**Figure 15.**

pump, transmits power from the motor to the pump, equalizes motor internal and external pressures, provides/receives additional motor oil as temperature changes and prevents well fluids from entering the motor. The pump consists of stages, which are made up of impellers and diffusers. The impeller, which is rotating, adds energy to the fluid as kinetic energy, whereas the diffuser, which is stationary, converts the kinetic energy of fluids into head. The pump stages are typically stacked in series to form a multi-stage system that is contained within a pump housing. The sum of head generated by each individual stage is summative; hence, the total head developed by the multi-stage system increases from the first to the last stage. The monitoring sub/tool is installed onto the motor to measure parameters such as pump intake and discharge pressures, intake and motor oil temperature, and vibration. Measured downhole data is communicated to the surface via the power cable. The ESP industry faces two main challenges with this legacy technology: reliability and intervention cost. Low reliability is attributed to the system complexity both mechanically and electrically, compounded by the harsh operating environments. High intervention cost is a result of rig dependency of the system for deployment, retrieval and replacement. Improving reliability and developing rigless deployment are the two ongoing battle fronts that the industry is currently engaged in intensely. Both radial and thrust bearings use

*A downhole tool uses the new catalyst-free, ultra-strong PCD materials [23].*

*Applications of Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) Materials in Oil and Gas Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107355*

**Figure 16.** *Examples of protector thrust bearing/runner damages.*

liquid film to prevent metal-to-metal contact. Erosion, corrosion, vibration, impact force, and heat are all detrimental to the performance of bearings. Bearing failures (**Figure 16**) can lead to vibration, low efficiency, broken shaft, shaft mechanical seal damage, fluid invasion to the motor, and motor electrical failure.

Bearings can be made of our new-generation catalyst-free, ultra-strong polycrystalline diamond (PCD) material synthesized by the novel ultra-high pressure and ultra-high temperature techniques without using any catalyst to greatly enhance the reliability of bearings used in ESPs [22].
