Isolated pressure compensating electric motor connection and related methods
First Claim
1. A submersible well pump assembly, comprising:
- a pump;
an electrical motor cooperatively connected with the pump for driving the pump, the motor having a motor housing that is filled with a dielectric motor lubricant, the motor having an internal motor lead immersed in the motor lubricant;
a seal/equalizer section mounted to the motor, the seal/equalizer section being in fluid pressure communication with the motor lubricant and with well fluid surrounding the motor for reducing a pressure difference between the motor lubricant and the well fluid surrounding the motor;
a female motor connector comprising a connector housing containing at least one chamber, the female motor connector being connected to an outer surface portion of the motor housing, the chamber being filled with a female motor connector dielectric fluid;
wherein said at least one chamber comprises an inner chamber and an outer chamber containing the inner chamber;
the female motor connector dielectric fluid comprises an inner dielectric fluid in the inner chamber and an outer dielectric fluid in the outer chamber;
the inner dielectric fluid is sealed from the outer dielectric fluid;
at least one female pressure compensation device mounted to the female motor connector and in fluid pressure communication with the at least one chamber for reducing a pressure difference between the female motor connector dielectric fluid and the well fluid surrounding the motor;
the internal motor lead extending from within the motor housing into the at least one chamber and having an electrical contact on an end within the at least one chamber;
a power cable having at least one conductor to supply electrical power to the motor;
a male motor lead connector on an end of the power cable, the male motor lead connector being releasably secured to the female motor connector;
at least one of the conductors of the power cable extending into the female motor connector housing and electrically mating with the electrical contact of the internal motor lead when the male motor lead connector is secured to the female motor connector; and
a seal around the internal motor lead that seals the motor lubricant from the dielectric fluid in the at least one chamber.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Isolated pressure compensating electrical motor connections and related methods are provided. According to an example of a sealed motor electrical connection, the connection incorporates a sealed female motor connection positioned to receive a male motor connector. The female motor connector has one or more independent dielectric oil chambers each pressure compensated by a bellow or similar device interfaced with the motorhead oil and/or well annulus fluid to thereby pressure compensate the chamber pressure of the female motor connection with that of the internal motor and/or well annulus. This configuration locates the electrical connection point of the motor lead extension with the motor lead wires to a separate area outside the motor to thereby prevent the occurrence of phase to phase or phase to ground shorts occurring in this critical area due to conductive element contamination that may reside in the motor oil or the well bore fluids.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A submersible well pump assembly, comprising:
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a pump; an electrical motor cooperatively connected with the pump for driving the pump, the motor having a motor housing that is filled with a dielectric motor lubricant, the motor having an internal motor lead immersed in the motor lubricant; a seal/equalizer section mounted to the motor, the seal/equalizer section being in fluid pressure communication with the motor lubricant and with well fluid surrounding the motor for reducing a pressure difference between the motor lubricant and the well fluid surrounding the motor; a female motor connector comprising a connector housing containing at least one chamber, the female motor connector being connected to an outer surface portion of the motor housing, the chamber being filled with a female motor connector dielectric fluid;
wherein said at least one chamber comprises an inner chamber and an outer chamber containing the inner chamber;
the female motor connector dielectric fluid comprises an inner dielectric fluid in the inner chamber and an outer dielectric fluid in the outer chamber;
the inner dielectric fluid is sealed from the outer dielectric fluid;at least one female pressure compensation device mounted to the female motor connector and in fluid pressure communication with the at least one chamber for reducing a pressure difference between the female motor connector dielectric fluid and the well fluid surrounding the motor; the internal motor lead extending from within the motor housing into the at least one chamber and having an electrical contact on an end within the at least one chamber; a power cable having at least one conductor to supply electrical power to the motor; a male motor lead connector on an end of the power cable, the male motor lead connector being releasably secured to the female motor connector; at least one of the conductors of the power cable extending into the female motor connector housing and electrically mating with the electrical contact of the internal motor lead when the male motor lead connector is secured to the female motor connector; and a seal around the internal motor lead that seals the motor lubricant from the dielectric fluid in the at least one chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An electrical submersible pump assembly, comprising:
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a pump; an electrical motor for driving the pump, the motor having a motor housing that is filled with a dielectric motor lubricant, the motor having an internal motor lead immersed in the motor lubricant; a seal/equalizer section mounted to the motor, the seal/equalizer section being in fluid pressure communication with the motor lubricant and with well fluid surrounding the motor for reducing a pressure difference between the motor lubricant and the well fluid surrounding the motor; a female motor connector comprising a housing containing an inner chamber located within an outer chamber, each of the chambers being filled with a female motor connector dielectric fluid, the female motor connector dielectric fluid in the inner chamber being isolated from the female motor connector dielectric fluid in the outer chamber and from the motor lubricant, the female motor connector being connected to an outer surface portion of the motor housing; the motor lead extending sealingly through an aperture in the motor housing, sealingly through a portion of the outer chamber, and sealingly into the inner chamber, the motor lead terminating in an electrical contact within the inner chamber; at least one pressure compensation device mounted to the female motor connector in fluid pressure communication with the female motor connector dielectric fluid contained in the inner and outer chambers, for reducing a pressure differential between the dielectric fluid contained in the inner and outer chambers and the well fluid surrounding the motor; a power cable having at least one conductor to supply electrical power to the motor; a male motor lead connector on an end of the power cable, the male motor lead connector being releasably secured to the female motor connector; and at least one of the conductors of the power cable extending from the male motor lead connector into the female motor connector housing and into electrical engagement with the electrical contact on the end of the motor lead within the inner chamber when the male motor lead connector is secured to the female motor connector, the conductor being in electrical disengagement with the electrical contact on the end of the motor lead when the male motor lead connector is disengaged from the female motor connector. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of connecting a power cable to a submersible well pump assembly comprising a pump, an electrical motor for driving the pump, the motor having a motor housing that is filled with a dielectric motor lubricant, the motor having an internal motor lead immersed in the motor lubricant, and a seal/equalizer section mounted to the motor, the method comprising:
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providing a female motor connector comprising a connector housing containing at least one chamber, filling the chamber with a female motor connector dielectric fluid, and connecting the female motor connector to an outer surface portion of the motor housing;
providing the connector housing with at least one chamber comprises providing an outer chamber and an inner chamber located within the outer chamber;
filling the chamber with a female motor connector dielectric fluid comprises filling each of the chambers with a dielectric fluid and isolating the dielectric fluid of the inner chamber from the dielectric fluid in the outer chamber;providing the female motor connector with at least one pressure compensation device and placing the pressure compensation device in fluid pressure communication with the dielectric fluid in the chamber; providing the internal motor lead with an electrical contact on an end, extending the internal motor lead from within the motor housing into the chamber, positioning the electrical contact in the chamber, and sealing the motor lead to the motor housing to isolate the motor lubricant in the motor housing from the dielectric fluid in the chambers; providing a power cable having at least one conductor and a male motor lead connector on an end of the power cable, and releasably securing the male motor lead connector to the female motor connector; in response to securing the male motor lead connector to the female motor connector, electrically engaging one of the conductors of the power cable with the electrical contact of the internal motor lead within the chamber;
thenlowering the assembly into the well, communicating well fluid pressure to the seal/equalizer section, and reducing a pressure difference between the motor lubricant and the well fluid surrounding the motor; and communicating well fluid pressure to the pressure compensation device and reducing a pressure difference between the dielectric fluid in the chamber and the well fluid surrounding the motor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification