General Guidelines for Failure Analysis Of Downhole

Progressing Cavity Pumps

This Failure Analysis Guide is intended to give a general outline of common failure
modes of Progressing Cavity Pumping Systems along with their respective root causes
and possible solutions. In order to properly understand some of the failure modes covered
herein and their respective root causes and solutions, an understanding of progressing
cavity technology is crucial. It will be done by first reviewing the basic progressing cavity
pump components followed by some basic progressing cavity pump theory. This guide is
not intended to give final answers on progressing cavity pump component failures but
should help in evaluating whether further investigations are necessary.

 Section 1………………………..Introduction
 Section 2……………….……….Component Description
 Section 3………………………..General PC Pump Theory
 Section 4………………………..Failure Modes
 Section 5………………………..Root Causes
 Section 6…………………….….Possible Solutions
 Section 7………………………..Technical Support

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