SOFT COATING FOR SPLINED CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MOTOR SHAFTS OF SUBMERSIBLE PUMP ASSEMBLY

• Main Authors: LI, Yong, STRATTAN, Scott C
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 18.09.2019
• Subjects: BLASTING; BRAKES; CLUTCHES; COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; EARTH DRILLING; EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVEFUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; HEATING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; MINING; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR ASLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS; POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS; ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENTMACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENTPUMPS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL; WEAPONS

An electrical submersible pump assembly has modules, including a pump, a seal section and a motor. A rotatable first drive shaft in a first one of the modules has a splined end that mates with a splined end of a rotatable second drive shaft in a second one of the modules. An external set of splines is on mating ends of the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft. A coupling has an internal set of splines that mesh with the external set to rotationally couple the first and second drive shafts to each other. A polymer coating is selectively bonded on one of the sets and in sliding engagement with the other set. The coating is a solid polymer material having a lower coefficient of friction than steel alloys of the internal set and the external set.