• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.7-15
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• 2023

The electric submersible pump (ESP) has been operating in production wells around the world because of its high applicability and operational efficiency among artificial lift techniques. When operating an ESP in a reservoir, variables such as temperature, pressure, gas/oil ratio, and flow rate are factors that affect ESP performance. In particular, free gas in the production fluid is a major factor that reduces the life and operational efficiency of ESP. This study presents the flow loop system which can implement the performance and damage tests of ESP considering field operating conditions to quantitatively analyze the variables that affect ESP performance. The developed apparatus in an integrated system that can diagnose the failure and causes of ESP, and detect leak of tubing by linking ESP and tubing as one system. In this study, the flow conditions for stable operation of ESP were identified through single phase and two phase flow experiments related to evaluation for the performance of ESP. The results provide the basic data to develop the failure prediction and diagnosis program of ESP, and are expected to be used for real-time monitoring for optimal operating conditions and failure diagnosis for ESP operation.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2024

Recently, development of non-traditional energy such as oil sands has been actively conducted in the cold region such as Canada. Frozen soil has different thermal and mechanical characteristics from general soil due to its high organic contents. This study evaluated the impact of organic matter content on the thermal and mechanical behavior of frozen soil samples collected from Alberta, Canada, and Gangwon Province, South Korea. As the organic content increases, the maximum dry unit weight decreases and the optimum moisture content increases in compaction tests. In uniaxial compression tests under frozen conditions, the strength of the frozen specimens increased as the temperature decreased. The strength of Canada soil sample increased with higher organic matter content at low temperatures. However, the strength of frozen soil was not significantly affected by organic matter content due to the complex behavior and unfrozen water content. Thermal conductivity tests showed higher thermal conductivity in frozen conditions compared to unfrozen conditions, due to the higher thermal conductivity of ice compared to water. These findings provide essential data for geotechnical design and construction in large-scale projects such as oil sands development in cold regions. Further research is needed to explore the impact of organic matter content on different types of frozen soils.