Section 06 PROTECTORS

ESP Application Engineering
Section 06
Protectors
Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 1

Protector Functions
 Protectors are an often overlooked piece of

equipment in the ESP system and are frequently
misunderstood.
 The Protector serves a vital link in the entire assembly
and, if it is not properly applied, can reduce the
overall running life of the equipment.
 There are several functions of a Protector and we
need to consider each one in the overall design and
application process to select the right unit.

Protector Functions
The Protector’s primary functions:
1) To keep well fluid out of the motor.

2) To carry the upthrust or downthrust developed in
the pump.
3) To couple the torque developed in the motor to
the pump via the Protector shaft.
4) Motor oil reservoir for the motor.
5) Pressure equalization between inside motor &
wellbore.

Keeping Well Fluid out of Motor
 One of the main functions of the Protector is to keep

well fluids out of the motor where they could
potentially do harm.
 Some types of water well motors are actually open to
the well fluid and no effort is made to keep it out.
 In the oil well environment, the produced fluids are
much more aggressive than typically found in water
environments and, if allowed to contact the inside of
the motor, may cause a premature failure.

Motor Oil Reservoir

 The ESP motor, unlike a surface motor, undergoes
very wide swings in pressure.
 When the unit is first installed in the well, it goes
from atmospheric pressure up to the very high bottom
hole pressure of the well.
 When the unit is operated, internal heating causes the
motor oil to expand which would add even more
pressure if it did not have some place to go. If the
unit is stopped and allowed to cool down, the oil will
contract which would create a vacuum in a sealed
system.

Pressure Equalization
 The Protector simply keeps the pressure on the inside
of the unit the same as the pressure on the outside of
the unit regardless of what the external pressure is.
 Since the bottom of the Protector is open to the
motor, the motor pressure remains the same as that
in the well annulus around it.
 By maintaining a negligible pressure difference, there
is no tendency for the well fluid to penetrate into the
motor.

Protector Designs
 Obviously the Protector must allow “communication”

with the well fluid in some fashion.
 There are several Protector designs which allow the
well fluid and motor fluid to transfer pressure to each
other without any mixing of the two fluids actually
occurring.

Labyrinth Protectors
 One such Protector type is the “Labyrinth” type.

 The labyrinth design uses the difference in specific
gravity of the well fluid and the motor oil to keep
them apart even though they are in direct contact.


 With this design, the motor oil
and well fluid are in direct
contact. The labyrinth chamber
is isolated from the shaft
rotation by the shaft tube so
that no mixing will occur by the
unit turning.
 The well fluid is generally
immiscible with the motor oil
so, even though there is direct
contact, there is no tendency to
contaminate the motor oil.

Labyrinth Protectors - Limitations

There will be cases where a labyrinth
will simply not work. In cases where
the well fluid is lighter gravity than
the motor oil (i.e. about 0.85), the
motor oil will go to the bottom of the
chamber rather than the top causing
the motor fluid to be displaced by well
fluid pretty quickly.
If the well fluid is about the same

gravity as the motor fluid or lighter,
this type of Protector should not be
used.

Labyrinth Protectors - Limitations

 Labyrinth Protectors also will not work in horizontal or
highly deviated wells. The gravity separation design requires
the unit to be mostly upright. This Protector can operate in
some amount of deviation but the expansion volume is
somewhat reduced.
 When pulled the labyrinth protector is “checked” in the
field to determine if water got into the bottom of the unit.
If this is done, always do it before the unit is laid down on
its side. Once on its side, water initially in the bottom of the
chamber may redistribute itself since the U-tube restriction
is effectively removed.

Many times dismantle inspections show water in the
lower portion of a labyrinth Protector and this is
mistakenly thought to have been there when the unit was
operating down hole. Always remember that a labyrinth
protector will normally operate with some water (well
fluid) in the top end by design. If the unit is laid on its
side and transported, the water can move to the bottom.

Positive Seal Protectors
For applications where the well fluid and motor oil

gravities are similar or where a well is highly deviated, a
different Protector design uses a “positive seal” or “bag”
to physically separate the two fluids.
This is similar to the “bellows” found in some water well

motors except that the bag has a much greater capacity
for expansion and contraction than a typical bellows.

The bag is made of a high temperature / high

performance elastomer which can withstand the harsh
downhole environments typically encountered. The bag
keeps the well fluid on the outside and the clean motor
oil on the inside.
When the motor oil expands or contracts, the bag simply

flexes to accommodate the necessary volume change.



The positive seal Protector offers a great deal of
flexibility and is useful in a wide variety of applications.
One area where care needs to be taken with this type of

Protector is with harsh well chemicals as may be
experienced with a treatment program.
As with any oil field elastomer, care must be taken to

ensure that the rubber will not be damaged by anything it
will encounter in the well.
If the positive seal is breached, the motor can easily be

contaminated with well fluid.

Carrying Pump Thrust

Another function of the
Protector is to absorb the
thrust generated by the pump
whether it is upthrust or
downthrust. The Protector
thrust bearing gives a very
large surface over which to
absorb thrust. In addition, it
does so in a nice clean oil
environment which greatly
prolongs the SPS unit life.

Protector Functions
Care should always be taken to select a

Protector series which has a thrust
bearing rating greater than the maximum
thrust the pump will generate.
The following curves indicate the

allowable thrust load on the Protector as
a function of downhole temperature.
It should be noted that the Protector will

be hotter than the motor which is again
hotter than the well fluid. All this is
factored in to these performance curves.

Protector Load Ratings vs. Temperature for

Oil


Oil


Oil
562 Series Protector

Motor Torque Transmission

One other function which the
Protector carries out is transmission
of the motor torque to the pump
since it is physically located between
the two.
Although this may seem a little

trivial, in the selection process we
need to be certain that the Protector
shaft is capable of delivering the full
torque required without exceeding its
yield strength which could result in a
broken shaft.
Protector Shaft HP Rating @50Hz

The Modular Protector
In order to fulfill its goal, the Protector must have some

type of seal (i.e. either labyrinth or bag), a thrust bearing
of some kind and a shaft.
The 66L (labyrinth) has been used successfully around the

world for decades and is still widely used today.
The PFSB (pre-filled single bag) and PFDB (pre-filled

double bag) positive seal Protectors are newer in design
and have also gained wide spread acceptance.


Even with both types of Protectors under continual
development, many customers would choose to run
various combinations of the two.
Some would choose to run two 66L’s (two labyrinths) in

tandem.
Others would use a 66L on top of a PFSB (bag type) to

gain the benefits of the positive seal yet protect the
elastomer from the well fluid with the labyrinth on top.
Some would reverse this preferring to have the labyrinth
as a back-up.
There were so many combinations being used that

inventory in the field was very difficult.
In addition, since essentially two separate Protectors

were being used to do only one job (i.e. balance the
pressure), the other parts such as redundant thrust
bearings and shaft material, for example, were costing
money to purchase but were serving no useful function**
**(In a tandem Protector, only one of the thrust bearings

is actually doing any work).

The purpose of this system is to give the customer the

ultimate in flexibility in applying Protectors while
maintaining all the advantages of additional seals, etc.
without wasteful duplication of unnecessary parts.

Additionally, rather than having to rely on a few basic

Protector types put in various combinations, the
customer can now custom design the protector needed
for a particular application and incorporate all the best
elements of each component.
The system is actually very simple. The system consists of

a head, base, shaft, seal section (either labyrinth or bag
type) and a “seal body” which, with the repositioning of a
few valves and plugs, allows the Protector to be
assembled in any one of dozens of possible
configurations.

The previous illustration showed some of the possible

combinations. Regardless of what configuration is chosen,
the Protector function is essentially the same.
The naming convention for modular Protectors is simple

and easily shows how a protector is designed.
In naming, always start from the top and move

downward.

The Protector is named for the type(s) of seal chambers

used and how those chambers are connected (i.e. in
“series” or “parallel”).
The “L” is for labyrinth and the “B” is for the bag type.
As for the connection type, “P” means parallel and “S”

means series.

In some cases there will be an “HL” on the end of the

name. This simply means that this is a “high load”
protector which employs a high capacity thrust bearing in
the base.
Given this convention, for example:
A BSBSL-HL protector is a three chamber design with a
bag on top connected in series to another bag which is
then connected in series to a labyrinth chamber. Also it
has a high load thrust bearing.

A series connection is simply one in-line after the other

just like series resistors in an electrical circuit.
For well fluid to enter the lower chamber, it must

completely displace all the oil in the upper chamber first.
So having two bags in series means the lower bag is a

redundant seal to the upper bag and is there as
“insurance” in case the upper bag fails for some reason.


There is no additional expansion capacity in “series”
systems.
Two bags in parallel, on the other hand, do double the

available expansion volume. This is useful in higher
horsepower applications (larger motors hold more oil)
where the natural expansion and contraction might
exceed the capacity of one bag.
If only one bag is used and the capacity is exceeded, the

unit will allow well fluid penetration so two bags
eliminates this possibility.

While there are many possible permutations, it is never

possible to connect two labyrinth chambers in parallel. In
addition, a bag cannot be connected in parallel to a
labyrinth chamber.
The allowable combinations are: LSL, LSB, BSL, BSB and

BPB.
Not possible combinations: LPL and BPL/LPB.


With this basic understanding of how the protectors are
put together and how both the labyrinth and positive seal
(bag) sections operate, we will now look at the operation
cycle, which consist of the following steps:
1. Servicing the protector prior to installation

2. System landing at setting depth, oil expands
3. Motor Operates, oil expands more
4. Motor stops, oil contracts
5. Motor operating cycles
6. Pulling the unit to surface, oil contracts

Protector Operation Cycles

All modular Protectors come “pre-filled” with clean motor

oil from the factory or repair center. During field assembly,
the field service technician will add oil to “top up” the
protector to replace any oil lost during the assembly
process.
Because of the complex design of the Protector system, the

filling procedure is exacting and should only be done by
qualified personnel. If proper procedures are not followed,
it is possible to trap air inside the Protector which can
potentially cause a shaft seal failure during operation. This,
in turn, may damage the Protector and motor.

1. Servicing the protector
prior to installation
This is an exaggerated view

of an LSB protector. The red
arrows indicate the oil flow
path during filling. The vent
plugs are replaced at
intervals to ensure all air is
removed from the unit.


Since the protector is serviced at surface, the motor oil

temperature will be the current Outside Ambient
Temperature (OAT).


At this point the protector is lowered into the well and will
gradually warm up to the Bottom Hole Temperature (BHT).
Depending on the temperature rise, the motor oil in the

system will begin to expand until the setting depth is reached.
Let’s say the volume expands 9%.


Given that the system can only hold 100% volume, the
system will dump the 9% overboard.
This oil will never be recovered.
1 2


When the system is started for the first time, the internal
heating of the motor will increase its temperature until
the motor reaches its operating temperature (MOT). This
will cause an additional expansion of oil, typically
another 2-4%.
3
1 2


But again, the system can only hold 100% volume. The 2-
4% oil expanded will again be lost to the well bore.
1 2 3


The system will run for some time and then be switched off. Over
the course of 2-4 hours, the motor oil will contract as it cools by the
same amount it expanded when the motor was turned on. Now the
system is only 96 - 98% full of motor oil so the protector will then
have a small amount of well fluid in the first chamber making up the
balance of the volume.
1 2 3


If the chamber is a labyrinth, the well fluid will travel
down a tube to the bottom of the chamber where it will
stay due to the differential in specific gravity of the
motor oil and well fluids. This will be the first fluid
expelled when the motor is switched on in the future.
1 2 3


If the first chamber is a bag, the bag will be drawn
inward by the collapsing motor oil. The partial vacuum
will draw well fluid in around the outside of the bag
where it will stay because of the positive barrier of the
bag.
1 2 3


As the unit cycles, the system can loose additional motor oil
due to several reasons:
• Internal motor temperature can
increase,
• Specific gravity fluctuations can
1 2 3
increase the load on the motor,
raising the temperature 4 5
• Gases can be dissolved into the

motor oil and expand during low
pressure cycles
• Emulsions can form in the
chambers, etc.

All of this added into the cycling can cause additional
motor oil to be lost. If the system has a bag, the bag will
not totally collapse until the system has expelled an
equal amount of motor fluid that can be contained inside
of the bag to start with.
1 2 3
4 5


6. Pulling the unit to surface, oil contracts
When the unit is pulled the motor oil will cool once again to surface
temperature (OAT). Depending on the previous well cycling and BHT,
the amount of oil shrink can exceed the capacity of a labyrinth
chamber or bag causing evidence of bag tearing and well fluid in
lower chambers. Most bag damage is caused during system removal
from the well not down hole operation.
1 2 3
4 5

LSB Type Protector

Protector Operation Cycles LSB Prot.

1
2

1 2 3

1 2 3
4 4

1 2 3
5 4 5

1 2 3
4 5
5


5
5
1 2 3
5 4 5


Modular Protector Series
The Modular Protectors are

available in 400 Series (4.00 ”),
540 Series (5.13 “) and 562 Series
(5.62 “). Both the 540 and 562
series have the same top and
bottom flange and can either be
run on a 540 or 562 motor without
adapters.
The 400 Series is designed to be

run on the 456 Series motor
without an adapter.


562 Series Modular Protector
The 562 Protector was developed specially for high thrust

applications such as would be encountered with deep set
HN20000 and JN21000 pumps. The maximum allowable
horsepower for the 562 is 1100 Hp (60 Hz) or 833 Hp (50
Hz) and is available with the monel or high strength
Inconel shaft material.

With any series of Modular Protector, flexibility is the

primary advantage. With the system, it is possible to
“custom fit” the Protector to the application.
The following guidelines show some of the possible

Protector configurations and the areas where each has its
strengths and weaknesses.

Modular Protector Application – Chamber Configuration
(A) Applicability improves with correct elastomers for higher temp.

service, usually Aflas for seal elastomers, o-rings and bags.
(B) Those that deteriorate specific elastomers used.
Assumes use of standard materials for configurations listed. Use
normal guidelines for application of high load bearings and
ferritic housings.
Elastomer Selection
In addition to proper selection of the “seal chamber”

configuration, the selection of the materials used in the
Protector is also of prime importance.
Elastomers are used to some extent in every Protector.

Depending on the down hole environment, some
elastomers may perform much better than others.

When sizing a Protector for an application, it is

sometimes necessary to consider the power used by the
Protector when sizing the motor.
In larger diameter / higher thrust load applications,

failure to do so could result in an overloaded motor.
For smaller diameter and/or lower load conditions, the

additional power consumption is usually insignificant.

End of this
Section

Section 06 PROTECTORS

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Section 06 PROTECTORS

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ESP Application Engineering

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 1

 Protectors are an often overlooked piece of

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 2

1) To keep well fluid out of the motor.

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 3

Keeping Well Fluid out of Motor

 One of the main functions of the Protector is to keep

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 4

Motor Oil Reservoir

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 5

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 6

 Obviously the Protector must allow “communication”

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 7

 One such Protector type is the “Labyrinth” type.

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 8

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 9

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 10

Labyrinth Protectors - Limitations

If the well fluid is about the same

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 11

Labyrinth Protectors - Limitations

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 12

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 13

Positive Seal Protectors

For applications where the well fluid and motor oil

This is similar to the “bellows” found in some water well

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 14

Positive Seal Protectors

The bag is made of a high temperature / high

When the motor oil expands or contracts, the bag simply

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 15

Positive Seal Protectors

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 16

Positive Seal Protectors

One area where care needs to be taken with this type of

As with any oil field elastomer, care must be taken to

If the positive seal is breached, the motor can easily be

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 17

Carrying Pump Thrust

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 18

Care should always be taken to select a

The following curves indicate the

It should be noted that the Protector will

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 19

Protector Load Ratings vs. Temperature for

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 20

Protector Load Ratings vs. Temperature for

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 21

Protector Load Ratings vs. Temperature for

562 Series Protector

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 22

Motor Torque Transmission

Although this may seem a little

Protector Shaft HP Rating @50Hz

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 24

The Modular Protector

In order to fulfill its goal, the Protector must have some

The 66L (labyrinth) has been used successfully around the

The PFSB (pre-filled single bag) and PFDB (pre-filled

Section 3b Haward Technology Middle East 25

The Modular Protector

Some would choose to run two 66L’s (two labyrinths) in

Others would use a 66L on top of a PFSB (bag type) to