subject: Progressive Cavity Pumps History [print this page] The PCP pump has a substantial historyThe PCP pump has a substantial history. It was invented and engineered in the late 1920's by the Frenchman Rene Moineau.
Moineau set out to construct a rotary compressor and in the process produced a new rotary mechanism to be used for the utilization of variations in the pressure of a fluid, which he referred to as "capsulism". His target was to make it possible to use this capsulism in pumps, compressors, or motors.
In the early 1930's, the Progressive Cavity Pumps concept patent was licensed to three companies: PCM-Pompes of France, Mono Pumps Ltd. Of England, and Robbins & Myers, Inc. Of the United States. Over time, other smaller pump companies have built spin-offs of the Moineau concept.
The Moineau concept has been used in many industries in a broad variety of applications since its licensing. It has been used as a pump in just about every industry: chemical, coal, food, metal working, mining, paper, petroleum, textile, tobacco, and water and waste water treatment. In the petroleum industry, the PCP pump has been used as a surface transfer pump for over 50 years.
In the mid- 1950's, the progressive cavity pump concept was applied to hydraulic motor applications by reversing the function of the progressing cavity pump. The mechanism was then being moved by fluid instead of pumping fluid. With the pump parts being powered by drilling mud or other fluids, it turned into the prime mover for drill motors. The Moineau concept is now being widely utilised in the petroleum drilling industry.
Then in the early 1980s, the progressive cavity pump was used as an artificial lift method in the petroleum industry. Robbins & Meyers, Inc. Of the United States has to be credited with being the first to apply the Moineau principle to artificial lift in the petroleum industry. They established itself as the first PCP pump producer to market the pump as an option to conventional lift methods and to establish a new market for the PCP pump. Since the mid-1980's, other producers have entered into this market, enlarging the acceptance of the product by the oil and gas industry.
The pump is applied to artificial lift by attaching the pump components to the tubing and rod string. The stator is run on the end of the tubing, and the rotor is attached to the bottom of the rod string and landed in the stator. The rods and rotor are rotated through a wellhead drive assembly that is designed to carry the weight of the rod and the fluid column.
Currently, the PCP pump is being broadly employed for lifting fluids from depths of 6,000 ft. And farther in oil and gas wells. Progressive cavity pumps gives to the petroleum industry a great number of advantages over traditional lift equipment, of which the most significant is reducing the cost per barrel lifted.
A progressive cavity pump also can function as a motor when fluid is pumped through the interior. Applications include well drilling.
Progressive cavity pumps are also frequently referred to by the specific manufacturer or product names. It is not unusual to have people refer to them as Moineau pump, Mono pump, Twister pump etc. The Twister PCP pump is a modern pump built by Canam Pipe & supply.
