Extension of operational life of ball valves in piston and plunger pumps

The article addresses extension of operational life of piston and plunger pumps by means of design development of ball-type intake and forcing valves. The study focuses on horizontal and vertical plunger-type pumps fitted with ball-type intake and forcing valves. Design of the valve units of series-produced pumps is examined in detail, and it is proposed to improve the valve design by making the valve ball rotatable in opening and closing. The standard-design ball valve is composed of a body, a seat and a shutoff ball. In opening of the valve, the ball is lifted by the intake flow; in the valve closing, the ball moves down and sits down on the seat. The upward travel of the ball is limited by the body structure. Geometries of the ball valve components are governed by the technical parameters of the pump, such as feed, pressure, etc. During operation of the ball valve, the shutoff ball always puts the same face on the seat and the ball–seat interface wears down. As a consequence, the loss of hydraulic soundness grows extensively during operation of the valve and, finally, leads to the requirement to replace the valve unit of the pump. Aiming to extend the repair interval for the ball–seat assembly, the proposed engineering solution consists in making the ball rotatable around its axis during opening of the valve so that the ball puts its different face on the seat every time of seating. Rotation of the intake ball valve in opening, i.e. in upward travel of the ball, is ensured by installation of a plate on the internal surface of the seat. The plate provides deviation of the fluid flow from the central axis of the valve. Owing to the fluid flow swirling, the ball flow-around becomes nonuniform. As a result, the ball is forced to rotate in upward motion both relative to the horizontal and vertical axes of symmetry. As a consequence, in every seating, the ball puts different face on the seat, is pressed to the seat by the valve fluid and shuts the valve off. This engineering solution is aimed to extent the repair interval in operational life of pumps.

Zaurbekov S. A., Akanova G. K., Balgayev D. Y., Zaurbekov K. S. Extension of operational life of ball valves in piston and plunger pumps. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021;(7):165-175. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2021_7_0_165.

S.A. Zaurbekov¹, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Assistant Professor, Professor,
G.K. Akanova¹, PhD Doctoral Student, Researcher,
D.Y. Balgayev¹, Lecturer, e-mail: dos_mjk@mail.ru,
K.S. Zaurbekov¹, PhD Doctoral Student, Researcher,
¹ Institute of Metallurgy and Industrial Engineering, Satbayev University, 050013, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.

D.Y. Balgayev, e-mail: dos_mjk@mail.ru.

1. Nasosy skvazhinnye shtangovye. Obshchie tekhnicheskie trebovaniya. GOST R 518962002 [Well rod pumps. General technical requirements. State Standard R 51896-2002], Moscow, 2002, 26 p. [In Russ].

2. Shishlyannikov D. I., Tyaktev M. M. Results of perspective drives of rod pumping units. Aktual'nye problemy povysheniya effektivnosti i bezopasnosti ekspluatatsii gornoshakhtnogo i neftepromyslovogo oborudovaniya. 2016, vol. 1, pp. 103—108. [In Russ].

3. Bilalova G. A. Glubinno-nasosnaya dobycha nefti s ispol'zovaniem shtangovykh i elektrotsentrobezhnykh nasosov [Deep-pumping extraction of oil using a sucker rod and electrical submersible pumps], Rostov, Feniks, 2020, 172 p.

4. Dolov T. R. Issledovanie raboty klapannykh uzlov skvazhinnykh shtangovykh nasosnykh ustanovok [A study of the operation of valve assemblies of downhole sucker rod pumping systems]: dissertatsiya ... kand. tekhn. nauk, Ukhta, UGTU, 2017.

5. Molchanov A.G. Ways of further sophistication of well rod pump rigs. Burenie i neft'. 2014, no. 2. [In Russ].

6. Nasretdinov M. R. Improving the efficiency of operation of rod depth pumps through the use of a magnetized valve seat. Sovremennye tekhnologii v neftegazovom dele—2018: Sbornik trudov Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii. T. 2. [Modern technologies in the oil and gas business-2018. Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. Vol. 2], Ufa, Izd-vo UGNTU, 2018, pp. 78—82.

7. Galimullin M. L., Gabdrakhimov M. S., Suleymanov R. I., Zaripova L. M., Ziyangirov A. R. Influence of a wide-pass valve on the supply of a deep pump. Oborudovanie i tekhnologii dlya neftegazovogo kompleksa. 2015, no. 4, pp. 22—27. [In Russ].

8. Dolov T. R., Ivanovskiy V. N., Merkushev S. V., Zhulanov A. V., Krasnoborov D. N. Fundamentals of selection of valve assemblies of downhole rod pumping units. Territoriya «NEFTEGAZ». 2018, no. 6, pp. 66—70. [In Russ].

9. Akanova G. K., Zaurbekov S. A. Improving the design of the valve Assembly of rod borehole pumps. Trudy Satpaevskikh chteniy «Satpaevskie chteniya-2020». T. 1 [Proceedings of Satpayev readings «Satpayev Readings-2020»], Almaty, KazNITU imeni Satpaeva, 2020, pp. 546—549. [In Russ].

10. Rybak B. M. Analiz nefti i nefteproduktov [Analysis of oil and petroleum products], Moscow, 1962, 887 p.

11. Zakharov A. V. Equation of dynamics of rod deep pumping units for oil production. Vestnik Gomel'skogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta im. P.O. Sukhogo. 2010, no. 1 (40), pp. 3—8. [In Russ].

12. Khafizov A. R. Research and improvement of the service life of sealing devices of machines and aggregates. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-tekhnicheskoy konferentsii, posvyashchennoy 50-letiyu IZHGTU [Materials of the International Scientific and Technical Conference dedicated to the 50th anniversary of IZHSTU] Izhevsk, IZHGTU, 2002, 168 p.

13. Bakhtizin R. N., Urazakov K. R., Latypov B. M., Ishmukhametov B. Kh., Narbutovskikh A. Yu. Influence of the shape of the regular microrelief of the plunger surface on leaks in the rod well pump. Neftyanoe khozyaystvo. 2017, no. 4, pp. 113—116. [In Russ].

14. Ponomarev A. K., Ryzhov E. V., Moiseev V. V. Experience of operation of spool valves of ESP and SHGN. Burenie i neft'. 2008, no. 3, pp. 46—48. [In Russ].

15. Gabdrakhimov M. Z., Zaripova L. M. The wide passage valve of the downhole plunger pump. Oborudovanie i tekhnologii neftegazovogo kompleksa. 2008, no. 5, pp. 20—23. [In Russ].

16. Ghareeb M., Beck A. Design of sucker rod pumping systems for effectively handling solids and sand. SPE International Production and Operations Conference & Exhibition, Doha, Qatar, Paper Number: SPE-157126-MS. 2012. DOI: 10.2118/157126-MS.

17. Patent US8061381B2. Sucker rod pump with improved ball and seat. 2011.11.22.

18. Zaurbekov S. A., Zaurbekov K. S., Balgaev D. E., Kadyrov Zh. N. Patent of the Republic of Kazakhstan no. 34582, 18.09.2020.

19. Smirnov L. V., Danilova N. V. Osnovy prikladnoy analiticheskoy gidromekhaniki napornogo techeniya neszhimaemoy zhidkosti: uchebnoe posobie [Fundamentals of applied analytical hydromechanics of pressure flow of incompressible fluid: textbook], Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhegorodskiy gosuniversitet, 2009, 65 p.

20. Aliev A., Rzayev A. H., Guluyev G. A., Alizada T. A., Rzayeva N. E. Robust technology and system for management of sucker rod pumping units in oil wells. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2018, vol. 99, pp. 47–56.

21. Weicheng Li, Shimin Dong, Xiurong Sun An improved sucker rod pumping system model and swabbing parameters optimized design. Journal Mathematical Problems in Engineering. 2018, vol. 2018, Article ID 4746210.

22. 30 vidov nasosov. Tipy nasosov. Ustroystvo i rabota nasosa. Сайт: www.arkronix.ru. [In Russ].