PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Volume 42, Issue 1, February 2015

Online English edition of the Chinese language journal

Cite this article as: PETROL. EXPLOR. DEVELOP., 2015, 42(1): 123–128. RESEARCH PAPER

Test approach of downhole pump diagram for beam

bumping wells
JIA Deli1,2,*, LIU He1, PEI Xiaohan1, WANG Guoqing3, YANG Qinghai1, WANG Yao2
1. PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China;
2. Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150080, China;
3. Research Institute of Production Engineering, PetroChina Daqing Oilfield Company, Daqing 163453, China

Abstract: A direct test approach of downhole pump diagram for beam bumping wells was presented using acceleration transducer to
measure the pump stroke, and it was verified through laboratory experiments and field tests. The feature of the low-frequency and weak
signal exported from the acceleration transducer with impact interference was analyzed. The periodic signal and its drift were modeled to
work out the accumulative error of long-term integration and its influence on measurement results. Based on elimination principles, the
DC-blocking and denoising filter was designed and its mathematical model was established. Through the filter, the drift component can
be separated from the acquired signal. The laboratory experiments and field tests indicate that, the displacement signal without drift can
be obtained from the initial acceleration data through filtering and quadratic integral, thus the downhole pump diagram can be obtained;
the data measurement error is within ±2.0%, which will be further reduced with the increase of stroke times; the test approach of down-
hole pump diagram can realize the calculation of pump effectiveness and the direct measurement of stroke loss, thereby providing criteria
for the process analysis of beam bumping well.

Key words: pump unit; downhole pump diagram; stroke; acceleration; filter

Introduction acceleration at the upper part of pump rod and then

The downhole pump diagram of beam pumping well, which
can directly reflect the working conditions of the pump, is an
important reference for the analysis of well failure and pa-
rameters optimization of lifting techniques. Currently, the
downhole pump diagram is usually obtained through calcu-
lating with the elastic mathematical model of pump rod after
the test of polished rod at the surface to acquire indicator dia-
gram of polished rod (also referred to indicator diagram at the
point of suspension or surface indicator diagram)[1], which
indirectly shows the working conditions of the pump[2]. How-
ever, due to strong Coulomb friction between pump rod and
oil tube, which is a complicated non-linear process of me-
chanical electrical and hydraulic coupling[3−6], as well as com-
plexity and unpredictability of downhole working conditions,
it is very difficult to establish an accurate mathematical model,
resulting in errors between the indirect surface measurement
results based on the mathematical model and the real pump
conditions. So, the pump diagram derived is only approximate.
This article presents a new test approach of downhole pump
diagram for beam pumping well. The approach uses the Micro
Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) sensor to measure the
re-integrate the pump stroke. In this way, the working condi-
tions of pump are accurately identified.
In recent years, although MEMS sensor technology is de-
veloped and improved continuously, there are still problems
such as random noise and DC component interference[7]. In
order to remove random drift noise of MEMS sensor, some
researchers put forward many solutions such as Kalman fil-
tering approach and elimination approach[8−10]. These ap-
proaches are merely applicable to the conditions where the
required measurement precision is not high or where there are
supporting technologies for compensation[11−12], but not ap-
propriate for the test of pump diagram which demands a high
precision. When the acceleration transducer is used to meas-
ure the downhole pump stroke of beam pumping well, the
signals acquired are of low frequency (0.05 Hz minimum) and
weak. In addition, the Coulomb friction between pump rod
and oil tube results in strong interference signal, which be-
longs to high-frequency impact interference. The interference
intensity can be dozens of times of the peak value of the true
signal. In real test, the drift of transducer changes along with
the strong impact. As ultra-low bandwidth hardware filter

Received date: 05 Jun. 2014; Revised date: 23 Dec. 2014.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: jiadeli422@petrochina.com.cn
Foundation item: Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program (863 Program), China (2012AA061300).
Copyright © 2015, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina. Published by Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.
 JIA Deli et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2015, 42(1): 123–128

must be used to acquire signals, the asymmetry of charge and

discharge of capacitance in filter will lead to more serious
infidelity when the signals are influenced by strong impact.
The article makes a systematic analysis and modeling of the
low-frequency and weak signals interfered by strong impact Fig. 1 Mechanism of DC-block and denoising filter
and influenced by drift. Moreover, a DC-block and
1.2 Design of DC-block and denoising filter
drift-removal filter is designed according to the elimination
principle. This filter can isolate the drift of signal, so that The mechanism of DC-block and denoising filtering or
long-time integration will not lead to drift accumulation. After separation of drift component from acquired signal is shown
re-integration, accurate pump stroke can be calculated so as to in Fig. 1. The output signal Y can be obtained by separating
measure pump diagram at the upper part of the pump. drift component A from acquired signal X.
Assuming,
1 Numerical analysis and filter design i + lTR −1

1.1 Numerical analysis ∑ xk

The pump displacement (stroke) can be calculated through
the re-integration of output of acceleration transducer. The
initial discrete signal acquired is assumed to be:
X = R+ A (1)
There are many factors leading to signal drift and noise. In
addition to white noise, they include drift generated by trans-
ducer manufacturing error, signal infidelity generated from
circuits such as integrator, lateral vibrating signal due to the
friction of pump rod, (random or systematic) errors due to
ai = k =i
(k=n, n+1, ..., n+lTR-1) (7)
lTR
Actually, the nature of Equation (7) is to conduct average
filtering to X. As the window length of filtering is the sam-
pling point number of each period of R, the length of A is
different from that of X. Assuming the length of X is lX, then
the length of A is lA=lX - lTR. Compared with sequence X, A
generates the time delay of TR/2. It can be obtained through
adjusting corresponding relations of sequence that:
i + lTR −1

installation imprecision of equipment. The interferences differ ∑ xk

for systems. But all systems have minor DC component or yi = xq − k =i
(8)
lTR
random interference of long period. Theoretically, they can be
reduced to a very low level. lTR
where, q=i+
Usually, AR model (autoregressive model) is used to model 2
A and the typical p-step AR model is: Equation (8) is the mathematical model of DC-block and
p denoising filter. The following equation can be obtained by
ai = c + ∑ϕ j ai − j + ε i (i=1, 2, ..., n) (2) combing Equations (5) and (8):
j =1
i + lTR −1
For acquired data within one period, Equation (2) can be ∑ (r k + dk + ε k + c )
simplified to: yi = rq + d q + ε q + c − k =i
(9)
ai = c + di + ε i (i=1, 2, ..., n) (3) lTR

Equation (1) can be expressed as: The following equation can be obtained through the elimi-
X = R+C + D+ E (4) nation of constant item in Equation (9):
i + lTR −1 i + lTR −1 i + lTR −1
In general, the period of E is far smaller than that of R and
the average value of elements is 0; D is far smaller than effec- ∑ rk ∑ dk ∑ εk
yi = rq + d q + ε q − k =i
− k =i
− k =i
(10)
tive value of R and the period of D is equivalent to that of R lTR lTR lTR
or D does not have any periodicity. i + lTR −1

It can be deduced from Equation (4) that: Obviously, ∑

k =i
rk =0. As the period of E is far less than
xi = ri + c + di + ε i (5) i + lTR −1
It can be deduced by integrating X that:
n n n n
that of R, it is believed that ∑
k =i
ε k =0 and Equation (10) can

∑ x Δt = ∑ r Δt + ∑ d Δt + ∑ ε Δt + ncΔt
i =1
i
i =1
i
i =1
i
i =1
i (6) be simplified to:
i + lTR −1

∑
n n
dk
In Equation (6), ∑ r Δt
i =1
i converges and ∑ ε Δt
i =1
i can be
yi = rq + d q + ε q − k =i
(11)
n
lTR
approximate to 0. However, ∑ d Δt + ncΔt
i =1
i is divergent. By integrating Y, the following equation can be obtained:
⎛ n + lTR lT
n+ R
lT
n+ R ⎞
Along with the prolongation of integration time or the in- n
⎜ 2 2 2
1 n TR
i + l −1
⎟
crease of n, this item will increase and annihilate the integra- ∑ yi Δt = ⎜ ∑ q r + ∑ ε q + ∑ d q −
l
∑ ∑ d k ⎟ Δt
i =1 ⎜ q =1+ TR
l l
q =1+ R
T l
q =1+ R
T TR i =1 k = i ⎟
tion of the tested signal; therefore, a DC-block and denoising ⎝ 2 2 2 ⎠
filter shall be designed to eliminate the influence of this item. (12)
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lTR
n+
2
In Equation (12), it is also believed that ∑ lTR
ε q =0. Addi-
q =1+
2

tionally:
n+
lTR
n i + lTR −1
⎛ lTR −1 lTR
−1 n+
lTR
n+
lTR
⎞
2
1 1 ⎜ 2 2 2 2
⎟ Fig. 3 Data processing
∑l d q − l ∑∑ dk = ⎜ ∑
lTR ⎜ f =1
∑ de + ∑ ∑ dh ⎟
TR
q =1+
TR i =1 k =i e= f s=n h=s ⎟ Fig. 4 shows the acquired initial acceleration data, of which
2 ⎝ ⎠
(13) the waveform is similar to general periodic signal. The sam-
Let: pling frequency is 200Hz. Velocity signals can be obtained
⎛ lTR −1 lTR −1 lT
n+ R n+
lTR
⎞ through long-time integration of acceleration (Fig. 5). As there
1 ⎜ 2 2 2 2
⎟
Er = ⎜ ∑ ∑ d e + ∑ ∑ dh ⎟ (14) are weak DC signals in initial signals, severe overall drift
lTR ⎜ f =1 e = f s =n h=s ⎟ (which is random drift) is generated after integration (upward
⎝ ⎠
drift in Fig. 5). The displacement can be obtained through
Then Equation (12) is expressed as:
lTR
re-integration of post-drift velocity data (Fig. 6). Its waveform
n+
n 2 is periodic to some extent but the drift is very severe.
∑ y Δt = ∑
i =1
i
lTR
rq Δt + Er Δt (15) The DC-block and denoising filter proposed in this article
q =1+
2 is used to re-process the initial acceleration data. For the ex-
In Equation (15), the error item Er will not increase along periment objects, the parameter lTR of DC-block and denoising
with the prolongation of integration time. Therefore, its value filter shall be configured to be the product of sampling fre-
is still within a very small range. The integration to Y is equal quency and period, that is, 200×8.65=1 730. Fig. 7 is the drift
to integration to R. In general, n is greater or equal to lTR so as component in acceleration signal after filtering. It can be seen
to eliminate the long-time accumulative error. that, in addition to DC component, the waveform shows ob-
vious step shape, with similar step width to that of initial sig-
2 Experiment verification and field test
nal. In the process of filtering, signal A generates a time delay
In order to measure downhole pump diagram of beam
pumping well, a downhole memory indicator is developed
(Fig. 2). The indicator can realize the measurement of load
and its correction and compensation with environment pres-
sure and temperature. The measurement scope of MEMS ac-
celeration transducer is ±1.7 g. It can measure both static and
dynamic acceleration with accuracy of 1000/g; within the
scope of −40–125 °C, the temperature sensitivity is ±0.3%
and the migration precision of zero point is ±0.025 g.
The indicator adopts the DC-block and denoising filter to Fig. 4 Initial acceleration data
test pump diagram of beam pumping well. The rated stroke of
pump is 2.7 m and the stroke frequency is 6.94 times/min, that
is, every stroke needs 8.65s. Fig. 3 shows the data processing,
which requires twice DC-block and denoising filtering.

Fig. 5 Velocity curve after integration

Fig. 2 Downhole memory indicator Fig. 6 Displacement curve after re-integration

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 JIA Deli et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2015, 42(1): 123–128

Fig. 7 Acceleration filtering error Fig. 11 Velocity curve after re-integration

Fig. 8 Acceleration data after filtering Fig. 12 Displacement curve after filtering

Table 1 Error statistics

Peak Upper Lower Measurement
Stroke/m Error/m
No. peak/m peak/m error/%
a 1.328 −1.388 2.716 0.016 0.59
b 1.334 −1.376 2.710 0.010 0.37
c 1.329 −1.378 2.707 0.007 0.26
d 1.323 −1.376 2.699 −0.001 −0.04
e 1.313 −1.368 2.681 −0.019 −0.70
Fig. 9 Velocity curve after filtering
f 1.298 −1.357 2.655 −0.045 −1.67

of a half period. After filtering, acceleration data of a half
period are lost in the front and in the end respectively, but it
has no influence on technique test (Fig. 8). Long-time integra-
tion of acceleration signal is made after the elimination of
drift component and the acquired velocity signal (Fig. 9) is
compared with Fig. 5. The result shows that the velocity sig-
nal (Fig. 9) has no drift.
The drift component can be obtained by filtering velocity
signal (Fig. 10), which also shows periodicity and the data
loss of a half period. Re-integration of velocity data after fil-
tering is made (Fig. 11) and the downhole pump displacement
curve of beam pumping well can be obtained (Fig. 12), which
well reflects the movement of the pump.
Through further processing of data in Fig. 12 (Table 1), it
Fig. 10 Velocity filtering error
g 1.349 −1.363 2.712 0.012 0.44
h 1.320 −1.379 2.699 −0.001 −0.04
can be seen that the long-time integration didn’t lead to the
error accumulation by using the filter presented in this article.
If the rated stroke of 2.7 m is taken as the criteria, the meas-
urement error of this data set is within ±2%.
When the acceleration is measured by downhole pump
stroke, the stroke frequency is an important influential factor.
In order to verify the adaptability of the approach for different
stroke frequencies, the simulation platform for rod pump lift-
ing developed by Research Institute of Production Engineer-
ing, Daqing Oilfield is utilized, with the same stroke but dif-
ferent frequencies. A small stroke of 1.98m (the stroke meas-
urement error of experiment platform is ±0.1%) is set, and the
frequency is set to be 3 times/min, 4 times/min and 6
times/min respectively. Fig. 13 shows the post-processing
experiment data. In order to verify the approach which has the
capability of correcting accumulative errors of long-time inte-
gration, 50 data samples are analyzed. On Fig. 13, with the
increase of frequency, the period shortens, the error tends to
converge and the measurement accuracy increases.
Test is conducted for downhole pump diagram of field
pumping well and the pump stroke is adjusted from 2.0 m to

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 JIA Deli et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2015, 42(1): 123–128
Fig. 13 Stroke data under 3 stroke frequencies
Fig. 14 Comparison of pump diagrams at different strokes
2.8 m. For the basic parameters of tested well, the model of
pump unit is CYJ10-3-37HB, the medium is water, the well
does not contain gas, the suspension height of pump is 1 000
m, the dynamic liquid level is 320m and the stroke frequency
is 6 times/min. In order to verify the consistency of instru-
ments, two test instruments of the same precision are installed
at the bottom-hole. It is configured that data are acquired once
every 2 hours and the acquisition duration each time is 5 min-
utes for the test instruments. The pump stroke tested increases
from 2.0 m to 2.8 m, which matches the real adjustment. Fig.
14 shows the pump diagrams at different strokes. It can be
seen that with the stroke increase, the pump load does not
increase very much. However, the pump diagram is integrated
and the pump effectiveness calculated from the equation in-
creases from 66.0% to 69.4%.
Fig. 15 shows the comparison of pump diagrams at the
point of suspension and downhole pump diagram when the
point of suspension is adjusted to 2m under above test condi-
tions. It can be seen that, due to the elastic deformation of
pump rod, the stroke of point of suspension is different from
that of pump. The calculation of pump rod effectiveness and
the design of technique parameters shall take full considera-
tion of elastic deformation of pump rod.
3 Conclusions
Acceleration transducer can be used to directly measure the
stroke of pump rod, so as to obtain the pump diagram. Rele-
vant research is made on high-frequency interference and drift.
The low-frequency and weak signals with strong impact in-
terference are analyzed. Modeling analysis is made on peri-
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Fig. 15 Comparison of pump diagram at the point of suspension
and downhole
odic signal and its drift. The accumulative error of long-time
integration is calculated and its influences on measurement
result are identified. Based on the elimination principle, the
DC-block and denoising filter is designed to separate the drift
component from the acquired signal. The experiment results
indicate that velocity signal can be obtained through the fil-
tering of initial velocity data by means of DC-block and de-
noising and integration; after re-filtering and re-integration of
velocity signal, the displacement signal without drift is ob-
tained. The long-time integration does not lead to error accu-
mulation. The data measurement error is controlled within
±2%. With the increase of stroke frequency, the measurement
error decreases. The field test results indicate that the test ap-
proach of downhole pump diagram for beam pumping well
proposed in this article can directly identify the working con-
ditions of downhole pump.
Nomenclature
X—measured signal sequence or acquired value of transducer;
R—measured real value sequence;
A— overall error sequence;
ai—the ith value of A, m/s2;
c—constant, m/s2;
εi— the ith value of error sequence of white noise, m/s2;
φ—model parameter;
di—the ith value of error sequence of drift, m/s2;
C—constant sequence;
D—drift error sequence;
 JIA Deli et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2015, 42(1): 123–128

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