The drive for energy independence has created a window of opportunity for innovations
in oil recovery. New artificial lift methods like progressing cavity pumping have been
successfully applied to downhole pumping applications. The multilobe pumps are also
making inroads into the industry to be used under different operating conditions. Although
the design has been mainly based on empirical standards and trial and error
modifications, a more phenomenally optimum design of the pump is required to achieve a
high efficiency standard. The optimal relationship between the pitch and the diameter of
the housing is obtained to achieve a maximum flow rate for multilobe pumps.
