Bachelor Thesis

CentrifugalPumps

by ChristianAllerstorfer Supervisedby Univ.Prof.Dipl.Ing.Dr.mont.FranzKessler

Contents
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Abstract.....................................................................................................................................................1 Abstract[German]....................................................................................................................................1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................2 Definition..................................................................................................................................................5 Theprincipalofcentrifugalpumps........................................................................................................... 5 Pumpdesign ..............................................................................................................................................6 Pumpassembly.........................................................................................................................................8 8) Casing...............................................................................................................................................8 Impeller............................................................................................................................................9 Shaft ................................................................................................................................................11 Bearings..........................................................................................................................................11 Sealing............................................................................................................................................12

Pumpparametersandselection............................................................................................................. 13 Totaldynamichead(TDH).............................................................................................................. 13 Flowrate(Q)...................................................................................................................................13 Netpositivesuctionhead(NPSH)................................................................................................... 13 Specificspeed(ns)........................................................................................................................... 14 PowerandEfficiency(P,)............................................................................................................. 15 Pumpcharacteristiccurve.............................................................................................................. 16 Affinitylaws....................................................................................................................................17 Systemcharacteristiccurve............................................................................................................ 19 Pumpselection............................................................................................................................... 20 Example1.......................................................................................................................................22 Example2.......................................................................................................................................28

9)

ProblemsatcentrifugalPumps............................................................................................................... 31 Cavitation ........................................................................................................................................31 Solidsandslurryhandling(abrasivemedias)................................................................................. 32 corrosion.........................................................................................................................................33

10) 11) 12) 13)

Comparisoncentrifugalpumpsvs.Pistonpumps................................................................................... 33 Standards................................................................................................................................................35 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................35 References..............................................................................................................................................36

DirectoryI

TableofFiguresandEquations
Figure1Pumpcategories.....................................................................................................................................2 Figure3MudCleaningUnit(NGMTechnologies)................................................................................................ 3 Figure2Mudcirculationrotarydrilling............................................................................................................... 3 Figure5Pumpstation,byWarrenpumpsinwestchina(left)andTransAlaskaPumpStation(right)...............4 Figure4TransAlaskaPipelinetopographicmap................................................................................................. 4 Figure6Principleofacentrifugalpump.............................................................................................................. 5 Equation1Bernoulliprinciple.............................................................................................................................. 6 Figure7Singleanddoublesuctionpump............................................................................................................ 6 Figure8Multistagepump(Gouldspumpsmodel3600).................................................................................... 7 Figure9Deepwellpump(GouldspumpsmodelVITFF)................................................................................... 7 Figure10horizontalsplittedcasingofadoublesuctionpump(lowerpart).......................................................8 Figure11openimpeller.......................................................................................................................................9 Figure12losscompensation.............................................................................................................................. 10 Figure13enclosedimpeller............................................................................................................................... 10 Figure14pumpscrankshaft............................................................................................................................. 11 Figure15bearingproperties.............................................................................................................................. 11 Figure16mechanicalsingleseal........................................................................................................................ 12 Equation2totaldynamichead.......................................................................................................................... 13 Equation3flowrate...........................................................................................................................................13 Equation4NPSH.................................................................................................................................................14 Equation5specificspeed...................................................................................................................................14 Figure17Impellerdesignoverspecificspeed................................................................................................... 14 Equation6power................................................................................................................................................15 Equation7efficiency...........................................................................................................................................15 Figure18Pumpcharacteristicsheet(Gouldpumpsmodel3196)...................................................................16 Equation8affinitylaws(constantimpellerdiameter)....................................................................................... 17 Equation9affinitylaw(constantrotationspeed)............................................................................................. 17 Figure19approximatepumpcharacteristiccurve(Gouldspumpsmodel3196atdifferentRPMs) ...............18 Figure20Examplesofhydraulicsystems........................................................................................................... 19 Figure21Systemcharacteristiccurves............................................................................................................... 20 Figure22System&PumpCharacteristiccurve................................................................................................. 21 Figure23Borehole..............................................................................................................................................22 Figure24frictioncoefficientforOSTWALDfluids.............................................................................................. 23 Figure25pressurelossinmanifoldsystems...................................................................................................... 25 Figure26Pumpselectionsoftware,criteriadefinition...................................................................................... 26

DirectoryII


Figure27exampleofresultsprovidedbygouldspumpspumsselectiontool..................................................26 Figure28Hydrocyclone,workingprinciple ......................................................................................................... 28 Figure29recommendedmanifoldsystem........................................................................................................ 28 Figure31regionsofimpellercavitation ............................................................................................................. 31 Figure30bubblecollapse..................................................................................................................................31 Figure32typicalimpellerwearduetocavitation.............................................................................................. 32 Figure33pistonpump.......................................................................................................................................33

DirectoryIII

1) Abstract
Aim of this thesis is to give an overview on centrifugal pumps in general and especially in applications within the petroleum industry. There is a wide range of pumps available but as the radial pump is by far the most prolific member of the pump family so this paper will concentrate on them. It will first explain the principal of centrifugal pumps; its types of construction, which bandwidth of pressures and flow rates are available and how to choose the right pump for a specific application. Also some comparison with another big family of pumps, the piston pumps, is made. Later chapters deal with typical problems when using centrifugal pumps suchascavitationsandcorrosion. NotethatthisismyfirstbachelorthesisduringmystudiesofPetroleumEngineering.Itismeantasaliterature research to scientifically handle a specific topic and to define the state of the art. All sources are listed at the endofthedocumentinthechapterreferences.

2) Abstract[German]
Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es einen berblick ber Zentrifugalpumpen im allgemeinem und besonders in Anwendungen der Erdlindustrie zu vermitteln. Fr industriele Anwendungen sind heutzutage viele verschiedene Pumpentypen verfgbar, aufgrund der weiten Verbreitung von Zentrifugalpumpen wird sich diese Abhandlung auf diese konzentrieren. Zuerst wird auf Aufbau, Prinzip und Konstruktionsvarianten ebenso wie auf verfgbare Bandbreiten in Druck und Durchfluss sowie Pumpenwahl eingegangen. Weiteres werden Zentrifugalpumpen den Kolbenpumpen gegenbergestellt. Sptere Kapitel behandeln typische Probleme welchebeimBetriebdieserPumpenauftretenwieKavitationundKorrosion. Man beachte das dies die erste Bakkalaureatsarbeit whrend meines Petroleum Engineering Studiums ist. Es wird als Literaturrecherche verstanden und dient dazu sich mit dem wissenschaftlich bearbeiten eines vorgegebenen Themas zu befassen. Alle Quellen sind am Ende des Dokuments im Kapitel References angefhrt.

3) Introduction
A pump is a machinery or device for raising, compressing or transferring fluid. A fluid can be gasses or any liquid. Pumps are one of the most often sold and used mechanical devices and can be found in almost every industry. Due to this there is a wide range of different pumps available. In general, the family of pumps is separatedintopositivedisplacementandkineticpumps.Asubcategoryofkineticpumpsarecentrifugalpumps which are again separated into radial pumps, mixed flow pumps and axial pumps. But even at the axial end of the spectrum there is still a part of the energy coming from centrifugal force unless most of the energy is generatedbyvaneaction.Ontheotherhandsideinradialpumpsalmostalltheenergycomesfromcentrifugal force but there is still a part coming from vane action. There are also several pumps combining both principles placed somewhere in between the two extremes in the centrifugal pump spectrum known as mixed flow impellers. Characteristic for radial pumps are low specific speeds. As shown in the diagram below there are manyoptionsinpumpdesign,whichwillbediscussedindetailinlaterchapters.

Figure1Pumpcategories


Within the petroleum industry pumps are necessary to process fluids especially hydrocarbons. Another important application within the petroleum industry is in the mud circuit on a drilling rig. On drilling rigs, mud which consists mainly of water and bentonite as well as of several different additives depending on many different factors is used. The heart of the mud circuit is the mud pump which is in general a high pressure piston pump. It provides the major part of head to overcome the systems resistance. The mud is pumped through a piping system to the derrick and through the standpipe to a certain high. Now through the kelly hose via the gooseneck into the upper kelly cock. It flows through the kelly and the lower kelly cock into the drill string down the borehole. At its end, the mud leaves the drilling collars through the drilling bit. The mud pressure is increased by its 1 nozzlesandreleasedintotheborehole(fig.2 ).Themudcools the bit and collects the cuttings to transport them up to the surface where the mud is cleaned. It leaves the borehole and is forced through the BOP Stack and the chock manifold system. Now bigger cuttings are removed in the shall shaker and the mud is collected in the settling pit. It is now pumped though a degasser to remove any gasses collected from the borehole to avoid explosions. After degassing, the sand is removed in a desander and the mud is processed to the mud cleaner. It consist of several desilters. Here small cuttings even smaller than 74m, are removed. Desander and desilter Figure2Mudcirculationrotarydrilling1 are so called hydrocyclones of different sizes, commonly charged by centrifugal pumps. At the end of the mud conditioning circuit, a centrifuge is located to remove anything left. The mud is now stored in tanks and kept in motion by nozzles or agitators. Finally the mud is sucked through the hopper to the mud pump by another centrifugal pump. To sum up, centrifugal pumps can be found on several locations within the mud circuit of a drilling rig like to charging degasser, desander, mud cleaner as well as the mud pump. On rigs centrifugal pumps can also be found as fuel or cooling water pumps fore.g.dieselengines

Figure3MudCleaningUnit(NGMTechnologies) 2

1 www.q8geologist.com(modified) 2 NeftegazmashTechnologies(modified) 3


Other typical applications for centrifugal pumps are pipeline applications. Pipelines are used for economical transport of hydrocarbons like oil and gas over long distances. At the beginning of a pipeline system, in most cases huge storage tanks can be found to ensure a continuous flow through the pipeline. The oil is forced through the pipe by a few powerful centrifugal pumps in serial. On its long way, pumping stationsarerequiredtoovercometheresistance and heights. These pumping stations are distributed over the whole length of the pipeline, but can be found especially before mountains. As an example, the 1280km long TransAlaska pipeline has 11 pumping stations with4pumpseach.Usuallyonly7stationsarein operation and provide the head to overcome height differences and the fluid pipe friction. The other 4 pump stations are on standby and are activated if necessary to ensure sufficient headatpeakloads.Thepipelinehasamaximum capacity of around 330.000m per day. So it is obviouslythatpipelinesareaperfectapplication of high capacity pumps like centrifugal pumps. There are also several valves to control the flow or to shut in the pipeline in case of an accident 1 alongit.Onthemap(fig.4 )itcanbeeasilyseen that the pump stations are not distributed Figure4 TransAlaskaPipelinetopographicmap1 regularly over the pipelines length. At the end of a pipeline, usually a distributing station like a major harbour or refineries can be found. In case of the TransAlaska Pipeline, it is the harbour in Valdez to distributetheoilfromthePrudhoeBayOilFieldtouptofourtankerssimultaneously.

Figure5Pumpstation,byWarrenpumpsinwestchina(left)andTransAlaskaPumpStation(right) 2

Thesearejustexamplesforthewiderangeofapplicationsofcentrifugalpumpswithinthepetroleumindustry. Alsoimportantareapplicationswithinthehydrocarbonprocessingindustryandonoffshorerigsordistributing stationsatharbours.

1 www.Nationalatlas.gov(modified) 2 WarrenPumps(left),HowardC.Anderson(right) 4

4) Definition
Symbol D z ps p d pe g v Unit m m bar bar bar m/s m/s Definition Impellerdiameter height(pos.upwardsfromPCL) pressuresuctionflange pressuredischargeflange pressureenvironment(1bar) accelerationofgravity(9,81m/s) velocity rotationperminute totaldynamichead netpositivesuctionhead bestefficiencypoint pumpcentreline suctionside,dischargeside Symbol Q pv P NPSHA NPSHR H Unit kg/m m/s bar W m m m density efficiency flowrate vaporizepressure electricpower NPSHavailable NPSHrequired Head Definition

1/min n Shortcut TDH NPSH BEP PCL index:1,2

Description

5) Theprincipalofcentrifugalpumps
Acentrifugalpumpisarotodynamicpumpthatusesarotatingimpellertoincreasethepressureofafluid.The fluid enters the pump near the rotating axis, streaming into the rotating impeller. The impeller consists of a rotating disc with several vanes attached. The vanes normally slope backwards, away from the direction of rotation.Whenthefluidenterstheimpelleratacertainvelocityduetothesuctionsystem,itiscapturedbythe rotating impeller vanes. The fluid is accelerated by pulse transmission while following the curvature of the impellervanesfromtheimpellercentre(eye)outwards.Itreachesitsmaximumvelocityattheimpellersouter diameterandleavestheimpellerintoadiffuserorvolutechamber(fig.6).

Figure6Principleofacentrifugalpump 1

1 ITTGouldsPumps(modified) 5


Sothecentrifugalforceassistsacceleratingthefluidparticlesbecausetheradiusatwhichtheparticlesenteris smallerthantheradiusatwhichtheindividualparticlesleavetheimpeller.Nowthefluidsenergyisconverted into static pressure, assisted by the shape of the diffuser or volute chamber. The process of energy conversationinfluidsmechanicsfollowstheBernoulliprinciple(eqn.1)whichstatesthatthesumofallformsof energyalongastreamlineisthesameontwopointsofthepath.Thetotalheadenergyinapumpsystemisthe sumofpotentialheadenergy,staticpressureheadenergyandvelocityheadenergy.
2 v12 p1 v2 p z1 + + = z2 + + 2 2 g g 2 g g

Equation1Bernoulliprinciple

As a centrifugal pump increases the velocity of the fluid, it is essentially a velocity machine. After the fluid has lefttheimpeller,itflowsatahighervelocityfromasmallareaintoaregionofincreasingarea.Sothevelocityis decreasing and so the pressure increases as described by Bernoullis principle. This results in an increased pressureatthedischargesideofthepump.Asfluidisdisplacedatthedischargesideofthepump,morefluidis suckedintoreplaceitatthesuctionside,causingflow.

6) Pumpdesign
Back in 1475, the Italian Renaissance engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini describes a water or mud lifting machine in one of his treatises that can be characterised as the first prototype of a centrifugal pump. The first true centrifugal pump was invented by the French physician Denis Papin in 1689, when he was experimenting with straight vane impellers. British inventor John Appold introduced the first curved vane impeller in 1851. Nowadays only curved impellers are used in 3 different types. There are pumps with open, semiopen and enclosed impellers. Open impellers only consist of blades attached to its eye as semiopen ones are constructedwithadiscattachedtoonesideofthevanes.Enclosedimpellershavediscsattachedtobothsides of the vanes. Impellers are also classified based on the number of points where the fluid can enter the pump. There are single suction, which allow the fluid to enter its centre from only one side, as well as double suction impellers which can be entered by fluid from both sides simultaneously. These types of construction are also knownasoverhungimpellerpumpsandimpellerbetweenbearingspumps.

Figure7Singleanddoublesuctionpump 1

1 ITTGouldsPumps 6


Anotheroptionincentrifugalpumpdesignissinglestageandmultistagedesign(fig.9).Singlestagepumpisthe standard centrifugal pump design, equipped with only a single impeller. Multistage pumps on the other hand consist of two or more impellers fitted to the same shaft in a single casing. Multistage pumps work like two or more pumps operating in serial. Therefore multistage pumps are most suitable in low flow rate and high TDH applications.

Figure8Multistagepump(Gouldspumpsmodel3600)1

Centrifugal pumps can also be separated into horizontal pump designandverticalpumpdesign(fig.8).Verticalcentrifugalpumps areespeciallyusedassubmergedorinwellpumps.Anotherpoint whentalkingaboutcentrifugalpumpsispriming.Everycentrifugal pumphastobeprimedasitisnotabletosuckanyfluidaslongas the impeller is filled with air. This is because air is approximately 1000 times lighter than for example water. So to suck water into thepumptoprimeitself,foreverymeteritwouldhavetobeable to produce a TDH of 1000m.Due to the fact that conventional centrifugal pumps are not able to produce a TDH in that order of magnitude,mostcentrifugalpumpshavetobeprimedeitherwith anextradevice,forexampleavacuumpumporaspecialdesignof the pump casing. Due to the wide range of design variations wheremostofthemarecombinableinmanydifferentwaysthere is a huge range of centrifugal pumps available beginning with standardsinglesuction,singlestage,nonselfprimingpumpsupto double suction high flow rate, multistage pumps for high pressuresorselfprimingpumpsforspecialapplications.

1 ITTGouldsPumps

Figure9Deepwellpump(Gouldspumps modelVITFF)1

7) Pumpassembly
In this chapter, the main parts, a centrifugal pump consist of are discussed. These are the casing, the impeller, shaft,bearingsandseals.

Casing
The pumps casing (fig.9 1 ) houses the hole assembly and protects is from harm as well as forces the fluid to discharge from the pump and convert velocity into pressure. The casings design does not influence TDH but is important to reduce friction losses. It supports the shaft bearings and takes the centrifugalforcesoftherotatingimpellerandaxialloadscausedbypressurethrustimbalance.Mostof allcentrifugalpumpsareofsimplespiralcasingandarenotequippedwithaguidevaneaperture.Even if this would increase efficiency due to the simplicity of spiral casings, this is the preferred type of construction. Only extraordinarybigormultistagepumpsdohaveguidevanes.The spiral pump casing has to be carefully designed to avoid turbulences resulting in a decrease in efficiency. The shape of the casing is defined by several factors; these are profiles angles, diameter and width. The whole amount of fluid flows through the discharge cross section, the amount of fluid is decreasing when going backwards in the spiral, from point of view of flow direction. Therefore the area of the profiles is Figure10horizontalsplittedcasing ofadoublesuctionpump(lower decreasingcontinuouslyaswell,tofittheflowrateinthespecific part)1 pointofthepumpcasing.Theresultisaspiralshapedcasing.The optimum properties of the spiral were found in experiments and expressed in formulas and diagrams. The fluid velocity is not constantly distributed over a certain profile section. Modern Pumps are designedfora constantpressureandconstantmeanvelocityineveryprofilesectionattheBEP.Apart fromtheBEP,theradialforcesareoutofbalanceresultinginatotalradialforcedifferenttozero.This is important because the radial force bends the pumps shaft and results in higher wear at seals and could lead to shaft fatigue. To reduce most radial forces the pump casing can be designed as a double spiral casing. In this case the flow is spitted into two parts. Due to symmetry reasons almost all radial forces chancel each other out. Another important part of the pumps casing are elbows in multistage pumpstodeflecttheflowfromthepreviousstagesdischargesidetothesuctionsideofthefollowing. If a multistage pump is equipped with guide vanes, no elbows are necessary. As already mentioned, guidevaneconstructionisonlycommonatbigorhorizontalmultistagepumps.Guidevanesworkasa diffuser and convert the increased fluid velocity into pressure. It consists of extending channels arranged around the impeller. To ensure adequate pump life time, the pumps casing material should beselectedcarefully.Standardpumpcasingsaremadeofcastironbutduetothefactthatcastironis not that resistant against cavitation, many pumps are coated or made from more wear resistant materials. Due to vibrations the casing should have good damping properties. Pump casings are splittedeitheraxialorradialtoallowassemblingandmaintenance.

1 www.rumfordgroup.com 8

 Impeller
Theimpelleristheessentialpartofacentrifugalpump.Theperformanceofthepumpdependsonthe impeller diameters and design. The pumps TDH is basically defined by the impellers inner and outer diameter and the pumps capacity is defined by the width of the impeller vanes. In general, there are three possible types of impellers, open, enclosed and semi open impellers, each suitable for a specific application. Standard impellers are made of cast iron or carbon steel, while impeller for aggressive fluidsandslurriesrequirehighendmaterialstoensurealongpumplife.

o Openimpeller
Open impellers (fig.9 1 ) are the simplest type of impellers. They consist of blades attached to the hub. This type of impeller is lighter than any of the other type at the same diameter. Weight reduction leads to less force applied to the shaft and allows smaller shaft diameters. These results in lower costs compared to equivalent shrouded impellers. Typically, open impellers operate at higher efficiency because there is no friction between the shrouds and the pump casing. Figure11openimpeller1 On the other hand side, open impellers have to be carefullypositionedinthecasing.Thegapbetweentheimpellerandthesurroundingcasingshouldbe as small as possible to maximise efficiency. As the impeller wears the clearance between the impeller andthefrontandbackwallsopenup,whatleadstoadramaticdropinefficiency.Abigproblemwhen using a pump with an open impeller are abrasives. Due to the minimized clearance between blades and casing, high velocity fluids in close proximity to the stationary casing establish vortices that increaseweardramatically.

o Semiopenimpeller
Semiopenimpellerscanbeseenasacompromisebetweenopenandenclosedimpellers.Asemiopen impeller is constructed with only one shroud, usually located at the back of the impeller. It usually operatesatahigherefficiencythananequivalentenclosedoneduetoreduceddiscfrictionasthereis only one shroud. Abig advantage of semiopen impellerscompared to open ones is that the impellers axial position can be adjusted to compensate for wear. A problem is that the entire backside of the impellers shroud is under full impeller discharge pressure as the front side is under suction pressure increasingalong the impeller radius due tocentrifugal force. The differential between these pressures causes an axial thrust imbalance. Manufactures try to reduce this effectby applying vanes to the back sideoftheimpeller.Buttheefficiencyofthesesocalledpumpoutvanesdecreasesiftheimpelleris moved forward to compensate for wears. A better option to compensate the loss of efficiency is an adjustablewearplate,sothatclearanceadjustmentscanbemade.Semiopenimpellersarealsoeasily to manufacture as all sides of the impeller are easy accessible for manufacturing processes as well as for applying surface hardening treatments. In combination with wear compensation applications, semiopen impellers can be used for intermediate abrasive fluids. Another advantage if using semi closedimpellersincombinationwithanadjustablewearplatecomparedtoanopenimpellerequipped with the same wear compensation system is vane support. This prevents the vanes from collapsing or deformation when using it with fluids contaminated by solids. This justifies the application of semi openimpellerseventhoughtitseemslogicallytouseanopenimpellerduetoitsreducedweight.

1 Hwww.mcnallyinstitute.com(left),ITTGouldsPumps(right) 9


o Enclosedimpeller
Enclosed impellers (fig.12 1 ) consist of blades covered by a front and back shroud. The fluid steams through the impeller without interacting with the stationary pump casing. In a well designed enclosed impeller, the relative velocity between the fluid and the impeller walls at any given radius is rather small. The disc frictionoftheshroudsrotatingincloseproximitytothe pump casing causes a lower efficiency as comparable semiopen or open impellers. A problem when dealing Figure13 enclosedimpeller1 withenclosedimpellersisleakagebetweentheimpeller shrouds and the pump casing back to the suction side of the pump. There are two common ways for controlling leakage in enclosed impeller pumps (fig.13 2 ). One are wearringsincombinationwithimpellerbalanceholes.Butthetight clearance between the rotating and the stationary wear ring causes high fluid velocities and therefore a high wear rate. Wear ring lifespan is unacceptable short in an abrasive environment. If wear rings reach the end of their intended lifespan, it has to be replaced because if it is not the high velocity zone can shift from the wear ring into the impeller thrust balance holes. This could cause significant damage to the impeller and may result in an expensive repairorreplacementoftheimpeller.Sothisisonlyanoptionwhen dealing with moderate abrasive fluids with light solids only. The other possibility to control wear and axial thrust balance are pump out vanes. These pumpout vanes cause much lower local velocities spread over a bigger area resulting in lower wear. It is not uncommon, that pumpout vane lifespan equals or exceeds the mainimpellerslifespan.Themajordisadvantageofpumpoutvanes istheirpowerconsumptionwhatleadstoalowerefficiency.Overall pumpout vanes provide a good pump characteristic when dealing with abrasive solids. Another problem when operating an enclosed impellerincombinationwithfluidscontaminatedbylargesolidslike rocks is that it may happen that a piece of solid gets caught in the impeller eye outlet. This may cause a mechanical or hydraulically imbalanceandhasthepotentialtodamagethepump.Inanopenor semiopen impeller this rock would be broken by the grinding Figure12losscompensation2 betweentherotatingimpellerandthestationarycasing.Toremovetheblockagedisassemblingofthe pumpwouldbenecessary.

1 http://knowledgepublications.com(left),www.engineersedge.com(right) 2 LawrencePumpsInc.,RunTimesjan.05issue(modified) 10

 Shaft
The shaft is the connection between impeller and drive unit which is in most cases an electric motor but can also be a gas turbine. It is mainly charged by a radial force caused by unbalanced pressure forcesinthespiralcasingandanaxialforceduetothepressuredifferencebetweenfrontandbackside of the impeller. Most common pump shafts are made of carbon steel. There are several cranks to support the bearings and seals. A high surface quality and small clearances are required. Especially in theareasofthebearings,clearanceandsurfacequalityisimportanttoensurerightpositioningofthe shaft in the casing and therefore close positioning clearances of the impeller. At the area of the seals, particularly the surface quality is important to ensure an adequate seal lifespan. In shaft design it is alsoimportanttoavoidsmallradiusesatcrankstominimizestressintheseareaswhicharesusceptible forfatigue.

Figure14pumpscrankshaft 1

Bearings
The bearings keep the shaft in place to ensure radial and axialclearance.Someapproximatebearingpropertiescanbe seeninfig.14 2 .Thebearingsleadradialandaxialforcesfrom the impeller into the casing. In double suction pumps bearingsarelocatedatbothsidesoftheimpellerasatsingle suction pumps all bearings are located behind the impeller. In horizontal process pumps, usually oil bath lubricated bearings are used. Medium and heavy duty process pumps areusedinrefineries,wherehighestreliabilityisrequired.In these pumps axial loads are supported by universal single row angular contact ball bearings. In heavy duty process pumps, also matched taper roller bearings with steep contact angles, arranged face to face or back to back are used to support combinations of high radial and axial loads. In very high duty service and slurry pumps, spherical roller bearings can be used to support very high radial loads. A spherical thrust bearing is used to support axial loads. It is usually spring preloaded to ensure that sufficient load is applied during start up or pump shutdown. At vertical pumps, the thrust bearing can be a ball bearing with a spherical outer ring raceway, with the centre of the radius located on the bearing axis, providing a selfalignment 1 ITTGouldspumps(modified) 2 PumpUsersHandbook(byHeinzP.Bloch,AllanR.Budris)
Figure15bearingproperties2

11


capability. It is equipped with a 45contact angle that enables the bearing to support large axial loads and moderate radial loads. If the pump is operated at its BEP, the bearing will only have to carry the rotating assemblies weight, the stress due to interference fit of the shaft and in some cases manufacturer dependent preloads. Unfortunately, many bearings are overloaded because of wrong interference fit, shaft bend, solids, unbalanced rotating elements, vibrations, axial thrust and many more. This leads to increased stress and temperatureand therefore toa decrease in lifespan. It is also importantforthebearingslifespantoprotectitfromfluidbyadequateseals.

Sealing
Toprotectthebearingsagainstfluidandpreventleakage,thereareseveralsealsfittedintothecasing. Nowadays, rotary pumps are equipped with mechanical seals (fig.14 1 ). A mechanical seal consists of primaryandsecondarysealing.Inmostcasestheprimarypart,whichisfittedtothecasing,ismadeof ahardmateriallikesiliconcarbideortungstencarbide.Theother,therotatingpartoftheprimaryseal is made of a soft material like carbon. Both parts are pressed against each other by e.g. a spring. The secondarysealingsarenotrotatingrelativetoeachotherandprovideafluidbarrier.Mechanicalseals canbeseparatedintopusher/nonpusherseals,sealdriving/springcompression,balanced/unbalanced and inside/outside mounting. Pushersealswillhaveatendencyto hang up when handling fluids which crystallize because the secondary seal member is not able to accommodate for travel. Whether applying a balanced or unbalanced seal will effect seal performance. Unbalanced seals see a high pressure at the impeller side and therefore have a reduced fluid film between the seal faces. This leads to overheating, rapid face wear and seal fatigue at early stages. To simplify maintenance many seals are available in Figure16mechanicalsingleseal1 cartridges which are prepacked seal assemblies. To avoid any leakage when handling hazard fluids, double or tandem seals can be applied. In these seals, a secondary so called containment seal is placed after the primary one. The space in between is filled with a natural fluid called barrier or buffer fluid. These seals are very common in the petroleum industry. The difference between a tandem and a double seal is that in a double seal the barrier fluid is pressurised. Due to this, in case of primary seal fatigue the pressurised barrier fluid streams into the pumps instead of the hazard fluid into the atmosphere. The seal materialsmustfitthefluidtoensureaccurateseallifespan.Thestandardsofmodernmechanicalseals arewidelydefinedbyAPIStandard682ShaftSealingSystemsforCentrifugalandRotaryPumps.

1 USpatent2951719 12

8) Pumpparametersandselection
Thereareseveralparametersdependingonimpellerdesign,diameter,RPMetc.,characterisingapump.Inthis chapter the most important pump parameters will be discussed as well as an example showing how to calculatelossesinasystemandtoselectapump.

Totaldynamichead(TDH)
Head in general is used to define energy supplied to a liquid by a pump and is expressed in units of length. In absence of any velocity it is equal to the height of a static column of fluid that is supported byapressureinthepointofdatum.Totaldynamichead(TDH)isthedifferencebetweentotaldynamic discharge head and total dynamic suction head (eqn.2). Total dynamic discharge (suction) head is practically the pressure read from a gauge at the discharge (suction) flange converted to length units and corrected to the pump centre line plus the velocity head at the point of the gauge (eqn.2). These twovaluesrepresentthetotalamountofenergyofthefluidatthedischargeandsuctionflangeofthe pump. Mathematically it is the sum of static discharge (suction) head and velocity at the discharge (suction)flangeminustotalfrictionheadinthedischarge(suction)line.Thedifferenceofthesevalues gives you the THD which represents the energy added to the fluid. TDH does not depend on the deliveredfluidsdensity.Ahigherdensityonlyincreasesthepressureandthereforetherequiredpower ataconstantflowrate.

TDH=h d -h s TDH=(z 2 -z1 )+

2 2 (p 2 -p1 ) (v 2 -v1 ) + g 2g

Equation2totaldynamichead

Flowrate(Q)
(Volumetric)Flowrateisthevolumeoffluidpassingthroughthepumpperunitoftime.Itiscalculated as area times fluid velocity (eqn.3). It depends on the impeller geometry and RPM. Impellers are optimised for highest outlet velocities. Multiplied by the useable impeller inlet area you will get the flow rate. An impeller is designed for a maximised flow rate at a specific speed depending on its diameter.Thisiscalledthepointofbestefficiency.

Q=A1 v1 =A 2 v 2
Equation3flowrate

Netpositivesuctionhead(NPSH)
NPSH is defined as total suction head above the suction nozzle and corrected to datum, less the vapour pressure of the fluid converted into length units. It analyses energy condition on the suction side of the pump to determine whether the liquid will vaporise at the lowest pressure point of the pump. Vapour pressure is a characteristic fluid property increasing with increasing temperature. It indicates the pressure at which a fluid starts boiling, causing bubbles which move along the impeller surface to an area of higher pressure were they collapse rapidly and cause significant harm to it. By decreasing the pressure the temperature at which this happens also decreases. So if the pressure is low enough it is possible to see this effect even at surrounding temperature. This effect is known as cavitationsandshouldnecessarilybeavoided.Itisobviousthatinordertopumpafluidinaneffective way we have to keep it liquid. Therefore NPSH required (NPSH R) is the total suction head required to prevent the fluid from vaporising at the lowest pressure point of the pump. NPSHR is a function of 13


pump design as the pressure at the impeller decreases by accelerating the fluid along the impeller. There are also pressure losses due to shock and turbulences as the fluid strikes the impeller. To overcomeallthesepressuredropsinthepumpandmaintainthefluidabovevapourpressureacertain positive suction head is required. NPSHR varies with flow rate and speed within any particular pump. TheavailableNPSHisafunctionofthesysteminwhichthepumpoperates.ToavoidcavitationsNPSHA mustbebiggerthanNPSHR.InpractisetheNPSHAcanbedeterminedbyagaugeonthesuctionflange of the pump and the following formula (eqn.4). It is also common to add a certain safety value to the NPSHRtomakesurethatthereisenoughsuctionheadtopreventthefluidfromvaporising.Inpractice asafetyvalueof0,5mhasturnedouttobereasonable.
2 v1 p +p + 1 e -p v 2 NPSH A = +z1,2 g

NPSH A NPSH R +0,5m

Equation4NPSH

Specificspeed(ns)
Specific speed (eqn.5) is a value to characterise the shape of a impeller. Low specific speed characterisesaradialimpellerandisincreasinguptohighspecificspeedataxialimpellers.Impellersin between are known as Francisvane and mixedflow impeller (fig.11). Specific speed is only of designingengineeringsignificanceusedtopredictpumpcharacteristics.

n s =n

Q BEP TDH
3 4 BEP

Equation5specificspeed

Figure17Impellerdesignoverspecificspeed 1

1 www.lightmypump.com(modified) 14

 PowerandEfficiency(P,)
The work performed by a pump is a function of THD, flow rate and the specific gravity of the fluid. Pump input (P) or brake horse power (bhp) is the actual power delivered to the pump shaft. Pump output(Phydr)orhydraulichorsepower(whp)istheenergydeliveredtothefluidpertimeunit(eqn.6). Duetomechanicalandhydrauliclossesinthepump,PhydrisalwayssmallerthanP.Thereforeefficiency isdefinedasPhydrdividedbyP(eqn.7).Theimpellergeometryisoptimizedtoprovidehighestflowrate at a certain speed at a given diameter at its point of best efficiency (BEP). If operating a pump off its (BEP),lossesduetoincreasingturbulencesandrecirculationwillincreaseandreduceefficiency.These effects are caused by a mismatch of the pumps design flow rate and the actual flow rate. The differencebetweeninletvaneangleandapproachingflowangleisincreasingasmovingawayfromthe BEP as well as losses between impeller vane exit and the diffuser. Result of this is an increased flow betweentheimpellersshroudsandthecasing.

Phydr = g Q TDH
Equation6power

Phydr P

g Q TDH P

Equation7efficiency

15

 Pumpcharacteristiccurve
The pump characteristic curve shows the performance of a pump. It usually shows TDH, power, efficiency and NPSHR plotted over flow rate at a given RPM. There are absolute or dimensional and relativeornondimensionalplots(fig.12).Thedifferenceisthatadimensionaldiagramshowsabsolute values, while a nondimensional plot shows the data in percent of their values at the pumps BEP. The first line in the diagram shows the pumps THD plotted over flow rate. Characteristic is the slightly decreasing THD at increasing flow rate. The efficiency graph is typically increasing until it reaches its peak at the pumps BEP and drops as flow rate is further increasing. The bhp line is more or less a straight line as it increases with increasing flow rate. It is also possible to plot these functions for severalspeedsatagivendiameteroratdifferentdiametersforagivenspeedinonediagram.Resultis a set of pump characteristic curves as provided by most manufactures. In these diagrams you can estimate pump behaviour at constant speeds and a range of impeller diameters. Constant horse power, efficiency, and NPSHR lines are plotted over the various head curves. The pump characteristic curveshowninfig.12isanexampleforthewhatinformationyoucangetoutofsuchadiagram.Inthis example, we assume that we have this pump with an impeller diameter of 7 operating at 3540RPM and a flow rate of 48m/h. Therefore we can read from the diagram the pumps current efficiency, head, required power as well as the NPSHR. In this case, our operating point is almost the pumps BEP andwegetTHDof60m,anefficiencyofabout61%,requiredpowerof13HpandaNPSHRof9ft.

Figure18Pumpcharacteristicsheet(Gouldpumpsmodel3196) 1

1 ITTGouldsPumps(modified) 16

 Affinitylaws
These laws express relationships between several variables involved in pump performance such as flow rate, impeller diameter, head and power. There are two ways to express these relationships: eitherholdingtheimpellerdiameter(eqn.8)ortherotationspeed(eqn.9)constant.Affinitylawsapply toradialpumpsaswellasaxialpumps.

Q1 n1 = Q2 n 2

TDH1 n1 = TDH 2 n 2

P1 n1 = P2 n 2

Equation8affinitylaws(constantimpellerdiameter)

Q1 D1 = Q2 D2

TDH1 D1 = TDH 2 D 2

P1 D1 = P2 D 2

Equation9affinitylaw(constantrotationspeed)

As an example, assume operating a pump at BEP at n1, we can calculate the BEP for any other n2 (or any other diameter). The efficiency remains almost constant at speed and small impeller diameter changes. At first; we have to determine flow rate, TDH and power for the pumps BEP at 3540RPM fromthepumpcharacteristiccurve(fig.12).Withthisknowledge;itispossibletocalculatetheBEPfor 4000RPMandplotanewpumpcharacteristiccurve.

Q1 n1 = Q2 n 2
2

Q 2 =42,9

m3 h

TDH1 n1 = TDH 2 n 2 P1 n1 = P2 n 2

3

TDH 2 =76,6m P2 =18,75Hp

17


By performing this calculation for several points; we get the pump characteristic curve for the new speed(fig.13).

Figure19approximatepumpcharacteristiccurve(Gouldspumpsmodel3196atdifferentRPMs)

This shows that with a change in speed or in impeller diameter; the pumps characteristic can be optimizedtofitthesystemitisoperatedin.

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 Systemcharacteristiccurve
Asystemcharacteristiccurverepresentsthebehaviourofthesysteminwhichthepumpisoperated.It defines the point on the pump characteristic curve on which the pump operates. Plotting the system and pump characteristic curve in the same diagram, the point of intersection is the operation point of thepump,operatedatacertainspeedinagivensystem.Itisalsopossibletopredictthebehaviourof thepumpduringachangeeitherinsystemorpumpproperties.

Figure20Examplesofhydraulicsystems 1

System A is a typical piping system with a centrifugal pump to deliver fluid to a higher tank. The differenceinsystemBisthatinthiscasealmostallthepipingisvertical.Thisisimportantbecausethe main losses are caused by friction between the fluid and the pipes inner surface. Therefore, losses in system B are smaller than in system A. The system characteristic curves corresponding to the examples (fig 14) are shown below (fig.10). Due to this dependence of friction from velocity, the blue curve, representing system B, is much flatter than the characteristic curve of system A. The red line showstheenergythatisrequired(TDH)topumpthefluidfromthelowertotheuppertankwhichare both under ambient pressure. The system characteristic curve is of parabolic shape because it is plotted over flow rate and friction is function of squared velocity. So if flow rate is increasing, also velocity is increasing the same way and losses due to friction increase. Therefore, more energy is required to compensate losses and deliver fluid to the upper tank. Obviously, a throttled valve causes additional resistance and therefore additional losses resulting in more energy required to deliver fluid totheuppertankatthesameflowrateoralowerflowrateatconstantpower.

1 ReinhttePumpen(modified) 19

Figure21 Systemcharacteristiccurves

Pumpselection
Firstofall,andthisisproperlythemostimportantpart,wehavetotakeacloselookattheapplication of the pump. There should be as much details about the system available as possible, to ensure choosing the right pump. Important selection parameters are required TDH, flow rate, NPSHA, fluid and flexibility of the system. It is also important to know the fluid. Parameters like pHvalue, viscosity, abrasives, fluid and surrounding temperature range as well as quantity, size and shape of solids. If we knowthatacentrifugalpumpistherightpumpfortheapplication,wecangointodetailsearchingfor a potential pump model. Most manufactures provide a pump selection software, but there are also various manufacturerindependent software packages available (e.g. www.pumpflo.com). A pump selection software gives you a choice of pumps, fitting the specification made at the beginning. Many detailedspecificationscanbemadetocharacterisetheapplication.Mostpumpselectionsoftwareare quite powerful tools that also provide calculators for NPSHA and TDH determination. There are also a lot of administration tools like PDF or excelexport and file managementfeatures implemented.But in general,toselectapumpitisusefultoplotthecurve,characterisingthesystemandthecharacteristic curve of a potential pump into the same diagram. The point of intersection of the two head curves indicates the operation point of the pump in the system. It is also possible to make predictions how the pump will behave whenchanging system parameters. Obviously, the operation point should be as close to the BEP as possible. A common rule when selecting a pump is to choose a pump with at least 25%moreheadavailablethanrequiredbythesystem.Anothercommonpracticeistochooseatmost the second largest impeller diameter available in a pump series. This is reasonable in the case of a changingsystemoriftherehasbeenmadeamistakeduringpumpselection.Soitispossibletochange theimpellertothenextlargersizewithoutchangingthecasing.

20

Figure22System&PumpCharacteristiccurve

21

 Example1
In this example, the whole calculation for a selected application will be shown. Aim of the calculation is to calculatethe required pump parameters and to select a matching pump as well as a proper drive unit.Weassumethefollowingequipmentandhole(fig.18 1 )properties:

Downhole:
part hole tubing drillingrod drillingcollar depth Bitdiameter Nozzles diameter length wallthickness Type wallthickness outerdiameter outerdiameter innerdiameter length 9 10
1 2

type

dimension 1100m (0,2413m) 3

3 4

(0,2731m) 820m

10,16mm 6 5 8 FH 8,38mm 0,169m 8 1 2 (0,2159m) 2 7 8 (0,07m) 120m

Manifold:
part mainpipe standpipe mudhose mudhead Kelly diameter[mm] 100 100 75 75 100 length[m] 35 14 17 2 12

Drillingfluidproperties:
property Type density KFactor fluidindexn
Figure23Borehole1

value OSTWALDfluid 1250kg/m 0,28Ns/m 0,64 0,63m/s

recommendedspeed

1 DieBohrsplung(byGerdUlrichLotzwick) 22


Firstofall,itisrequiredtocalculatetheflowrate,dependingonthecrosssectionsandrecommended fluidspeed.Thereforeitisnecessarytodeterminethecrosssectionsonetothreeandtocalculatethe flowrateforthegivenspeedbytheinchapter7introducedformula.

2 2 A= (Do -Di ) 4 A1 =0,02775m 2 A 2 =0,04341m 2 A3 =0,02924m 2

V=A 2 v

m V=98,478 h

Inpractice,itiscommontointroduceasafetyfactorof20%totheflowrate.

m V=118,17 h
Now we calculate the pressure losses for all parts of the downhole assembly as well as in the manifold.

Pressurelossesinsidethedrillingrod:
v= V m =1,873 A s

By calculating the modified Reynolds number, it is possible to determine the friction coefficient from thediagram(fig.19 1 )

Re m =

v 2-n D n K 1+3n 8 8 4n
n

Re m =5875

=0,027

Figure24frictioncoefficientforOSTWALDfluids1

L v d 2 p1 =0,402MPa p1 =

1 DieBohrsplung(byGerdUlrichLotzwick) 23


Pressurelossesinsidethedrillingcollar:
Thepressurelossesintheinsideofthedrillingcollararecalculatedbythesamewayasshownabove.

p 2 =1,201MPa
Pressurelossesbetweenboreholeanddrillingrod:
When calculating fluid flow in an annular section, it is important to use the hydraulic diameter in the formulaforthepressurelossandReynoldsnumber.

D hydr =Do - Di Re M =1910

As the determined Reynolds number is smaller than the critical Reynolds number (3600), we can assumelaminarflow.

ReM 64

=0,035

p3 =0,043MPa

Pressurelossesbetweentubinganddrillingrod:
After checking the Reynolds number, the calculation can be done either as shown above or like the firstonebutinbothcaseswiththehydraulicdiameter.

p 4 =0,157MPa
Pressurelossesinthedrillingbit:
To effectively support the drilling process the discharge speed of the drilling fluid from the nozzles should not be below 105m/s. Therefore it is possible to calculate the maximum nozzles cross section areabythelawofcontinuity.

V=A nozzles vdischarge

Anozzles =3,13cm2

To ensure enough fluid speed, a jet nozzle with a diameter of 7/16 (11,11mm) and a flow coefficient of0,95wouldbesuitable.

vdischarge =

V

A nozzles

= 112,8

m s

Nowitispossibletocalculatethepressurelossesinthedrillingbit.

p 5 =

v discharge 2 2

p 5 =8,814MPa

24


Pressurelossesinthemanifoldsystem:
Themanifoldsystemcanbeseparatedintofourmaingroups.Incaseofthisexamplethetypeisgiven and it is possible to read the pressure loss at the earlier determine flow rate from the diagram below (fig.20 1 ).

p6 =0,25MPa
The diagram is only suitable for a fluid density of 1000kg/m (water). So if this diagram is used to determine the pressure loss in the manifold system with the fluid in the example it has to be correctedbythedensityfactor.

F =

drilling fluid water

Figure25 pressurelossinmanifoldsystems1

F =1, 25

p 6 =p F

p 6 =0,31MPa

Totalpressurelosses:
To select a pump, now all the pressure losses are summed up and 10% is added to ensure sufficient head.

(p )+10%=12,02MPa
i i=1

So for this application a pump with a flow rate of about 120m/h and a TDH of 1202m is needed. By entering this information into the previous mentioned pump selection software we get a number of matching pumps. To finally decide which pump fits the application best some other factors like acquisitioncosts,maintainingcosts,energyconsumptionandelectricityorfuelpricesmustbetakenin account.

1 DieBohrsplung(byGerdUlrichLotzwick) 25

Figure26Pumpselectionsoftware,criteriadefinition 1

1 Figure27exampleofresultsprovidedbygouldspumpspumsselectiontool

Apossibleselectioncanbesavedaspdffileorplotteddirectlyasshownintheexampleonthenextpage.
1

ITTGouldsPumps 26

27


In this case maybe a piston pump would be more suitable due to a higher efficiency at high pressures like a centrifugal pump. Problems with the selected pumps might be its operation far off its BEP and thefactthatthereisfairlynooptiontoincreasepressureorflowratifnecessary.Thereforecentrifugal pumps are rarely found as mud pump. But as already mentioned they can be better used to suck the mud to a piston pump. In that application the needed TDH is much lower so this application matches thecentrifugalpumpsareaofapplication,whichislowTDHandhighflowrate,muchbetter.

Example2
Another possible application on a drilling rig would be to charge a desander. A desander is, in most cases, one or more hydrocyclones 1 . The mud enters the hydrocyclone tangentially into the uppercylindrical section. The mud is forced to move downwards into the conical segment. Due to centrifugal force the heavier solids are pressed against the outer wall. The inner phase of the mud canentertheinnercylindricalpartatacertainpointtoflow upwards and discharge at the top. The solids leave the desanderatitslowerend.Sosolidsdowntoabout8070m are removed. To ensure proper operation it is important to guaranteetherequiredvelocityattheinletofthedesander. It mainly depends on the size of the desander. In this example the pump has to charge a triflo model 10002 desander unit with the properties shown below. It consists Figure28Hydrocyclone,workingprinciple1 of2x10hydrocyclonesseperatingsolidsdownto70m. recomanded operating pressure

FeedRate

10002

model

1000gpm

25psi

48

80

38

760lbs

The manifold system recomanded by the manufacturer can be seen in fig.29 2 . Over all, the desanderischargedovera6(~150mm)pipewitha total length of 117 (~4m). Total hight difference is about 2m. The properties of the mud can be seen in thetablebelow. Type density KFactor fluidindexn property value OSTWALDfluid 1250kg/m 0,28Ns/m 0,64

Figure29recommendedmanifoldsystem2

http://glwww.mst.dk 2 Triflodesander2x10operatingmanual
1

Header Diameter Inside 8 28

Weight

Length

Height

Width


Firstcalculatingthefluidspeedfromtherequiredflowrateandthegivencrosssectionarea.

v=

V m =3,6 A s

BycalculatingtheReynoldsnumberitispossibleto determinethefrictionfactorfromthediagram.

Re m =

v 2-n D n K 1+3n 8 8 4n
n

Re m =14708

=0,015

Nowthepressurelossesinthesuctionsystemcanbe calculated.

L v2 d 2 p1 =0,034MPa p1 =
Alsotherequiredpressureatthedesanderinletandthehightdifferencehastobetakeninaccount.

p 2 =0,172MPa (=25psi) requiredpressureathydracycloneinlet p 3 = g h=0,25MPa

ThesumequalstherequiredTDH.Inthiscase20%forsafetyreasonsareadded.

(p )+20%=0,842MPa
i i=1

SowearelookingforapumpwithaTDHof84mandaflowrateof230m/h.Apossiblepumpwould beaGouldsPumpsmodel3700witha4x69impelleroperatedat3560RPM.Thepumpscaracteristic curveisshowninthediagrambelow.

29

30

9) ProblemsatcentrifugalPumps
A major problem at centrifugal pumps is, like at all fast moving parts in a fluid, cavitation. Other difficulties obtain solid handling, abrasives and corrosives as well as leakage. Most errors during pump operation can be avoidedbyselectingaqualitypumpdesignedfortheapplicationandadequatemaintenance.

Cavitation
Cavitationoccurswhenthestaticpressureinafluidislowerthan the fluids vapour pressure, mostly caused by high velocities. Due to Bernoullis law, static pressure decreases when velocity is increasing. If this happens, the fluid locally starts boiling and forms gas bubbles which need more space than the fluid would take.Inacentrifugalpumpssimpeller,thebubblesaremovingto an area of decreasing pressure. If the pressure now exceeds the vapour pressure, the gas condensates at the bubbles inner surface and so collapse rapidly. This implosion of gas bubbles causes high, temporarily pressure fluctuations of up to a few Figure30bubblecollapse1 1000bar. As the fluid flows from higher to lower pressure, this flow causes a jet of the surrounding fluid, which may hit the surface. These high energy microjets cause high compressive stress weakening the material. Finally, cratershaped deformations and holes known as cavitation pitting (fig.23 1 ) occur. Other reasons for cavitation can be a rise of fluid temperature, a low pressure at the suction side or an increase of delivery height. Cavitations in centrifugal pumps mainly occur at the impeller leading edges (fig.24) but also at the impeller vane, wear rings and thrust balance holes. To avoid cavitation, it is important to deliver sufficient NPSH and to keep fluid temperature low. High fluid temperatures can occur if the pump is on to keep the pressureupbutnofluidistakenout

Figure31regionsofimpellercavitation 2

Theharmofcavitationtotheimpellerandotherpartsofthepumpissignificant.

www.motorlexikon.de(modified) 2 www.cheresources.com(modified)
1

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Figure32typicalimpellerwearduetocavitation 1

Solidsandslurryhandling(abrasivemedias)
When expecting solids in the fluid or dealing with slurries, it is important to select a pump that is designed for this application. On the other hand side, slurry pumps are much more expensive than a standard water pump, so the decision is not that easy. As there is a very wide range of slurries it is useful to divide them into three categories, light, medium and heavy slurries as shown in the table below. property particlesize settling/nonsettling specificgravity amountofsolids lightslurry <200m nonsettling <1,05 <5% mediumslurry 0,2mm 5mm settling&nonsettling 1,05 1,15 5% 20% heavyslurry >5mm settling >1,15 20%

Toprovideapumpthatcanbeusedwithslurries,specialdesignfeaturesmustbemade.Slurrypumps can be equipped with e.g. thicker wear sections, larger impellers, special material and semivolute or concentric casing. All these features extend pump lifespan but also cause disadvantages like higher initial costs, higher weight or less efficiency. Slurry pumps can be separated into two main categories, rubber lined and hard metal pumps. At rubber lined pumps, the inner surface is covered by a layer of rubber, to absorb solids impact energy. Rubber lined pumps have a limited application range. This type of wear prevention is only suitable for light at least for medium slurries at low head applications. Also the fluid temperature should not exceed 150C. Rubber lined pumps are not applicable for hydrocarbon based slurries. On the other hand side, hard metal pumps are suitable for high power applications used at evenheavy slurries. Hard metal slurrypumpscan also handle sharp, jagged solids even at fluid temperatures above 150C. Standard hard metal slurry pumps can be designed of hardened steel but for high corrosive fluids high alloyed steels are used. When selecting a hard metal pump it is important that the pump material is harder than the solid particles. Cartable ceramics provide excellent resist to erosion but limit impeller tip velocity. The lifespan of a pump can be increased by selecting the correct materials of construction. Another important factor when handling slurries is speed. By decreasing the pumps RPM also the fluid speed is decreasing and therefore the solidsspeedisdecreasingtoo.Thisleadstolowerimpactenergyandlesswear.Experimentsbypump manufacturers have shown that a slurry pumps wear rate is proportional to speed raised by the 1 www.korros.de 32


power of 2,5. Therefore, by decreasing the speed of a slurry pump by half, this will lead to approximately 6 times lifespan. For this reason most slurry pumps are operated at slowest speed possibleequippedwithimpellerlargeindiametertoincreasepumplifespan.

corrosion
Corrosion is breaking down of essential properties in a material due to chemical or electrochemical reactions with its surroundings. As there is a wide range of pump applications within the chemical industry, including the petroleum industry, handling oil and gas up to high aggressive acids it is important to provide pumps that can be operated under these difficult conditions. There are several typesofcorrosionandmanyfactorsitdependson,likefluidtemperature,containedelementsandpH value. Most common and dangerous corrosion in pumps is the so called uniform corrosion. This is the overallattackofacorrosiveliquidonametal.Thechemicalreactionsbetweenfluidandmetalsurface lead to uniform metal loss on the moistened surface, known as corrosive wear. To minimize corrosive wearitisimportanttoselectaresistantpumpmaterial.

10) Comparisoncentrifugalpumpsvs.Pistonpumps
Centrifugal and piston pumps base on two different physical principles to cause flow. While a centrifugal pump accelerates the fluid along impeller vanes, a piston pump causes flow by the principle of positive displacement. The pressure in a piston pump is directly increasedby fluid displacement, due to a force applied on an enclosed fluid volume. At the first step, only the inlet check valve is open and the back moving piston sucks fluid from the suction side. After a half rotation of the cam, the piston reaches the back dead centre. Now the piston starts moving forward and applies a force on the fluid. Therefore, the inlet check valve closes and the outlet check valve opens. The fluid is pressed into the piping at the discharge side. After the piston reaches the forward dead centre, fluid is sucked in again (fig.27 1 ). Obviously, a piston pump causes Figure33pistonpump1 a pulsating flow, what is the first major difference. To reduce these pulsations, piston pumps are mainly designed as duplex, triplex or multiplex pumps. Most applications require an additional pulsation damper to reduce pulsations in the piping system. General centrifugal pumps are unstable at low flow rates but are a good choice at medium up to high flow rates. Piston pumps could be manufactured for similar flow rates but would get extraordinary big and too expensive for most applications. Centrifugal pumps are most suitable for low to medium pressure application while piston pumps are generally usedinhighpressureservice.Multistagecentrifugalpumpscanbedesignedforpressuredupto400barbutare mostefficientathighflowrates.Pistonpumpsontheotherhandaregenerallyabetterchoiceforapplications exceeding 200bar at low to medium flow rates. A piston pump is continuously increasing the pressure, while working against an enclosed fluid volume. Therefore, a relief valve is needed to prevent pump and piping system of overpressure. Centrifugal pumps cannot increase pressure upon the pumps typical shutoff pressure onthepumpcharacteristiccurve.Theshutoffpressureisalwayslowerthanthepumpsdesignpressureandin awelldesignedapplicationalsolowerthanthepipingsystemsmaximumpressure.Sowhenusingacentrifugal pump,noreliefvalveisneeded.Anexceptionistopreventthepumpofdamageduetotemperatureriseatlow flow rates or shut down the pump and ensure a minimum flow to keep it stable. As a centrifugal pump operates on a variousflow, varioushead curve, the flow rate increases if the discharge pressure is reduced. A piston pump always delivers a constant flow rate at a given speed, independent of discharge pressure.
1

www.lcresources.com(modified) 33


Generally, centrifugal pumps, apart from special designs of some manufactures, are not self priming. So most applications require an external priming source. In application where both, a centrifugal pump as well as a piston pump, may be suitable another factor is required space and costs. A centrifugal pump is in general cheaper in acquisition and maintenance and requires less space than a comparable piston pump. On the other hand side, a piston pump requires less power. Of course this is only a general guideline. A pump operated outside of its optimum operating parameters can turn this around by causing e.g. higher maintenance costs. Therefore a pump should be carefully selected to avoid extra costs. So it is important to know that centrifugal pumpsaresuitableforhandlingclear,nonabrasivefluidsuptoabrasivefluidswithahighamountofsolids,but do not work well with high viscous fluids because efficiency would drop dramatically. There would also appear problems when handling fluids combined with gasses due to the required close clearances. Piston pumps also work well for clean, clear non abrasive fluids up to abrasive slurries. Due to the relatively low fluid velocities, pistonpumpsareunsusceptibletoerosionsandwear. Centrifugalpump Pistonpump low/mediumcapacity medium/highpressure 3000m/h+ yes 7000bar+ yes pulsating yes constant requiresmorespace Suitable for clean, clear, non abrasive fluids. Speciallyfitted pumps suitable for abrasiveslurry service. optimum flow and pressure medium/highcapacity application low/mediumpressure maximumflowrate lowflowcapability maximumpressure requiresreliefvalve smoothorpulsatingflow selfpriming variableorconstantflow spaceconditions fluidhandling 50000m/h+ no 400bar+ no smooth no variable requireslessspace Suitable for a wide range including clean, clear, nonabrasive fluids to fluids with abrasive, highsolid content.

fluidviscosity gases costs

Not suitable for high viscosity Suitableforhighviscosityfluids fluids Lower tolerance for entrained Higher tolerance for entrained gases gases lowerinitial lowermaintenance higherpower higherinitial highermaintenance lowerpower

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11) Standards 1
There are different organisations dealing with standardisation. Also some standards in pump design are available.Standardsofdesignanddimensionalspecificationsarenecessarytobringunitytocentrifugalpumps. Standardsareprovidedbyorganizationslike ISOInternationalStandardsOrganizations APIAmericanInternationalInstitute ANSIAmericanNationalStandardsInstitute DINDeutschesInstitutfrNormung NPFANationalFireProtectionAgency BSiBritishStandardsinstitute

Somecommonlyusedcentrifugalpumpsstandards

ANSI/API 6101995CentrifugalPumpsforGeneralRefineryServiceCoverstheminimumrequirementsfor
centrifugal pumps, including pumps running in reverse as hydraulic power recovery turbines, for use in petroleum, heavy duty chemicals, and gas industry services. The pump types covered by this standard can be broadlyclassifiedasoverhung,betweenbearings,andverticallysuspended. DINENISO5199Technicalspecificationsforcentrifugalpumps ASME B73.12001 Specification for Horizontal End Suction Centrifugal Pumps for Chemical Process This standard covers centrifugal pumps of horizontal, end suction single stage, centreline discharge design. This standard includes dimensional interchange ability requirements and certain design features to facilitate installation and maintenance. It is the intent of this standard that pumps of the same standard dimension designation from all sources of supply shall be interchangeable with respect to mounting dimensions, size and locationofsuctionanddischargenozzles,inputshafts,baseplates,andfoundationboltholes ASMEB73.22003SpecificationsforVerticalInLineCentrifugalPumpsforChemicalProcess BS 5257:1975 Specification for horizontal endsuction centrifugal pumps (16 bar) Principal dimensions and nominaldutypoint.Dimensionsforsealcavitiesandbaseplateinstallations.

12) Conclusion
Due to the wide range of applications and millions of sold pumps, nowadays centrifugal pumps are technically mature machines. Reasons for high efficiencies are a lot of experience as well as modern finite element optimisation. These flow optimisation procedures are standard engineering methods and lead to well constructedcasingsandimpellers.Thisleadstomanydifferentspecialdesigns,constructedforaspecificrange of applications. Equipped with well selected anti wear systems and materials in combination with reasonable maintenance,alonglifespancanbemet.

1 www.engineeringtoolbox.com 35

13) References
Internetsources:
ITTGouldsPumps LightmyPump McNallyInstitute YokotaManufacturingCo.,Ltd. Theengineeringtoolbox http://www.gouldspumps.com http://www.lightmypump.com/pump_glossary.htm http://www.mcnallyinstitute.com http://www.aquadevice.com http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com

Literature:
RadialundAxialpumpen(byA.J.Stephanoff) FundamentalsandApplicationsofCentrifugalpumps(byAlfredBenaroya) DieBohrsplung(byGerdUlrichLotzwick) ReinhttePumpenCentrifugalpumps,technicaldesign(byStephanNckel) LawrencePumpsRunTimes,sept.04,jan.05&oct.05issue(byDaleB.Andrews) WorldPumps,sept.07issue(byJosephR.Askew) PumpUsersHandbook(byHeinzP.Bloch,AllanR.Budris)

Figuresourcesarementionedattheendofeachpage

Contact:
ChristianAllerstorfer Roseggerstrae10/6 8700Leoben Supervisedby Univ.Prof.Dipl.Ing.Dr.mont.KesslerFranz Dep.ofdesignandconveyingtechnology MULeoben

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