Increasing the operating time of pumping units of water-reducing wells through the use of self-cleaning filters

Relevance. At enterprises engaged in open-pit mining, water-reducing wells equipped with submersible installations of electric submersible pumps are widely used in drainage systems. A significant content of particles of mechanical impurities in the pumped-out well fluid causes intense hydro-abrasive wear of the working stages of the electric submersible pumps. Among the existing methods of combating hydro-abrasive wear of submersible pumps in water-reducing wells, the simplest, most economical and effective is the use of filters of various designs. An urgent task is to increase the operating time of submersible electric submersible pumps while reducing the time and costs for cleaning or replacing filters. Aim. Justification of the designs and operating parameters of a self-cleaning filter and tubing string extension included in the electric submersible pump assembly of a dewatering well. Methods. Static calculations of deformation of the tubing column and the tubing column extension under the influence of overpressure. Results and conclusions. The authors have carried out the analysis of an electric submersible pump functioning in the dewatering wells of quarries during the development of mineral deposits by the open method. It was revealed that the main reason for the failure of the electric submersible pumps is the hydro-abrasive wear of the working stages of the submersible pump. The authors propose a method to increase the operating time of the electric submersible pumps in dewatering wells complicated by intensive removal of particles of mechanical impurities by using a self-cleaning filter of the original design. It is noted that a promising direction of development of the drive for self-cleaning filters is the use of deformation of the tubing column. Based on the calculations carried out, it was concluded that the small depths of dewatering wells cause an insufficient amount of deformation of the tubing string to clean the filter element. To increase the length of the reciprocating movement of the electric submersible pumps relative to the production string of a dewatering well, it is proposed to use a tubing string extension of an original design. The operating parameters of the tubing string extension were calculated, which showed the possibility of providing the required amount of controlled reciprocating movement of the electric submersible pumps in the well to restore the throughput of a self-cleaning filter.