Study of Non-Newtonian Flow Inside a Centrifugal Pump Impeller Using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)

• Grant number: 25/02114-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Transport Phenomena
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Souza de Castro
• Grantee: Guilherme Yoshito Shimada
• Host Institution: Centro de Estudos de Energia e Petróleo (CEPETRO). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Company: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica (FEM)
• Associated research grant: 17/15736-3 - Engineering Research Centre in Reservoir and Production Management, AP.PCPE

Abstract

In a scenario of insufficient oil production, with a projected deficit of 80 to 105 millionbarrels per day by 2050 (Equinor, 2019), it is evident that enhancing technologies to increase oilsupply, reduce energy consumption, and lower CO2 emissions is essential. This is particularlyrelevant in the context of pumping viscous fluids, a condition that can significantly degrade theperformance of pumps in Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) systems (Gülich, 2008). Thesesystems are used as an artificial lift method in offshore production, where the fluids producedby a reservoir must flow from the wellbore to surface production facilities.Another critical situation affecting pump performance is the addition of polymers aimedat increasing oil production. This injection results in a non-Newtonian fluid with behavior vastlydifferent from that of the pure oil. The impact of this type of fluid on pumps has not yet beenthoroughly studied, but recent works show significant differences in velocity fields afterpolymer addition (Xi, 2019; Farsiani et al., 2020).A reliable and precise method for measuring flow velocities within pumps is throughvisualization techniques such as the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). This technique has beenapplied to investigate single-phase water flows and two-phase flows with the presence of gas oroil in pumps (Perissinotto et al., 2021). The research conducted thus far has been fundamental inproviding a better understanding of pump behavior and performance when operating with thesefluids. However, literature lacks visualization studies focused on non-Newtonian flows inpumps. This highlights an opportunity to further study this topic through experimental research.The proposed study focuses on experimentally analyzing velocity fields/profiles inside aradial impeller of a centrifugal pump operating with non-Newtonian fluid using measurementsin a transparent pump prototype and adopting the PIV technique.