A Non-Intrusive Condition Monitoring and Vibration Control System for Electric Submersible Pumps

Abstract

Abstract This paper addresses a condition monitoring and resonance mitigation method for electric submersible pumps (ESPs) based on motor intelligence. Condition monitoring has been an integral part of surface pump applications. Nonetheless, the majority of ESPs may only have a motor phase current and a process-related measurement, which do not directly indicate the operation efficiency and mechanical reliability. This gap is mainly due to the harsh operating environment for ESPs. We propose a condition monitoring method based on the motor intelligence available at the wellhead to detect the electrical, mechanical and process related issues. The proposed resonance mitigation method is based on adaptive tuning of the control parameters in the electric drives and is described in this paper. Finally, a case study is included supporting the validity of the condition monitoring method on detecting the electrical and mechanical faults on a VSD driven submersible pump.