PNIPU: System of test-free control and monitoring of pump operation parameters

Main article: APCS - typical structure

2024: Announcement of the test-free control system and monitoring of pump operation parameters

On January 22, 2024, scientists from the Perm Polytechnic University announced the development of a system for sensor-free control and monitoring of pump operating parameters. According to PNIPU scientists, such a technology has not been used in the world before, it increases the reliability and energy efficiency of petroleum products production. The article was published in the journal "IEEE Sensors," 2024. The study was carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

As reported, as of January 2024, a large share of oil is produced using electric centrifugal pumps. All over the world, telemetry systems are used for their stable operation and control in real time, which measure all parameters of production processes (pressure, temperature, vibration, equipment operation). These are expensive complexes and if at least one measurement sensor is damaged, it will take time to repair and large financial costs. Therefore, it is important to minimize the use of measuring instruments.

Oil production by submersible pumping units as of January 2024 is the most common technology. With their help, about 80% of all oil is produced in Russia. An electric centrifugal pump is a key element of the plant that lifts fluid from the well to the surface.

As of January 2024, the only way to monitor all important indicators during production is to use telemetry systems. This is a whole technological complex that remotely measures and collects information for provision to a specialist. But numerous measuring instruments in an underground aggressive environment are easy to withdraw from building. To repair them, you need to raise all the equipment to the surface and lower it back, which is very costly and requires stopping the entire production process. During service operations, the well is not operated, which entails financial losses.

PNIPU scientists propose a way to control the operation of the pump underground using only two measurement sensors - current and voltage. To do this, two systems were developed: to monitor the oil flow rate and to indirectly estimate parameters based on the digital model of the electric centrifugal pump. Combining them is the basis of sensor-free control of the entire technological process. The plant itself consists of a large number of different elements - a control station, a transformer, a cable line, a submersible electric motor and pump pipes. The voltage from the transformer through the cable line is supplied to the motor winding, which spins up, activating the electric centrifugal pump. He, in turn, begins to pump oil from the well.

Polytechnians have built a comprehensive model on a computer that includes modeling this whole process. Based on it, an indirect control system was developed using a sigma-point Kalman filter. This filter, using differential equations, evaluates all the parameters of interest - currents, flow coupling, cable line resistance, load moment and shaft rotation speed of the submersible motor.

source = PNIPU

{{quote 'author
= said Rostislav Yudin, engineer of the Department of Microprocessor Automation Tools of the Perm Polytechnic "With current and voltage sensors, the values ​ ​ go to the input of the program, which filters them out, so we get a better signal. So we observe all the things we need parameters. The Kalman sigma point filter is integrated into the control system, which allows us to control the submersible electric motor without a sensor. As of January 2024, we have fully developed the software part of the control system, then we plan to check it for real data.}}

The target for an electric centrifugal pump is oil production. To control him, polytechnics developed an observation system based on a machine learning model. It predicts the current rate by engine shaft speed, shaft load moment, and oil density. The monitoring system together with the indirect estimation of parameters carry out the test-free control of the entire pumping unit.