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Energies
Volume 19
Issue 2
10.3390/en19020341
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Structural Optimization and Numerical Simulation Research of Anti-Air Lock Variable-Diameter Oil Pump

by
Xiangyang Zhang
1,2,3,
Shuangshuang Ren
2,3,
Fei Shen
2,3,*,
Zhanbao Fu
2,3,
Deli Jia
3,4,
Qinghai Yang
4 and
Ruojun Wang
2,3
1
School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing 163318, China
2
Northwest Branch of China Petroleum Exploration and Development Research Institute, Lanzhou 730000, China
3
Key Laboratory of Internet of Things, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Lanzhou 730000, China
4
PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2026, 19(2), 341; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020341
Submission received: 19 November 2025 / Revised: 28 December 2025 / Accepted: 1 January 2026 / Published: 10 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Section H1: Petroleum Engineering)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Under the condition of gas–liquid two-phase flow, traditional sucker rod pumps are prone to gas locking due to the high compressibility of gas, and their volumetric efficiency is usually less than 30%, which seriously restricts the exploitation benefits of oil wells. To solve this difficult problem, this study proposes a variable-diameter tube pump structure that adopts an optimized cone angle of the pump cylinder. The results of computational fluid dynamics simulations using dynamic mesh modeling indicate that the stepped change in the pump barrel diameter can enhance the gas–liquid separation effect caused by vortices, while the flow-guiding grooves on the valve seat can reduce the response delay. Comparative calculations and analyses show that compared with the traditional design, its head increases to 13.89 m, and the hydraulic power rises to 1431.01 W, respectively, representing an increase of 17%. This is attributed to the reduction in the gas retention time during piston reciprocation and the stability of the flow field. This structural innovation effectively alleviates the gas lock problem and provides a feasible approach for improving energy efficiency in oil wells prone to vaporization, which is of great significance in oilfield development operations.
Keywords: pump with sucker rod; variable diameter design; gas lock suppression; volume efficiency; CFD numerical simulation pump with sucker rod; variable diameter design; gas lock suppression; volume efficiency; CFD numerical simulation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, X.; Ren, S.; Shen, F.; Fu, Z.; Jia, D.; Yang, Q.; Wang, R. Structural Optimization and Numerical Simulation Research of Anti-Air Lock Variable-Diameter Oil Pump. Energies 2026, 19, 341. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020341

AMA Style

Zhang X, Ren S, Shen F, Fu Z, Jia D, Yang Q, Wang R. Structural Optimization and Numerical Simulation Research of Anti-Air Lock Variable-Diameter Oil Pump. Energies. 2026; 19(2):341. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020341

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Xiangyang, Shuangshuang Ren, Fei Shen, Zhanbao Fu, Deli Jia, Qinghai Yang, and Ruojun Wang. 2026. "Structural Optimization and Numerical Simulation Research of Anti-Air Lock Variable-Diameter Oil Pump" Energies 19, no. 2: 341. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020341

APA Style

Zhang, X., Ren, S., Shen, F., Fu, Z., Jia, D., Yang, Q., & Wang, R. (2026). Structural Optimization and Numerical Simulation Research of Anti-Air Lock Variable-Diameter Oil Pump. Energies, 19(2), 341. https://doi.org/10.3390/en19020341

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