Product Innovation of the Year 2010 5th Place: Wanner Engineering

What is the primary use and application for the product? Introduced in August 2010, the Hydra-Cell T8030 is a sealless, triplex diaphragm pump that reduces maintenance and downtime by eliminating packing, has zero leakage of production fluid, has the ability to pump abrasives and can run dry without damage. The T8030 high-pressure pump employs asynchronous, hydraulically-balanced diaphragms with a patented valving system. This asynchronous design allows the diaphragms to be hydraulically coupled to the displacing plungers with no mechanical coupling required. It is capable of flow rates to 926 barrels per day (27 gallons per minute) and pressures to 4,500 PSI. The heart of the Hydra-Cell T8030 is a patented valve system that maintains the correct volume of hydraulic fluid in the pumping chamber behind the diaphragm. This valve system uses a spool valve combined with one-way hydraulic check valves to maintain the proper diaphragm position. This breakthrough in diaphragm pump design enables diaphragm pumps to have much higher flow rates and pressures than previous diaphragm pumps.
The improvement over current technology comes through the elimination of plunger pump packing. One major triplex pump manufacturer lists the estimated packing life at 4,000 hours in its service manual. The diaphragm in the T8030 does not wear—a trait that has been proven in seven months of field testing. End-User Testimony Matt James, J & J Technical Services, Shreveport, La.
 
J & J Technical Services (JJ Tech) is convinced that the Hydra-Cell T8030 is the pump of choice for its oil and gas applications. JJ Tech manufactures artificial lift jet pump systems that increase the flow of liquids such as crude oil or water from a production well. For decades, oil wells throughout the world have been produced by beam pumps (also referred to as pump jacks or sucker rod pumps). With numerous downhole moving parts, beam pumps have regular costly maintenance. JJ Tech's jet pump system has zero moving parts downhole thereby reducing maintenance and avoiding costly shutdowns. Jet pump systems needed a positive displacement surface pump to power the jet pump downhole. To avoid the regular maintenance of the packed plunger pump family, JJ Tech has been testing the Hydra-Cell T8030 for their high pressure well applications since February and is convinced of the pump's superior performance over the competition.