Numerical study on gas<b>–</b>liquid two phase flow characteristic of multistage electrical submersible pump by using a novel multiple-size group (MUSIG) model

Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) face enormous challenges in the petroleum industry while handling gas–liquid two-phase flow. The major difficulty is caused by accumulation of gas bubbles inside ESP-impellers, which results mild to severe degradation pump performance. Therefore, analyze influence entrainment and bubble size, a combination experimental numerical analysis performed on five-stage mixed-flow ESP present study. experiments are first conducted performance under pure water conditions at different rotating speeds, followed flow that constant speed (1475 r/min) for wide range inlet void fractions (IGVFs). For calculations, novel multiple-size group (MUSIG) model applied ANSYS CFX patterns IGVFs understand coalescence breakup phenomena impeller passage. simulation from MUSIG compared with Euler–Euler two-fluid test results. can more accurately predict changes internal flow-field conditions. Moreover, when used calculate ESP, first-stage has higher head than other stages because second affected disoriented coming diffuser return channels. Furthermore, this study gives an insight into comprehensive application complex turbo-machine designs such as ESP.