The Effects of Abrasives on

Electrical Submersible Pumps

Brown L. Wilson, SPE, Oil Dynamics Inc.

Summary. The electrical submersible pump (ESP) is a high-speed rotating device. Its operational life in oil wells can depend on
the type and quantities of abrasives present in the produced fluid. This paper reports on a set of experiments performed in a specialized
abrasive test loop. In the test, the size and quantity of abrasives were varied along with flow rate through the pump. This paper also
examines recent literature on sand production and explores some of the practical problems in sand measurement.

Introduction
More than 80% ofthe earth's crust is composed of abrasive or poten- the sand bridges and arches to break when production is resumed.
tially abrasive materials. I These abrasive materials are the The key to sand control is the establishment, or lack of destruc-
predominant cause of failure downhole, where pumps are lubri- tion, of stable sand arches or bridges. Gravel packing establishes
cated by fluids often heavily laden with abrasives. A large amount bridges in an area in or near the wellbore, and flow control retains
of material loss is not required to destroy a unit; a slight change or establishes bridges in the formation.
of a critical dimension often will lead to catastrophic failure. Several The major uses of the ESP involve high-volume production, low
different mechanisms are at work simultaneously when a pump un- bottomhole pressures, waterfloods, and sometimes cycling. This
dergoes abrasive wear. The isolation and investigation of these in- places the ESP directly in the path of high sand production.
dividual phenomena will lead to a better understanding of the
problems and possible solutions. Sand Measurement
Sand production varies over a well's life; great quantities of sand
Sand Production From 011 Wells are often produced at the start and gradually taper off. Operators
Two methods are generally accepted to control sand production: at most locations have very little incentive to measure sand pro-
gravel pack and flow control. The gravel-pack method uses select- duction unless a well is suffering significant sand-related problems.
ed sand and gravel held in position in a slotted liner to block the An accurate picture of a particular well's sand production requires
sand so that it is retained in the formation. With the flow-control that the rate of sand production be monitored for weeks or months
method, the well's flow is regulated to a point where sand produc- afte production startup.
tion ceases. Both methods have been successful but neither is cheap. One method of obtaining sand production data requires use of
The money that is lost when production is reduced, however, may a cyclone separator. The size of particles that can be separated by
be much greater than the money spent for gravel packing. a cyclone is a function of particle density (compared to fluid densi-
Recent papers 2- 5 attempt to explain the mechanics of oilwell ty) and differential pressure drop. Fig. 1 shows a typical solids re-
sand production. These papers propose theories to explain some jection curve for a cyclone separator. The actual rejection rate in
of the observations that accompany the sand production-e.g., that the field depends on how close the actual conditions are to the curve
(1) sand tends to be produced at high flow rates, (2) the volume conditions. Nonspherical particles are not separated as easily. Heavy
of sand tends to increase as water breaks through, (3) sand pro- brine reduces the difference in the densities. Oil-wet particles have
duction rate increases when flow rate changes, and (4) catastroph- the tendency to float and to pass through the separator. Small par-
ic sand production can occur that may not stop even when the flow ticles have much lower settling velocities and higher dispersion
rate is reduced. coefficients. Fluid viscosity also reduces the device's efficiency.
Rock mechanics is the basis for understanding sand production. The cyclone separator is not 100% effective, but is a rugged and
Sand is not produced from naturally completed oil wells until the simple device.
cavity in the formation surrounding the perforation becomes un- The sand samples are usually analyzed by sieve analysis. The
stable. The formation rock can fail during tension or shear. The particles can be washed and then run through a series of sieves.
shear forces on the rock are related to overburden. The weight of The percentage of the weight that is retained in each sieve is record-
all the rock above the formation and the tensile forces are related ed. Table 1 presents the relationships between sieve size and actu-
to flow. As reservoir pressure is decreased, the unbalanced over- al dimension, and Fig. 2 shows the sieve analysis for an actual well.
burden pressure can induce shear failure in the rock. As flow rate It is likely that some fines are suspended and lost during washing.
increases, the pressure drop through the rock produces tensile forces It is quite possible that a portion of the sand, the extremely fine
that can induce failure. particles, will be missed. They are the hardest to catch with a cy-
Sand production invariably follows water breakthrough. Water clone and the easiest to lose with a sieve analysis.
increases the stress on the rock and simultaneously decreases its
strength. Some possible explanations for this occurrence are that Sand Wear
(1) water diminishes or destroys the capillary pressure holding the The literature concerning abrasive wear is large and often confus-
sand grains together, (2) water dissolves the material cementing ing. MiIler 6 identifies 18 types of abrasive wear in slurry pipeline
the sand grains together, or (3) flow friction increases because water equipment. Abrasion and erosion are often used to describe the same
saturation lowers the oil relative permeability. phenomenon. In this paper, erosion is the removal of material by
One indirect cause of sand production with water breakthrough abrasive particles carried by or suspended in a fluid when it acts
is the tendency for the operator to increase the total volume of fluid against a surface; abrasion is the removal of material by particles
to maintain the well's profitability. The higher flow rate increases sliding, rolling, or crushing between two surfaces, or by particles
the pressure gradient and fines migration, which increases the plug- embedded in one surface sliding against a second surface.
ging rate. Hardness is a material's resistance to indentation, cutting, scratch-
Increased sand production has also been related to cycling. If the ing, or abrasion. Fig. 3 shows some of the more common hard-
rock is plastically deformed when the well is cycled, sand produc- ness scales. They are categorized as follows.
tion will increase. The rock regains the elastic portion of the strain 1. Penetration depth. The most widely known penetration scale
when the stresses are relieved, but the plastic portion is never re- is the Rockwell scale, which relates a material's hardness to the
covered. This change in shape weakens the formation and allows penetration depth that a specific size sphere will make under a spe-
Copyright 1990 Society of Petroleum Engineers cific load.

SPE Drilling Engineering, June 1990 171

 TABLE 1-APPROXIMATE SIZE EQUIVALENTS

-:; 70 Screen
Diameter
is
60
\ in. Itm
Mesh
Equivalent Common Name
".t
0
Uquld SP. GR.-I.O ---
0 Solid. SP. CR.-2.5
0.00004 1 clay, colloids
0 50 0.0002 5
C!

z
40
\ EII.-In Excl•• of
90-95l1: 0.0004
0.0018
10
44
1,470
325
fine silt

0.003 74 silt
0
It:
200
0 30 0.004 105 140
:E very fine sand
.:::. 20 ~ 0.005
0.006
125
149
120
100
fine sand

'"
CI'I
z .(' CONE 0.010 250 60
0 10
-..... 0.012 297 50
It:
0
:E
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
-
60
0.020
0.023
0.039
500
595
1,000
35
30
18
medium sand

coarse sand
0.047 1,190 16
DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE, PSIG very coarse sand
0.079 2,000 10
0.094 2,380 8
fine gravel
Fig. 1-Cyclone separator performance. 0.265 6,730 3

2. Indentation area. These scales relate a material's hardness to
the volume of material displaced by an indenter of specific geome-
try. The Brinell scale uses spheres; Knoop and Vickers' scale uses
pyramids. The readings are reported in units of kilograms per square
millimeter.
3. Scratch hardness. The Mohs scale rates hardness on the basis
of what mineral will scrach what other mineral. Diamond is the
hardest and has a Mohs rating of 10; talc is the softest and has a
rating of 1. This arbitrary scale spaces materials rather oddly com-
pared with some of the others. It is used mainly for minerals and
is seldom applied to metals.
Erosion. In erosion, the particles impinge on a surface. The severity
of erosion is a function of particle velocity, fluid viscosity, angle
of attack, and the physical characteristics of the surface and parti-
cle. During slurry transportation, 7 the erosion was found to be
proportional to the cube of the particle velocity. The smaller parti-
cles are less damaging. As the particle size is reduced, fluid drag
forces become large enough to prevent the particles from contact-
ing the material surface with sufficient force to remove any material.
Abrasion
Abrasion occurs when particles are crushed between, slid, or
dragged along a surface. When contact is made, the surface of the
material is deformed in one of two ways: by plastic deformation,
out by particles. Several factors determine the rate at which the
material removal occurs-e.g., hardness of the material and the par-
ticle; ductility of the surface; and size, shape, and toughness ofthe
particle.
It is commonly believed that an abrasive cannot wear a material
harder than itself. According to Mohs's definition, a softer materi-
al cannot scratch a harder material; in the more complex phenom-
enon of grinding abrasion, however, both the harder and the softer
material show loss. Rabinowicz 8 states that wear rate is inversely
proportional to hardness and that a plot of the product of wear and
hardness vs. hardness should be a straight line. Fig. 4 shows that
as the material approaches the hardness of the abrasive, the wear
rate drops but does not totally disappear.
The size of the abrasive particle significantly affects wear. Wear
increases as the particle size increases. It is suggested that with fine
abrasives the load be more evenly distributed along the surface of
the material to reduce the possibility of a particle critically damag-
ing the material.
Sand and ESP's
The ESP is an extremely specialized device. Because of its slender-
ness and high operational speed, loss of radial stability can destroy
10.000
10 Diamond

in which material either is extruded from the grooves formed along 5.000

the path of the particle or forms around a particle that indents the
surface, or by direct separation, in which material is directly gouged :::g:::::::::::
AIunIina- 2.000
Tungeton Corl>Ide -

l-
9 _.
90

r
8 Topaz 1.000
SILICA SANO~ 80
R....t. Iron 7
Abta.U)ft Quartz 110
SO.OS 28S Chrome
e Feldepar 500
40

40.o"
6 Apatite

20
f,m ..~
100
IRON SULFlDE~;Bf~ _ _ 200

CALCIUM ~:4R-..i~
CalcIte
Rc 80
iS 30.0" 80 100
~ 40
SODIUM CHLORIDE 20

i
~ 20.0"
-[
RB

ROCKWELL
60

:. 2 Gypsum
20
10.OX

10

0.""
JOO '54 72
Slew ......, OpenIng. UIcrona (um)
. 1
MOHS
Talc KNOOP
(APP. BRINELU

Fig. 2-Sleve analysis of formation sand. Fig. 3-Approxlmate hardness comparison.

172 SPE Drilling Engineering. June 1990

 UP THRUST ' ( \ " RADIAL WEAR AREAS
WASHER\.

200
A \
-- VI
I t
..
VI
VI Hardness of ....,g ~
~
c ..... abrasive EROSIONAL
100 WEAR AREAS
"O..!
"'0
Ou
51 0 2 1\ THRUST
.<: .. 50 (;lIo,'M' W EAR AREAS

~
'/'/"7:z:::Z
)(~
.. e
o:t:
"'-e 20 L DOWN THRUST

..
"'0
0 ...... 10
~
5
100 200 500 1000
Data of Alelnlkov (1957)
Hardness, kg/mm 2
Fig. 4-Wear rate times hardness vs. hardness (from Ref. 8).
the unit in a very short time. A majority of the pumps are classi-
fied as "floating" impeller pumps because their impellers are not
fixed axially to the pump shafts but are free to "float." Fig. 5 shows
the types of sand wear seen in these pumps-Le., radial bearing
wear, thrust bearing wear, and erosional wear.
Radial bearing wear refers to the loss of material on the pump's
radial bearings and sleeves. Slight loss of material in the radial bear-
ing allows the shaft to rotate eccentrically (whip). This whip greatly
increases the side load on the bearing, causing accelerated wear.
As the shaft moves off center, the thrust load on the shaft makes
the shaft buckle, increasing the side load and wear. The vibrations
are transmitted down the shaft into the seals, causing the seals to
leak wellbore fluid into the motor. Abrasive radial bearing wear
in floating impeller pumps never occurs in isolation; when it occurs,
there is always some degree of thrust bearing wear.
Thrust bearing wear is the wear on the thrust washers and their
mating surfaces in the pump stage. The thrust forces that are gener-
ated by a floating impeller are absorbed by thrust washers within
the stage. The industry standard for these thrust washers has been
laminated phenolic. Like the radial bearings, these thrust surfaces
WASHERS
Fig. 5-Wear points on a pump stage.
2000
are lubricated and cooled by the production fluid. The pump is de-
signed so that the direction of the thrust is downward when the pump
is within its operating range. Abrasive particles that are trapped
in or enter into the thrust bearing area abrade the thrust washer
material or the stage metal. Unlike radial bearing wear, thrust bear-
ing wear has been known to occur in isolation. Severe downthrust
wear should never occur in clean fluid if the pump is within its
operating range. Many abrasion failures are incorrectly attributed
to a pump that is run out of its range.
Erosion of the pump stage surfaces is caused by the abrasive par-
ticles striking the material surface. Impingement erosion is most
likely to occur in areas where the fluid changes direction, such as
the entrances to the impeller and the diffuser. The sliding erosion
occurs in the diffuser bowls and on the impeller vane tips. Erosion
is not considered a normal cause of failure because the pumps gener-
ally will fail for some other reason long before they erode to the
point of failure.
Sand Problems
Abrasion can exist without obvious surface evidence, such as cut-
out chokes and elbows or silt in the tanks. Fig. 6 shows the pump
curve from one mysterious failure. The well had a· sand problem
early in its life. A gravel pack was installed, and the produced fluid
appeared clean. The pump ran in its operating range for 7 hours
before it shut down on overload. A pit test determined that the unit
was performing to the head capacity curve. The horsepower at the

..""
lifTERS
'tAO
FEET
PERFORMANCE CURVE ~AKE
HP.
PUMP
EFF,,,

f.-lL rL...!7.!L0 +_+--1_+_+_+--1_+_+_+--1_-1 ONE STAGE PERFORMANCE

FROM MUL TI·ST AGE TEST
20

60 1--1-- ~o C PAC; S.0.1.0

PIT T STf;E 0 ti C---t-- I RPM 3500

JL
50
':::~
.....!L

12 40
plTtes ~
7I7i"E 1t0l1s
~.
.....
" "'" ""'-
,.....!.2....

-L
30

/"
./
...- - ........ r--. ~
...........
"
......
,
70

60

50

i---L
f--L
20

10

~
~ l---
J/
~

~ =-
un! ~EPO~ II
\t-.
~
, ........

\.
1.25

1.00

.75

.50
40

30

20

'0

0/
500

I
100
1000
BARRE~S

200
I
1500
PER DAY (42 U.s.

300
I
2000

.00
2500

I
GA~~ONS)
3000

I
500
3500

" I
600
4000
.25

CUBIC METERB PER DAY

Fig. 6-Pump performance curve after thrust bearing wear.

SPE Drilling Engineering, June 1990 173

 I..
..
Commercial Sand 0 25'" by weight

~
t .•
CommercJal Fot.I'tdry Sand
oo.o~ . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I.J
/ L
1.2
j /
j /
I.t
<40.0" +--------------------- 7 /
E

--
j / ..-
~~ 0 .•
-j 7
.~" ~
0.8
7 7
30.0" +------....,.,_,.,..--¥H74----------

20.0X +------44..-,...;4-44..-,...;4-...,..,~,.,..------
'0
~~
•
0.7
0.'
0.'
/
,
7
-/
7
./~
.--
0.'
O.J
/ ~
/ ~-./
0.2
to.OX +------44..-,...;4-44..-,...;4--+7..-,...;4-------1 O.t /~/
~

TIME (Hou,..)
42J JOO 2t8 ttJ 72 C Min Flow + BEP Flow () Max Flow

SltMt U..h Openlng. Micron. Cum)

Fig. 9-Thrust bearing wear with unsupported pump shaft.

Fig. 7-Sleve analysis of test sand.

2.3 Micron Sand. 0.25" by weight

t.5
Commercial Sana, 0.26" by weight
1.5 I.'
t.' 1.3

t.J ./ t.2

t.2 ./ I.t

t.t ./
./ I 0 .•
:;~
1~ /
e" i

--
0 .• 0.8
,,
.~ ./' / ~

--- ---
.2:;,

--
0.8 ,~
0.7
.~ ~ ./ / ~
'0 0.7 ~t. 0 .•

~~ 0 .• ./ / • 0.5

• 0.5 ./ / / 0.'
.....- ~
~

-- ---
./ / ./ O.J
~
0.'
./ .-" . / "7
O.J
0.2 ./ .....- ~
0.2
O.t
~
7~
O.t
~ ./ .........
TIME (Houra)
Cl ~in Flow + BEP Flow () t.4ax Flow
Tlt.4E (Houf1I)
o Min Flow + BEP Flow () Mox Flow

Fig. 10-Thrust bearing wear with radially supported pump

Fig. 8-Radial bearing wear with unsupported pump shaft. shaft.

"best efficiency point" (BEP), however, was 60% greater than nor-
mal and at shut-in was 140% greater. Examination of the disas-
sembled unit revealed little radial bearing wear; however, all the
thrust washers were worn away, and the stages were rubbing met-
al to metal. A fluid sample from the well did not contain any visi-
ble sand. The sample was centrifuged and found to contain fine
silt. Many failures are attributed to severe downthrust simply on
the evidence that the pump has worn through its downthrust wash-
ers. It is likely that many of these failures result from particles sus-
pended in the fluid.
Investigation
The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether abra-
sive wear in the pump could be segregated into categories that would
help explain some of the failures. A flow test loop was constructed
that allowed for rapid change-out of the pump, the fluid, and the
abrasive. The system was designed so that the pump could be quickly
disassembled for critical measurements and then reassembled to con-
tinue the test. The test was designed to encourage premature failure.
Sand concentrations were measured on a per-weight basis. The
maximum attempted was 10%, and the minimum was 0.1 %. It was
necessary to determine a concentration that would produce meas-
urable wear in a reasonable test time.
A commercial foundry sand was selected for general testing be-
cause it approximated some of the formation sands (Fig. 7). Spe-
cial sands were purchased and screened to obtain sand in a particular
size range.
The pumps were tested at three different flow rates: the BEP and
the maximum and minimum operating points. The tests were con-
fined to a radial flow pump designed for III m 3 /d [700 BID]. No
mixed flow stages were tested.
Test Results
The first series of tests was run with a standard-configuration pump.
The radial bearing support was provided by the impeller hubs run-
ning in the diffuser bores. Thrust support was provided by the thrust
washers in the impellers riding on thrust pads in the diffuser. The
starting concentration was 0.5 wt% of the commercial sand. Sig-
nificant wear was noted after the first hour. By the end of the sec-
ond hour, the wear was so severe that the test was aborted. The
sand concentration was reduced to 0.25 wt%, and the pump was
put through a series of 4-hour tests. The tests results shown in Figs.
8 and 9 indicate that a relation exists between the wear rate and
flow through the pump. The greatest wear occurred at the lowest
flow rate (highest pressure). Significant eccentric wear was evi-
dent on the impeller hubs at the end of the first hour, which indi-
cated that the pumps had lost radial stability before the first hour
of the test was complete.
The next series of tests was run to separate thrust bearing wear
from radial bearing wear. The shaft was supported by a hard-
surfaced sleeve that ran throug~ an elastomeric (rubber) radial bear-
ing. Again, a concentration of 0.25 wt% commercial sand was used.
It was thought that radial stability would reduce the rate of thrust
wear, but it actually eliminated thrust wear. There was no meas-

174 SPE Drilling Engineering, June 1990

urable wear on the thrust washers or mating pads during the 4-hour
tests.
The sand size was changed to the smallest available size (2.3 p.m
on average), and the tests were run again with 0.25 wt% of the
sand. Fig. 10 shows that thrust bearing wear returned when this
extremely fine sand was used. Note that the highest wear rate oc-
curred at higher flow rates and that the lowest wear rate occurred
at the lowest flow rates. Tests run with the fine sand and with an
unsupported shaft showed similar thrust bearing wear but no sig-
nificant radial bearing wear.
The radial bearing wear tests were repeated on supported shafts
with larger sand sizes (50 to 70 p.m) at 0.25 wt%. There was no
measurable thrust bearing with these sands.
Wear Analysis
Radial Bearing Wear. The percentage of a pump's length that is
actually engaged in a bearing can be up to 90%. With a pump run-
ning concentrically, the side loads are relatively light. These radi-
al bearings have a fixed initial clearance, depending on design and
machining tolerance. This clearance is small, but large enough to
admit a percentage of the formation sand. If the sand grain is large,
it is crushed and gouges out chunks of the bearing surfaces. If it
is very small, it may pass through the lubrication layer and never
touch the surfaces. The radial bearing wear is not directly affected
by pump thrust; however, higher levels of thrust occur at higher
pressures. The higher differential pressure across the stage increases
the flow through the bearing and consequently increases the prob-
ability that abrasives will be transported into the radial bearing.
Thrust Bearing Wear. The thrust bearings in the stages do not
have a fixed clearance. It varies with the downthrust and fluid vis-
cosity. The actual thickness of the bearing film may be on the or-
der of 5 to 10 /Lm. With the shaft stabilized, the majority of the
sand particles are too big to migrate into the thrust bearing area.
With the shaft stabilized, the bearings showed less wear at higher
pressures, which results from this exclusion of abrasive particles.
Note that if a pump is run so that it crosses the zero thrust point
and the impellers go into upthrust, the thrust bearing clearance is
enough to allow very large abrasive grains (500 to 700 p.m) to enter.
Combined Thrust and Radial Bearing Wear. When a pump has
suffered radial wear and is starting to rotate eccentrically, the thrust
washer no longer follows a concentric path on the thrust pad. The
washer will move back and forth across the machine marks and
abrasive scratches already in that surface. This raking action can
wedge particles larger than the lubrication layer under the edge of
the thrust washer. This forced admittance of larger particles be-
tween the surfaces leads to the destruction of the thrust washers
and even the stages themselves.
Erosion. This was not directly addressed in the testing. A slight
polishing was seen on the short-duration tests and weight-loss tests
showed nothing. Only the long tests (100 hours with 5 wt% sand)
showed any measurable weight loss. These severe tests had to be
run with a specially constructed sand pump.
Recommendations
1. Know your problem. Silica sand is not necessarily the parti-
cle causing the wear. Cases have been reported where the wear
has been caused by particles of iron sulfide, calcium carbonate,
and even sodium chloride. Sieve tests are not prohibitively expen-
sive. Any attempt to quantify or to qualify the particles in the fluid
can help.
2. Recognize sand wear. Sand damage in an ESP can occur
without noticeable wear on surface equipment. Extreme downthrust
should never be assumed to be the sole cause of failure if it is ac-
companied by significant radial wear. Even in the absence of radi-
al wear, fine, suspended particles may be at fault.
3. The radially stabilized or "rubber bearing" pump can per-
form well in a large number of abrasive wells. It should be consid- Feb. 2, 1990. Revised manuscript received Aug. 7, 1989. Paper (SPE 17583) first present-
ered especially when the percentage of fines is low.
SPE Drilling Engineering, June 1990
Author
Brown L. Wilson, chief engineer at 011
Dynamics Inc. In Tulsa, has worked in
the artificial-lift Industry since 1977. He
holds a BS degree In mechanical engi-
neering from the U. of Tulsa.
4. If a well has a sand problem, procedures should be adopted
to optimize pump life. For example, keep the pump in downthrust
at all times. When a unit is started in a sandy well, use a check
valve and fill the tubing with fluid to prevent the pump from going
into upthrust. If a check valve cannot be used, then adopt some
other method, such as dumping water down the annulus as the unit
is started so that the pump starts in clean fluid and is in downthrust
as it starts producing formation fluid. Another way to optimize pump
life is to avoid overload shutdown during startup when abrasive
production is greatest. The current drawn by the motor will be high
because of the increased density and apparent viscosity of the fluid.
A shutdown during this period allows the sand to settle in the pump,
possibly locking it so that restart is impossible. The sand may also
collect in some of the inactive areas and cause additional friction
and wear. Another method is to avoid cycling the unit if possible.
If a check valve is used, the abrasives in the fluid will tend to settle
in the pump during off time. If the unit does not have a check valve
or has a check valve that leaks, then the pump will go into upthrust
on startup, allowing sand to enter the thrust surfaces. The varia-
tion of stress and flow on the formation can also increase the rate
of sand production.
References
1. Moore, M.A.: "Abrasive Wear," Fundamentals of Friction and Wear
of Materials, D.A. Rigney (ed.), American Society for Metals, Metals
Park, OH (1981) 73-118.
2. Morita, N. et al.: "Parametric Study of Sand Production Prediction: An-
alytical Approach," SPEPE (Feb. 1989) 25-33; Trans., AIME, 287.
3. Morita, N. et al.: "Realistic Sand-Production Prediction: Numerical Ap-
proach," SPEPE (Feb. 1989) 15-24; Trans., AIME, 287.
4. Weissenburger, K.W. et al.: "The Engineering Approach to Sand Pro-
duction Prediction," paper SPE 16892 presented at the 1987 SPE An-
nual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Sept. 27-30.
5. Ghalambor, A. et al.: "Predicting Sand Production in U.S. Gulf Coast
Gas Wells Producing Free Water," JPT (Dec. 1989) 1336-43.
6. Miller, J.E.: "Abrasion Wear in Slurry Pumping," ASTM Standardi-
zation News (May 1987) 60-63.
7. Wasp, E.J., Kenny, J.P., and Gandi, R.L.: "Corrosion-Erosion in Slurry
Pipelines," Solid-Liquid Flow, Slurry Pipeline Transportation, Gulf Pub-
lishing Co., Houston (1979) 141-51.
8. Rabinowicz, E.: Friction and Wear of Materials, John Wiley & Sons
Inc., New York City (1965) 167-95.
51 Metric Conversion Factors
bbl x 1.589873 E-Ol m3
ft x 3.048* E-Ol m
gal x 3.785412 E-03 m3
hp x 7.46043 E-Ol kW
in. x 2.54* E+oo cm
in. 2 x 6.451 6* E+oo cm 2
Ibm x 4.535924 E-Ol kg
psi x 6.894757 E+OO kPa
• Conversion factor is exact. SPEDE
Original SPE manuscript received for review Nov. 1, 1988. Paper accepted for publication
ed at the 1988 SPE Inti. Meeting on Petroleum Engineering held in Tainjin, Nov. 1-4.
175