Patent ID: 11920599
Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 10:
11. An electric submersible pump (ESP) comprising:
a plurality of centrifugal stages, each stage comprising a rotating impeller coupled to a rotating shaft and a stationary diffuser disposed about the rotating impeller; and
an upthrust bearing assembly disposed radially between the shaft and the diffuser, wherein an axial gap between a portion of the impeller and a portion of the diffuser is smaller than an axial gap between the upthrust bearing assembly and an upwardly facing surface of the impeller disposed radially between a central hub of the impeller and the balance ring of the impeller and comprising:
a bearing sleeve disposed about the shaft and rotationally keyed to the shaft;
a stationary bushing disposed about the bearing sleeve, the bushing having a generally T-shaped longitudinal cross-section shape and a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, the bushing having a base portion and a thrust pad at an upstream end of the base portion; and
an upthrust bearing runner disposed about the shaft upstream of the bushing, the upthrust bearing runner configured to move toward an upthrust surface of the thrust pad of the bushing when the ESP operates in an upthrust condition.