VERTICAL DIFFUSER TYPE TURBINE, MIXED-FLOW, AND AXIAL-FLOW (PROPELLER) PUMPS—A BRIEF OVERVIEW by Herman A. J. Greutink Vice President, Tethnical Director Johnston Pump Company Glendora, California Internationally recognized as one of the pump industry slong standing experts 1 certical pump design, testing, and ap- plication, Herman A. J. Greutink has tworked on numy large vertical ump prope ects worldwide and has written numerous technical articles, Chairman of the Hy- Araulic Institute Standards Committee, Mr. Greutink is also amember of the US. Technical Adeisory Group for Interna- tional Standards Organization (ISO Tech nical Committee 115 SC2 WG2 Class BIC Pump Test Codes), the Texas AGM Adeisory Committee for the International Purmp Users’ Symposium, ASME, and AWWA. He frequently conducts ‘pump seminars far engineering personnel of Johnston Pump and for business and academic proups throughout the world. ‘Me. Greutink holds a degree from the Mechaioal Engineer ing College, Enschede, The Netherlands, ABSTRACT Vertical diffuser type pumps, their applications, advantages, disadvantages, multistaging, manufacturing, material selection, constriction possibilities, operation, and repair are reviewed. Also discussed are semi-open and closed impellers and pullout construction. illustrations of basic vertical pump types (per ‘Hydraulic Institute Standards) and curve shapes for varioos sw pellets are introduced, INTRODUCTION Vertical diffuser type pumps are used wherever liquid needs tobe pumped upward from ground water tables, man made un- derground storage caverns, tanks, and open bodies of liquid ‘such as oceans, rivers lakes, cooling ponds, and sumps. Vertical pumps are alse coramonly sed for inline systems, pipelines booster applications, and low set posivitive suction head (NPSH) systems, BASIC VERTICAL PUMP TYPES The vertical turbine pump is extremely well suited for high head applications. These pumps area als, including exotic lloys for pumping volatile, acide, orpollating ids Deepucell Applications Deepwell vertical txbine pumps (Figures 1 and 2 (1)) are commonly used for applications sch + Agricultural ieeigation. + Water supply for municipalities and industeies + Butene, propane, oil, and anhydrous ammonia caverns + Geothermal “downhole” pumping. + Mine dewatering. Shortsting Aplications Short-settingverel turbine puns (Figures 9, 4,5, and 6 (uae aso wed fr applations suc * Industral proceses, especially low-NPSH aplication. + Pumping fom sumps ofan kind * Supping water, induding cooling water, fom lakes, ponds, rivers canals and oceans + Power plant applications: circulating water, cooling towers, ‘condensate, and heater dain, + Flood control Figure 1. Open Lineshoft and Enclosed Lineshaft Type Pumps.66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL PUMP USERS SYMPOSIUM @ GSeaee ex exse: a Figure 2. Submersible Turbine Type Pump Figure 4. Barrel or Can Turbine Type Pump. For shortseting applications requiring medium heads, mixed- Alow pumps (Figure 5) ae commonly used, while axial low (pro> pelle) pumps (Figuze 6) are often used forlow-head requirements ADVANTAGES OF VERTICAL DIFFUSER TYPE PUMPS ‘+ No priming is necessary, since the bowl assembly is sub- merged inthe fuid to be pumped. + Tn systems where NPSH most be considered, the first stage canbe positioned atthe level where NPSH required is less than — the NSH available. This feature is especially effective where F absolute system pressure is close to the vapor pressure of liquid am to be pumped. EO + Punps are built to fit the customer's performance, mechan: *» ical, metallurgical, and dimensional requivements + Floor space requirements ate minimal + A wide range of specific speeds is available for proper ee selection ste menses Sa DISADVANTAGES + The bearing system is submerged. Figure 8. Short Setting Turbine Type Pump. + The pumping element is out of sight.VERTICAL DIFFUSER TYPE TURBINE, MIXED-FLOW, AND AXIAL-FLOW (PROPELLER) PUMPS~A BRIEF OVERVIEW 67 + Instalation and removal require special equipment. + Tobuldings,largerthan-normal headin maybe required. INSTALLATION Vertical pump discharge heads are capable of taking a certain amount of pipe strain; however, excessive stress will cause bend ing of the equipment and premature wear. API, for example, spe- ‘lies moments and forces that the pump must be able to handle ‘without damage, Reaction forees must be anticipated and prop- erly countered with ticbars or anchors, ifnevessary, and expan sion joints must be properly retained. Underground (below base) discharges, especially, require proper countering of pipe strain; any undue strain at such an installation could cause a large moment on the base Puinps must be installed vertically. Most pumps will do fine ifup to wo degrees off vertical, but ithe margin is greater, spe- cial provisions and designs may be necessary. ‘The impellers must be properly adjusted and lied off their seats to the recommended clearance before starting. Rotation ae and runouts must be checked and corrected, if necessary, in 2 Sao which caseseal an packing adjustments must be made. It should be easy to tura the pump afterall checks and adjustments have been completed. MANUFACTURING ie For practical purposes, manufacturing vertical pumps is @ ET oan ‘question of building to order withas many standard pieces and designs as possible, Three basic types of vertical turbine pumps are produced (Figuees 1 and 2): ‘+ Enclosed lineshaft type + Open lineshatt type + Submersible r ee i lov-ground (base) discharge ‘The enclosed lineshaft type is usually oil lubriateds ois drip . e {ed into the lineshaft enclosure to lubricate the lineshaft bear : ings. In the open lineshaft type, the lineshaft bearings arelubri- cated by the fuid pumped. The submersible turbine pump normally has the motor mounted below the bowl assembly, and the pump/motor combi nation is submerged in the fluid pumped. In most eases, the sub- rmersible pump is not as ellcent as the motor-driven lineshaft ‘pump, since the efficiency ofthe submersible motor is generally Tower than that of the above-ground driver. Multistaging is standard practice to satisfy head require- eats. The wide range of selection possibilities allows for what- ‘ever Variations the process may sequire, For example, ifasteep ‘curve is desired, multistaging will provide it, This can be accen- - atuscacs / mane ° é sind hha soeliipeed pumpe: which fave lower a & head per stage and asteeper eurve to begin wth than pumps L swith low specific speed and higher head per stage. Curve shapes g Shipserstvnenpeged Snare ie ” ie ures 7 and 8. EEE C ““Meterua selection and construction selection are practically unlimited. The standard bovl is east ion and the standard im- pellers bronze. However, many kinds f alloys can be used to ‘eet special requirements. Corrosion resistant coatings, includ ing coal-tar types, coa-tar epoxies, and other epoxies, are used both for new pumps and repairs, as one abrasion corrosion-resis- tant costings~mainly epoxies and_abrasion-resistant filled epoxies. Bearing systems are normally bronze, synthetic sub> ber, or a combination of both, and are lubricated by the fluid pumped. Abrasives, corrsives and petrochemieal fluids may Figure 6, Axialflow (Propeller) Type Pump. call lor other types of bearing materials and systems; hard bear-6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL PUMP USERS SYMPOSIUM i 5 as ac : 3 Lg otoehy bra HonsEPONER OF HOM o 30 ‘100 150 Figure 7. Typical Performance Curce Shapes for Impellers of Various Specific Speed Design (also see figure 8). ings and hard-faced journals, carbides, ceramics, plastics, cat bon, and filled carbon may all be used in various services Some besring systems ae lubricated by fluid different from the pumped fd. An ol lubacated, enclosed lineshat type is ‘primary example, but various clean liquids or grease may be jntrodyced intoall bearings ina vertical pump. Shafting wllalso vary from standard steel to highgrade alloys and may have hard faced journals such as industrial hard chrome, carbides and ceramics for resistance to corrosion and wear. ‘The pressure containing parts of a pump san be built to retain the system pressure—up to 5000 psi isnot unusual, and ean be provided to meet various codes and specifications such as ASME Section VIM, API 610, and individual customer speciation Discharge Head Construction for Lineshaft Pumps ‘The discharge head has many functions, including + Supporting the pump + Guiding the fui into the process piping + Accommodating a sealing arrangement + Supporting the driver “The sealing arrangement and driver support must be concentric and parallel for proper operation. The head and driver must be designed to aod natural frequency problems Column, Tube, and Shaft Assembly ‘The same requirements for concentsicity snd parallelism apply to the column, tube (if used), and shaft assembly, slong, with another important consideration: bearing spacing. The bearings must be spaced t avoid critical speeds. And above all, the shat must be straight, For hard bearings, the spacing must be well below critical speed length. For rubber bearings, the spacing should be between the ftst and second eritical speed lengths on deepvell pumps; on short setting pumps, the rubber o a pF Ww _NVQ Ne= He Figure 8. Impellers of Various Specific Speed Design. bearing spacing isthe same as that for hard beavings. (Bearing, ‘manufacturers publish spacing chats also ee API 610.) Bow! Assembly ‘The bow assemnbly’s proper operation also depends on the Uhnee “musts concentsicty, parallelism, and strightness. The ‘etial pomp bow sembly fers fom horizontal nltistage Dumps in one important respect: endplay, Tiss the amount of ‘etal ply the impeller requires for poperadustment. When the pump ts installed, the tellers rest on the seats in the bows. Before raning the pump, the impellers sould be lifted othe seat to alow fr olor and shaft stretch and to keep the impellers fxm dragging. Normally the driver coupling el lows this adjustment ‘Mos eepwell pimps are constructed with threaded cola, tube, and sho, wheress most process pumps have flange eo ‘inn and product lubricated lineshaft bearings gin, bearing Selection ana spacing are important Variable speed vertical pump units may sometimes run at @ speed equal tothe natal frequency ofthe head and diver a sembly, causing resonance peablems, While it may not be conomically feasible design around” this tendency, ay bepossibleto “block out aregionofspeed and avid problems.VERTICAL DIFFUSER TYPE TURBINE, MIXED-FLOW, AND AXIAL-FLOW (PROPELLER) PUMPS~A BRIEF OVERVIEW 69 DRIVERS “The drivers commonly used with vertical pumps include ver: tial motors and right angle gears with horizontal engines, motors, ‘or turbines; sometimes vertical steam turbines ate emploved. ‘Motors and gearsare eter ollow shaftor solid shaft Hollow shaft drivers are standard on deepwell pumps since this con struction simplifies the impellersetting procedure. Solid shh drivers are standard on short setting process pumps (usually Up to about 30 fet) ‘Thrust bearings are required to cary the thrust produced by the impellers and the weight othe rotating assembly. The thst bearing assembly is normally mounted in the diver, sometimes ina separate thrust pot" Thrust bearings range i lead are}ing capacity from deep groove ball bearings for light loads to plate type bearings for the highest loading, Angular contact ball bear ings are sed for medium loads, and spheria roller type bear ings for medivim to heavs Vea Daring startup, most vertical pumps experience a temporary upthrast, andthe driver must be able to Bandle this, therefore, itis standard practice to order vertical pump divers with somentary upthrust protection rated at 0 percent ofthe down- thrsteapacty othe diver Tn some cases, pump will un fa continuous uptbrust, usw sly because a ighguton posture or runing a math ower hhead than that for which the pump Is designed. In such cases, the driver must be eapable of carrying continuous wphust as Shon tng pu hollow shaft divers should b ort setting pumps using hollow shaft drivers should be supplied witha shat centering bushing the bottom end ofthe driver, and upthrust must be limited wo that which occurs momentarily dusing startup. OPERATION Most vertical pumps are “out of sight” when operating, and, unfortunately, they are sometimes “out of mind” as well. That i to say, thelr operation may not be monitored carefully enough. [tis just as important to check periodically on the performance ‘ofa vertical pump as on any other piece of rotating equipment. Head and cgucity degradation and vibration are the usual telltale signs of problems. These pumps have been known to self destruct without much vibration inerease, bu\in such case the Ihead capacity degradation is usually quite obvious. Head eapacity problems can only be detected by knowing the requited performance versus the system curve on which the pump is working, It bas been pointed out in many papers and antcles that off:peak performance can eause damage and waste ‘money, so here are some important factors to keep in mind: + Select the pump properly. Avoid selecting a higher head than necessary forthe capacity wanted, + Select apump witha reasonable speed (Figure 9). Forexam= ple, ifa pump has to run in excess of 30 percent off peak eft- ciency conditions for a considerable time, consider selecting a pump with lower speed then normal to avoid damage from off peak performance, ‘+ Understand your system curve. + Run the pump near BEP as much s possible and check vib- ration regularly + Check discharge pressure and calculate total head. Com- pare with BHP measured to original curve (low is normally very hard to check) and compare to system curve. *» Check runout of visible shafting. *+ Check leakage of packing box or seal + Keep records ofthe above. TIPSPEED; FEET PER SECOND ‘SPECIFIC SPEED x 1000 (US, UNITS) Figures. Recommended Masinum Tipspeeds in feetper second cers specific peed) for Clean Fluids, Standard Materials (cast iron and bronze), and Continuous Operation VERTICAL PUMP REPAIR When repair is needed, resist the temptation to apply sledgehammer” techniques. The working end of a vertical pomp often loks like a bunch of dirty piping covered with rust, Oil, drt, algae or barnicles—and it frequently gets treated as Such, Wrong! Handle that dirty-looking bow assembly and col- ton assembly with are or further damage snd increased repair costs wal oecur, AS mentioned earlier (and it bears repeating), proper vertical purnp operation depends verY much on concen: {rity parallelism ad straighmness. These shouldallbe as close to perfec as possible when the repairs eampleted, sos ex tremely important wo check al he pieces for these characteris- ties and zepair the pump accordingly. Many users have found that an original pump lasted a certaia numberof years and the repaired pump lasted 2 much shorter period. The reason forthe difference is simple: the pump wasn't repaired propedy TF the pump needing repair did not lest an aceptable time, then consideration must be given to upgrading the pump. The type of wear e.g, abrasion, corrosion, erosion, evitation, bear ing wear, shaft wear) may indiate the need to upgrade mate- Tia; Dutt could alse point to such drastic measures as redicing, the pamp output or pump size... pumping lesa the sane speed, of reducing the speed. Double the speed andthe wear and tear increases five tos times; the reverse beneficial eect obvious ‘good example is cicculating water pumps used inthe power industry During the 19605, many of them were installed to run at speeds much higher than those common in the industry. The power industry had standard requirement of 40-year pump Iie. The increased speeds made that nearly impossible. The choices now are “+ Repair pumps far more often than before. + Use a sinaller boul assembly, reducing inital output but scevng more flow at beter een ner the average ie + Reduce the speed. The efiec willbe the same as above: less lflow, buton average, mich more outputat better efile es overall + Upgrade materials + Improve operation, if posible + Improve intake (itis a problem).Vibration tho pump vibrates too much to begin with, have the pamp sianufacturer solve that problem for you. However, ifthe pamp runs properly for awhile, then starts vibrating, look for these + Worn bearings. Will the shaft move sideways easily? Ifo, check the bearings + Could something have lodged in the impellers or bowls, thus throwing the unit out of balance? ‘+ Has the piping stress load changed? Is, it could have put the head out of alignment or caused a natural frequency prob- lem. + Asystem change may have shifted head and capacity off the best efficiency point (BEP), causing vibration. + Bad aligoment may have eaused rapid bearing wear, result Ing in vibration. + Driver problems. ‘To cheek for these problems, disconnect the pump from the driver and run the driver by itself, If the driver is an clectie ‘motor and the vibration is still present, push the stop button and coast the driver to a stop while checking the vibration. IFvibrax tion disappears immediately after pushing the stop button, there ate these two possibilities: (1) a natural fiequeney problem (quite common), or (2) an electrical unbalance (more rare). The natural frequency problem may be proved by changing pipe Toading—t-e, disconnecting and cheeking for movement. The roblem can be solved sometimes by loosening anchorbolts. If vibration reduces with the speed, the driver is out of balance. Ifthe driver does not vibrate at all, the problem isin the pump. ‘Try backflushing irs, and if that doesnot solve the problem, the pump must be pulled and repaired or the foreign object must be removed Flow Problems Flow to the pump mast be evenly distributed. The best flow {sin adeep well where the liquid comes straight up into the suc tion of the pump. This is not normally the ease In Intakes and barrels oreans; thas allowances must be made for proper design of intakes and bervels. Recommended intakes are deseribed in the Hydraulie Institute Standards as well as published by the British Hydromechanics Research Astociation [BHRA). In bar- rels or cass, it helps to instll guides to avoid swirling and sway: ing of the bowl assembly, thus creating proper flow into the pump. (Diemas’ publication contains valvable information abeut fluid velocities into the pump versus submergence ve galrements. [2]) To achieve proper flow and to avoid vortices, it {s recommended that intakes for purnps of 50,000 gpm capacity ‘or more be model tested. Ifapump weaves, wobbles or sways, chances are thatthe low to the suction bells not evenly distributed, bearing wear wall _ meen Figure 10, Semd-open Impeller. 70 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL PUMP USERS SYMPOSIUM result asthe uneven loading ofthe impeller is transmitted to the beating. The shaft will come into direct contact with the bear- ing, causing abnormally high wear. The bronze bearing could be protected by grease lubrication. Of course, check to see if the flow into the pump can be improved Strainers should be used only to keep rocks and large aquatic animals from entering a pump. Where plsties, trash, aquatic growth, and plants are present, trashracks are a must, since the strainer alone will simply plug up and collapse. Sometimes a vertical pump is excessively nofsy or vibrates more than necessary, but the operator is not eoncemed because “itsalways been that way.” Ihe sright, then there'salways been something wrong with the pump. A properly installed and applied vertical pump should be far less noisy than the driver, and the flow into the pump should be smooth and free of surface or submerged vortices, Surface vortices are easy to see. Submerged vortices are not usualy visible, but you can be heard: they sound like cavita- tional “crackling,” but the noize is intermittent. (Cavitation caused by lack of NPSH produces a continuous noise.) Sub- merged vortices usually can be eliminated by constructing cones or splitters under the pump. Pullout Construction—A Thing ofthe Past In the power plant industry one finds the so-called pullout construction, where shafting, impeller and diffuser ean be re- moved while the columnn, bowl enclosure and hell stayin place ‘This was a very useful construction vears ago when the colina haad to be made of east metal; in those days there were nf draulic oF air wrenches—only slugging wrenches—and the ppumps were extremely heavy, with large bolting. Purupsate not that heavy today. Fabrication (versus casting) is much lighter ssmaller bolting is used; and one can always get tothe discharge ‘even fit is below base. Thisall means that pall-ow'construction is not necessary anymore. In fact, when repairing old pullaut pumps these days, even those parts designed to stay in place have to be pulled-because they also need tobe repaired. Semi-open Versus Closed Impellers (Figures 10 and 11) In large pumps its not unusual for igh horsepower loading, per blade to cause blade breakage on ems-open impellers. This ‘does not happen with elosed impellers, which are mich stronger When properly adjusted, sem‘open impellers are generally more efficient than closed impellers. However, adjusting large semi-open impellers is quite dificult when the engineer is try- {ng to produce maximum efiiency such as that achieved in the ‘manufacturers test lab-and it is harder stil when dealing with ‘multistage pumps with semi-open impellers. Tis much easier to adjust closed impellers with standard seal rings (also called ‘wear rings). Repairing or replacing seal ving i relatively easy. Figure U. Closed Impeller.‘VERTICAL DIFFUSER TYPE TURBINE, MIXED-FLOW, AND AXIAL-FLOW (PROPELLER) PUMPS—A BRIEF OVERVIEW TL However, aftr semiopen impeller vanes wear of, they have to bbe bt up again-—a very difcule and impreese procedure ‘A semopen impeller ean be adjusted toleave a larger gap for sntermal bypass f desired. This ean alo be accomplished sith ‘closed impeller by using tapered seal rings. However, using a bypass piping system is much beter than bypassing iaterzally Jn the pump, since the Ister creates additional wear and tear snd ial et a borspaieamed ‘Semi-open impellers are used mainly in higher specie spes pomps, ex, mixed-low pumps used originally for lod con- tel, an application in which seal rings would not be practical, because ofall he debris that must be passed. Generally, mixed= flow impeller are notas high in horsepower per blade asthe semi-open turbine type Repair to “As New" Here are some other important points to keepin mind when repairing vertical pumps * Metalto-meta ont for pressure seal must bemnachined to 4 minimum of 25 rms ish, and all nicks, chips, and tammer tnarks must be avoided. These joints normally have registers hich may have to be repaired, too + Shaft ends fr threaded shits should be machined to 64or 432 rins without fling or polishing so thatthe shats but abso- Tutely square and straightness is maintained. Shaft straightness :nust be within 0.0005-n per fot of total indicator run-out IR) fad must stay within 0.005-n for any length over 10 + Deving assembly al joints must be kept clean and true + Since pemps ate built up of many parts with sip ts, of center assembly rom one part to the next i possible. The prob- lem shows up in the Bed when the motor i hooked up to the pump, Especially sa the case of solid shat motors, to get good ‘ligament the coupling agin might have to be loosened agai, and a part ofthe coupling might be switched G0 degrees or 180 degrees. A word ofeaution: Do not rely totally on the reguster Lit between solid-shaft motors and heads, because on standard motors there i a considerable tolerance on shaft concenticity aittelates tothe register, (HalFNEMA tolerances on shaft-cen- tering os registers would be a grat help.) * Balancing impellers: Most vertical turbine pumps wil run ‘well with impellers that have been repaired and only statically balanced. Indivdval impellers may be dynamically balanced if this service i avalableDo not balance complete totes, since they have tobe disassembled again for installation. OF course, if al else fal, there's always the eliche but trwe solution: Read the manufacturers installation and operation instructions! REFERENCES 1. Hydraulic Institute Standards for Centrifugal, Rotary and Reciprocating Fumps, sth edition, Hydraulic Institute (0963) 2. Dicmas, J. L., Vertical Turbine, Mixed-Plow and Avil Flow Pumps, New York: MeGraw-Hil (1985). 3. Greutink, H. A. J., “The Effects of Vertical Pump Materials of Construction on Design and Performance,” Proceedings ofthe Winter Annual Meeting, ASME (1961), 4. Greutink, H. A., and Elder, R., "How Circulating Water Pump Model Sump Tests Can Reduce Costs and. Assure Field Performance,” American Power Conference Proceed- {ngs (1979), 5. API Standard 610: Centrifugal Pumps for General Refinery Services, 6h edition, Janvary 1951) 6. Vertical Pump Troubleshooting Guide, ath edition, Glen- dora, California: Johnston Pump Company, (1988)