Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers

Cargo pumps - first the goods news ...

It's nice to start with an item of good news, and the bearers of it are Hamworthy Svanehej of Svenstru, Denmark. Four of its electrically-driven deep well cargo handling systems have been selected for installation on a new design of ship being built by the Lindenau Shipyard at Kiel in Germany, writes Brian Warshaw.

The 'Lindenau safety tanker class 2010' is a 40,500 dwt tanker design classed by Germanischer Lloyd (GL). The first four were ordered by German Tanker Shipping. The vessels' 47,000 cu m capacity tank arrangement comprises 12 cargo or slops tanks, and a residue tank. Each tank is approximately 16 m in depth. For each of the vessels, Svaneh0j will be supplying 10 CKL 200 units, producing an output of 600 cu m per hour at 120 m liquid column (mlc) for the main cargo tanks, and the DL model yielding 250 cu m per hour at 120 mlc for installation in the two slops tanks. The pump wells in the tank are formed by pressing the stainless steel into an optimum shape, designed to leave behind a very low residue of product. Control of the pumps' variable speed drive is through a frequency converter, and 14 of these have been provided on each vessel. These additional two frequency converters are used to provide variable speed control on the two tank wash pumps. To meet GL's safety requirements the converters are configured in 'true' 12-pulse mode, fed via transformers. In utilising this design, the harmonic distortion is kept at a low level, with a clear safety margin to the rules, and the converters are designed to provide easy backup for each other in the unlikely event of a malfunction. Hans H0yer Jensen, Hamworthy's marine cargo pump sales director said, "By using frequency converters the pumps can operate at optimum performance during any unloading conditions. This results in a quicker port turnaround time, higher total system efficiency and hence, lower power consumption. Using electric motors directly as the drive force also increases system efficiency compared with alternative systems". The total installed power for the cargo/slop tank pumps is around 2,360 kW. Total unloading capacity is limited to 3,600 cu m per hour. "Electric-drive deep well cargo pumps are a reliable, safe and energy saving alternative to hydraulically driven versions. The main features of all these pumps have been designed to improve safety and reliability, increase efficiency, and reduce system complexity compared with other systems that are available. This pump system provides a solution to today's demand for a

simplified distributed pump layout using an electric motor on the weather deck connecting to the pump unit via a long drive shaft," he continued.

Pres-Vac pump head showing magnetic drive and mode of retaining cargo fluid within the unit.

Hamworthy developed its electrically- driven deep well pump range to appeal to owners of larger tankers. The current range of Svanehj models are the CKL 200, rated at 600 cu m per hour, the CKL 250 ranging up to 800 cu m per hour, and the larger CKL 300 unit which offers unloading rates from 1,200 to 1,800 cu m per hour. It might be the competitive nature of the deep well pump industry; but news that companies are talking more about competitor's perceived or false failings, than of their own equipment's merits, is 'bad' news.

Bad news
Just before the end of 2005, Marflex of OudBeijerland of the Netherlands, issued a letter

to potential clients and customers extolling the benefits of its electrically-driven deep well pumps. This was no ordinary marketing exercise. The company was responding to innuendo and malicious rumours against it, which it claimed a competitor selling the conventional hydraulically operated pump was spreading. The letter claimed the competitor was talking to potential customers in a way that directly implied the Marflex system had technical flaws. This, it said, was unacceptable, unethical, and totally untrue. On the contrary, Marflex believed that its research, advanced technology, market feedback, and continued innovation had given it a lead in providing pumping systems to meet the requirement of today's market. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Marflex has been manufacturing, servicing, and repairing pumps, including hydraulically operated units. In 1986 it started development of a new concept in deep well pumps and sold its first system two years later. Using the principles inherent in hydraulical drives, variable speed control and non-overload characteristics, Marflex set about using an electric motor. At that time, class-approved explosion proof motors had become available, along with static frequency converters. There followed the design of a non-cargo lubricated drive shaft, a unit that it claims has a service life of 10,000 hours, the equivalent of the bearings in the electric drive motor, and the 20 to 25 year operating period for a deep-sea vessel With cargo pumps capable of delivering flow rates of 80 to 1,500 cu m per hour, and ballast units from 150 to 2,000 cu m per hour, Marflex standardised a system that employs a one-speed electric motor for small product tankers where the specific gravity of the load is fairly constant, a two-speed motor for tank cleaning, and a variable speed motor, controlled with a static frequency converter for its cargo pumps. The benefits claimed derived from the variable speed motor are high efficiency, energy consumption related to need, and soft-start to reduce generator demand during start-up.

unlimited. Axial thrust from the pump impeller is absorbed by the bearing immediately above the shaft, and is not transmitted to the shaft above, or to the motor. The Marflex letter concluded by asking its potential clients to find out the facts about its equipment from them and companies that are using its equipment, rather than from a competitor with pumps to push.

Five years service

Back to some good news. Pres- Vac Engineering based at Aller0d, Denmark, has reported that its first magnet-driven deep well cargo pumps are fast approaching the point where they have been in service for five years. Pres-Vac installed its first units, one of which was manufactured from duplex stainless steel, in two small chemical carriers owned by Herning Shipping. The 4,000 dwt tankers were subjected to frequent unloading and tank washing, ensuring that the pumps have been exposed to a heavy workload, proving their capability. A unique feature to the industry, although widely used in pharmaceuticals, is the magnetic drive, which eliminates the need for a mechanical seal, and ensures that the pump remains leak-free throughout its operating life. In the event of foreign material in the tank jamming the pump head, the magnetic drive slips and protects the drive shaft, which continues to rotate. The system created some challenges to the designer, a major one being the need to lubricate the shaft bearings. Unlike the traditional design, which would incorporate bearings in the pump drive unit, the PresVac unit has the main bearing at the inlet, which in combination with a nonreturn valve ensures cargo fluid is trapped in the pump head housing, and is not lost during the stripping and purging operations. Magnetic-drive pump heads are more costly and complex to construct than the direct drive model. Power consumption is relatively high due to eddy current losses in the pump's metallic shroud; but by machining a smaller clearance between the pump rotors and the shroud, this loss can be reduced, although this solution can increase impeller wear due to solids contained in the cargo. A review of advantages against disadvantages would undoubtedly measure favourably towards the magnetic-drive pump head. Leak-free operation, damage to the drive shaft eliminated, maintenance of mechanical parts reduced, and the pump operation can be set on a pre-programmed cycle. It is the Pres-Vac's intention that in the near future it will have a deep well pump unit that is suitable for 25,000 dwt chemical tankers. i!!3

Drive shaft arrangement

Another contribution that Marflex claimed to have given the industry is the enclosed intermediate drive shaft arrangement. By shielding the driveshaft from the loaded cargo the choice of material is far greater and can be selected for metallurgical strength properties rather than its non-corrosive features. Marflex uses 42CrM04V, a chrome molybdenum steel which can be heat-treated, rather than 316L stainless steel from which it manufacturers the shaft. Shaft and bearings are lubricated, therefore there is little potential for failure during stripping or tank cleaning operations. Using a system that employs a maximum shaft length of six metres before a bearing and support are installed, Marflex has shown that depth is

Source: TankerOperator March 2006