.e., isothermal flow).
2. Roughness of the walls is neglected.
3. Flows are incompressible (the compressibility contributed
by entrained gas in field application is neglected, and sin-
gle-phase flow is simulated).
4. Standard wall function is used.
Boundary Conditions. The adopted boundary conditions in nu-
merical simulation are as follows:
1. Assume the inlet and outlet are at the pressure boundary
condition (i.e., inlet pressure is set at 0 Pa and outlet pres-
sure is set at 0 to 9106 Pa).
2. The motion type of the rotor is set at angular motion, and
the rotational speed is set at 120, 160, and 200 rev/min
according to the calculation condition.
3. Coupling boundary of vanes: The angular motion and linear
motion are coupled. Under the motion order in the CFD
software, the motion type of the six vanes is set to vane
Inlet Outlet
6.1
Displacement (mm)
1 2 3 4 1
0 high within the range of tested pump discharge pressure, which
0 0.375
Time (seconds)
Fig. 4—Radial displacement vs. time of an SVP at 160 rev/min.
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motion. The vanes rotate with the rotor coaxially at the
same speed and simultaneously move linearly in the radial
direction. The rotational speed of the vanes is set at the
same value as the rotor speed. To set the linear motion,
each trajectory of the six vanes is calculated on the basis of
the inside diameter of the stator (see Fig. 1). The corre-
sponding trajectory file is imported to the motion order in
the software. Fig. 4 shows the trajectory curve of one slid-
ing vane in a reciprocating mode rotating at a speed of 160
rev/min.
4. No slip should be allowed on the surface of the vane, the
rotor, and the stator wall.
5. The timestep is 0.01 seconds.
CFD Validation
Laboratory Step. In our testing, we focused on investigating the
working principles and the hydraulic performance of the pump
and conducted the tests under ideal conditions. The test pump was
identical to that in the field application with an outer diameter of
114 mm and a length of 750 mm. We used crude oil as a circulat-
ing medium at room temperature. It is very important to keep vis-
cosity constant. We have a large oil pool that is open to the air
and a long circulating pipeline to reduce the influence of tempera-
ture. Moreover, when the oil temperature increased by 5 C, we
stopped the tests and waited for the oil to cool down to room tem-
perature. Although the metal-to-metal SVP is suitable for temper-
atures up to 250 C, the temperature effects are not strictly
considered here. Extensive testing is undertaken in real condi-
tions. The temperature effects and the compressibility of oil/gas
flow will be discussed in further studies.
The test equipment was based on the characteristics of the
SVP. A test-loop schematic is shown in Fig. 5. The main func-
tions were simulating lifting-pressure difference by controlling
the discharge pressure while measuring the flow, controlling the
motor speed by frequency converter, meanwhile recording the
pump speed, torque, and input power.
According to the technical requirements of the field applica-
tion, the motor speed was set at 120, 160, and 200 rev/min (with
the same pressure difference).
Experimental Results vs. CFD Simulations. On the basis of the
test data, the pump (volumetric) efficiency vs. discharge-pressure
curves at various speeds were created (see Fig. 6). At fixed speed,
the pump efficiency will decrease with an increase of required dis-
charge pressure. Nevertheless, the pump efficiency still remains
proves that the pump had steady hydraulic characteristics.
Fig. 7 shows the relationships between pump rate and dis-
charge pressure at different speeds from simulation and laboratory
71
 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 3-February-16 Stage: Page: 72 Total Pages: 7

Pressure-control valve 100

200 rev/min

95 160 rev/min
Flowmeter

120 rev/min
Frequency 90

Volume Efficiency (%)

converter Pressure gauge

Delivery pipe
85
Torque Inflow pipeline
Motor and power Sliding
acquisition vane pump 80

75

Oil pool

70
Fig. 5—Flow diagram of the pump test equipment.

40 65
200 rev/min (Lab) 160 rev/min (Lab) 120 rev/min (Lab) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
200 rev/min (CFD) 160 rev/min (CFD) 120 rev/min (CFD) 6
Discharge Pressure (×10 Pa)
36
Fig. 6—Pump efficiency vs. discharge-pressure curves at vari-
ous speeds (120, 160, and 200 rev/min).
32

pump speed can be used to control the production rate in the field.
Rate (m3.d–1)

28 After steam injection, well production tends to decline over time,

and production could then be reduced by reducing the pump
speed. Moreover, the simulation results agreed well with the
24 actual measurements from the laboratory tests, which validates
the numerical models and results.

20
Discussion of CFD Simulations and Pump
Flow-Rate Characteristics
16 Simulation Results. In this section, we take a one-stage vane
pump as an example to analyze the working principles and the
flow performance of the pump. The pump pressure difference is
12 zero (i.e., inlet and outlet pressures are both set at 0 Pa). The rota-
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
tional speed is 160 rev/min. We choose oil in the database as a cir-
6
Discharge Pressure (×10 Pa) culating medium.
Case 1. With reference to Figs. 1 and 4, the vane chambers
Fig. 7—Rate vs. discharge-pressure curves at various speeds are changing in volume, when the chambers rotate to Regions 2
(120, 160, and 200 rev/min) as simulated and tested in the and 4, while the pump inlet and outlet connect exactly with
laboratory. Regions 2 and 4, respectively. Fig. 8 shows the pressure distribu-
tion in Case 1 at zero-pressure load condition. It was found that
testing. As can be seen, the flow rate has a decreasing tendency, the pressure distribution is associated with the volume variation
while the lifting-pressure difference is increased at all three rota- of the chambers, whereas the volumes of the three chambers con-
tional speeds. In the tests with constant discharge pressure, the nected with the inlet increase with time. According to the pump-
rate increased with an increase in speed, which means that the ing principle, negative pressure leads to a pressure drop in the

P, MPa Inlet
0.006

0.005 LPC

0.004 LPC HPC

0.003
LPC HPC Outlet
0.002
HPC
0.001

–0.001

Fig. 8—Diagram of pressure distribution of Case 1. Conditions: 160 rev/min and 0 pressure difference. LPC ¼ low-pressure cham-
ber; HPC ¼ high-pressure chamber.

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 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 3-February-16
V, m/s
1.2 Inlet
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Fig. 9—Diagram of velocity distribution of Case 1.
chambers and fluid to be forced into the three chambers. In com-
bination with Fig. 4, it can be seen that the volume-change rate
reaches a maximum and the pressure inside the chamber reaches a
minimum when the chamber rotates to the intermediate position
of Region 2. Because the three vane chambers connected with the
outlet are decreasing in volume, the chamber pressure increases
and the compressed fluid is forced out of the pump. The volume-
change rate reaches a maximum and the pressure in the chamber
reaches the highest level when the chamber is at the intermediate
position of Region 4.
On the basis of the results of the numerical simulation, the ve-
locity vectors of Case 1 were obtained (see Fig. 9). The velocity
distribution is consistent with the pressure-change process. Fur-
ther observation showed that the velocity vector is superimposed
on the rotational speed and fluid suction or discharge speed.
Because the pump speed is constant, the rotational speed of the
pump fluid will be uniform and stable. Close to the inlet and out-
let, fluid velocities are highest and gradually decrease when mov-
ing away from the inlet and outlet toward the inside of the pump,
as the chambers rotate to the intermediate position of Regions 2
and 4. The fluid velocities are lower when the chambers slide to
the end of Regions 2 and 4, which makes a slight contribution to
the absorption and discharge flow.
Case 2. Fig. 10 shows the pressure distribution in Case 2. In
this case, there are two chambers connected to the inlet and outlet,
respectively. Similar to Case 1, the pressure of the two chambers
connected to the outlet are highest when the chambers are in
Region 4, and the pressure of the two chambers connected to the
inlet are lowest when the chambers are in Region 2. The other
two chambers are located in Regions 1 and 3 (i.e., between suc-
tion and discharge). At this point, there is no volume change in
the two chambers, which are in a state of transition between suc-
tion and discharge. Hence, the pressure of the two chambers is
between the pressures of the discharge and the suction chambers.
P, MPa
0.006
0.005
LPC TC
0.004
0.003 LPC HPC
0.002
TC HPC
0.001
–0.001
Fig. 10—Diagram of pressure distribution of Case 2. Conditions: 160 rev/min and 0 pressure difference. LPC ¼ low-pressure cham-
ber; HPC ¼ high-pressure chamber; TC ¼ transition chamber.
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Outlet
Fig. 11 shows the velocity vectors of Case 2. The two cham-
bers connected to the inlet draw in liquid, and the two chambers
connected to the outlet discharge liquid. The velocity distribution
is in accordance with a superposition of the transverse rotation
and radial flow. Similarly, the fluid velocity approaching the inlet
and outlet is the highest and decreases gradually, when moving
away from the inlet and outlet toward the inside of the pump.
By a comprehensive analysis of the flow performance of the
preceding two cases, it was found that the fluid speed, when
approaching the inlet and outlet, is the highest. In sand-producing
wells, the sand will be drawn in at a high speed and also be dis-
charged at a high speed. This prevents the sand from settling in
the pump.
Pump Flow-Rate Characteristics. The fluid rates that were pre-
dicted by the simulations were achieved, as were those at different
operating speeds. Fig. 12 shows the fluid-rate curve at the pump
discharge while rotating 360 at a speed of 160 rev/min. The
pump displacement is relatively stable (i.e., fluctuating within a
small range during every 60 of pump rotation).
This periodic fluctuation is caused primarily by the volume
change of the chambers. According to the pressure distribution in
the pump, the pressure in the two transition chambers that are
located in Regions 1 and 3 is between that of the discharge and
the suction chambers. At the moment that the transition chamber
rotates to the outlet, it is connected with the adjacent high-pres-
sure chambers, causing the high pressure to be released to the
transition, which results in an instantaneous oscillation in flow.
Conclusions
1. The all-metal vane pump has consistent hydraulic charac-
teristics, which demonstrate that this new artificial-lift tech-
nology appears applicable for thermal-production wells.
Inlet
Outlet
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 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 4-February-16 Stage: Page: 74 Total Pages: 7

V, m/s
1.2
Inlet
1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2 Outlet

Fig. 11—Diagram of velocity distribution of Case 2.

2. The test results show that, at a given rotation speed, the
pump rate and efficiency will decrease with an increase in
the required lifting pressure. When the required pump pres-
sure difference does not change, the production rate can be
controlled by adjusting the speed.
3. The CFD-modeling tool appears to provide realistic predic-
tions of the pressure and velocity distribution inside a vane
pump. The numerical results agreed well with the actual
measurements from the laboratory tests, which validates
these simulation models and results. This research could
provide an effective tool for the future design of SVPs.
Nomenclature
c1 ¼ 1.44 (empirical)
c2 ¼ 1.92 (empirical)
Cl ¼ 0.09 (empirical)
Fx ¼ body force in the x-direction, mL/t2, N
Fy ¼ body force in the y-direction, mL/t2, N
Fz ¼ body force in the z-direction, mL/t2, N
K ¼ turbulent kinetic energy, L2/t2, m2/s2
p ¼ pressure, m/Lt2, Pa
U ¼ velocity vector at a certain point in the flow field
vx ¼ velocity in the x-direction, L/t, m/s
vy ¼ velocity in the y-direction, L/t, m/s
vz ¼ velocity in the z-direction, L/t, m/s
vi ¼ velocity vector (i ¼ x, y, z)
vj ¼ velocity vector ( j ¼ x, y, z)
xi ¼ coordinate direction (i ¼ x, y, z)
xj ¼ coordinate direction ( j ¼ x, y, z)
e ¼ energy dissipation, L2/t3, m2/s3
l ¼ viscosity, m/Lt, Pas
lt ¼ turbulent viscosity, L2/t, m2/s
q ¼ density, m/L3, kg/m3
29.5
28.5
Rate (m .d )
3 –1
rk, re ¼ Prandtl numbers for turbulent flow, rk ¼ 1.0 and
re ¼ 1.3, dimensionless
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the partners of the Research Insti-
tute of Petroleum Exploration and Development for providing
time and resources to publish this paper. This study was supported
by A Research on the Law of Oil-Gas-Water-Sand Complex Mul-
tiphase Flow in Horizontal Wellbore (Grant No.: 51474225), Ba-
sic Research on Drilling and Completion of Critical Wells for Oil
and Gas (Grant No.: 51221003), and Optimized Design and Key
Control Techniques for the Complex-Structure Wells (Grant No.:
2011ZX05009-005). Additionally, the reviewers of the original
manuscript are greatly appreciated because their comments and
suggestions helped to improve this paper.
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0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Time (seconds) Yanlong Zhao is a PhD-degree student at the MOE Key Labo-
ratory of Petroleum Engineering at the China University of Pe-
Fig. 12—Fluid rate vs. time. Conditions: 160 rev/min, 0 pressure troleum. His main research interests are in well-completion
difference, and rotating 360 . engineering. E-mail: 814823792@qq.com.

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 PO178434 DOI: 10.2118/178434-PA Date: 4-February-16
Zhiming Wang is a professor of petroleum engineering at the
China University of Petroleum. Previously, he was a visiting
scholar of petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University.
Wang’s main research domains are in the field of wellbore
complex flow and well-completion engineering. He has been
awarded National Awards in Science and Technology Pro-
gress (second prize) twice, and he has published four books
and more than 100 academic papers in international and
national journals. Wang holds a PhD degree from the China
University of Petroleum. He is a member of SPE, and is also an
SPE Northern China International Section Board member. E-
mail: wellcompletion@126.com.
Liang Xue teaches and conducts research in the area of com-
putational fluid multiphase flow. He is currently serving as an
February 2016 SPE Production & Operations
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associate professor at China University of Petroleum, Beijing,
conducting research in multiphase flow of wellbore fluid and
numerical simulation study of inflow-control devices. Xue holds
a PhD degree. E-mail: xueliang200888@126.com.
Lixin Zhang is currently serving as a director at the Research
Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development. He holds
a PhD degree from China University of Petroleum, Huadong. E-
mail: jude.zhang@petrochina.com.cn.
Zhongxian Hao is a petroleum engineer with the Petroleum Ex-
ploration and Production Department at the Research Insti-
tute of Petroleum Exploration and Development. He holds a
degree from the China University of Petroleum, Huadong. E-
mail: 158714068@qq.com.
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