Study and modernization of the mud pump valve unit design

Abstract

Piston drilling pumps, the main part of which is hydraulic, are widely used in the process of drilling wells for oil and gas. It determines the efficiency, reliability and durability of the pump in general. In recent years, the depth of drilling wells in Ukraine and abroad has increased, which requires the use of more powerful drilling pumps and is accompanied by increased operating pressures. The load on the hydraulic part increases, and this has a negative effect on the operation of the valve assemblies of the pump. Valves are one of the most responsible and fast-wearing units in the hydraulic part of the drilling pump. The frequency of maintenance of the pump de-pends on their resource. Analysis of drill pump valve designs and operating conditions showed that despite the wide range, their service life remains quite low. Therefore, there is a need for further studies of valve designs and their moderniza-tion. It is known that one of the reasons that leads to the destruction of the valve parts is the ingress of abrasive particles from the flushing fluid into the gap between the plate and the seat. This accelerates the destruction of the cuff first, and then the valve. To avoid this phenomenon, it is proposed to use an improved valve design, the inner surface of the sealing sleeve of which is cylindrical. The cuff of this design will be deformed in the vertical direc-tion, without forming a gap with the valve plate. To confirm the operability of the proposed design of the cuff, a three-dimensional model of the valve was built and a simulation study was conducted. The results of this study confirmed the effectiveness of this design and a significant increase in the life of the valve assembly.