641

HYDRAULIC PLANT AND MACHINERY GROUP

DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER PUMPS

By H. H. Anderson, B.Sc. (Member), A.M.I.C.E., Mem. A.S.M.E.*
Feed pumps for large steam power stations must accept severe thermal shocks in order to protect the boiler
from such shocks, since boiler failure would be catastrophic.
The treatment of feed water to give minimum corrosion of the boiler may result in a liquid which is quite
erosive at the flow speeds associated with a high-pressure pump.
In this paper the research into transient thermal phenomena is described, and it is shown how modern feed
pumps for steam power units up to the largest powers visualized are designed to give symmetry of
construction, of flow and of stresses in order to withstand rapid temperature changes without distortion of
alignment.
Modern steam and gas turbines similarly aim at symmetry about the shaft axis.
Illustrations are given of how erosion is avoided and performance improved by mathematical control
of the acceleration within the pump and by the use of superior materials.

INTRODUCTION
INCREASE OF SIZE OF POWER PLANT has been so rapid that the
boiler feed pump of today is as powerful as a main turbo-
alternator of 30 years ago, operating pressures having
increased tenfold. A typical duty for a 200-MW feed pump
is 1.55 millions lb/h, 2850 lb/in2 delivery pressure, 470°F
feed-water temperature, 2980 revlmin for which a 6500-
h.p. motor is required.
It is usual to provide one running pump and one standby
pump which comes into service automatically on stoppage
of the running pump, the change-over being initiated by
reduction of feed main pressure. The lower temperature of
the standing pump involves a severe thermal shock on
change-over.
For feed temperatures of the order of 450-500'F it is
essential to provide booster feed pumps which receive
water at, say, 60 lb/in2 260°F from the deaerator and
increase its pressure to 650-900 lb/in2 so as to ensure that
when passing through the feed-water heater it can be raised
to 450-500°F without flashing into steam. The feed pump
then raises the water pressure from 650-900 lb/in2 to 3000
lb/in2, or more in super-critical steam stations.
Booster pumps and feed pumps for feed-water tempera-
tures up to 300°F are generally of the throughbolt sectional
stage type (Fig. 1). The pumps for feed water at 300-500°F
or higher described in this paper have a barrel enclosing the
pump proper in order to minimize thermal stresses and to
ensure uniform water flow and, in consequence, uniform
The MS.of this paper was received at the Institution on 27th M a y
1960. For a report of the meeting, in Glasgow, at which this paper
was presented, see p . 668.
Chief Hydraulic Designer, HarIand Engineering Co. Ltd,
Alloa, Scotland.
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pT4c Inrtn Mech E w s
heat flow and expansion about the shaft axis during rapid
temperature changes. These pumps are illustrated in
Figs. 2 and 3.
The major factor in the mechanical design of the feed
pump is the thermal shock to which the pump may be
subjected.
In addition to the stresses imposed by pressure and by
operation, consideration must therefore be given to the
stresses due to differential thermal expansion during rapid
changes of feed-water temperature.
The bolts holding the casing elements together to form a
pressure vessel are partially exposed to the air, and con-
sequently will change temperature less rapidly than the
casing wall which is in contact with the feed water. When
the pump is heated suddenly, the bolt stress is increased by
the differential expansion between the hot casing and the
cool bolts. During this heating period, the stress in the
bolts must not exceed a safe proportion of the yield stress
of the materials from which they are made.
Conversely, when the casing is cooled suddenly to a
temperature below that of the bolts, the resulting differential
expansion will cause a reduction of bolt tension.
It is essential that at their minimum stress conditions, the
bolts contain a sufficient margin of tension to hold the main
joints against risk of leakage.
The shell of the barrel is exposed to severe temperature
fluctuations on its inner wall, whilst its outer wall exposed
to atmosphere would tend to lag in temperature behind
the inner walls during temperature changes.
This gives rise to a temperature stress within the metal
due to the differential expansion between the inner and
outer walls. The temperature stress is integrated with the
VolI75 No I 2 1961
642 H. H. ANDERSON

stresses resulting from pressure and operation to give the
total stress. Care must be taken to ensure that any local
plastic yielding or autofrettaging under this total stress is
under control and is perfectly symmetrical.
The thermal shock will also cause risk of malalignment of
bearings and bushes internally, and of pump and driver
externally, if the elements of the pump are allowed to
expand unequally with respect to the axis of the shaft.
Stresses also cause risk of malalignment if they are un-
symmetrical around the shaft axis. To ensure correct
alignment within a few thousandths of an inch under all
operating conditions at present and future feed tempera-
tures, it is therefore essential that all thermal flow during
transient conditions, and therefore all water flow, all
pressure vessel sections and all stresses should be as nearly
as possible perfectly symmetrical about the shaft axis.
The boiler drum has a similar general form and duty to
that of the feed-pump barrel, but has a lower pressure and a
higher temperature. Considerable instrumentation and
control equipment are provided to ensure that the boiler is

Y-
Fig. 1. Sectional arrangement of MRC6 boiler feed pump

Fig. 2. Sectional arrangement of CSC4 compensated boil@ feed pump

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Vol175 No 12 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
free from rapid temperature changes. Minor deff ections,
however, are not nearly so critical in the boiler as in the
high-speed pump which must be designed for rigidity and
for perfect alignment under all conditions.
For safe operation, the boiler must have an uninterrupted
supply of feed water which is within 100°F of its own
temperature to avoid thermal shock and possible cata-
strophic failure of so vital a unit.
It is therefore essential that a standby pump be available
at all times. The standby pump must be capable of accepting
within a few seconds the full flow of full-temperature water
irrespective of its standing temperature, which may be 200-
300°F lower than that of the running pump, involving
temperature changes at the rate of 1000°F a minute or more.
In this manner, the feed pump shields the boiler from
dangerous thermal shocks. Furthermore, in an emergency
due to failure of a heater, the feed water entering the pump
may suddenly drop in temperature by 200°F in 2 minutes.
Here, the pump takes the first shock as the residual heat of
a Two, for 100-MW turbo-generator, 1950 Ib/in2,455"F.
b Three, for 60-MW turbo-generator, 2000 Ibjinz, 320°F.
Fig. 3. Feed pumps
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Proc Xnrtn Mech Engrs
643
the pump, pipes and economizers raises the water tempera-
ture before entering the boiler.
American practice is to keep the feed pump warm by
leaking back full-pressure water from the feed main through
the standing pump, Edwards (I)* stating that in the absence
of such warming there is risk of seizure on start-up (the
pumps are non-symmetrical). Such warming procedure,
however, involves power loss, control equipment, orifices
etc., with consequent erosion on the f d pressure difference
and, moreover, does not take care of the thermal shocks of
sudden reduction in temperature.
It is considered that a wiser plan is to provide symmetrical
pumps capable of withstanding the most severe temperature
fluctuation likely to be met in a power station.
The feed-water treatment is designed to give minimum
corrosion at the boiler. Such treatment may, however, result
in a liquid which is strongly corrosive and/or erosive at the
high flow speeds and pick-up speeds associated with high-
pressure pumping.
Erosion is minimized and performance improved by
complete mathematical and geometrical control in three
dimensions of the acceleration given to the water by the
impeller vane, by correct transition from impeller to guide-
port, by the controlled deceleration in the guideports and
return passages and by the use of suitable grades of stainless
steel in the pump proper.
SYMMETRICAL FEED P U M P
A thermally symmetrical feed pump was suggested in
1945 (2) and manufacture commenced on fourteen pumps,
each equivalent to a 60-MW turbo-generator.
* A numerical list of references is given in Appendix II.
c Two of three for 80-MW turbo-generator, 3200 lb/inz, 302°F
4700 rev/&.
Vol175 No 12 1961
644
6 0 - M W THERMAL SHOCK TEST: 1948
A further unit was built and tested as a prototype on thermal
shock conditions (3).
This pump was run on closed discharge valve until a
temperature of 500°F was reached by churning, then held
steady at 500-5 10°F until component temperatures were
stabilized. The discharge valve was then opened to cool the
pump suddenly at 3OO"F/min in order to simulate the worst
thermal shock anticipated in the operation of the pump at
the power station. The pump was then stripped and
examined to ensure that no distortion or internal leakage
had occurred.
BARREL FEED PUMP (FIG. 2)
The pump proper, almost entirely of stainless steel and
floating freely, is enclosed within a barrel in order to provide
circular thermal symmetry and to minimize the number of
joints carrying thermal loading in addition to pressure
loading. Each stage comprises impeller, guideport, return
flow passage and renewable bushings within a forged
chamber. Water enters the end cover, passes through the
stages, discharges into the annulus between the pump
proper and the barrel and finally returns to the discharge
branches in the end cover. The symmetrical enveloping
annulus flow ensures that differential thermal stress is
virtually absent in the internal stage joints. The total thrust
of the single-entry impellers is carried on a hydraulic
balance disc, the balance leakage being returned to the pump
inlet. The pump proper and the barrel can expand freely
and independently without prejudice to internal and
external joints.
100-MW THERMAL S H O C K TEST: 1957
A later thermal shock test on a 100-MW feed pump was
carried out in 1957 in order to ensure that the design
principles still formed a satisfactory basis for the more
severe conditions associated with duties from 100 to 800
MW. The record of this test is shown in Fig. 4.
The chart shows the gradual increase in temperatures as
the pump, running on zero flow, converts the power of
churning into heat.
TEST P R O B L E M S
Considerable difficulty and risk arises in simulating power
station conditions by churning. With booster and gland
circuits, a local flashing may occur in spite of careful
instrumentation since a feed pump is a steam accumulator
and may become a steam generator.
Several abortive tests occurred in 1948 and 1956 before a
satisfactory layout was designed.
In order to ensure lubrication of internal bushes a seven-
stage booster pump was used with sixth-stage discharge to
feeder inlet and seventh-stage supply to internal bushes.
This was for works tests only; the feed pump on site relied
on heater pressure drop to lubricate these bushes as the
additional sealing impeller was found to introduce risks of a
slug of hot water reaching the booster.
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H. H.ANDERSON
For example, during the 1948 preliminary tests the
generator supplying the booster motor fell out of step,
permitted the booster pressure to fall and caused cavitation
in the feeder, which, instead of seizing, continued to run
and thereby acted as a steam generator and approached
dangerous pressures on consequent closure of booster
delivery non-return valve.
In order to avoid such danger, the 1957 tests replaced this
non-return valve by a sluice valve and provided an outlet
to keep the booster cool and free from cavitation. However,
the accidental complete closure of this cooling outlet during
temperature regulation caused a slug of hot water to re-
enter the booster, cavitating both pumps. The feeder ran
steam-logged 2 minutes before shut-down, but was
undamaged.
The feeder, now a steam accumulator, was isolated by
hand closure of the booster delivery sluice valve, but the
water flow across the gland bushing to the booster discharge
provided sufficient steam to heat the booster to 400°F. It
was felt imprudent to switch off the booster motor as this
steam might reverse the booster set at dangerous speed.
The booster pump was therefore allowed to run steam-
logged until, after 12 minutes, it was stopped by seizure of
the first impeller, no other damage resulting.
Further valves were fitted in the gland lines for the final
tests.
It will be appreciated that the feed pump at 400-500°F
is a steam accumulator at 230-670 lb/in2 capable, when the
motor is switched off, of reversing the feed pump at
dangerous speed if an outlet for the steam is provided. No
safety valve is practicable as the normal running pressure
is 2200-2500 lb/inz.
There is also the risk of the feed pump, when cavitating,
acting as a steam generator to produce dangerous pressures
if an outlet is not provided.
The booster delivery valve must therefore be open during
running but quickly closed if the feed pump is stopped
whilst at temperature. Careful hand control of the whole
test is therefore essential.
These experiences are described to show how such tests,
necessary once or twice to prove design principles, involve,
to say the least, great care. The experience gained in these
unique tests suggested that a symmetrical feed pump can
run without damage for at least 1 minute under steam-
logged or cavitation conditions, and this was confirmed
several times during site commissioning.
TEST RESULTS
The results of the final 1957 thermal shock test are shown
in Fig. 4 where the abscissa shows hours during the heating-
up period, then minutes for the sudden cooling period and
afterwards hours for the final run.
It will be seen that after some 5 hours, all temperatures
had stabilized and the delivery valve of the pump was then
opened suddenly to pass a generous flow of cold water
through the pump, thus giving a thermal shock of lOOO"F/
rnin to the hternals of the pump.
Vol I75 No I2 I961
HEATING UP TIME-h P.M. COOLING TIME-mln COOLING TIME-h

Fig. 4. Feed pump themeal shock test

646
MAIN BOLT S T R E S S I N G
The first consideration was the possibility of leakage, and
for this reason the set was run after cooling until the
maximum difference between main bolts and casing had
occurred. During heating up, the bolt temperature is
less than the temperature of the casing, but during the
cooling period the bolt temperature is greater than that of
the casing. The difference of temperature during heating up
gives rise to an increase in bolt stress due to differential
expansion of bolt and casing. During the cooling down, the
difference of temperature gives rise to a reduction in bolt
stress.
The purpose of the thermal shock test, as far as bolts and
casing were concerned, was to ensure that no leakage took
place and that no over-stressing occurred. This point was
satisfactorily confirmed, showing that the original design
principles rested on a sound basis, in that the heating-up
stress on the bolts did not exceed a safe proportion of the
yield point of the material, and that during cooling down,
the alleviation of bolt stress was such as to leave an adequate
amount of tension to maintain the joint.
THERMAL S T R E S S I N T H E SHELL
OF THE BARREL
The next consideration was the question of thermal stress
in the shell of the pump barrel. To this end, temperature
indicators were placed at various points on the casing, so
that a graph of temperature differential from outer to inner
walls of various parts of the casing shell could be prepared.
I I I I I This involved a temperature difference across casing walls
0 5 I0 15 20 25
WALL THICKNESS-in.
Fig. 5. Thermal behaviour of feed pump at 414°F
extrapolated to 470°F
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H. H. ANDERSON
The graph is shown in Fig. 5, where wall thickness is
plotted against temperature differences for operation at
414°F and extrapolated for 470°F.
From this curve it is possible to deduce the corresponding
thermal stress due to differential expansion and the total
stress and to compare that with the yield point of the
material.
A graph of correspondingbarrel wall stress during heating
up, constant operation and cooling down is shown in Fig. 6.
It is seen that the 100-MW pump barrel of mild steel, 3.6
in. thick, will be just on the yield point at its outer surface
during the slow heating up, and conversely, will approach
the yield point at the inner surface during the cooling shock
of lOOO"F/min.
S I T E T E S T S ON 100-MW U N I T S
The works tests involved slow heating up and rapid cooling,
but at the power station the conditions are reversed. The
station designers stated that a severe cooling shock at the
power station would not be likely to exceed 200°F in 2
minutes.
The warming-up period, however, was very much more
severe in the power station than in the test that could be
simulated at the manufacturer's works where the warming-
up was done very slowly by the power taken to run the
pump at closed valve.
At the power station when the running pump (at full
load, full temperature) was tripped, the standby pump,
relatively cold, accepted full temperature, full load, within
the 8 or 10 seconds taken by the motor to reach full speed.
of 280"F,the thermal shock being of the order of lOOO"F/
min, raising the stress figures to the dotted line shown in
Fig. 6.
As a result the outer 25 per cent of the casing thickness
was autofrettaged, that is, locally plastically yielded, so that
the stress lines for the heating-up, constant temperature
and the cooling-off conditions turned sharply downwards,
as shown on the left-hand end.
There is no danger in this, since the frequency of such
shock is relatively small with respect to the fatigue range of
the material, and since the reversal shock of cooling is very
much less severe in the power station, so that autofrettaging
of the inner surface does not occur.
BARREL MATERIAL
In the light of this information on the behaviour of thick
walls of metal under the works thermal shock test and the
site operation of the 100-MW pumps, it was considered that
to proceed from a 100-MW unit to a 200-MW unit where a
74 in.-thick mild-steel barrel would be involved, would not
be practicable since the resulting total stress, under con-
stant temperature conditions, would be 7&ton/in2, and the
shock conditions would cause autofrettage which was
30
excessive in extent and in being on both sides, inner and
outer, of the barrel wall.
It was known that certain American feed pumps had
unsymmetrical barrels with wall thickness of 11 in., since
Vol175 No I2 I961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS 647

their design was not so economical in respect of carcase

MISES STRESS FORMULA TENSON POSITIVE diameter to impeller diameter, but in these cases the
standby feed pumps are kept within 20°F of the temperature
of the running pumps (4).
For the 200-MW feed-pump barrels, therefore, a high-
tensile steel was used. The resulting reduction of thickness
had the advantage of a very much lower temperature
differential between walls and since the material had a
higher yield point, autofrettaging would not occur.
An improvement of corrosion resistance was also obtained
with the higher tensile steel.
THERMAL A N D S T R E S S SYMMETRY
The thermal shock test also demonstrated that under these
severe conditions the correct alignmentof the shaft, bearings,
and motor was maintained so that seizure was avoided. The
whole of the structure, comprising barrel, end cover and
bearing housings, was completely symmetrical about the
shaft axis. The barrel contained no holes, so that its stress
was uniform about the circle and was accurately determined.
The end cover was symmetrical, expanded radially in a
plane when heated, and was robust enough to permit the
holes for the branches to pass between the main bolts.
The flow of hot or cold incoming liquid in the 100-MW
feed pump was from the branches in the end cover, thence
through the pump to the annulus between the pump proper
and barrel in a guided symmetrical manner. In this way,
during thermal transients, the whole Circumference of the
barrel received an equal heating or cooling effect. The
bearing housings were fixed to the barrel and to the end
cover by a conical member at 360", thus affording
symmetry of the whole unit.
The autofrettaging of the barrel would be symmetrical
in this arrangement.
In the absence of such stress symmetry and guided flow
symmetry, operation would be prejudiced in the following
manner :
(1) The incoming flow of hot or cold water during
temperature transients would tend to be on that part of
the barrel circumference which is near the branch, thus
causing uneven heating.
(2) The presence of a hole for a branch in the barrel
wall would be a local weakness in the longitudinal
strength of the barrel. Such a weakness in a barrel whose
thickness and stressing will result in autofrettaging, that
is, in local plastic yielding, is almost certain to cause the
barrel to bend, since it is quite impossible to reinforce
the barrel near the hole to make it equally strong as the
rest of the circumference, and bending of even a few
thousandths of an inch would prejudice alignment.
At the first heating-up shock, an unsymmetrical barrel
with a hole in its length subjected to autofrettagingwould
tend to distort with prejudice to the safety of fine running
clearance parts especially if cavitation is approached.
Fig. 6. T h m a l shock test E N D COVER
On the 200-MW feeder, a further approach to perfect
thermal symmetry was attained by arranging the inlet and
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648 H. H. ANDERSON

outlet branches in the end cover in cruciform, the two
suction passages being top and bottom, with the two
delivery passages at the horizontal centre line.
END COVER S T R E S S E S
The flow passages in one typical end cover correspond to a
6-in. pipe with varying wall thicknesses. Fig. 7 is a chart of
There is therefore a surplus pressure of the order of 30
per cent of the available pump pressure at zero flow.
In order to minimize the wear and tear on the boiler
regulating valve and to save power, variable-speed drives
which reduce the pump speed as the load on the turbo-
generator reduces are provided. These are described in
greater detail below.

'! P U M P CHARACTERISTICS
10 Typical characteristics of quantity, pressure, power, and
efficiency are shown in Fig. 8. The upper pressure curve
9 shows full-speed operation whilst the lower curve shows
operation correspondingto boiler demand at reduced pump
8 speed.
7
3400

$ 6

i ,z
3000
m

z
- 5
2
d
2
2 2600
E
3
2200 I ,
2
5500

4500
C
0 1 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
WALL THICKNESS-In. ti
2 3500
Fig. 7. 6-in.pz)e stress at 1-48 tonlin2 closed valve pressure,
470°F
2500

total wall stresses, determined by the integration of pressure

and thermal stresses and plotted against wall thickness. I500
I I I I
The hyperbolic curve is the pressure stress whilst the 360 80
rising curve is the thermal stress for constant temperature
operation based upon the test recorded in Fig. 5.
It will be seen that for all thicknesses from 13in. upwards, F
310 60
8
Y

the total stress is safely within the limit of 5 ton/in2. Y

I
rz
L

5 t;B
I)
280 40
S T R E S S CALCULATIONS
The three-dimensional stresses in this paper are integrated
btl
5
z2
I-
by the Mises-Hencky formula to give the total stress 240 20 ::
corresponding to the proof stress of the material.
The error in assuming the stress lines on Fig. 6 to be 200 0
straight lines instead of curves is reasonably offset by the 0 02 0.4 0'6 0.8 1.0 1.2
assumption that the inner metal wall has the same tem- MILLION- lb/h

perature as the water. Fig. 8. 300-M W feed pump characteristics

FEED RANGE CHARACTERISTICS P U M P OPERATION ON ZERO BOILER
On full flow, the pressure required at the pump discharge DEMAND
is equal to the boiler pressure plus the static lift from pump On zero flow, excessive heating of the pump occurs with
to boiler, plus the friction in pipes, heaters, etc.
At minimum flow the pump pressure is increased by automatic valve leaks a sumcient flow &om pump discharge
approximately 15 per cent but the pressure required is only back to the deaerator. The operation of this valve is initiated
the boiler pressure plus the static lift. by a signal from the flow-measuring device, with a standby
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Vol I75 KO 12 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
signal, in case of failure, from a temperature switch at the
balance flow. Fig. 8 shows the temperatures corresponding
to full and reduced speed operation plotted against flow.
The lowest curve is the inlet temperature of the feed water.
The next two curves give the temperatures at the balance
flow outlet for full and reduced speed operation.
The top temperature curve gives the maximum safe
balance water temperature to avoid flashing into steam.
This is deduced by taking the saturation pressure corre-
sponding to the inlet temperature for various flows, adding
the pressure corresponding to the static height of deaerator
water level above the pump centre line to give a total inlet
pressure, The saturation temperature corresponding to this
total inlet pressure is the maximum safe temperature.
The minimum leak-off values for safe operation are seen
to be 0.12406 million Ib/h, namely the points where the
full or reduced speed temperature lines respectively cross
the maximum safe temperature line.
Where the full-speed operation can occur and the excess
pressure between upper pressure curve and boiler demand
is broken down by the boiler regulator valve, the flow of
0.12 million lb/h corresponding to full speed must be taken
as minimum safe leak-off.
If, however, the pump speed is controlled by the boiler
demand, that is, a computed integral of steam flow, water
flow, and boiler water level, and there is no major pressure
drop across the boiler regulator valve, then the lower flow
of 0.06 million lb/h, corresponding to reduced speed, will
suffice. In the latter instance, if the feed pump operates
on top speed to pressure test the boiler and steam pipes,
such test will be on cold water, and 0.06 million lb/h leak-
off will still be safe.
TRANSIENT TEMPERATURE CONDITION§
During rapid load rejections the deaerator pressure may be
less than that corresponding to the saturation pressure of
the hotter water in the supply pipe between the deaerator
and the pump itself. Some cavitation will, therefore, occur
in the pump but no damage will result provided the pump
is symmetrical and provided flow is maintained. A careful
arithmeticalintegration of these transient conditions is made
to ensure that the extent of the cavitation is within safe
limits.
HYDRAULIC D E S I G N
The design of impellers, guideports, etc. in respect of
specific speed, head, characteristic, efficiency,and cavitation
is given in references (5) and (6).
Efficiency change with temperature and speed is given
in Appendix I.
DETERMINATION OF IMPELLER
VANE A N D P A S S A G E S H A P E
Kaplan's method of error triangle vane development is
stated by Stepanoff (7) to be responsible for recent high
pump efficiencies.
It has, however, been the author's experience that the
error triangle method is indeterminate and haphazard,
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Proc Instn Mech Engrs
649
particularly in the low-p;essure portion of the impeller or
turbine runner. Moreover, it fails to give true mathematical
and geometric knowledge of the position of the blade at
any point of the flow areas involved, and is rather an in-
efficientmethod in the pattern shop.
An improved method which has now been in use for a
number of years produces by reiterative computation the
optimum blade shape in three dimensions for the hydraulic
duty involved. This procedure gives true mathematical
knowledge of every portion of the vane and of the design
acceleration given to the water by the vane in three
dimensions. The resulting smoother flow avoids erosion and
improves performance.
CHEMICAL A S P E C T §
The generation of high heads per stage of 1000-2000 ft,
involves correspondingly high flow velocities of the water.
As mentioned above, a liquid which is comparatively
inert at low velocities can be highly corrosive and/or
erosive at high velocities, since the protective film of the
salt or oxide of the metal, normally found in static corrosion,
is eroded away by the high-velocity particles of water.
This corrosion and/or erosion occurs in spite of the fact
that there may be no abrasive particles in boiler feed water.
Obviously, on abrasive duties lower heads per stage must
be used. The high stage heads of boiler feed pumps are
only practicable since abrasive particles are virtually absent
and since stainless steel is largely used.
It is fortunate that we have available stainless steel, since
cavitational atrack on stainless steels in a boiler feed pump
is virtually unknown except for one or two isolated cases
where thermal stations have been installed in an area pre-
dominantly served by hydro stations, so that at certain
seasons, in order to avoid spilling of reservoirs, the steam
stations have had to run on 10 per cent load almost con-
tinuously. A simple modification enabled the impellers to
handle such duties without cavitational attack.
Providing these conditions are known beforehand, there-
fore, the internal parts of the pump can be designed to cope
with them.
METALLURGICAL DETAILS
The effect of high flow speeds on the corrosion and/or
erosion of metals and the vulnerability of mild steel and
cast iron to these conditions is already mentioned above.
Austenitic stainless steel, B.S. 1631 containing 18 per
cent chromium and 8 per cent nickel, has an extremely
high resistance to corrosion, and is readily weldable, but its
coefficient of expansion is approximately 9 millionths per
"F, compared with mild steel which is approximately 6
millionths, thus presenting difficulties of slack fitting of
impellers at higher temperatures.
A further disadvantage of B.S. 1631 is the relatively low
yield point at 400°F and above, and it is therefore little used
in boiler feed pumps above 250°F.
The martensitic stainless steels, B.S. 1630 and En
57, containing 13 per cent and 18 per cent chromium
Yo1 175 No 12 1961
650
respectively have high strength, the same coefficient of
expansion as mild steel, but the disadvantage of poor
welding characteristics and rather difficult casting charac-
teristics. Corrosion resistance of B.S. 1630 and En 57 is
inferior to B.S. 1631 but quite adequate for feed-water
duties.
B.S. 1630 and En 57 are at present the only stainless
steels in normal use on heavy-duty boiler feed pumps, the
B.S. 1630 being used for impellers, guideports, chambers,
etc., and the En 57 for shafts.
The problem arises of running two types of stainless steel
together without seizure in the moving and stationary
replaceable parts of the pump.
Satisfactory operation of two stainless steel surfaces has
been obtained by arranging for a sufficient difference of
Brine11 hardness number between the two faces in question
and by correct surface finish.
OTHER MECHANICAL D E S I G N A S P E C T S
The uniformity and symmetry of the pressure vessel has
already been described above, together with the stress
considerations of thermal shock.
ROTOR
The pump shaft is made of En 57 stainless steel and is
subject to a maximum stress at the first impeller, the stress
here being the combination of the total torque and the end
thrust of the first impeller.
Since each impeller has, for simplicity of fitting, its own
diameter on the shaft, the end thrust reaches a maximum
at the balance disc where the torque stress is nil. This gives
the advantage of economic use of the shaft material.
The operating speed of the pump is between the first and
second critical speed, since it would be uneconomic to run
below the first critical speed.
Analysis of general data from earlier designs gives the
shaft size and critical speed which is checked by the
following analysis :
(1) The usual graphical integration in the drawing
office to determine deflection of shaft.
(2) A checking of this deflection by mounting the
built-up rotor on a surface table and measuring its
deflection.
(3) An oscilloscope test of the natural period of
vibration of the shaft in air by hitting the centre with a
light hammer and holding an oscilloscope pick-up at this
point.
(4) A similar check of the second critical speed at the
4and $ points along the length of the shaft.
(5) An oscilloscope test during the running up of the
pump from rest to full speed, and during the running
down after power is switched off.
All these tests give reasonably comparable results, the
last test on the finished pump being, of course, the most
important.
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H. H. ANDERSON
MAIN B O L T S
The pump bolts are of 75-ton steel and the stressing is based
upon the temperature differentials observed in the two
thermal shock tests. Since the greater part of the bolts is in
open air, they are generally of the order of 100°F below
the pump temperature which, whilst heating up and cooling
down, serves to minimize the thermal stress.
These bolts are drilled for three purposes:
(1) To permit electrical heating for assembly and for
dismantling.
(2) To provide accurate micrometer measurement of
length and extension.
(3) To help to maintain them at an intermediate
temperature between hottest and coldest operating
conditions of the pump.
The bolts are nominally tightened with a 2-ft spanner
and a light hammer, then electrically heated, the nuts are
rotated a specified number of degrees and the bolts are then
allowed to cool. This gives the required amount of tightness
which is checked by micrometer measurement through the
bore. Unfastening of the bolts is carried out in a similar
manner.
ALIGNMENT
The conical end-cover bearing housings are designed to
have as much rigidity as possible in their 360" anchorage
to the main casing, which is suspended by a cruciform
system of keys permitting free expansion in all directions
without loss of alignment with the motor. The pump is
suspended at its centre line and a check is made on the
high-temperature test to ensure that the temperature rise
of the stool supporting the pump is comparable in magni-
tude to the temperature rise of the motor carcase. This
maintains very close alignment, but in order to render the
unit less sensitive to minor alignment changes of the order
of 2 or 3 thousandths of an inch, a spacer couphg is used,
which also has the advantage of assisting access to glands.
GLANDS
The feed pump glands for the first thermal shock test were
subjected to 800 lb/in2 and 500"F, which is a very severe
condition for the packing.
For later designs, the packing conditions were reduced
to 40-60 lb/in2, 260"F, by interposing the booster tem-
perature and pressure across a bush between the high-
pressure high-temperature inlet water and the packing.
A flow of bled water from the booster discharge leaks
across this bush to the 40-60 lbiin2 region. A considerable
improvement of packing life naturally resulted (Fig. 2).
At the present time, parallel investigations are in hand
on mechanical seals and on packingless glands.
PRESSURE JOINTS
The pressure joints, stage and main, are all metal since soft
joints are useless for thermal shock duties. Corrugated rings
of stainless metal are inserted and crushed almost flat so
that virtually no elasticity remains.
Yo1 175 No 12 I961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS 65 1

The rings provide a replaceable member thus giving a THERMAL COMPARISON OF P U M P CASING
more satisfactory joint than scraped metal-to-metal faces A N D BOILER D R U M
or corrugated faces which would require remachining. Topley and Nicholson (8) describe how a 100-MW boiler
Each joint has its own ring of bolts completely inde- drum is instrumented and guarded with the greatest care
pendent of other joints. This avoids the risk of leakage to avoid exceeding a temperature difference between inner
attendant upon the simultaneous holding by one external and outer wall of 100°F when increasing load and 70°F
bolt ring of internal and external joints on separate com- when reducing load.
ponents, each of which has its independent expansion and In contrast to this, the pump casing must accept 280°F
contraction during thermal transients. temperature difference between walls and a rate of liquid
temperature change of the order of lOOO"F/min. Table 1
MINIMIZING O F HIGH-FREQUENCY gives a dimension, temperature and stress comparison of the
VIBRATION A N D N O I S E boiler drum and the pump casing.
As each impeller blade approaches a guideport, a small
hydraulic shock occurs which is of relatively high frequency, Table 1. Dimension, temperature and stress comparison of
for example, 7 or 8 times the running frequency, but of boiler drum and pump casing
relatively small amplitude. In order to reduce this shock
and the consequent alternating stress on the casing to a 100 MW Boiler drum Feed pump barrel
minimum, the number of impeller blades is prime to the ____-
number of guideports, and the impeller blades individually Pressure, lb/inz . 1GOO 1950-2700
Temperature, O F . . 605 455-150
and as a group are of helical form, giving the whole rotor Bore,in. . . . 66 32
a skewed effect so as to reduce this high-frequency Wall thickness, in. 5.44 3.6
hydraulic shock and noise to a minimum. Maximum temperature differ-
ence across walls, "F , 100 280
Maximum thermal shock;
GENERAL CHART OF MECHANICAL D E S I G N OFjmin . . . .
50 estimated 1000
Cooler wall hoop stress on
The total stress loading on pressure shell and bolts is heating up, ton/in2 . 4 4.5
compounded of the pressure stress and the thermal stress. Cooler wall thermal stress on
heating up, ton/in2 . 4.4 12.5
It therefore follows that for a given design an increase of Total stress, ton/inz . . 8.4 113
Autofrettaged at
800 yield stress for
455°F

Mx)

500 It is reasonable to compare these two cylindrical members

since the combinations of their respective pressures and
y1
400 temperatures involve similar wall proportions.
3
I- There is, however, a considerable difference in the
< 300
fs rigidity requirements since the boiler, having no high-speed
shaft, is not critical to a few thousandths of an inch
E distortion.
200

0 GAS T U R B I N E S
100 200 300 600 I000 1000 30W
DELIVERY PRESSURE--lb/ln2
Fig. 9. Mechanical design chart
temperature involves a reduction in permissible pressure.
Furthermore, as pressure and temperature increase, the
materials change from cast iron, bronze fitted on cold water
low-pressure pumps to high-tensile steel shell with stainless
steel inner pump on the most severe conditions.
Fig. 9 shows in very general form the typical pressure
and temperature ranges for the various materials and
constructional types. It will be seen that the thermal
advantages of the barrel type permit it to deal with the
higher temperature duties leaving the lower temperature
duties to the through-bolt pumps.
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Proc Zmtn Mech E g t s
COMPARISON W I T H STEAM A N D
6000 I0000
Turbine design is based upon symmetry about the shaft
axis in order to allow rapid heating. A recent 125-MW
turbine now in operation permits very rapid load acceptance
indeed by virtue of sectional stage and barrel design
comparable to the feed pump described above.
F E E D P U M P DRIVES
Normally, feed pumps are driven by two-pole a.c. motors
and this has proved suitable for all duties.
Where variable speed is considered desirable, that is to
say, on duties of 100 lMW and over in Britain, and 60 MW
and over elsewhere, a hydraulic coupling between pump
and motor is often provided.
Alternatively, the motor may have a wound rotor with
continuously rated slip-rings.
Vol I75 No 12 1961
652 H. H. ANDERSON

Such reduction of speed by slip-ring or hydraulic coupling APPENDIX I

reduces to one half the power loss consequent on operation
at other than full load and, of course, almost eliminates the
erosion of the boiler regulating valve.
For units below 500 MW it is practicable generally to run
at higher speeds than 3000 rev/& for which a gear drive
or turbine drive would be provided.
A reduction of efficiency of 13 to 2 per cent occurs in the
gearbox, but this may be offset by the overall saving of
capital cost, particularly as the introduction of a gearbox to
permit speeds higher than those corresponding to a two-
V A R I A T I O N O F P U M P E F F I C I E N C Y W I T H TEMPERATURE
O F FEED WATER A N D W I T H R O T A T I O N A L S P E E D
Effect of viscosity change
Impeller disc friction is reduced with increase of temperature,
resulting in higher efficiency. Leakage losses are increased with
increase of temperature, resulting in lower efficiency. Hydraulic
skin friction loss is reduced with increase of temperature resulting
in higher efficiency. Impact and eddy losses being dynamic are
assumed unaltered.

'1
Make-up of tosses in multi-stage pumps (9)
pole motor would, at no extra cost, permit a ratio of gears per cent
suitable for a four-pole motor which in certain circum- Impact and eddy loss .
stances, for example, with wound rotor, may be desirable. Disc friction impellers and Typical case of 20 per
Recent large turbo-generators have raised the considera- balance disc
Neckleakage . *.. .
;}4 .cent loss, 80 per cent
efficiency
tion of a feed pump directly attached to the generator shaft, Balance leakage .
running at generator speed or, by gearbox, at a higher Hydraulicskinfriction 4 . .
speed. Variation of losses with viscosity and density
It would appear that the generator sizes are approaching Disc friction varies as
the limit, at 50 cycles, that can be manufactured and 1
transported in Britain, whilst the turbine limit has not yet +Reynolds number x density
been reached. 1
The use of electric feed pumps of, say, 20 MW would Reynolds number varies as
kinematic viscosity
therefore subtract 20 MW from the total output of the
generators, but a mechanical drive from the generator
Hence disc friction varies as ye/viscosity x density.
would only involve power in the steam turbine, leaving Leakage loss: Quantity of leakage vanes as -1 f IVZ
in formula h = -
the full generated output available for the grid. Here 3
df ,247
I
hydraulic couplings have the further advantage of isolating f varies as
the pump during the run-down time of the turbine. 4Reynolds number
The feed pump may alternatively be driven by a bled Hence leakage varies as
steam turbine which gives speed variation very roughly 1
YReynolds number or as +
comparable to load demand without the need for a kinematic viscosity
hydraulic coupling and unlimited choice of a suitable (When h is head loss; f is friction coefficient; 1 is pipe length; v is
velocity of flow; d is diameter of pipe; g is the acceleration due to
operating speed for the pump duty. gravity.
Hydraulic skin friction loss varies as f which varies as
CONCLUSION +'kinematic viscosity.
Some 60 feed pumps of the thermally symmetrical barrel
design are in operation for duties up to 200 MW and a Effect of clearance change
similar number for duties up to 350 MW are under (1) Where all metals have like coefficients of expansion no
permanent efficiency change occurs, but clearance must be
construction. increased by a margin to cover the most severe transient expected
During the early stages teething troubles, largely asso- during heating up.
ciated with corrosion and/or erosion of inferior materials, (2) Where impeller material has greater coefficient than casing
occurred, but these were cured by a more generous use of an increase of efficiency due to reduction of clearance and
stainless steel. It is considered that the thermally sym- therefore of leakage at higher temperature occurs.
metrical design will prove able to handle any increases of Pump metals fall generally into two groups:
power, speed, pressure, and temperature that the future (1) Those having coefficients between 6 and 7x10-6, for
may hold. example, cast iron, mild steel (cast or fabricated) 13 per cent
chrome stainless steel (B.S.1630) . 18 per
- cent chrome stainless
steel (En 57).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (2) Those havine coefficients between 9 and 10 X 10-6. for
example, bronze &d austenitic stainless steel (1818 chrame
The author thanks the Warland Engineering Company nickel) B.S. 1631.
Ltd for permission to publish the data in this paper. In
addition, for permission to illustrate or describe the plant The difference is approximately 3 millionths per O F . Where
bronze or lS/S impellers etc. are fitted to steel or cast iron casings,
shown, acknowledgementis made to the Central Electricity increase of efficiency occurs at higher temperature owing to
Generating Board, the Hydro Power Commission of reduction of clearance and in consequence reduction of leakage.
Ontario, N.V. Provinciale Limburgsche Elmiciteits
Normal diametral clearance is one thousandth of an inch per
Maatschappij and N.V. Provinciale Geldersche Elec- inch of diameter. If impeller neck increases for each inch of
triciteits Maatschappij, Netherlands. diameter by 3 millionths x T (where T is temperature difference),
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
Vol17S No 12 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS 653

the clearance falls by a similar amount and the leakage will be

reduced very approximately in proportion to the area change.
This efficiency temperature chart appears in Fig. 10.

Effect of rotational speed on eficiency is deduced by change of flow

quantity which serves as an artificial Reynolds number. A chart
of this efficiency change appears in reference (6).

APPENDIX I1

REFERENCES

(I) EDWARDS, T. W. 1955 Pwr Engng, vol. 59, June, p. 92, ‘Is
your Standby Boiler Feed Pump Kept Warm?’
(2) British Patent No. 606947 1946 ‘Multistage Pump’.
(3) ANON. 1949 Engineering, Lond., vol. 168, p. 176, ‘Boiler
Feed Pump for Power Stations’.
(4) ANON. 1957 Mech. Engng, N.Y., vol. 79, p. 132, ‘Eddy-
stone Plant Employs Supercritical-pressure Cycle’.
( 5 ) ANDERSON, H. H. 1955 Proc. Insrn mech. Engrs, Lond.,
V ”
vol, 169, p. 141, ‘Modem Development in Use of Large
U 50 100 200 300 4m SCQ Single-entry Centrifugal Pumps’.
TEMPERATURE-OF (6) ANDERSON, H. H. and CRAWFORD, W. G. 1960 Proc. Insrn
elect. Engrs, A , vol. 107, p. 129, ‘Submersible Pumps’.
Fig. 10. Efficiency corrections due to viscosity and clearance (7) STEPANOFF, A. J. 1948 ‘Centrifugaland Axial Flow Pumps’
on high temperature pumps (Wiley, New York; Chapman and Hall, London).
Head increases by 60 per cent of efficiency increase. (8) TOPLEY, H. and NICHOLSON, G. 1958 Elect. Rev., Lond.,
a Clearance change, for example, 18.8 or bronze impellers/cast vol. 163, p. 53, ‘Unit Generating Plant’.
iron or steel casing. (9) ANDERSON, H. H. 1951 et seq. ‘Kempe’s Engineers Year
b No permanent clearance change, for example, 13 chrome Book’, chapter on ‘Liquid Pumps’ (Morgan Bros. Ltd,
impellerslcast iron or steel casing. London).

Proc Instn Mech Engrs P’d 175 No 12 1961

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654
Discussion
Mr J. L. Gray, B.Sc. (Member), in opening the discussion,
said that he had been associated with Mr Anderson for a
good many years in the work he and his counterparts in
other firms had been doing along the lines reported in the
paper.
Generating plant had been advancing by leaps and
bounds. During the past 10 years or so, it had advanced at
a rate that could only be explained by the necessity to make
up a great deal of ground lost during the war years. Strides
had been so rapid in generating plant, the turbine and the
boiler, that it had been a very great effort for the smaller
firms building boiler feed pumps to keep pace, and to match
the increased capacities, sizes, pressures, temperatures etc.
of the main plant with reliable boiler feed pumps. It could
only be done by something more than the old trial and error
process by which machines had advanced, by and large,
over a very long period since the earliest days of steam
power.
It had been necessary to have theory and practice work-
ing hand in hand very intimately, the theory being verified
by very careful tests such as Mr Anderson had been
describing. It had been necessary, by means of very careful
test and experience in service to try to find out and correct
all those points at which theory had not been applied
critically enough, all those points which had been carried
forward from the past without sufficient examination of the
implications of the new conditions. He thought a particular
welcome ought to be extended to Mr Anderson’s exposition
as part of that evaluation. It was very easy to gather up all
that had been done, to announce to the world that the
pinnacle of all machines had been produced, and to give
the impression that it had been done by some curious
magic; in fact, it had been done by hard work, applying
theory methodically and testing it critically at every
stage.
He asked what they were searching for in boiler feed
pumps. In the first place, higher availability, for rather
different reasons than those Mr Anderson suggested; but
high availability was wanted in order to keep the main
generating plant running at its own maximum availability.
They did not want to have to shut down the main plant for
failure of some auxiliary. Fortunately, the boiler feed pump,
although in itself quite a costly machine, cost much less
than the main generating plant and it became possible,
therefore, to envisage some safeguard against failure of the
feed pump by means of duplication. That was the reason
why a standby boiler feed pump was essential. It was a
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Proc Instn Mech Engrs
different thing to saying that immediate availability of the
standby was necessary. A boiler had a great deal of inertia.
It was possible at that time to have one of those big boilers
running without any feed-in for a minute at full output.
That was done to give them time to get the standby pump
started but it also gave them time to shut the plant down
in safety without panic should the feed pump fail. They had
to bear in mind that although the boiler feed pump had
to be capable of a rapid start and of suffering thermal shock
without distress, the boiler was not so sensitive that it had
to be regarded as being made of glass and liable to break
up-it was extremely robust, and that had an important
influence when trying to calculate practically what sort of
feed pump arrangement was required. It disposed, for
example, of the necessity to have the standby pump running
continuously or for a multiplication of small size pumps.
Taking as rypical the son of test programme carried out
by Mr Anderson, they wanted to make sure that the feed
pump-which was a relatively small component of the
entire plant but was absolutely vital in the way few other
auxiliaries were, since it was a part of the essential thermal
cycle-had such characteristics that it was absolutely
reliable, as far as it could be made so. That could be achieved
by testing it in a way that the main plant could never be
tested until it was actually built and in service.
The feed pump, like a lot of other auxiliaries, should be
thoroughly tested in the works before ever being com-
mitted to service, to ensure that its suction performance was
adequate; that it achieved its predicted efficiency so that
the motor power or turbine power was correctly matched;
that it could withstand thermal shocks and that the
mechanical construction was strong enough and suitable
for all loads and operating speeds.
Testing those points meant considerable expenditure on
the part of both manufacturers and their customers, entirely
justified in the event by the identification of all the minor
errors that had escaped attention on the drawing board, but
which could be r e d i e d if found early enough, before the
damage was done on site and the main plant shut down for
lack of a reliable auxiliary. It had been an expensive process,
but he thought that Mr Anderson would agree that it had
been well worth while.
A considerable amount of attention was being given at
that time to suction performance, because of the fast in-
crease in the size of the individual unit, which was not
matched by a corresponding increase in the height at which
the deaerators could be fitted in the station. Mr Anderson
Vol I75 NO 12 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
had remarked that ‘during rapid load rejections, the de-
aerator pressure might be less than the saturation pressure
of the hotter water in the supply pipe between the deaerator
and the pump itself. Some cavitation would therefore occur
in the pump but no damage would result provided the pump
was symmetrical and the flow was maintained’. He assured
Mr Anderson that the calculation of the transient pressure
drops in the deaerator was amenable to analysis, which was
carried out in every station with which he had had any-
thing to do, and although there were three stations in
Britain in which there had been trouble from that cause,
it had been precisely because there had been no attempt to
analyse the problem. That had occurred during the period
immediately after the 1939-45 war. In those stations which
had been properly designed, there was no trouble, to his
knowledge, from that cause.
There was, however, a real problem on suction perform-
ance, and that was only one aspect of the problems to which
the vast increase in size and the advance in pressures and
temperatures was giving rise. There were also new thermo-
dynamic problems. A stage had now been reached where
the feed pump was big enough to ensure that the turbine
driving it, if supplied with steam of moderate pressure and
temperature, would be a reasonably efficient machine cap-
able of competing with the main turbo-generator as a source
of power, and therefore the turbo-driven feed pump became
a practical proposition.
The other variant of that was the one Mr Anderson men-
tioned of putting the feed pump on the end of the alternator
shaft. The economics of that arrangement were a little more
sophisticated than Mr Anderson suggested. It was extremely
difficult, in fact, to assign defensible economic value
to the reduction in auxiliary power demand in a power
station. The problem of the marginal capital costs to assign
to the various changes in auxiliary demand, generator out-
put, generator losses, and so on, was an extremely difficult
one. The practice which they had tended to develop was to
make the most conservative assumptions of cost or credit
of the particular arrangement in relation to reduction in
alternator losses and consequent increase in generator out-
put rather than increase in output of the station correspond-
ing to the reduced auxiliary power demand. It saved a lot
of bother about the marginal capital cost of increases in
boiler capacity etc. On that basis, the turbine-driven feed
pump in unit sizes over 300 MW was a paying proposition,
and in some instances one driven by a fluid coupling on the
end of the generator shaft had also been worth while. Both
types were now under construction.
Another problem of the increase in size and of steam
conditionswas that the high-pressure heater was now having
to be built along rather different lines from the traditional
styles with flat tube-plates and rolled-in tubes. It was now
beginning to look like a superheater encased in a drum. The
extra cost for increase in pressure was much less than
hitherto so that it had now become economical once again
to put the feed pump before the heaters. Lest anyone
imagine that that was going to make the feed pump
designers’ problem any easier, it brought many other
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655
problems in its vain, apart from the question of tempera-
ture. It involved increased suction problems in particular,
and certain complications in the matching of the turbine
and pump characteristics demanded very careful analysis.
There was a great deal of work to be done which was not
quite so simple as it looked at first sight. The biggest
problems of all arose from the great increase in capacity of
the apparatus. The peripheral speeds of the shafts rose
fairly rapidly and when the size of the machine of 200 MW
had been reached, they had come to the conclusion that
they had just about reached the limit with packed glands.
Experience with 200-MW machines confirmed that. They
specified packless glands for bigger machines, and those
were being developed, and they hoped in due course to see
considerable advances in that direction.
He thought there would be new demands in the way of
size, pressure and temperature in the future, and they would
have to be met by extensions of the same sort of theory and
practice as Mr Anderson has been describing.
A great deal of work was being done by Mr Anderson and
other designers on the speed of the pump. There was a
complete breakaway from traditional speeds taking place.
New materials to resist erosion and the mechanical forces
of high-speed operation were having to be developed, and
new methods of employing them. They would have to think
in terms of blind discharging ends of pumps with water-
lubricated internal bearings, eliminating at least one of the
glands, and many developments of that sort which would
be, in 10 years’ time, the subject of more papers of that sort.
He only hoped that in the course of that period, while the
work was going on, all the manufacturers of pumps would
be as forthcoming as Mr Anderson had been and would
open the subject to as wide a discussion as had been done
through his paper.
Mr A. Curtis (Newcastle upon Tyne) said that it was
particularly interesting to note the space in the paper given
to the effects of thermal shocks on boiler feed pumps. That
was a subject about which relatively little thought had been
given until the advent of split pumping. Split pumping had
always been of doubtful thermodynamic advantage over the
low-temperature pump, and it would appear from the paper
that some aspects of the design and operating conditions
were also more complex than had at first been thought.
Whether it was because of those reasons or because of capital
costs, or because of the realization of the thermodynamic
disadvantages, the tendency was to return to the low-
temperature boiler feed pump situated before the high-
pressure feed-water heater train. That was not a new
departure for high-temperature and high-pressure steam
cycles and in some engineers’ opinions that had always been
the better choice. He quoted the case of Meaford ‘B’ power
station, where they had already had about five years’ satis-
factory operating experience, and which had been designed
before 1950 for a steam cycle of 1500 lb/in2 and 1050”F,
which had adopted the low-temperature pumps. Minor
difficulties had been experienced initially with the high-
pressure heater water-box joints but those had soon been
Val 175 No I2 1961
656
overcome and, as far as he was aware, the scheme had
operated satisfactorily since.
His next point concerned the autofrettaging of the feed-
pump barrel. Fig. 6 showed the stresses existing in a feed-
pump barrel wall during temperature changes; he asked
how the c w e s had been obtained; whether they were, in
fact, idealized curves or had been obtained by analytical
maximization of the temperature difference existing in the
barrel after the initial shock. It appeared, if the author’s
forecasts of autofrettaging were correct, that the majority
of pumps with forged steel barrels for duties above 200 MW
stood a good chance of suffering from that phenomenon. It
was, therefore, with some interest that he asked whether or
not he had carried out tests on a feed-pump barrel, model
or otherwise, to substantiate his views, and if so what the
residual stresses measured had been, and to what extent
they would be detrimental to the pump in t e r m of dimen-
sional changes.
His second question related to the section of the paper
dealing with the rotor and determination of critical speeds.
He noted that measurement of the natural frequency of the
shaft was made statically in air, and he was interested to
know how the value obtained compared with that measured
while the pump was running and what reduction in fre-
quency was brought about by the immersion of the roror
in water.
The last speaker had menrioned suction conditions, and
he wanted to enlarge upon that. It was rather significant
that no mention was made in the paper of net positive
suction head, which was unfortunate as far as it affected the
power industry, who were continually involved, not only
in expense but in complication and inconvenience, to
provide the suction conditions the pump-makers seemed
to require, He referred in that particular instance to the
ever-increasing height of high-level deaerator plant. Very
soon the deaerators would be seen on the roof above the
booster pumps. It appeared to the engineer engaged in
providing the necessary suction conditions that opinions
in the pump industry differed in the interpretation of the
term and its relationship to cavitation in the pump. SOfar
as he was aware, net positive suction head was usually
related closely to the point at which the head curve departed
from the normal characteristic. He asked Mr Anderson to
say what he was trying to prevent, in giving a net positive
suction head for a pump. He asked whether it was erosion
of the impeller, flashing at the balance valve, flashing at the
feed pump suction or whether the pump-maker was cater-
ing for transient conditions that he thought might exist.
He felt with respect to the last point that if the pump-
makers would tell the power station designers the net
positive suction head they required for pumps under steady
load conditions and leave emergency considerations to
them, they might end up with less demanding pump-
suction conditions.
His final point was on behalf of those whose job it was
to fit a feed pump into a high-pressure pipework system.
The main problem in that respect was the attachment of
very stiff pipework to the feed pump, at the same time
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
DISCUSSION
keeping the forces and moments exerted by the pipework
on the feed pump to an absolute minimum. Taking the case
of a 350-MW boiler feed pump similar to the one illustrated
in Fig. 2, and designed for a feed discharge pressure of
2800 lb/in2 with two discharge branches of 11 in. bore, it
would be possible for the pipework to exert a bending
moment of the order of about 130 ton feet per pipe. He
agreed that it was unreasonable to expect a moment of
that magnitude to be taken by the pump, but it should be
possible for a design to be evolved to take a reasonable
fraction of that amount. At that time, the cost of pipework
of the size and design conditions quoted cost about E25 or
E30 per ft and it was not unusual to find pipework loops
costing between A;5,000 and E6,OOO inserted in feed systems
because of the inability of the feed pump to accommodate
reasonable moments. He thought that a little more co-
operation between the boiler feed pump-maker and the
pipework designer was needed to overcome the problem,
and it was therefore with particular interest that he asked
the author his views on the matter and of the external
forces and moments he would be prepared to accept on a
unit of that size.
Mr L. C. Nuttall (Manchester) in a contribution read
for him by Mr B. Red, said that Mr Anderson stated that
a high-temperature standby pump might be standing at a
temperature 200-300°F lower than the running pump.
Presumably, that was on a system which was common today
and where there was a temperature increase of 200°F across
the intermediate heaters.
However, it was his experience that the standby high-
pressure pump could be kept substantially at that of the
running booster pump if the leak-in to the standby pump
glands was supplied at a pressure with a comfortable
margin in excess of the inlet pressure to the pump. In that
case the leak-in was not just dependent on the friction loss
through the heaters, which on low load might disappear
almost completely, but was assured of a positive flow that
would ensure that the temperature increase in starting was
a little more than the temperature increase across the
heaters, i.e. at the worst 200°F.
Secondly, the author went on to say: ‘In this manner, the
feed pump shields the boiler from dangerous thermal
shock.’ Surely, if the pump was standing, and containing
water 200-300°F lower in temperature than the common
discharge system, the fact that it was called upon to push
the slug of relatively cooler water in the boiler could only
produce shock. It was agreed, however, that the intermediate
pipework between the boiler and the pump could go some
way to reducing the thermal shock, but the pump could
claim no credit for that.
In the third place, a great deal of stress had been laid on
the symmetry of design, and indeed a large measure of that
had been achieved.
If the particular construction of the cruciform end-cover
were examined, however, it would be seen that on the
delivery side of the pump, there would be two relatively
dead pockers of liquid on either side of the discharge ports.
Vo1175 No 12 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS 657

Those were symmetrical, however, and would not in them-
selves give rise to unbalanced stresses.
An important point was that in Fig. 4, showing the
thermal shock, it would be seen that immediately following
the thermal shock, there was a 330°F difference in tempera-
ture across the joint, but the differential would be confined
to two areas corresponding to the dead pockets if the pump
carcase was swept much quicker, as could happen under
full flow conditions. That wave form could, if severe, lead
t o local yielding of the joint face and even leakage.
As that joint was the most critical one in the construction,
carrying almost the full differential pressure generated by
DELIVERY WATER
TEMPERATURE POINT
7/
4-/'
4/
INLET WAT ER
TEMPERATURE PO1NT
the pump, it would lead to extensive trouble if leakage did
occur.
Fourthly, at the other end of the pump, the delivery
guide shroud was spigoted on to an extended boss at the
back end of the barrel casing. Owing to the conversion of
kinetic to pressure energy of the water in the last stage and
the pumping action of the outer impeller shroud, there
must be a considerable difference in pressure across the
spigot.
No form of positive joint was indicated. Even with
materials which would be reasonably resistant to erosion-
corrosion, some deterioration of the spigot was almost

'1I
I I I I I

BALANCE WATER
I I

TEST BOOSTER

I DELIVERY WATER
TEMPERA,TURE POINT

INLET WATER
TEMPERATURE POINT

>
HIGH- PRESSURE
PUMP UNDERGOING
TEMPERATURE TEST
-
LOW PRESSURE

I f J
t BLEED WATER TO
HIGH -PRESSURE
PUMP GLANDS

- h
I
TEST BOOSTER
I
b
Fig. 11. Types of pump test arrangementsfor hot water testing on manufacturers' test bed
Proc Inrtn Mech Engrs Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
Vol175 No 12 1961
658
bound to occur. It could be argued that the spigot was not
necessary for construction purposes, but incipient leakage
at that point could represent quite high hydraulic losses.
Lastly, with reference to the actual thermal shock con-
ditions simulated on a test bed, there were two methods of
carrying those out.
In Fig. 1la the delivery valve on the main pump had, in
that case, to be throttled back to give a very small through-
put so that the power absorbed by the pump raised the
temperature of the water to that of the stabilized delivery
temperature. Quenching could be carried out by simply
opening the delivery valve.
In Fig. l l b the delivery valve on the main pump could,
in that case, be opened to circulate the full designed flow
in the loop system. Control of the delivery water tempera-
ture was done by bleeding water from the system on the
delivery side and compensating by pumping water into the
system from the booster pump. Quenching could be carried
out by closing the main valve and opening the bleed valve
so that incoming cold water from the booster pump swept
the main pump at a given rate.
From the author's comments and from the results shown
in Fig. 4,it was obvious that the first system had been used
in the tests. From the curves shown, he submitted that the
balance water would normally leave the balance valve at a
temperature slightly in excess of the delivery water, but the
balance water temperature shown on the curve was 75°F
below the delivery water temperature. That was un-
doubtedly due to mixing the balance water with the bled
water at the delivery end.
The inlet water was shown to be of the order of 70°F so
that the high figure reached, i.e. 320"F, must have been
because the temperature point for inlet water was so
positioned where it was influenced by the mixture of
returning balance and bled water, i.e. very local to the
Pump-
At the moment before quenching commenced, it was
estimated that the various flows were :flow leaving discharge
F&. 12. Feed pump thmnal shock test
Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
Proc Instn Mech Engrs
DISCUSSION
pipe, 15 gal/&; balance water flow, 27 gal/&; leak-in
at delivery end, 6 gal/&; combined leak-in and inlet
water at suction end, 9 galimin.
Since the leak-in at the inlet end of the pump would be
approximately equal to that at the delivery end, the actual
water entering the inlet flange would be only 3 gal/&,
which accounted for the great influence of the returning
balance water and bled water mixture.
Also, the water entering the first impeller would be much
nearer to the balance water temperature than that of the
inlet water, so that the temperature change of 1000°F
minimum permissible claimed by the author was felt only
by the small length of test piping between the inlet tempera-
ture measuring point and the pump inlet flange.
What was more, from the diagram it would appear that
the delivery water temperature did not start to fall for fully
1 minute afier the inlet water temperature started to f a .
Part of that time would be taken up in delivery valve adjust-
ment, where the quantity of water going through the pump
was a variable amount, but the fact remained that the time
taken to sweep the pump carcase with the inlet water was
1 minute. Assuming that the pump carcase had a water
capacity between temperature measuring points of 40 gal,
the average flow over the adjusting period was 40 gal/&.
If the curves were examined at the extreme right-hand
end, it would be seen that there was a convergence of the
delivery water and barrel-casing temperature curves which
indicated that neither was passing heat to the other. On
that assumption, the flow through the pump under those
conditions could be calculated and was of the order of
100 gal/min. Under full-load flow conditions the quantity
could be 17 times as great and, of course, it was the com-
paratively small flow condition that resulted in the com-
paratively leisurely fall of the delivery water, i.e. 214°F in
7 minutes.
He had been concerned himself with similar tests and had
interpreted the various specifications to mean that the
delivery water temperature could fall 200°F in 2 min, with
Vol I75 No I2 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
a further fall to deaerator temperature in a further 2 min.
A typical thermal shock test conducted by his company was
shown as Fig. 12, and he had taken the liberty of super-
imposing the author’s delivery water temperature curve
on it.
Since the two pumps were of comparable size and
operating temperature, a direct comparison of the rate of
temperature drop could be made.
If the actual joint and bolt arrangement was in fact in
line with that shown in Fig. 2, it surprised him to learn
that it had been found adequate to prevent leakage follow-
ing a thermal shock test. Until the introduction of a special
joint, since when the bolting arrangement was similar, a
very elaborate bolting arrangement had to be employed
by his company. It was considered that the main joint
shown by the author had not been subjected to such severe
temperature variations during the test as could be experi-
enced in practice.
He added thar, following the thermal shock test repre-
sented in Fig. 12, the pump had been examined following
stripping, and no rubbing had been in evidence. The con-
struction of the pump had been a conventional barrel with
branch pipes in the barrel itself, so they were left to wonder
if the emphasis given to the symmetrical feature was rather
more theoretical than real.
Mr G . F. Arkless, B.Sc. (Graduate), said that the paper
had been the more interesting to him since, in order to
achieve as complete as possible pre-testing of their new
pump designs at the works, they had recently commissioned
a test rig capabIe of testing a 200-MW size at suction
pressures and temperatures up to 700 lb/$ gauge and
460°F.
The rig was capable of testing pumps over the whole
range of output. It was also arranged to administer both
hot-to-cold and cold-to-hot thermal shocks to the test pump
at temperature change rates such as Mr Anderson had
described.
They had already made initial tests on a 200-MW main
feed pump, and those had been made at water temperatures
of 460°F. They were looking forward to obtaining some
very useful information in the future.
When describing his thermal shock experiments, Mr
Anderson did not say whether they were caxried out with
the pump lagged or not. No doubt to facilitate the taking
of surface temperatures, the pumps had been tested unclad.
It was therefore interesting to consider the effect of lagging
on the thermal shock to the pump. If a guess were made
(using a scale and Fig. 2) of the full-load velocity of the dis-
charge water adjacent to the barrel as round about 7 ftisec,
the heat transfer coefficient between the barrel and the
water could be calculated. At 414°F water temperature, it
must be round about 1500 B.t.u./h ftz OF. Allowing for a
small amount of fouling with the barrel unlagged, that led
to an inner surface temperature of roughly 411”F,with outer
barrel surface temperature of 370°F. That justified the
assumption that the barrel inner temperature was close to
the water temperature. If, however, the barrel was lagged
Proc Insrn Mech Engrs Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
659
with 85 per cent magnesia lagging 3 in. thick whose external
surface temperature was taken as being round about 90°F
(60°F ambient) for 414°F water, the barrel bore temperature
rose almost exactly to the water temperature and there was
only a drop of about 1°F across the wall. That meant that
under steady-state full-load conditions, the. lagged pump
barrel appeared to be almost devoid of thermal stress.
When a cold thermal shock was administered, the tem-
perature difference between the inner and outer wall would
be more severe with the lagged pump, and the stresses
correspondingly higher &an those quoted for a presumably
unlagged pump. He asked whether the author would care
to comment on those deductions.
The good agreement which the author reported between
calculated critical speed and transverse vibration frequency
had not been their good fortune. They had found, for
example, that gland-packing offered appreciable if some-
what indeterminate support to the shaft. When the pump
was running, it seemed probable that the numerous fine
clearance bushes within a feed pump served as so many
water-lubricated bearings, which contributed towards
stiffening the rotating system without necessarily implying
contact of the rotating parts with the packing rings. They
had produced a successful turbo feed pump whose shaft,
rotating at speeds up to 10000 rev/mh, was suppofled
solely by hydrodynamic water-lubricated bearings. It must
be admitted that the bearings of that pump were not
serrated, and it was interesting to speculate whether pump
designers did not sacrifice a most useful potential function
of internal bushes by serrating them in order to reduce
internal leakage.
He was particularly interested to h o w whether the
author had had any oppoaunity of obtaining convincing
confinnation of his predictions of the effect of water tem-
perature and rotational speed, on the efficiency of the pump.
Considering first the effect of temperamre on efficiency,
in general, tests which they had carried out on water
temperatures up to 270°F had shown that the order of
efficiency gain which theory predicted was in fact realized
in practice. However, there had been one or two curious
and inexplicable exceptions to that.
The effect of rotational speed on efficiency had been
recently very carefully assessed on an experimental test rig
which consistently yielded test results repeatable to within
z t + per cent. Those tests had shown a marked increase in
pump efficiency by increasing the speed from 1000 to
1500 rev/min. Subsequent speed increments of 500 revlmin
showed a diminishing efficiency return, until between 2500
and 3000 revlmin no gain whatsoever had been observed.
Similar results had been reported by other investigators,
most recently by Varley in his paper to the Institution*.
There seemed litrle doubt that an increase in efficiency
with increasing temperature or increasing speed was a
Reynolds number effect but, just as had been found by
axial flow compressor designers, there appeared to be a
* VARLEY, F. A. 1961 Proc. Instn mech. Engrs, Lond., vol. 175,
NO. 21, ‘Effects of Impeller Design and Surface Roughness on
the Performance of Centrifugal Pumps’.
Vol I75 No I 2 1961
660
critical Reynolds number below which efficiency was
affected and above which efficiency remained relatively
constant.
It was hoped to get more information on the subject with
temperatures up to 460°F now that they had the new facility
of a high-temperature test rig. In the meanwhile, it would
be of considerable interest to learn whether Mr Anderson
had had any similar experiences.
fiL. 0. Wild (Associate Member) said that once again
Mr Anderson had produced a paper which was likely to
bring about international comment, probably not as much
as his famous essay on theory, and certainly he was sure
there would not be quite as much opposition.
As already stated, in the period since Mr Anderson had
submitted his paper, a major change had taken place in the
feed-pumping field. The latest 350- and 500-MW sets had
been provided with high-pressure heaters, thus allowing the
use of single, relatively cold water pumps, drawing water
direct from the deaerator and delivering it through the
heaters to the boiler. The main pump was bleed-steam
turbine driven, the larger ones being designed for 4 million
lbjh with a differentialhead of 3000 lb/in2. Each set was also
provided with two half-duty starting and standby pumps
driven by slip-ring variable-speed motors.
On the question from Mr Curtis as to whether the heaters
should be before or after the feed pump, it was not a ques-
tion of feeling but of cold clear economics.
The suction performance of the bigger sizes of pump was
in question, and it was for that reason that the C.E.G.B. had
asked for cavitationtests on all current contracts to establish
the net positive suction head (n.p.s.h.) requirements. In the
meantime, pumps with speeds in excess of 3500 rev/min-
and they had pumps on order for 6600 rev/&-were being
provided with a suction stage in a separate casing, some-
times double entry or at a lower speed than the main
pump; to ensure that while the designs proceeded to thc
economically desirable higher speeds and heads per stage,
there would be no danger of failure through cavitation.
The author had rather skated over the question of two
stainless steel surfaces running together without galling or
seizing. The plate and seat on the balancing system were
often both of stainless steel and it was his experience that
ulth the peripheral speeds involved in pump sizes of
200 MW and above seizing did occur. The question then
arose as to whether there was another combination of
materials that could be used for that purpose, or whether
some other form of balancing should be used; for example,
a combination of balance drum and a water-lubricated
thrust/journal bearing, or just an external thrust bearing
on its own. The question of thrust was, in his opinion, the
critical question on boiler feed pumps at that time.
Referring to the question of the stuffing box, packingless
glands were being used extensively now. They were, how-
ever, very wasteful, the thermodynamic losses being of the
same order as the cost of the pump. Mechanical seal tests
had so far only proved how little was known about their
behaviour. Again, as in the question of balance valves, the
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
DISCUSSION
high peripheral speeds involved served as the death knell
of all seals for large pumps thar had been tried so far.
However, basic research work was under way and it was
hoped that soon the customer would be able to provide the
manufacturer with a satisfactory solution.
The author had remarked on the necessity for variable
speeds being different in Britain, which anywhere else
would seem to call for comment from the main customer.
Their calculations had shown that on pumps smaller than
200 MW, variable-speed drive was not economic and was
unnecessary. On larger sets with higher steam conditions
the quesrion of protecting the boiler regulating valve under
starting conditions, together with the economic savings in
the use of variable speed, made it very attractive. The
difference in outlook on the smaller sets between Britain
and other countries-including Scotlad-might be the
method of operation (as their sets were mainly designed for
full load operation) or it might be due to their greater
resistance to sales talk.
Dealing with the type of drive, their calculations on the
large sets had shown that, at present, the bleed-steam tur-
bine drive, with the bleed steam passing to the feed water,
was the most economic, however, the generator-driven
pump being only a little less efficient.
Looking at Fig. 2, it was illuminating to see that the
impellers-the part that was doing the work-were only
one-third of the whole length of the pump. He thought
that with water-lubricated bearings and alternative balance
valves the non-productive length should be cut down
considerably.
His prediction for the future, say, within the next 5 years,
was a pump of 10 000 revlmin, water-lubricated bearings,
a ring section, with an alternative method of balancing.
Mr W.E. R. McCarter, B.A. (Associate Member), said
that Mr Anderson referred to the shape of impeller vanes,
and said that he had found the method of error triangles
haphazard and indeterminate. He said that he was using an
improved method of reirerative computation. It had to be
admirted that the method of error triangles was only a
means of putting on to the drawing-board what the designer
thought and, of course, the designer might not be correct,
but it enabled a pattern-maker to make the vane the shape
which the designer thought was right. The designer had
to fix the salient dimensions of the impeller, such as the
vanes and the overall diameter. He was wondering whether
the improved method which Mr Anderson had mentioned
perhaps followed the method used in America for the com-
pressor stage of gas turbines. That depended on the mathe-
matical analysis of a particle of fluid passing through the
impeller. He thought they should admit that every designer
would wish to put his science on a better footing than it was
by obtaining a more exact knowledge of what happened to
the flow. Up to that time, as Mr Gray had pointed out, a
great deal of the design of centrifugal pumps depended,
perhaps not on trial and error, but on the accumulated body
of experience which involved simple theory with correction
constants which the designcr had to choose for h s e l f . It
Vol 175 h-012 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
was obviously a great improvement if the designers could
put their work on a more mathematical basis, but he men-
tioned one difficulty that came into his mind. Before
analysing the flow of a liquid through the impeller, it would
be necessary, of course, to establish the flow pattern at the
entry to the impeller, On the over-hung type of impeller,
where the water flow was axial, the flow pattern could be
studied experimentally and some assuinptions could be
made, but in the multi-stage type of pump about which
Mr Anderson had been speaking, the flow pattern after the
first stage would be very difficult to explore. He asked
whether he would give them some idea of what sort of flow
pattern he assumed; whether he assumed a forced vortex
or a free vortex or something in between; or whether, by
providing fixed vanes, he imposed a flow pattern on the
entrance to the impeller to enable him to proceed with a
mathematical investigation.
Referring to the d a g r a m on efficiency correction, he said
that the lower diagram showed the efficiency correction for
various temperatures. Possibly the lower graph would be
more applicable nowadays on pumps requiring impellers of
13 per cent chromium steel, and he thought that the im-
portant thing was not so much what the efficiency correction
was, but whether the principal pump-makers’ customers
would treat all the pump-makers alike. That, he thought,
had been the practice by cakng for cold-water and hot-
water efficiencies.
Mr I. D. Campbell, B.Sc., M.I.Mech.E., M.I.E.E.,
said that the title of the paper seemed to suggest that any
Communications
Mr Roy L. Brown (Associate Member) wrote that he found
the paper of much interest since it pointed out a number
of differences between European and United States of
America boiler feed punip practice.
He would be interested to know if the author’s company
had experienced any trouble with bowed shafrs of En 58
material. It was his experience that a shaft might be straight
when completely machined, but might bow as the impellers
were shrunk on the shaft. Alternatively, bowing might
occur during the few days &er assembly of the rotating
unit was complete. Details of the heat treatment process,
both before and during manufacture of the shaft, would be
of much interest.
The pradce in the United States was to provide all
boiler feed pumps with a thrust bearing to prevent seizure
of the balance disc during transient temperature conditions.
With rapid load rejections, flashing would almost certainly
occur at some point in the pump and, it was believed, that
might lead to momentary rubbing of the balance disc.
Seizure during that period seemed to be a very definite
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66 1
but large feed pumps must necessarily be old-fashioned; a
lot of industrial users were buying feed pumps and they
Iked to feel they were getting something modern.
Coming back to large feed pumps and the question of dual
pumping, he understood the author to say that he would
like to leave rhat question to be settled by the client or his
consultant, but he wanted to know whether the pump-
maker would not like to take advantage of the fact rhat he
had got two sets of suction conditions to get a more economic
specific speed for the high-pressure unit. One would have
thought that with very large users that could be a big item
on the cost of the pump, and a client should get the benefit
of being told that.
The net positive suction head, particularly with industrial
users, was always apt to be a bit of a mystery. If they could
be told what the cavitation head was and left to think out
their own margins, it would be a help, instead of being
told that the tank should be up so many feet because the
transient conditions had to be considered and that a violent
change in temperature might arise owing to change in load.
That was quite out of the pump-maker’s knowledge and
had to be decided by the client in any case.
On rhe mechanical side, in the early part of the paper the
author had referred to permissible plastic deformation or
the reasonable degree of plastic deformation in bolts, rings
etc. of the pump, but he asked whether any plastic deforma-
tion was permissible in such parts of the pump.
Stainless steel sounded a thing to be avoided but he asked
whether the author had anything to say about the various
anti-friction treatments one heard about.
risk, especially if martensitic stainless steel balance disc
faces were used. Generally the margin of n.p.s.h. requested
by the pump manufacturer above the actual n.p.s.h. required
by the pump was very much greater in European practice,
and that might tend to alleviate the danger of balance disc
seizure during those transient temperature conditions. It
seemed that in many circumstances it might be more
economical to provide the pump with a thrust bearing rather
than allow additional n.p.s.h. as a safety factor for transient
conditions,
The author’s confidence tl12t optimum impeller-vane
shape had now been achieved by a reiterative method of
computation was a little surprising to him. It was true that
an intuitive ‘ideal’ flow pattern could be assumed and, given
that pattern, it was then possible to design a vane mathe-
matically to fulfil the intuitive ideal. The impeller might
show good efficiency on test, but it did not follow that the
optimum had been achieved. When designing an impeller
various assumptions had ro be made, ail of which leant
heavily upon empirical data and the designer’s art.
Vol I75 hTo I 2 1961
662
The meridional or through-flow velocity might be as-
sumed constant across the width of the impeller channel.
However, that was an over-simplification and while it might
be acceptable in low specific speed designs, it was not
acceptable for higher specific speeds. The change in flow
direction from axial to radial in the impeller eye would
produce higher meridional velocities at the eye shroud,
and lower meridional velocities at the hub shroud. The
magnitude of that meridional velocity distribution was sub-
ject to doubt and therefore the optimum blade shape in the
area of the eye was also indeterminate. The influence of
boundary layer at the impeller shrouds would also affect
the meridional velocity distribution.
The ideal rate of head generation along the vane might
be assumed to be proportional to the square of impeller
radius, or possibly the square of the length along the vane.
If the square of impeller radius had been assumed for the
rate of head generation, then portions of the vane at the
impeller inlet where the streamlines were almost axial
would be doing very little work. As an alternative to the
head generation approach, it might be simpler to assume
the three-dimensional or true vane angle decreases (or
increases) at a constant rate from inlet to outlet. On the
other hand, that procedure might give a vane too short in
angular length for a high head coefficient. All of those design
approaches would produce a pump of good, but not neces-
sarily optimvm, efficiency.
It was not clear whether the efficiency corrections due to
viscosity and radial clearance on high-temperature pumps,
Fig. 10, were based on calculationor whether that was actual
test data.
Mr Daniel A. Jack (Associate Member) wrote that he
wanted to thank the author for his most interesting and
informative paper and congratulatehim on his experimental
skill and ingenuity in carrying out a most difficult test.
However, in his enthusiasm to describe his successful
design, he could be misleading in his criticism of the con-
ventional type of feed pump, especially in quoting from
certain American technical articles, and using those quota-
tions as general limitations of the conventional type of feed
pump design. It was on one or two of those points that he
wished to comment.
It was not general American practice to keep standby feed
pumps warm; only in a minority of power stations were feed
pumps supplied with warming-up orifices. In many in-
stances the pump manufacturers must guarantee a cold
start on their standby feed pumps. M r Edward's paper (I)
was dated 1955 and had been written in the early stages of
the development of close clearance pressure breakdown
bushings in the stuffing boxes of feed pumps, and had been
intended to encourage the use of such. At the current rime,
however, with improved designs and particularly the in-
creased use of mechanical seals, cold start-ups and quick
load changes with consequent sudden temperature changes
had been made successfully with the American conven-
tional feed pumps, all of which had both nozzles in their
barrels.
broc Instn Me& Eqrs Downloaded from pme.sagepub.com at Monash University on June 5, 2016
COMMUNICATIONS
In some instances, there might be a need to maintain
warm standby pumps because of their extreme operating
conditions and current lack of operating experience. He
felt that the pumps mentioned in reference (4) should be
included in that category where the published operating
conditions were suction 4165 lbIin2 gauge; discharge
6490 lb/in2 gauge; temperature 568°F; 5180 rev/min.
Those conditions were far above those normally en-
countered with normal feed pumps and hardly a fair pump
to use as a basis of comparison.
In the paper was an interesting and detailed discussion
of the stressing of the actual pump barrel, but on scaling
the pump section in Fig. 2, he found that 40 per cent of
the pump carcase length was end cover thickness, 12g per
cent barrel flange thickness, only 15 per cent the actual
barrel and the remainder fillets on the barrel. Since the
major portion of the pump was the end cover and, as shown
in Fig. 5, the most highly stressed section, he asked the
author whether, with its irregular internal section and
complex loading, plastic yielding could occur and cause
misalignment of the cantilevered inner assembly and if that
was one of the reasons for the cruciform arrangement of
the nozzles on the larger units.
Fig. 9 showed through bolt pumps capable of operating
delivery pressures up to approximately 2700 lb/in2 gauge,
4000 lb/in2 gauge and 7000 lb/inz gauge. Those seemed to
be high. He asked the author's advice as to the highest
pressures that style of pump was operating currently in the
British power industry.
Dr M. D. Wood, B.Sc., B.Sc. (Eng.) (Associate Member),
wrote that he was very interested in the section in the paper
on thermal stresses since he had been working on that
problem himself in conjunction with members of a par-
ticular company. Their approach had been theoretical and
it was instructive to compare their findings with those
presented in the paper.
They had analysed a mathematical model consisting of
an infinitely long thick cylinder lagged on the outside, with
water flowing axially within the cylinder. The water tem-
perature was a known function of time, but was independent
of distance along the cylinder. The model therefore neg-
lected axial heat conduction. The proportions of the
cylinder had been chosen to represent those of a typical
barrel pump casing of the type under discussion.
Several cases of water temperature variation had been
studied. In the fist it had been assumed that the water
temperature dropped instantaneously by 200°F and then
remained constant at that lower value. The subsequent
changes in wall temperature might be determined from the
complete analysis available in standard works on heat
transfer, but they preferred to use a direct numerical
technique. The results of the temperature calculation
depended on the value assumed for the water-to-metal
heat transfer coefficient, which in turn depended on the
velocity of fluid flow and hence on the detailed arrange-
ments of the particular pump being considered. They based
Val 175 No I2 1961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
their calculations on a velocity representative of the flow
close to, but not within, the outlet branch pipe. Their
calculations should therefore tend to overestimate rather
than underestimate the resultant stresses.
Under those assumed conditions the 200°F step change
in water temperature was closely followed by the metal wall
at the bore of the cylinder, transients of the order of lOOO"F/
min or higher being indicated. Those changes were so rapid
that one wondered whether the response time of the tem-
perature-measuring device used by Mr Anderson might
have been significant and that in fact the changes of inlet
water temperature had been even quicker than indicated in
the paper. However, it would be appreciated that the stresses
were not directly dependent on the rate of change of
temperature but on the temperatures themselves, and that
there was not, therefore, necessarily any cause for alarm at
the large numerical values quoted for the rates of tempera-
ture change.
The response of the outer fibres of the cylindrical model
to the step change in water temperature had been very
sluggish. Ten seconds after the step change in water
temperature, the bore fibres had been within 20°F of the
water temperature but the outer fibres had not yet re-
sponded by even l°F from their assumed original equili-
brium temperature. Those figures indicated that the
cylinder had been subjected to a temperature differential
of 180°F across the wall thickness producing a bore
thermal hoop stress close to the yield point of a 35-ton
steel, even without taking into account stresses due to
internal pressure.
It had been decided that the step change of temperature
was unrealistic since it had made no allowance for the
heating of the fluid due to heat loss in the casing, and
further work had been concentrated on water temperature
transients of 400°F in 4 min, or longer. That had been con-
sidered to be more realistic than the step change in tempera-
ture. It was interesting to compare those values with Fig. 4
which showed a delivery water temperature transient of
only 200°F in 7 min in spite of the rapid change in inlet
water temperature.
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663
Under those revised conditions (400°F in 4 mh)a similar
temperature pattern for the mathematical model had
emerged. The bore fibres had responded rapidly to the
changes of water temperature, the outer fibres only very
slowly. After 4 min the bore wall temperature had been
within 40°F of water temperature while the outer fibres
had only cooled by 5'F leaving a temperature differential of
approximately 355°F across the cylindrical wall. The com-
plete stress history of the fibres had been followed by as-
suming that the cylinder could be divided into two zones,
one completely plastic the other completely elastic and by
equating boundary conditions at the division between the
zones. As in the paper, permanent plastic yield had been
shown to occur over a significant proportion of the cylinder.
However, and that was an important point, the analysis had
not disclosed any possibility of continuing radial growth
due to successive applications of shock temperature loading.
That phenomenon, known as thermal ratcheting, would
clearly be highly undesirable in a feed pump casing.
In order to compare their theoretical analysis with Mr
Anderson's experiments more closely he would be grateful
if he could be given more information on the location of
the measuring point used for 'barrel temperature' in Fig. 4,
and on the method of establishing the stresses within the
barrel wall (Fig. 6). It was very important to know the pre-
cise radial temperature distribution through the cylinder
wall during the transient, and he would like to know whether
the reference to treating the stress lines in Fig. 6 as straight,
implied an assumption of linear or even logarithmic tem-
perature distribution through the casing wall. If so, the
assumptions made in their mathematical model would
indicate equivalent elastic stress values at the extreme fibres
in the region of 50 per cent higher than those derived in the
paper. If the author could give experimental values of tem-
perature within the thickness of the barrel casing during
the transient it would help to shed some light on the dis-
crepancy between the two methods of evaluating stresses.
He was indebted to the directors of Mather and Plan Ltd
for permission to publish details of work carried out for
them.
Vol175 No 12 1961
664
Author’s Reply
Mr H. H. Anderson wrote, in reply to the discussion and
communications, that he thanked Mr Gray for his com-
ments, and was comforted by Mr Gray’s opinion that he
had been rather over-cautious in regarding the boiler as
vulnerable.
On the question of margin above cavitation at the inlet
to the first impeller, the author did not know of a boiler
feed pump wherein such cavitational pitting had occurred.
That was a very bold statement, but he could not remember
any feed pump in the past 20 years in which the inlet of the
impeller or the adjacent inlet passages had been eaten
away by cavitation pitting. In general, the suction levels
given by electricity authorities, and by consultants for
British stations and stations engineered by British con-
sultants, had been quite adequate. Abroad the conditions
had been more severe. For example, on the Continent, his
firm had been presented with NPSH values that were so
low that they had to offer at a lower speed than optimum in
order to meet them. The limitations on the Continent had
arisen more from the risk of flashing into steam at the
balance disc rather than at the inlet to the first impeller,
owing to the high heads involved and the consequent high
temperature rise passing through the pump and the balance
disc.
They had been able to alleviate those conditions by
taking thc balance water to the deaerator instead of to the
inlet of the pump. There had been in the past a reluctance
on the part of pump makers to do this because of the fear
that, in a long pipe from balance water to deaerator, isolating
valves would be placed and could be accidentally closed,
thus seizing the pump. However, on two similar contracts
in North America, one power station had the balance water
returned to the deaerator and the other to the pump inlet,
so that there was no clear-cut case in either direction.
If the balancc water was taken to the inlet of the pump,
the temperature rise through the pump plus the temperature
rise across the balance disc, probably 10-12°F in large
high-head pumps at full duty, would result in considerable
extra heat being carried into the inlet of the pump. This
could be avoided by t a h g the balance water to the
deaerator.
He had no knowledge of flashing at the balance disc
causing erosion and pitting of the disc and seat even when
balance water had been taken to the pump inlet. The
limitation of hTSH had arisen more where there was
thermal control of the leakoff since it was essential that,
within the safe working temperature determined by NPSH
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Proc Inrtn Mech Eagrs
and illustrated in Fig. 8, it should be possible to operate
the control gear without hunting. In the past there had been
perhaps too muck caution on the part of designers in
specifling the margin of safety on the NPSW.
From the feed pump makers’ and users’ point of view,
and to reduce station auxiliaries to a minimum, desirable
NPSH figures would permit the choice of optimum pump
speed without recourse to a double-entry or lower-speed
suction stage. Certain large future stations were, however,
embodying integral booster stages.
Considering split pumping sets, it would not be prac-
ticable to return the balance water to the deaerator because
there would be a continuous and large efficiency loss, owing
to the deaerator pressure being lower than the feed pump
inlet by the head of the booster pump.
There was, thcrefore, a high NPSH on the feeder inlet
rendering unnecessary any disposal of the balance water to
the deaerator.
A cavitation test, obtained by throttling the inlet at the
maker’s works, was more difficult than the cavitation condi-
tions occurring in a powcr station where unbalance of
pressure, temperature, and saturation might occur but
always with adequate static head and water supply. The
throttling valve in the maker’s works could be accidentally
closed too far. For this reason, a works cavitation test would
be carried out with bronze internal wearing parts instead
of stainless steel which would incur extra cost of stripping
and rebuilding.
Mr Gray’s comments on the packingless gland were
interesting because a 100 MW unit had now been running
satisfactorily with a labyrinth gland for 18 months. One or
two initial teething troubles had arisen owing to accidental
closure of the wrong valve, but in general operation had
been sufficiently satisfactory for further labyrinth glands
to be ordered for other pumps and power stations.
Consideration of blind ends to the pumps took one back
to the standard multi-stage pump design of 40 years ago,
wherein the balance disc stalk served as a journal lubricated
by the pumped water. This would appear impracticable on
high inlet pressures that would hold the balance disc hard
on to its seat at start-up, but might be developed in the
future, for example, in similar manner to the combined
totally enclosed pumps and steam turbines now being
manufactured on an experimental basis for nuclear duties.
On nuclear work, the water was probably cleaner than
in a conventional power station where scale and debris
appeared inevitable, particularly in the first months of
Vo117S No 12 I961
 DESIGN O F MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
commissioning. Some form of internal filter would appear
necessary.
In reply to the comment by Mr Curtis on the choice
between single pumps with feed temperature at 250-300°F
and split pumping with feed temperature at 45O-50O0F,
the author’s firm, as pump makers, did not wish to influence
in any way a decision to be made by power station designers.
Entirely satisfactory pumps could be made for either
condition and were in operation in both conditions.
They had found that the critical speed of the pump rotor
in water was considerably lower than the frequency
measured, as described in the paper, in free air. That was
to be expected because the water within the pump clearances
would cause dynamic resistance and viscous drag to the
impeller movement. Here again, they would have different
operating conditions on different types and makes of pumps.
By sacrificing about 3 per cent pump efficiency it was
possible to make the shaft sufficiently large to ensure that
its free deflection between oil bearings was appreciably
less than the radial clearance of the chamber bushes, and
internal contact was avoided thus minimizing risk of
seizure on cylindrical surfaces.
However, all normal feed pumps, irrespective of make,
had a free deflection of the rotor between oil bearings that
exceeded the radial clearance of the chamber bushes,
i.e. internal contact and internal support of a fair proportion
of the rotor weight occurred when oil bearings and internal
bushes had a common centre line. If, however, the shaft
was supported and tlie chamber bushes arranged to aim at
minimum internal contact, the shaft was relatively free;
and during run-up to speed and run-down after the motor
had been switched off, a deiinite tremor could be noticed
by the hand or detected by an oscilloscope at the first
critical speed. The tremor was not present where internal
contact was allowed, but in the latter case the life of the
internal bushes would probably be shorter.
It was important to note that a pump having, for example,
an operating speed of 4000 revlmin and taking 8000 h.p.
could run continuously and satisfactorily at its first critical
speed of, say, 1900 rev/min, since at 1900 rev/min the
disturbing forces were negligible compared with the
rigidity built into the pump to meet its upper duty of
4000 rev/& at 8000 h.p. Very many multi-stage pumps
having stage heads of 100400 ft ran throughout their life
on the critical speed of the rotor, as determined by deflection
between oil bearings, without any harmful effects, owing
to the damping effect of the water. Higher-duty pumps,
for example 700-2000 fi per stage, were designed to run
well below their second critical speed.
I n order to avoid a ‘Dutch auction’ on the pipe thrusts
to be held by the pump, the author’s firm specified the
anchorages of the pump branch to the end-cover, the pump
carcase to the bedplate, and the bedplate to the foundations
thus. The root of the pump branch was designed to have a
section modulus for bending and twisting equal to that of
the pipe to which it was bolted or welded. The set of bolts
holding the pump to the bedplate and the set of bolts
holding the bedplate to the foundation were designed so
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Proc Instn Mech Engrs
665
that each set.had not less than the above branch strength.
On the root of the branch where it was welded to the pump
end-cover, they allowed a hoop stress of 4 ton/in2 which
involved a longitudinal stress of 2 ton/in2. They allowed
1 ton/inz for thermal stress, leaving 1 ton/in2 available for
the pipe loading, and made a final determination of the
three-dimensional stresses according to the Mises-Hencky
formula. The branch root dimensions, bolt sizes, and centre
lines were reported to the customer and the pipe maker so
that permissible pipe thrusts could be determined.
In reply to Mr Nuttall and Mr Reil, it should be men-
tioned that pump design was so complex and variable that
for the same specified duty and operating transient condi-
tions many different designs all over the world were put
forward, and quite obviously all those designs worked with
a geater or lesser degree of success since the power stations
functioned satisfactorily. The author had put forward his
design methods and detailed the thermal shock tests and
his observations on these tests. It was of course possible to
point out differences between his and the very few other
thermal shock tests that had been made, and to mention
fallible aspects of his thermal shock tests. Nevertheless,
over the past 12 years some 60 barrel-feed pumps had been
installed and all were running satisfactorily; and at start-up
from cold they were withstanding thermal shocks of the
order of 1000°F per minute, i.e. approximately 200°F
temperature rise to full flow full load in the few seconds
required to run the motor up to speed.
Teething troubles had of course been experienced, which
were only to be expeaed with the tremendous rate of size
increase of generating plant mentioned by Mr Gray.
Speaking generally, the author submitted that the empha-
sis on symmetry, on the use of high-tensile steel instead of
mild steel liable to autofrettage, and on the convenience
and space-saving of a barrel without branches which was
removed from the pump instead of the pump being erected
into the bottom of an inaccessible barrel would, on future
generator sizes, make the difference between a pump which
could be made and a pump which, owing to excessive size
of mild steel forging, it was quite impossible to make.
Turning to details raised by Mr Nuttall and Mr Reil,
there had been no failure of the joint between the first stage
and the cover. Failure had occurred on intermediate stages
12 years ago when the bolting was unsatisfactory, but had
soon been cured by rearrangement of stage bolts. There
had been no main joint failures apart from the one slight
leakage that had been immediately cured on further tighten-
ing. It had not proved necessary to introduce the special
joint-presumably using double conical €aces-mentioned
in Mr Nuttall’s penultimate paragraph, nor to use the very
elaborate bolting and ‘bobbins’ mentioned in Mr Nuttall’s
Fig. 12, which presumably involved double-length bolts
and bobbins to get sufficient elasticity to hold the joint on
thermal shock.
In reply to Mr Nuttall’s contention that the main joint
shown by the author had not been subjected to such severe
temperature variations during the works test as could be
experienced in practice, the fact remained that the simple
Vol175 No 12 196I
666
joint described by the author had worked and was still
working in practice in the power stations.
The observations of Mr Nuttall and Dr Wood on the
amount of autofrettaging for the mild-steel barrel, and
Dr Wood’s comments on thermal-ratcheting as being
highly undesirable in feed pump casing, suggested that it
was much better to avoid autofrertaging entirely by the use
of high-tensile steel barrel.
The author, when investigating the feed pump dcsign,
had not known how to calculate the stress and the behaviour
under autofrettaging of a barrel with holes in the cylindrical
surface, and had therefore redesigned to avoid the holes
and to give symmetry.
In reply to Mr Nuttall’s comment on leakage across the
spigot of the bottom of the barrel, no deterioration of spigot
surface occurred; and with the use of suitable metals the
incipient leakage, instead of representing quite high
hydraulic losses as suggested by Mr Nuttall, represented
actually one six-thousandth part of the total pump energy.
That was a small amount to pay for the avoidance of the
difficulty of trying to make two joints on different diameters
with one ring of bolts as on American pumps, or of using
spring washers to hold the internal stage joints as on certain
Continental pumps. It also appeated that Mr Nuttall’s
pumps suffered from the same leakage at the point where
the last stage met the barrel.
The author frankly admitted that the features of design
he had put forward 15 years earlier were perhaps not
essential for the 60 and 120 MW units then envisaged, but
would be imperative in the future. The pumps for the year
1970 for generators of 1000-2000 MW were therefore
designed in 1945, and it should be appreciated in respect of
the pioneering by the author’s firm of high-tensile barrels
for 200 MW generators that it was not possible to build a
pump for lo00 MW or more in mild steel.
He was grateful to Mr Arkless for the valuable data that
he had given on temperatures and on lagging. Works tests
had been carried out with the pump partially lagged, but of
course on site the pumps were completely lagged. Mr
Arkless’s data on hydrodynamic bushes were also very
valuable and very interesting.
Me agreed with Mr McCarter on the need for an accept-
ance between customer and pump maker on the efficiency/
temperature change and efficiencylspeed change. He had
not experienced a drop in efficiency above a ceaain speed
as mentioned by Mr Arkless. His speed-efficiency curve
used gal/& as an artificial Reynolds number, and covered
tests between 20 and 25 000 gal/min in a chart* published
by the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He had found
this curve reasonably acceptable and used it as a step-up
for efficiency increase with size and with speed, the curve
being more accurate than the Moody formula.
Mr Wild’s communication gave the pump makers very
valuable knowledge and a warning of what to meet in the
future in respect of large generators. It was agreed by all
that a discussion was always more valuable than a paper,
* ANDERSON, H. H. and CRAWFORD, W. G. 1960 PVOC.Iplshz elect.
EEgrs, vol. 107, Part A, p. 127, ‘Submersible Pumping Plant’.
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AUTHOR’S REPLY
and the contributions of Mr Gray and Mr Wild represent-
ing the users, and of Mr Curtiss represendng the consultants
to the users, considerably helped the pump makers in
formulating their designs for the future. Mr Wild’s sugges-
tion of a shorter pump with water bearings, ring section,
and high speed was a fairly logical forecast, and the author
could not deny that a through-bolt pump for high-
temperature duties was possible; but the fact remained that
his firm had over the past 10-15 years put forward barrel
pumps for all those severe duties.
A weal& of experience had been b d t up on barrel pumps
that had operated and worked. If they had put the same
amount of development on to ring pumps these would also
have worked; but at present if they received an inquiry for
a 2000 MW unit, the tendency of ail pump makers would
probably be to put forward a barrel, because that was the
type they had known over the past 15 years. I n any case
for thermal reasons a barrel would bc essential above 3OO0F,
particularly on supercritical duties.
The author would not agree that balance discs were
critical on feed pumps at the present time. Three ten-stage
pumps had been running satisfactorily on 8000-ft differ-
ential head at 340°F for some years. As far as Ris firm’s
pumps were concerned, balance disc trouble had been
negligible and had been confined to components not sub-
jected to the improved heat treatment now in satisfactory
use. The avoidance of balance disc would involve a bal-
anced arrangement of impellers such as used on American
design, which in turn involved a split casing within a
barrel. That had never been British or Continental practice,
and with one exception even the American manufacturers
changed from horizontal split casing to vertical cellular
construction for the more severe dudes. He submitted that
there was not enough evidence of balance disc failure to
suggest a move towards a balanced arrangement of im-
pellers. American pump makers provided an additional
external oil-lubricated thrust bearing, but this was an
unnecessary waste of power and of capital cost, particularly
on the units of the future between 1000 and 2000 MW.
Mr Wild had mentioned the high-speed pumps with double-
entry booster which ruled out the need for an external
oil-lubricated thrust bearing for NPSH reasons as suggested
by Mr Brown.
On the question of the stuffing box mentioned by Mr
Wild, it was necessary to separate the loss i n m e d in the
pressure breakdown between the feed pump inlet of, say,
800 lb/in2 and deaerator pressure 60 lb/in2 fiom the loss
incurred between deaerator pressure 60 Ib/in2 and atmo-
sphere; the former on the present bled glands represented
an appreciable loss and basic research was in hand to
minimize this. The latter, from deaerator to atmosphere,
represented an entirely negligible loss and the labyrinth
glands which had run satisfactorily as mentioned above
for 18 months on a 100 MW unit were, he submitted,
preferable to packing and to mechanical seals.
Mr Wild’s explanation of the arguments for and against
variable-speed drive was very helpful in explaining the
difference between England’s having probably the largest
Voll7.5 No I 2 I961
 DESIGN OF MODERN BOILER FEED PUMPS
integrated grid in the world and smaller grids and power
stations elsewhere, each of which required feed pumps
designed for its specific duty.
Mr Wild‘s comment on the wasteful length at the ends
of the pump compared with the length of impellers was
pertinent, but the suggestion of a pump of ring construction
for 10 000 revlmin would require qualification. A 10 000
rev/min pump would be practicable at 100 MW and would
correspond to a 3000 rev/min pump at about 1000 MW,
both pumps having the same head per stage. As mentioned
above, ring section would be practicable up to about
300°F as shown in Fig. 9. Above this temperature, the
thermal stress to be provided for in the bolting rendered a
barrel pump preferable.
In reply to h4r Campbell, the paper described large
high-temperature high-pressure feed pumps, and although
the more modest duties had not been described the basic
design principles were applied, as appropriate, to the more
modest duties. Mr Campbell’s suggestions on NPSH were
very sensible and were now being followed in the sense that
the author’s firm gave to the customer the operation NPSH
and the cavitation NPSH in both the split-pumping and the
single-pump investigations, so that the customer was able
to determine the relative values of the two schemes as far
as height of deaerator was concerned.
Plastic deformation of barrel was described in the paper
but at no time was any plastic deformation of bolts or other
parts of the pumps allowed. The author agreed with Mr
Campbell that plastic deformation was undesirable, hence
his suggestion, described in the paper, to adopt on the
larger and more severe duties a high-tensile steel barrel
instead of mild steel which was susceptible to autofrettage,
i.e. plastic deformation.
There was no suitable preparation for the stainless-steel
surface because under the severe conditions of temperature
and very high Row speeds with the consequent corrosion-
erosion potentialities, anything put on the surface would
quickly be removed. For example, a surface preparation
of molybdenum disulphide or other sulphur products
would not be considered suitable for high temperatures.
In reply to M r Brown, the author apologized for a mistake
in the paper wherein the shaft material was described as
EN58 when it should have been described as EN57. This
had been corrected in the final copy. EN57 was also known
as S.80 and contained 16; per cent chrome, 24 per cent
nickel, etc.; the American equivalent was AISI.431. This
steel was used for pump shafts.
EN58 austenitic stainless steel containing 18 per cent
chrome, 8 per cent nickel, etc., had an American Speci-
fication AISI.316, etc., and was used for cold water duties
because its strength and coefficient of expansion were
unsuitable for higher temperatures. Immediately after the
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667
1939-45 war when 13 per cent chrome impellers were
unobtainable, his firm had used 18/8 impellers and l8/8
shafts, but these had to be replaced owing to the bowing
mentioned by Mr Brown. They had had no trouble with
bowing of EN57 American 431 shafts, but the heat treat-
ment and machining procedure agreed with the steel maker
must be rigidly followed. Mr Brown’s comments on the
balance disc and the separate external thrust bearing had
been answered above.
The author had perhaps been wrong in describing the
blade development as optimum because, as Mr Brown had
pointed out, that suggested perfection. The new develop-
ment had resulted in improved performance statistically
proved over several hundred pumps (the resdts of a test
of any one pump might, of course, just be a ‘flash in the
pan’), and as far as his firm was concerned, had changed
impeller development from guess-work to mathematical
and geometrical knowledge of profile invaluable in stepping
up from model to f d size. He would say no more since it
might be argued that there was already more than enough
information on feed pumps given in the paper.
The efficiency corrections due to viscosity and radial
clearance on high-temperature pumps were based originally
on calculations, but so far they had not in any way been
contradicted by site test results.
Mr Jack had been very helpful in explaining the more
recent developments of American practice and in describing
the very severe conditions of 568°Fand 6490 lb/in2.
The four-stage pump illustrated in Fig. 2 admittedly had
a very short proportion of its total length as normal plain
cylindrical barrel, but the whole of the barrel was sym-
metrical. The end-cover with its irregular internal section
was, however, subject primarily to compression in an axial
sense by the cover bolts, and here no plastic deformation
occurred. Even on the very large radial depths of the cover
shown in Fig. 5 the hoop temperature stress was modest,
and of course at these thicknesses the pressure stress was
negligible. Since the larger cover dimensions were in a radial
plane the shaft alignment was unaffected. The cruciform
arrangement of nozzles or branches on the larger units was
primarily to give thermal symmetry and was practicable
since, on large schemes, dual feed range was provided.
Through-bolt pumps were entirely practicable for
pressures of 7000 Ib/in2 or even higher, the change to barrel
being simply for temperature; the highest through-bolt
pressure so far, however, was 3500 lb/in*. Dr Wood’s re-
searches on autofrettage of mild-steel cylinders were very
valuable but, as mentioned above, the author submitted
that it was preferable to adopt a high-tensile steel barrel
instead of mild steel (with its autofrettaging problems),
which in any case would be impossible on duties between
1000 and 2000 MW.
Vol175 No 12 1961