PR-471-14207-R01 Development of Field Pump Performance Testing Procedure

Performance testing pumps in the field can be challenging and even more complicated when the pump is in crude oil pipeline service. Pumps installed in crude oil pipelines normally do not meet the basic requirements set forth in typical pump testing standards, additionally crude oil fluid properties are irregular, thus making it difficult to obtain the desired accuracy for proper evaluation and comparison to factory tests. All inconsistencies need to be evaluated and reconciled to successfully field performance test pumps pumping viscous fluid. The objective of this project is to develop a practical field test procedure that can be applied to large high volume centrifugal pumps in pipelines transporting viscous fluids, specifically crude oil. There are many variables affecting field performance testing of crude oil pipeline pumps making it nearly impossible to fully analyze all possible combination of test measurements. The field pump performance test procedure provides practical guidance to assess the potential uncertainty of the measurements and making sensible corrections. Using the field testing procedure actual pump viscous performances can be measured and the results used to validate performances measured during factory tests on water and corrected for viscosity per the Hydraulic Institute (HI) 9.6.7, “Effects of Liquid Viscosity on Rotordynamic Pump Performance”. The long term goal is to utilize the measured viscous performances using the field pump performance testing procedure to either validate or improve the current correlations between pump water performance and viscous performance set forth by HI, which are principally based on smaller pump tests. By assuring the viscous corrections are correct the pump and drive system sizing may be optimized.