Pumping

Pumping can refer to:

See also

Pumping (audio)

In audio, recording, and music, pumping or gain pumping is a creative misuse of compression, the "audible unnatural level changes associated primarily with the release of a compressor". There is no 'correct' way to produce pumping, and according to Alex Case, the effect may result from selecting "too slow or too fast...or too, um, medium" attack and release settings.

The technique is common in rock and electronic dance music. A celebrated example is Phil Selway's (Radiohead) drum track on "Exit Music (For A Film)", and clear examples include the electro percussion loop in Radiohead's "Idioteque", Benny Benassi's "Finger Food", and the ride cymbals on Portishead's "Pedestal".

Side-chain pumping is a more advanced technique using a compressors 'side-chain' feature which, "uses the amplitude envelope (dynamics profile) of one track as a trigger for a compressor used in another track." When the amplitude of a note of the side-chained instrument surpasses the threshold setting of the compressor it attenuates the compressed instrument, producing volume swells offset from the side-chained note by a selected release time. Found in house, techno, IDM, hip hop, dubstep, and drum 'n' bass, Eric Prydz's "Call On Me" is credited with popularizing the technique, though Daft Punk's "One More Time" contributed, while clear examples include Madonna's "Get Together" and Benny Benassi's "My Body (feat. Mia J.)"

Pumping (oil well)

In the context of oil wells, pumping is a routine operation involving injecting fluids into the well. Pumping may either be done by rigging up to the kill wing valve on the Xmas tree or, if an intervention rig up is present pumping into the riser through a T-piece (a small section of riser with a connection on the side). Pumping is most routinely done to protect the well against scale and hydrates through the pumping of scale inhibitors and methanol. Pumping of kill weight brine may be done for the purposes of well kills and more exotic chemicals may be pumped from surface for cleaning the lower completion or stimulating the reservoir (though these types are jobs are more frequently done with coiled tubing for extra precision).

Importance of knowing quantity

Work involving wells is fraught with difficulties as there is often very little information about the real time condition of the completion. This lack of knowledge also covers potential damage and even loss of well integrity. Therefore it is essential for the operator to pay attention to the pressures as recorded and to the quantity pumped. A premature increase in pressure is sign of a potential blockage and continuing to pump risks burst pressure retaining components. Pumping more than an anticipated amount of fluid is a sign of a loss of integrity and a potential leak path somewhere. In either of these two situations, pumping must be stopped and the potential causes analysed.