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US 12,163,525 B2Granted
Subsea pump system with process lubricated bearings
AssigneeFSubsea AS
InventorsTerje Hollingsæter, Tommy Westberg, Christian Wik Høy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A subsea pump system includes a subsea centrifugal pump with a motor compartment and a process compartment. The subsea pump system further includes a liquid phase separator arranged downstream to the pump or downstream to at least one pump impeller. The liquid phase separator includes an inlet receiving the pressure boosted fluid, an outlet delivering a majority, or a minor part, of the pressure boosted fluid, and a liquid phase outlet, a liquid recirculation line, a flow mixer arranged on the inlet side of the pump, and a liquid lubricant line.
Claims13
A subsea pump system comprising:
- a subsea centrifugal pump with a motor compartment and a process compartment;
- wherein the motor compartment is separate from the process compartment and comprises an electric motor or stator driving a motor shaft;
- wherein the process compartment comprises a pump arranged on a pump rotor, an inlet for process fluid and an outlet for pressure boosted process fluid;
- and
- wherein the motor shaft via a coupling drives the pump rotor, the subsea pump system further comprising:
- a liquid phase separator arranged downstream to and outside of the pump, wherein the liquid phase separator separates the pressure boosted process fluid into two flows, namely one liquid phase flow containing some of the liquid of the pressure boosted process fluid and one flow containing a majority of the pressure boosted process fluid in the form of remaining liquid, any gas, and any solids, wherein the liquid phase separator comprises a housing with exterior fluid connections that consist of:
- an inlet receiving the pressure boosted process fluid from the outlet for pressure boosted process fluid of the process compartment;
- an outlet delivering the majority of the pressure boosted process fluid;
- and
- a liquid phase outlet;
- the subsea pump system further comprising:
- a process fluid flow mixer arranged in or upstream to the process fluid inlet of the process compartment of the pump;
- a liquid recirculation line arranged from the liquid phase outlet of the liquid phase separator positioned downstream to the process compartment of the pump, to the process fluid flow mixer;
- and
- a liquid lubricant line arranged from the liquid recirculation line or the liquid phase separator, to the process compartment for lubricating one or more process compartment bearings.
12 more elements
A method for lubricating at least one bearing in a process compartment of a subsea pump system comprising a subsea centrifugal pump with a motor compartment and the process compartment, the method comprising:
- pressure boosting a process fluid by the subsea centrifugal pump or at least one impeller thereof;
- separating out two flows from the pressure boosted process fluid, namely one liquid flow with some of the pressure boosted liquid phase from the pressure boosted process fluid and one majority flow containing a majority of the pressure boosted fluid in the form of liquid, any gas and any solids, in a liquid phase separator arranged downstream to and outside of the subsea centrifugal pump, wherein the liquid phase separator comprises a housing with exterior fluid connections consisting of an inlet, an outlet and a liquid phase outlet;
- discharging the separated-out liquid flow into a liquid recirculation line arranged from the liquid phase outlet of the liquid phase separator to a flow mixer arranged on an inlet side of the subsea centrifugal pump;
- and
- directing a flow of liquid fluid as lubricant to the at least one process compartment bearing, via a liquid lubricant line arranged from the liquid recirculation line.
2 more elements
A subsea pump system comprising:
- a subsea centrifugal pump with a motor compartment and a process compartment;
- wherein the motor compartment is separate from the process compartment and comprises an electric motor or stator driving a motor shaft via a coupling;
- wherein the process compartment comprises a pump arranged on a pump rotor, an inlet for process fluid and an outlet for pressure boosted fluid;
- and
- a liquid phase separator arranged downstream to and outside of the pump, the liquid phase separator comprises a housing with exterior fluid connections consisting of:
- an inlet receiving pressure boosted process fluid
- from at least one impeller;
- an outlet delivering a majority of the pressure boosted process fluid, said majority of the pressure boosted process fluid comprising liquid, any gas and any solids;
- and
- a liquid phase outlet, delivering some of the pressure boosted liquid of the pressure boosted process fluid, separated out from the pressure boosted process fluid;
- the subsea pump system further comprising:
- a liquid recirculation line;
- a process fluid flow mixer arranged on the inlet side of a process compartment of the pump, wherein the liquid recirculation line is arranged from the liquid phase outlet to the process fluid flow mixer;
- and
- a liquid lubricant line arranged from the liquid phase outlet, the liquid recirculation line or other location containing some of said pressure boosted liquid to one or more process compartment bearings, directly or via other equipment, for lubricating the one or more process compartment bearings.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.