Submersible pump with stage erosion control

A method, comprising:

• assembling an electric submersible pumping system having a submersible motor, a motor protector, and a submersible pump powered by the submersible motor;
• providing the submersible pump with a housing containing a plurality of stages arranged to pump well fluid, each stage having an impeller that discharges the well fluid into a corresponding diffuser, the impeller being mounted on a shaft and rotatable relative to the diffuser;
• and
• protecting each stage of the plurality of stages with an erosion control system positioned between the impeller and the diffuser to extend the life of the submersible pump,
• wherein the erosion control system includes:
• an impact wall, the impact wall having a constant distance from a centerline of the submersible pump, the impact wall including a first thickness extending along an inner surface of the housing and coupled by an inclined transition section to a wall of the diffuser downstream of the impact wall, the wall having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness, such that an undeviated fluid flow exiting the impeller directly impacts the impact wall;
• and
• a tubular protective sleeve disposed radially between the shaft and the diffuser, wherein the tubular protective sleeve axially abuts a first impeller of a first stage and a second impeller of a second stage, and wherein the tubular protective sleeve extends into a diffuser exit flow region.

An electric submersible pump comprising:

• a housing containing a plurality of stages, each stage comprising:
• an impeller;
• and
• a diffuser, wherein the impeller is disposed about a shaft and is configured to rotate relative to the diffuser, and wherein at least one of the plurality of stages comprises a tubular spacer disposed along an inner surface of the housing axially between consecutive diffusers, the tubular spacer including an inner surface a constant distance from a centerline of the electric submersible pump at a location where an undeviated fluid flow discharged from the impeller directly impacts the tubular spacer, a hardness of the tubular spacer is greater than a hardness of the diffuser;
• and
• a tubular protective sleeve disposed radially between the shaft and the diffuser, wherein the tubular protective sleeve axially abuts a first impeller of a first stage and a second impeller of a second stage, and wherein the tubular protective sleeve extends into a diffuser exit flow region.