Chapter 5

Mud Pumps

EE047-3.5-2
Drilling Engineering
 Introduction

• A mud pump is a reciprocating piston/plunger pump designed to

circulate drilling fluid under high pressure (up to 7,500 psi) that
picks up mud from the suction tank, down the drill string, out the
bit and back up the annulus.

• Although rigs usually have two mud pumps and sometimes three
or four, normally they use only one at a time. The others are
mainly used as backup just in case one fails.

• Sometimes however the rig crew may compound the pumps,

that is, they may use three or four pumps at the same time to
move large volumes of mud when required.

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 • Rigs use one of two types of mud pumps, Triplex pumps or
Duplex pumps.

• Triplex pumps have many advantages; they weight 30% less than
a duplex of equal horsepower or kilowatts. The lighter weight
parts are easier to handle and therefore easier to maintain. The
other advantages include;
– They cost less to operate
– The are fluid end is more accessible
– They discharge mud more smoothly. That is, the triplex’s output does
not surge as much as a duplex.
– They can move large volumes of mud at the higher pressure
required for modern deep hole drilling.

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 Duplex Pump

• The duplex pumps have two cylinders with double acting.

• Duplex pumps are generally used on land rigs. 

• When the piston rod is moved forward, one of intake valves is

lift to allow fluid to come in and one of the discharge valve is
pushed up therefore the drilling mud is pumped out of the
pump.

• On the other hand, when the piston rod is moved backward

drilling fluid is still pumped. The other intake and discharge
valve will be opened.

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 Triplex Pump

• The triplex pumps have three cylinders with single acting. The
pistons are moved back and pull in drilling mud through open intake
valves.

• Triplex pumps are generally used in offshore rig.

• When the piston rods are moved forward, the intake valves
are in close position and the discharge valves are in open
position allowing fluid to discharge.

• On the contrary when the piston rods are moved backward,

the intake valve are opened allowing drilling fluid coming into
the pump.
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 Pump Factor – Single acting
The volume displaced by each piston during one complete pump cycle is given by

The pump factor for a single-acting pump having three cylinders becomes

The flow rate

Where N is the number of
stroke per unit time
dr
Hydraulic power

Dp, psi and Q, GPM

 Pump Factor – Double Acting

On the forward stroke of each piston, the volume displaced is given by

On the backward stroke of each piston, the volume displaced is given by

Thus, the total volume displaced per complete pump cycle by a pump having two
cylinders is given by

The flow rate

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 Compute: (a) Flow rate in gal/min, (b) pump factor, (c) volumetric pump efficiency,
and (d) the hydraulic horsepower.

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 END OF LESSON

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