Progressive Cavity Pumps History

Progressive cavity pumps history

by

Ron J. Brillz

The PCP pump has a substantial history. It was invented and designed in the late 1920\’s by the Frenchman Rene Moineau.

Moineau set out to create a rotary compressor and in the process produced a new rotary mechanism to be used for the use of variations in the pressure of a fluid, which he called \”capsulism\”. His target was to make it achievable to use this capsulism in pumps, compressors, or motors.

In the early 1930\’s, the Progressive Cavity Pump’s principle patent was licensed to three companies: PCM-Pompes of France, Mono Pumps Ltd. Of England, and Robbins & Myers, Inc. Of the United States. Over time, other smaller pump companies have manufactured spin-offs of the Moineau principle.

The Moineau principle has been implimented in many industries in a broad variety of applications since its licensing. It has been employed as a pump in just about every industry: chemical, coal, food, metal working, mining, paper, petroleum, textile, tobacco, and water and waste water treatment. In the petroleum industry, the PCP pump has been used as a surface transfer pump for over 50 years.

In the mid- 1950\’s, the progressive cavity pump principle was applied to hydraulic motor applications by reversing the function of the progressing cavity pump. The device was then being moved by fluid as opposed to pumping fluid. With the pump elements being driven by drilling mud or other fluids, it became the primary mover for drill motors. The Moineau principle is at present being widely employed in the petroleum drilling industry.

Then in the early 1980’s, the progressive cavity pump was used as an artificial lift method in the petroleum industry. Robbins & Meyers, Inc. Of the United States has to be credited with being the first to apply the Moineau principle to artificial lift in the petroleum industry. They became the first PCP pump producer to market the pump as an option to conventional lift methods and to establish a new marketplace for the PCP pump. Since the mid-1980\’s, other manufacturers have come into into this marketplace, expanding the acceptance of the product by the oil and gas industry.

The pump is applied to artificial lift by attaching the pump parts to the tubing and rod string. The stator is run on the end of the tubing, and the rotor is attached to the bottom of the rod string and landed in the stator. The rods and rotor are rotated through a wellhead drive assembly that is designed to carry the weight of the rod and the fluid column.

Currently, the PCP pump is being extensively employed for lifting fluids from depths of 6,000 ft. And deeper in oil and gas wells. Progressive cavity pumps gives to the petroleum industry a great number of advantages over traditional lift equipment, of which the most significant is reducing the cost per barrel lifted.

A progressive cavity pump also can behave as a motor when fluid is pumped through the inside. Applications include well drilling.

Progressive cavity pumps are also frequently referred to by the specific manufacturer or product names. It is not uncommon to have people refer to them as Moineau pump, Mono pump, Twister pump etc. The Twister PCP pump is a modern pump produced by Canam Pipe & supply.

This short article is kindly provided from the author’s seminars. Visit the

progressive cavity pumps

website to discover more about Canam’s own PCP system (the Twister), or the main

oilfield equipment

website.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com