Review of Electrical-Submersible-Pump
Surging Correlation and Models
Jose Gamboa and Mauricio Prado, The University of Tulsa
Summary
Head deterioration observed in electrical submersible pumps
(ESPs) under two-phase flow is mild until a sudden performance
breakdown is observed in the pump head curve at a certain volu-
metric gas fraction. This critical condition is termed surging. Con-
sequently, the head that the pump generates with two-phase flow
depends on whether the stages operate under conditions before
(mild performance deterioration) or after (severe performance
deterioration) the surging point.
The surging, for engineering purposes, can be predicted by
published correlations, but the lack of a theoretical basis is a limit-
ing factor for their application. Mechanistic models seem to be the
proper alternative. However, the poor understanding of the physical
mechanism that causes the surging hinders the development of such
mechanistic models. This paper reviews some of these correlations
and mechanistic models by comparing the correlation predictions
against experimental data acquired in a closed loop with water and
air using a commercial 24-stage ESP. The data cover a wide range
of volumetric gas fractions, rotational speeds, and intake pressures.
As a consequence of this analysis, a new correlation has been for-
mulated. This correlation predicts the initiation of the surging as a
function of rotational speed and fluid properties.
Introduction
Lea and Bearden (1982) classified the two-phase performance of
an ESP into four categories: nongas interference, gas interference,
intermittent gas lock, and gas lock. The operating condition that
marked the onset of the intermittent gas-locking regime was termed
the surging point by these authors. The initiation of the surging
point then became important for practical purposes because the
instability on the pump operation coincided with the surging.
Sachdeva (1990) hypothesized that the surging occurred once
the gas velocity into the impeller became zero, which led to the
formation of a stagnant gas pocket at the impeller inlet region. The
initiation of the surging is then a consequence of the gas-pocket
formation. Sachdeva (1990) proposed that the surging could be
determined by forcing the gas velocity to zero in his mechanis-
tic model of the pump head. This mechanistic model is a 1D
approximation of the fluid flow through the impeller and diffuser
based on a two-phase-model approach. A closure relationship is
then required for obtaining a numerical solution to the problem.
Sachdeva (1990) proposed a ratio of drag coefficient to bubble size
as the closure relationship. He noticed that the model predictions
fall off from the experimental data when well-known correlations
for drag coefficient in an infinite medium [see, for example, Ishii
and Zuber (1979)] were used for predicting the two-phase pump
performance with his model. Sachdeva (1990) then proposed a
new closure relationship that is based on the experimental data,
which improved the model predictions. It implied that the model
cannot be used unless experimental data are available for verifying
Sachdevas ratio of drag coefficient to bubble size correlation.
Barrios (2007) observed that bubbles were dragged from one
channel to the other by a severe liquid recirculation between impel-
ler channels. This caused an increase of the local gas void fraction,
Copyright 2011 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 140937) was accepted for presentation at the SPE Production and
Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, 2729 March 2011, and
revised for publication. Original manuscript received for review 24 January 2011. Revised
manuscript received for review 4 May 2011. Paper peer approved 21 June 2011.
314
which cannot be captured for the Sachdeva (1990) model because
of the assumption that fluid flows in streamlines.
Minemura and Uchiyama (1993) observed that the initiation of
surging point is caused by a flow-pattern transition from a bubbly
flow to slug-flow-like flow pattern. By analogy to two-phase flow
in pipe, Minemura and Uchiyama (1993) argued that it may occur
at a certain critical gas void fraction. On the basis of simulations,
Minemura and Uchiyama (1993) realized that the critical gas void
fraction at which the surging occurred changed as a function of
liquid-flow rate. Then, the critical gas fraction could not be deter-
mined on the basis of operating conditions and geometry alone,
but experimental data are required.
Estevam (2002) conducted the first visualization study of fluid
flow into an ESP impeller. Estevam (2002) classified the pump
operation in bubbly flow, transition flow, and elongated-bubble
flow. The initiation of the surging is then defined as the transition
between bubbly flow and the transition regime. Estevam (2002)
observed that the bubble size varied with the volumetric gas frac-
tion and that it reached a critical size between 2 and 3 mm at the
initiation of the surging point.
On the basis of observations in Estevam (2002), Prado (2005)
proposed that the initiation of the surging point may be related
to the bubble size and the forces that act on bubbles into the
impeller. Applying Newtons second law and instability theory of
ordinary differential equations, Prado (2005) studied the condi-
tion that triggers the instability on the radial position of a bubble
in a centrifugal field. Prado (2005) demonstrates that bubbles of
a certain size cannot escape the impeller because the buoyancy
force overcomes the drag force, reaching an equilibrium position
(similar to that of a satellite around the Earth) into the impeller.
The radial position of a bubble with a size larger than the critical
size becomes instable, causing it to flow back to the impeller eye.
Prado (2005) hypothesized that the surging point may be initiated
by those bubbles flowing backward, which may increase the num-
ber of collisions between bubbles, leading to their coalescence and
creating the gas pocket.
Barrios (2007) followed the approach of Prado (2005) and
demonstrated that the surging is not initiated by bubbles orbiting
at radial position equivalent to the outer impeller diameter, as origi-
nally proposed by Prado (2005). Barrios (2007) showed that the
surging is triggered by bubbles that reach a radial equilibrium posi-
tion at the inlet of the impeller channel. Besides, the experimental
data show that surging occurs only when bubbles reach a certain
critical size, confirming the observations of Estevam (2002). Bar-
rios (2007) proposed that the critical volumetric gas fraction (C)
that leads to the surging can be predicted from Eq. 1:
3/ 5
 1
d b _ surge = 0.0348 N 0.8809C1/ 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
l (N r )
3 2 2/ 5
1
In Eq. 1, r1 is the impeller channel inlet radius and N is the pump
rotational speed. The critical bubble size at the surging (db_surge)
can be obtained from Eq. 2, which describes the radial equilibrium
position of a bubble in a rotating field:
3 m
( 2 N )2 r1 ( l g ) (Vrl )2 CD = 0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
4 d b _ surg
The model of Barrios (2007) underpredicts by orders of mag-
nitude the critical volumetric gas fraction at the surging-point
initiation.
November 2011 SPE Production & Operations
 TABLE 1SURGING CORRELATIONS
Researcher Correlation

Turpin et al. (1986) 2000 qg

Turpin = (original)
3Pi ql
Dunbar (1989), 1
Pessoa (2001) qg 1.724
Pi = 935
ql
Cirilo (1998) C = 0.0187Pi 0.4342
Romero (1999) C = 0.004 (Pi 14.7 )
0.6801

Estevam (2002) ISS = 31.92 32.15 (1 C ) (first stage)

ISS = 77.44 75.92 (1 C ) (second stage)

Duran (2003) C3 C1 = 5.580
qg g q
= C1 + C2 l C2 = 0.098
qmax l q m ax C3 = 1.421
Zapata (2003) q
C1 l
qg q C1 = 0.027
= max
qmax q C2 = 0.9001
C2 + l
q max

Gamboa (2009) continued the visualization work conducted
by Barrios (2007) in the impeller channel of an ESP pump. He
concluded that the initiation of the surging is associated with the
gas-pocket formation, as mentioned by Murakami and Minemura
(1974). However, the gas-pocket behavior depends of the liquid-
flow rate. At liquid-flow rates higher than the best efficiency point
(BEP), the gas pocket is unstable (it is formed and is broken up)
and it reaches stability only at higher volumetric gas fraction than
that at the surging initiation. On the other hand, the gas pocket
is stable for liquid-flow rate equal to or smaller than the BEP. At
higher volumetric gas fraction than that at the surging initiation,
the gas pocket can be segregated at the top shroud, resembling
stratified flow in pipes. Experiments in Gamboa (2009) indicated
that the gas-pocket formation is a function of stage intake pressure,
rotational speed, gas density, and surface tension.
The lack of a suitable mechanistic model for predicting surging
has motivated the development of correlations. Table 1 summa-
rizes some of these correlations, which are obtained from multi-
variable regression analysis of experimental data.
Fig. 1 compares the performance of these correlations for a
generic pump at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig, handling air and water
[The correlation of Estevam (2002) is not included in the analysis
because it is not clear from this study how to calculate the critical
bubble at the surging.] In this figure, one can observe that correla-
tions such as Turpin et al. (1986), Dunbar (1989), Cirilo (1998),
and Romero (1999) predict a critical volumetric gas fraction that
is independent of the liquid-flow rate and rotational speed, while
Duran (2003) and Zapata (2003) show gas volume fraction at the
surging initiation that is a function of the liquid-flow rate. How-
ever, these two correlations exhibit different behaviors, which is

30

Zapata (2003)
25
Critical Volumetric Gas Fraction - c , %

Turpin et al. (1986)

20

Cirilo (1998)
15
Romero
(1999)
10
Duran (2003)

5
Dunbar (1989)
Barrios (2007)

0
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
Liquid Flow Rate, B/D

Fig. 1Surging-correlations comparison for a generic pump at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig with air and water.

November 2011 SPE Production & Operations 315

 140

Romero (1999)

Critical Volumetric Gas Fraction - c , %

120

100
Dunbar (1989)

80
Turpin et al. (1986) Cirilo (1998)

60

40
Duran (2003)

Barrios (2007)
20 Zapata (2003)

0
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
Inlet Pressure, psig

Fig. 2Surging-correlations comparison for a generic pump at 2,400 rev/min and 4,300 B/D with air and water.

a strong indication that the criterion to determine the initiation of
surging experimentally may differ between these two authors.
The critical volumetric gas fraction predicted by these cor-
relations as a function of the inlet pressure is compared in Fig 2.
Note that the correlation of Zapata (2003) is independent of the
inlet pressure, so a constant value is obtained. The remaining cor-
relations show trends that differ from each other. Romero (1999)
predicts critical volumetric gas fraction above 100% for pressure
above 3,500 psig. Currently, there is no experimental evidence that
supports the high critical volumetric-gas-fraction values predicted
by the correlations of Turpin (1986), Dunbar (1989), and Cirilo
(1998). All of these correlations are independent of the fluid
properties, except that of Duran (2003) in which the ratio of the
gas density to the liquid density is included.
The differences between these correlations mean that the main
mechanism that initiates the surging in the pump performance and
causes the pump-head breakdown is currently unknown. Therefore,
most of the mechanistic models and correlations formulated for pre-
dicting this transition have a strong empirical component, and their
application to different fluids and pump models is questionable.
In part, this problem is caused by a lack of experimental data
and local measurements of variables such as gas void fraction,
liquid and gas velocities, pressures, and bubble size, which hinders
the development of a mechanistic model. This study intends to
shed light on the problem by presenting experimental data acquired
from the 10th stage of a 24-stage commercial ESP handling air
and water.
Experiments
Experimental Setup. The experimental tests for this study were
carried out in the facility shown in Fig 3. It consists of a 150-hp
two-stage centrifugal pump that serves as booster pump for the
facility and which is connected to a 500-bbl bolted tank. A Coriolis
flowmeter (M-1) at the discharge of the booster pump measures

Vented
Air

Horizontal
Separator
Water

Air + Water

VCF-2
Booster

Water
ESP VCF-3

M-1 Air + Water

Storage tank
Air

VCF-1
M-2

Fig. 3Experimental-facility layout.

316 November 2011 SPE Production & Operations

 13
Single Phase Operating
Window-Lower
11 Limit
9
q gd = 0.01
q gd = 0.02
7
Pressure Increment, psi
5 q gd = 0.03
3 q gd =0.04
1 0 q gd = 0.05
2,000
3 q gd = 0.10
5 q gd = 0.15
Liquid Flow Rate, B/D
Fig. 4Stage performance curve from mapping-test procedure at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig.
the water density and mass rate. The water-flow rate is regulated
by the pneumatic valve (VCF-2) and manual bypass valve in the
pump recirculation line.
The air is supplied from a group of high-pressure bottles. These
bottles are charged by a stationary air compressor up to a pressure
of 800 psig. The pneumatic valve (VCF-1) regulates the air-flow
rate coming from the bottles. The density and mass rate of air are
measured by another Coriolis flowmeter (M-2) upstream of the
pneumatic valve (VCF-1). The air is injected into an ESP inlet
pipeline 10 ft from the pump intake. Downstream, the gas and liquid
mixture is discharged into a horizontal separator, where the air is
vented and the water flows back to the storage tank [for a detailed
description of the facility, see Pessoa (2001) and Duran (2003)].
The pump tested is a 24-stage mixed-flow-type commercial
ESP, commonly used in the production of heavy-oil and gassy
wells. At the BEP, this pump can handle 6,480 B/D and can gen-
erate up to 15.5 psig per stage at 3,600 rev/min with water. Its
specific speed is estimated at 3,300 rev/min. The pump is instru-
mented with a differential-pressure transmitter located at the 10th
stage in order to measure the stage head. The stage inlet pressure
is measured by an absolute-pressure transmitter, while temperature
transmitters are installed at the pump inlet and discharge. A torque
cell on the ESP drive shaft is used for measuring rotational speed
and torque [for further description of this instrumentation arrange-
ment, see Pessoa (2001) and Duran (2003)].
Experimental Program. The experimental matrix is based on two
parameters: normalized gas rate (qgd) and normalized liquid rate
(qld). The normalized gas-flow rate (qgd) is defined as
qg
qgd = , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
qmax
where qg is gas-flow rate at stage intake condition and qmax is the
single-phase open-valve flow rate at given rotational speed. The
single-phase open valve corresponds to the water-flow rate at
zero pressure increment at given rotational speed. The normalized
liquid-flow rate qld is given by
November 2011 SPE Production & Operations
Operating
Window-Upper
BEP Limit
4,000 6,000 8,000
q gd = 0.08
q gd = 0.12
ql
qld = , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4)
qmax
where ql is actual liquid-flow rate.
The tests used two different procedures: mapping test and
surging test. In the mapping-test procedure, the two-phase perfor-
mance curve is obtained by continuously reducing the normalized
liquid-flow rate, while the normalized gas-flow rate, the rotational
speed, and the intake pressure are fixed at their setting values. In
the surging-test procedure, the two-phase performance curve is
obtained by continuously increasing the normalized gas-flow rate,
while the normalized liquid-flow rate, the rotational speed, and the
intake pressure are held at their setting values. The test is stopped
once volumetric gas fraction is greater than 70% in both cases.
Based on the normalized gas- and liquid-flow rates, an experi-
mental matrix with 128 performance curves was carried out at
inlet pressure between 150 and 250 psig and rotational speeds
between 1,500 and 3,000 rev/min. Some of the experimental results
obtained are presented in Figs. 4 and 5.
Fig. 4 presents mapping-test performance curves at 150 psig,
2,400 rev/min, and normalized gas rate between 0.01 and 0.15.
Each curve represents the stage pressure increment as a function
of liquid-flow rate at a constant volumetric in-situ gas-flow rate,
rotational speed, and inlet pressure. Dashed lines have been added
to this figure to indicate the manufacturer-recommended operating
window and the BEP, respectively.
Observe that the difference between the single-phase and two-
phase performance curves is clearer as normalized gas-flow rate
is increased. As observed in the single-phase performance curve,
the stage pressure increment increases as the liquid-flow rate is
reduced in the two-phase performance curves. At a certain liquid-
flow rate, a sudden breakdown on the stage pressure increment is
observed. This operating condition marks the surging-point onset.
The surging-point onset moves toward higher liquid-flow rates
as the normalized gas-flow rate is increased. Similar results are
obtained at other rotational speeds and stage intake pressures, as
mentioned in Gamboa (2009).
317
 10

8 q Id = 0.4

q Id = 0.5
6

q Id = 0.6
p , psi

4
q Id = 0.7

2 q Id = 0.8

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

2
, %

Fig. 5Stage performance curves from surging-test procedure at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig.

The performance curves at 150 psig using the surging-test proce-
dure are presented in Fig. 5 for a rotational speed of 2,400 rev/min
and normalized liquid rates between 0.4 and 0.8. The pressure incre-
ment at zero volumetric gas fraction corresponds to the single-phase
condition; therefore, a higher stage pressure increment is observed
as normalized liquid rate is reduced. The performance remains equal
to the single-phase performance for volumetric gas fractions smaller
than 2%, which may vary depending on the liquid-flow rate. Next,
the performance deteriorates at a constant rate until the initiation
of surging occurs. At this operating condition, the stage pressure
increment has dropped approximately 20%, as compared with the
pressure increment developed under single-phase condition.
Immediately after the surging point occurs, the stage pressure
increment quickly falls down in a short range of volumetric gas
fractions. Notice that the surging-point initiation occurs at higher
volumetric gas fractions for normalized liquid-flow rate located at
the right-hand side of the BEP. However, the pressure increment
becomes zero at smaller volumetric gas fraction for these liquid-
flow rates.
Experimental Surging Points. The experimental critical volumet-
ric gas fractions at the surging-point onset for different rotational
speeds at 150 psig are presented in Fig. 6. The BEP of the pump
tested is located at approximately 0.6 normalized liquid-flow rate.

25 Zapata (2003)

20 Turpin et al. (1986)

Critical Volumetric Gas Fraction c , %

Cirilo (1998)
Duran (2003)
15

Romero (1999)

10
Dunbar (1989)
3,000 rev/min
2,400 rev/min
5
1,800 rev/min
1,500 rev/min
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Normalized Liquid Rate, fraction

Fig. 6Critical volumetric gas fraction at 150 psig.

318 November 2011 SPE Production & Operations

 (c) (b) (a)
P
(4)
(1)
(2)
(3)
q ld
(a)
P (c)
(a)
(1)
(2)
(b)
(3)
(b)
Fig. 7(a) Mapping-test performance curve at constant rotational speed and stage intake pressure. (b) Surging-test performance
curve at constant rotational speed and stage intake pressure.
The data show that the surging-point onset is reached at volumet-
ric gas fraction between 10 and 15% at liquid-flow rates at the
right-hand side of the BEP, while the surging occurs at critical
volumetric gas fraction as low as 3% for flow rates located at the
left-hand side of the BEP. The data also demonstrate that faster
rotational speeds increase the gas volume fraction at which the
surging initiates.
The predictions from the Table 1 surging correlations are plot-
ted in the same figure for comparison purposes. Note that the
correlations of Turpin et al. (1986) and Cirilo (1998) predict a
critical volumetric gas fraction that is independent of the liquid-
flow rate, while the values predicted are larger than any of the val-
ues measured experimentally. The correlations of Dunbar (1989)
and Romero (1999) are also independent of the liquid-flow rate;
however, these correlations provide predictions that fall within the
range of the experimental data.
The correlation of Duran (2003) captures the dependency of
liquid-flow rate observed in the experimental data, but the trend
differs from that obtained experimentally. The correlation of Zapata
(2003) shows the best performance. Although this correlation
matches the experimental data, the model predicts a volumetric gas
fraction of infinity for the initiation of the surging at 0.75 normal-
ized liquid-flow rate. None of the correlations evaluated capture the
effect of rotational speed shown by the experimental data.
Pump-Performance Regimes. Fig. 7 is a representation of the
performance curves obtained using surging-test and mapping-
November 2011 SPE Production & Operations
Single-Phase Performance
Mapping Test Two-Phase
Performance
Surging Initiation Loci
Experimental Surging Initiation
Experimental Point from Mapping Test
Second Transition Onset
Third Transition Onset
q ld,1 > qld,2 > qld,3
q ld,1 (a)
q ld,2 (b)
q ld,3 (c)
Surging Initiation Loci
Experimental Surging Initiation
Experimental Point from
Mapping Test
test procedures. In these figures, the circled points represent the
operating conditions where the initiation of the surging occurs.
The dotted line across the circled points corresponds to the surg-
ing-initiation loci for different liquid-flow rates and volumetric
gas fractions.
The diamond and squared points (termed second and third) in
Fig. 7a are the other discontinuities observed on the mapping-test
performance curve. The vertical dashed lines a, b, and c in this
figure are liquid-flow rates at which the performance curves (using
the surging-test procedure) are obtained, while the triangle points
1, 2, and 3 are operating conditions at which both tests coincide
in the gas- and liquid-flow rates.
The surging coincides with the maximum pressure increment
(P) developed by the stage in the mapping-test performance
curve, which corresponds to Point 4 in Fig. 7a. It means that
the operating condition at Point 1 is in the regime that precedes
the surging, Point 2 is in the regime that follows the surging, and
Point 3 is in the regime that is enclosed by the third discontinuity
in the pump head.
The determination of the surging initiation from the surging-test
performance curve is more complicated because it corresponds to
operating conditions where the curve curvature changes (Gamboa
2009). It implies that the deterioration rate is constant at gas
volume fractions smaller than that at the surging initiation. Then,
the deterioration rate becomes a function of the volumetric gas
fraction. The initiation of the surging is represented in Fig. 7b as
circled points for three normalized liquid-flow rates: qld,1, qld,2, and
319
 1.20

Open Flow Negative Pump Head

1.00

Mid Performance
Normalized Liquid Rate
0.80 Deterioration Surging

Single Phase Performance

Performance Reverse Slope
0.60

Second Boundary

0.40
Severe Performance Deterioration

Third Boundary
0.20

Nil Performance
0.00
0 0.05 0.1 0.15
Normalized Gas Rate

Fig. 8Pump two-phase operating regimes at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig.

qld,3. Note that these points correspond to the same circled point in
Fig. 7a for the liquid-flow rates at Lines a, b, and c. Thus, qld,1 is the
largest normalized liquid-flow rate, while qld,3 is the smallest.
When Operating Conditions 1, 2, and 3 are mapped onto the
surging performance curves, Operating Condition 1 is again in the
regime that precedes the surging initiation. However, Operating
Conditions 2 and 3 are both in the regime that follows the surg-
ing. Nevertheless, the performance deterioration after the surging
is greater in Curve c than that of Curve b, which coincides with
the pressure-increment performance observed in the mapping-test
performance curve. This implies that the second and third boundar-
ies are transitions between a mild head deterioration regime to two
other regimes that differ from each other.
Fig. 8 illustrates how the two-phase stage performance is brack-
eted by these discontinuities. In this figure, the points represent the
normalized liquid- and gas-flow rates where the discontinuity is
identified from the experimental data. The dashed lines illustrate
the trend followed by these boundaries in analogy to the flow-
pattern map in two-phase flow in pipes. One can notice that the
stage performance is mapped into four regimes: mild performance
deterioration, performance reverse slope, severe performance dete-
rioration, and nil performance. The single-phase stage performance
is represented in this figure as a vertical line lying on the y axis.
The initiation of the surging corresponds to squared points
in Fig. 8, which represent the onset of the pump performance
reverses at normalized liquid-flow rate between 0.4 and 0.8. In this
regime, the reduction of liquid-flow rate caused a decrease of the
stage pressure increment. At normalized liquid-flow rate between
0.2 and 0.4, the initiation of the surging marks the transition to
a severe-performance-deterioration regime where the liquid-flow
rate has little or no effect on the head production. Finally, the
surging initiation is the limit for the transition from mild-perfor-
mance-deterioration regime to nil-performance regime (zero head
creation) at normalized liquid-flow rates smaller than 0.2. There-
fore, the initiation of the surging is a transition boundary whose
physical mechanism depends on the liquid-flow rate.
There are other boundaries represented in Fig. 8. These bound-
aries correspond to the second and third discontinuities that are
represented by triangles and circles, respectively. The diamonds
correspond to the liquid- and gas-flow rates where the pressure
increment is zero. This boundary has been designed as an open-
flow boundary in this study. Some of the points in the open-flow
boundary are located in the right-hand side of the surging initia-
tion, which implies that these points are in the other performance
regime rather than the mild performance deterioration. This result
means that the physical mechanism that triggers the initiation of the
surging in the stage operation can also be observed at zero pressure
increment. It indicates that the physical phenomenon that initiates
the surging is affected by the stage pressure increment but is not
originated by the stage pressure increment.
Surging Correlation
Manzano-Ruiz (1980) formulated eight dimensionless groups with
which the two-phase performance of a centrifugal pump could be
normalized. Some of these dimensionless numbers could be dis-
regarded on the basis of the order of magnitude of their values, as
explained in Appendix A. Thus, the two-phase stage performance
could be represented as
p q q  D 2  g 
= f l 3, g3, l , , . . . . . . . . . (5)
l  D
2 2
D D l l l  2 D 3
The experimental data shows that the dimensionless stage pres-
sure increment at surging initiation remains constant; however, the
volumetric gas fraction at the initiation of the surging changes as
a function of the intake pressure and rotational speed. Thus, one
can assume that the right-hand side of Eq. 5 remains constant at
the initiation of the surging. It implies that different combinations of
the dimensionless groups in the left-hand side of Eq. 5 can provide the
same critical dimensionless pressure increment. On the basis of this
assumption, a functional relationship between these dimensionless
groups can be proposed at the surging initiation, as shown in Eq. 6:
ql q  D 2  g 
= f g3, l , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6)
D 3
D l l l  2 D 3

320 November 2011 SPE Production & Operations

 0.9
0.8
0.7
Normalized Liquid Rate, fraction
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
This equation states that the dimensionless liquid-flow rate at the
surging initiation is related to the dimensionless local gas-flow
rate and three other dimensionless groups associated with the
fluid properties. For the sake of consistency, the dimensionless
groups related to the liquid- and gas-flow rates are replaced by
the normalized-gas-flow-rate and the normalized-liquid-flow-rate
definitions given in Eqs. 3 and 4, respectively. Thus, Eq. 6 can
be reduced to
 D 2  g 
qld = f qgd , l , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (7)
    2 D 3
l l
On the basis of the Buckingham  theorem, one can combine the
dimensionless groups on the right-hand side of Eq. 7 to form a new
dimensionless quantity, which is shown in Eq. 8. This new dimen-
sionless group is named corrected normalized gas-flow rate (qgd ):
  D 2
qgd = g l qgd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8)
l l
Observe that the dimensionless group that contains the surface-
tension term is omitted in Eq. 8. This is because of the limited set
of experimental data where the effect of this group is observed. On
the basis of the corrected normalized gas-flow rate, one can assume
that the relationship given in Eq. 10 can be simplified as
( )
qld = f qgd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (9)
When the surging-initiation experimental values are plotted
using the dimensionless groups defined in Eq. 9, a considerable
amount of scatter is observed, complicating the formulation of a
correlation. Therefore, a modified form of Eq. 8 is found applying
a heuristic procedure, which is presented in Eq. 10:
C C
 D 2 2 C3
1
qgd = g qgd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (10)
l
The values of coefficients C1, C2, and C3 are such that the
surging-initiation experimental points for the different stage intake
pressures and rotational speeds collapse into a single curve, as
November 2011 SPE Production & Operations
1,500 rev/min 150 psig
1,800 rev/min 150 psig
2,400 rev/min 150 psig
3,000 rev/min 150 psig
1,500 rev/min 250 psig
1,800 rev/min 250 psig
2,400 rev/min 250 psig
3,000 rev/min 250 psig
0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002
Corrected Normalized Gas Rate, fraction
Fig. 9Experimental surging points.
shown in Fig. 9. The single trend observed in Fig. 9 implies that
a unique correlation for corrected normalized gas-flow rate can
be obtained independently of rotational speed and stage intake
pressure. The estimated values for C1, C2, and C3 are 0.2, 0.4,
and 1, respectively.
Using only the experimental data at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig,
the following correlation is obtained:
qgd = 2.2378 10 1 ln qgd
( )
+ 2.2896 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (11)
l
Replacing the corrected normalized-gas-flow-rate definition
given in Eq. 10 leads to the following correlation:

0.2
D 2
0.4
0.102 exp ( qld )
4.4682
qgd = g . . . . . . . . . . . (12)
l
This equation allows for determination of the normalized gas-flow
rate at surging-point initiation as a function of the gas density, liq-
uid density, rotational speed, nominal impeller diameter, kinematic
viscosity, and the normalized liquid-flow rate. The correlation
performance at other rotational speeds and stage inlet pressures is
presented in Figs. 10 and 11. In these two figures, the experimental
surging points are presented for comparison purpose. An average
error of 7.58% in the prediction of surging-initiation volumetric
gas fraction is determined for all different rotational speeds. This
error can be as large as 10% at higher pressures.
The performance of the developed correlation with respect
to the intake pressure is presented in Fig. 12. The Turpin (1986)
and Dunbar (1989) correlations are plotted in the same figure for
comparison purposes. The new correlation shows that the critical
volumetric gas fraction is asymptotic with the increase of intake
pressure, while the Turpin et al. (1986) and Dunbar (1989) cor-
relations predict volumetric gas fraction close to 100% for intake
pressure greater than 5,000 psig. Thus, the stage has a limited
gas-handling capacity even at very high intake pressure. In addi-
tion, the new correlation predicts different critical volumetric gas
fractions depending on the normalized liquid-flow rate, so that
the recommended operating windows of the pump stage can be
predicted at any pressure.
321
 25
3000 rev/min
2400 rev/min

Critical Volumetric Gas Fraction c , %

20 1800 rev/min
1500 rev/min
New Correlation
15

10

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Normalized Liquid Rate
Fig. 10Comparison between experimental surging point and model prediction at 150 psig.

Conclusion
Experimental data presented demonstrate that current models
and correlations predicting the surging in ESPs are not able
to capture the effect of rotational speed and liquid-flow rate
observed in the experiments.
The surging always coincides with the pump head breakdown,
indicating a change in the pump performance. It always occurs
at a certain critical pressure increment independent of inlet pres-
sure, which seems to indicate that the force balance around the
bubbles flowing through the impeller plays a key role in this
phenomenon.
The surging marks the onset point for the transition between
different operating regimes. Because the operating regimes vary
as a function of the liquid-flow rate, the physical mechanism that
triggers the transition or the surging also varies.
A new correlation based on the regression of the experimental
data acquired at 2,400 rev/min and 150 psig is obtained. This
correlation fairly predicts the surging at other operating condi-

25
3000 rev/min
Critical Volumetric Gas Fraction c , %

2400 rev/min
20 1800 rev/min
1500 rev/min
Correlation
15

10

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Normalized Liquid Rate, fraction
Fig. 11Comparison between experimental surging point and model prediction at 250 psig.

322 November 2011 SPE Production & Operations

 Turpin et al.
30.00 (1986)
Dunbar (1989) Correlation
Correlation

25.00 New Correlation at qld =0.8

Critical Volumetric Gas Fraction c , %

20.00

New Correlation at qld =0.6

15.00

10.00

5.00
New Correlation at qld =0.4

0.00
0 200 400 600 800 1,000

Intake Pressure, psig

Fig. 12Predicted intake pressure effect.

tions and captures the effect of rotational speed, intake pressure, Acknowledgments
and liquid-flow rate on the surging. The authors appreciate the technical and financial support of the
Tulsa University Artificial Lift Projects member companies. The
progress in this work is the result of support from Baker-Hughes
Nomenclature
Centrilift, Chevron, Eni, Kuwait Oil Company, Pemex, Petrobras,
C = empirical constant Shell International, Total, and Wood Group ESP.
CD = drag coefficient
db_surge = bubble diameter References
D = impeller diameter or outer diameter of blade tip Barrios, L. 2007. Visualization and Modeling of Multiphase Performance
H = head Inside an Electrical Submersible Pump. PhD dissertation, The Univer-
ISS = Estevams surging indicator number sity of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
N = rotational speed Cirilo, R. 1998. Air-Water Flow Through Electric Submersible Pumps. MS
Pi = pump intake pressure thesis, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
q = flow rate Dunbar, C.E. 1989. Determination of Proper Type of Gas Separator. Pre-
sented at the Microcomputer Applications in Artificial Lift Workshop,
qgd = corrected normalized gas flow rate
SPE Los Angeles Basin Section, Los Angeles, California, USA.
r1 = impeller-blade-tip inner radius Duran, J. 2003. Pressure Effects on ESP Stages Air-Water Performance.
p = stage pressure increment MS thesis, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
p2
= predicted two-phase pressure increment Estevam, V. 2002. Uma Anlise Fenomenolgica da Operao de Bomba
 = density difference Centrfuga com Escoamento Bifsico (A Mechanistic Approach on Gas-
C = critical volumetric gas fraction at surging Liquid Flow Centrifugal Pump Performance Prediction). PhD thesis,
 = viscosity Campinas (October 2002).
= kinematic viscosity Gamboa, J. 2009. Prediction of The Transition in Two-Phase Performance
 = dimensionless group of an Electrical Submersible Pump. PhD dissertation, Petroleum Engi-
 = density neering Department, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma (July
2009).
 = surface tension
Ishii, M. and Zuber, N. 1979. Drag Coefficient and Relative Velocity in
 = rotational Bond number Bubbly, Droplet or Particulate flows. AIChE J. 25 (5): 843855. http://
 = rotational angular speed dx.doi.org/10.1002/aic.690250513.
Lea, J.F. and Bearden, J.L. 1982. Effect of Gaseous Fluids on Submersible
Subscripts Pump Performance. J Pet Technol 34 (12): 29222930. SPE-9218-PA.
C = critical http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/9218-PA.
Manzano-Ruiz, J. 1980. Experimental and Theoretical Study of Two-Phase
g = gas
Flow. PhD dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cam-
gd = normalized gas-flow rate bridge, Massachusetts.
l = liquid Minemura, K. and Uchiyama, T. 1993. Three-Dimensional Calculation of
l = normalized liquid-flow rate Air-Water Two-Phase Flow in Centrifugal Pump Impeller Based on a
m = mixture Bubbly Flow Model. J. Fluids Eng. 115 (4): 766771. http://dx.doi.
max = maximum pump flow rate or open-valve flow rate org/10.1115/1.2910210.

November 2011 SPE Production & Operations 323

Murakami, M. and Minemura, K. 1974. Effects of Entrained Air on the l
Performance of a Centrifugal Pump: 1st Report, Performance and Flow 3 = ,
l D 2
Conditions. Bulletin of the JSME 17 (110): 10471055.
g
Pessoa, R. 2001. Experimental Investigation of Two-Phase Flow Perfor- 4 = , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-4)
mance of Electrical Submersible Pump Stages. MS thesis, The Univer- l D 2
sity of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Prado, M. 2005. Solid Sphere in Rotating Flow. Note Lecture, The Uni- 
5 = ,
versity of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma. l  2 D 3
Romero, M. 1999. An Evaluation of an Electric Submersible Pumping
g
System for High GOR Wells. MSc thesis, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, 6 = ,
Oklahoma (August 1999). 2 D
Sachdeva, R. 1990. Two-Phase Flow Through Electric Submersible Pumps.
ql
MS thesis, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma (May 1990). 7 = ,
Turpin, J.L., Lea, J.F., and Bearden, J.L. 1986. Gas-Liquid Through Cen- D 3
trifugal Pumps- Correlation of Data. Proc., Third International Pump q
 8 = g 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-5)
Symposium, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA, D
May, 1320.
Zapata, L. 2003. Rotational Speed Effects on ESP Two-Phase Performance.
Group 6 defines a relationship between the centrifugal and the
MS thesis, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma (November
gravitational accelerations. In the range of impeller diameters used
2003).
in ESPs, the centrifugal acceleration is always dominant, unless the
rotational speed is reduced below 300 rev/min for a 1-in. impeller
Appendix ADimensionless Analysis diameter or to 136 rev/min for a 5-in. impeller diameter. Both rota-
tional speeds are much lower than the minimum rotational speed used
The dimensionless analysis is conducted on the basis of the Buck- in practice. Therefore, this group is discarded from the analysis.
ingham  theorem. Therefore, it is assumed that The gas viscosity is on the order of O(105), so group 4 does
( )
P = f l ,  g , l ,  g ,  , , g, ql , qg , D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-1)
not vary for the type of fluids and operation conditions handled by
ESPs. Thus, this group is also left out from the analysis. The dimen-
sionless groups 5 and 2 change according to the type of fluid.
If l, , and D are taken as independent variables, the following
dimensionless group are obtained: Jose A. Gamboa is post-doctoral research associate for the
Tulsa Artificial Lift Project at The University of Tulsa. He holds
 1 = pl  D ,
a b c
a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Universidad
Metropolitana, an MS degree in mechanical engineering from
Universidad Simon Bolivar, and a PhD degree from The University
 2 =  g l a  b D c , of Tulsa. Gamboa worked for 8 years in different assignments
for the Research and Development Center of Petrleos de
Venezuela, Intevep, in Venezuela. He has recently served as a
 3 = l l a  b D c ,
senior consultant for multiphase system integration. Gamboas
main areas of interest include artificial lift, production optimi-
 4 =  g l a  b D c, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-2) zation, sand transport, uncertainty analysis, and multiphase-
flow modeling. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum
Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Mauricio G. Prado is an associate professor in the McDougall
 5 = l a  b D c , School of Petroleum Engineering at The University of Tulsa and
is the director of The University of Tulsa Artificial Lift Projects, an
 6 = gl a  b D c, industrial academic cooperative research consortium formed
in 1983 to conduct research on artificial lift. He joined the
Petroleum Engineering department in 1999. Prado holds a BS
 7 = ql l a  b D c, degree in metallurgical engineering from Instituto Militar de
Engenharia, an MS in petroleum engineering from Universidade
Estadual de Campinas, and a PhD degree from The University
 8 = qg l a  b D c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (A-3) of Tulsa. Besides his academy experience, Prado has 16 years of
industrial experience, working as a production engineer in the
Solving the equation system, we obtain the following dimension- areas of artificial lift and multiphase flow for Petrobras in Brazil.
less groups: His main areas of interest include artificial lift, production opti-
mization, and multiphase-flow modeling. Prado is a member
p of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Society
1 = , of Mechanical Engineers, and the Petroleum Society of the
l  2 D 2 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. He has
g authored many peer-reviewed papers and given many presen-
2 = , tations in the area of artificial lift. Prado is currently the chairman
l for the Artificial Lift Technical Interest Group of SPE.

324 November 2011 SPE Production & Operations