SIMULATION OF GAS-LIQUID FLOW AT THE INTAKE OF ELECTRIC CENTRIFUGAL PUMPING UNITS WITH WIRE-FRAME FILTER

Relevance. Up to date, one of the most unfavorable factors complicating artificial oil lift is the interaction of mechanical impurities carried by production fluid with downhole equipment assemblies. According to statistical studies, mechanical impurities are the determining cause of malfunctions in the electric-centrifugal pump units operation. Object: wire-wound screen with the best hydraulics compared to other types of mechanical filters. Despite its widespread use, today there is no generally accepted method for calculating the operating practices of wells equipped with electric-centrifugal pumps with mechanical filters. At the same time, paper shows that mechanical filters, due to hydraulic resistance, have a significant effect on the geometry of the fluid flow lines in the pump suction area, therefore, the gas phase and the fraction of mechanical impurities moving in the flow. Purpose: investigation of the influence of the hydraulic characteristics of mechanical filters on the features of the flow of pumped-out products in the electric-centrifugal pump interval; development of a mathematical model of multicomponent gas-liquid flow containing mechanical impurities in the interval of receiving electric-centrifugal pumping unit equipped with a wire-wound screen. Results. It was shown that for a pump with a wire-wound screen due to the hydraulic resistance created by it, the intake interval works more evenly, and as the hydraulic parameter decreases, a more uniform profile of the radial fluid inflow in the pump suction area is achieved. The features of the flow of gas bubbles and suspended particles of mechanical impurities moving in the flow of liquid in the area of the pump suction area are investigated. It is shown that the conditions for gas separation at the intake, as well as the distribution of the concentration of mechanical impurities, change when the hydraulic characteristics of the screen in the pump are varied, which must be taken into account when designing the well operation parameters. The influence of the filter hydraulic characteristics on the value of pressure losses during liquid flow through the filter element is investigated.