WhitePaper

Pumps101:Operation,MaintenanceandMonitoringBasics
DanielKernan
Manager
MonitoringandControlGroup,ITT

ExecutiveSummary

Pumpsareattheheartofmostindustrialprocesses,andthesecondmostcommonmachinein
theworld.Becausetheyaresocommon,pumpsareoftenoverlookedasapotentialsourceof
improvedproductivity,oracauseofexcesscostsifnotoperatedproperly.Plantmanagers,
maintenanceengineersandproductionsupervisorsshouldadheretobestpracticesandunderstand
theoperationaldosanddontsforemployingpumpsproperlyinmanufacturingandindustrial
applications.Thiswhitepaperprovidesanoverviewofhowtooperatepumpsproperlyandthe
performanceparametersthatneedtobemonitoredinapreventiveorpredictivemonitoringprogram.
Italsodescribescontinuousmonitoringsystems,withseveralcasestudiesonhowtheycanbeapplied
toimprovesystemperformanceandreducemaintenancecosts.

Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
Pumpoperationbasics............................................................................................................................2
Problemsofinefficientoperation............................................................................................................3
Pumpmonitoringandmaintenance........................................................................................................4
Pumpperformancemonitoring..............................................................................................................4
Pumpsystemanalysis..............................................................................................................................5
Pumpvibrationanalysis...........................................................................................................................6
Continuousconditionmonitoring............................................................................................................7
Casestudy1:Failedpumpcausesshutdownatrefinery........................................................................8
Casestudy2:Cornprocessorpickspredictiveconditionmonitoring.....................................................9
Casestudy3:Wirelessconditionmonitoringsavesboilerfeedwaterpumpatpapermill..9
AboutITT................................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofEnergys2002IndustrialElectricMotorSystemsMarket
OpportunitiesAssessment,processpumpsaccountfor25percentoftotalmotorsystemenergyin
manufacturingtoday.Thatmakesthepumpthesecondmostcommonelectronicmachineafterthe
motor.Thoughtheperformanceofprocesspumpshasimprovedwithenhancementstodesign,
materials,andtheemerginguseofdigitaltechnologytomonitorperformance,thebasicstructurehas
changedlittleindecades.
Acentrifugalpumpisarotatingmachine
comprisedofsixmainpartsthatworktogether
tokeepthepumpoperatingproperly.They
includeanimpeller,apumpcasing,bearings,a
bearingframe,ashaft,andamechanicalseal.
Theoperatingprincipleofthepumpisto
convertmechanicalenergytopressure.In
operation,arotatingimpelleracceleratesa
liquidandastheareaofthepumpcasing
expandsthevelocityofthefluidisconvertedto
pressure.Asaresultpressurizedfluidexitsthe
pumpdischarge.

Pumpoperationbasics
BestEfficiencyPoint(BEP),theflowratewhere
apumphasitshighestefficiency,isakeyfactorto
assesswhetherapumpisbeingoperatedproperly.
FewpumpsoperateattheirexactBEPallofthetime,
becauseprocessvariablesinaproductionenvironment
arenot100percentconstant.Butapumpthatis
properlysizedforitsapplicationwillmaintainaflow
nearpeakefficiency.Maintainingaflowbetween80
percentand110percentofBEPisagoodrangeto
maximizeefficiencyandminimizetheriskofexcessive
wearorpumpfailure.
Unfortunately,manypumpsdonotachievethislevelofefficiency.Considerastudybythe
FinnishTechnicalResearchCenterofnearly1,700pumpsat20processplantsacrossmultiple
industries.Thestudydeterminedthataveragepumpingefficiencyisbelow40percent,andmorethan
10percentofpumpswererunningbelow10percentefficiency.

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Problemsofinefficientoperation
Improperlysizedpumpsarethemajorculpritwhenitcomestopumpinefficiency.Foravariety
ofreasons,processpumpsfrequentlyareoversizedfortheneedsoftheprocess.Onereasonisthat
processparametersareoftennotfullydefinedaspumpsarebeingspecifiedandbecausenoone
waseverfiredforhavingtoomuchhorsepower,engineerstendtoerronthesideofoverestimating
pumpneeds.Itsalsopossibleforapumpthatisperfectlysuitedtoitsfirstinstallationtobecome
oversizedorundersizedasthedemandsoftheprocesschange.

OperationtotheRightofBEP OperationtotheLeftofBEP
WhenapumpoperatestoofaroffBEP,forcesinsidethepumpbecomeimbalanced,whichcan
causepartstodeflectandwearexcessively.OperatingtotherightofBEP,aconditionknownas
runout,meansthattheflowrateishigherthanthepumpwasdesignedtomaintain.Thehighflow
increasestheexitvelocityoffluidleavingthepump,whichinturncreatesalowpressureareainside
thepump.OperatingtotheleftofBEPoccurswhenthedischargeflowisrestricted,causingfluidtore
circulatewithinthepumpalsocreatingalowpressureareawhichcanleadtoincreasedradialloading
andlowflowcavitation.
Ineithercase,thecreationofimbalancedpressureincreasestheradialloadsontheimpeller,
whichcancauseshaftdeflectionthebendingoftheimpellershaft,whichincreasesvibrationofthe
pump.Thevibrationandimbalanceforcescancreatestressonthepumpsinternalcomponentsmost
likelytobeseenfirstinthebearingsand/ormechanicalseals,thetwopartsofacentrifugalpumpthat
failmostoften.
Cavitationisanotherproblemthatinefficientpumpoperationcancause.IthappenswhenNet
PositiveSuctionHead(NPSH)thepressureprovidedatthesuctionofthepumplessthefluidsvapor
pressureistoolow.Whenfluidpressureonthetrailingsideoftheimpellerblade(oppositethe
pumpintake)fallsbelowthevaporizationpointofthefluid,vaporbubblesbegintoform.Whenthese
vaporbubblesreachanareaofhighpressureinsidethepump,theycancollapseviolentlycausing
sudden,unevenaxialandradialloadingontheimpeller.This,inturn,cancauseshaftdeflectionthatis
randomindirectionandoftensevereinmagnitude.

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Pumpmonitoringandmaintenance
Intheidealworld,allpumpswouldbeproperlysizedtorunconstantlyattheirbestefficiency
points.Intherealworldofanindustrialplant,thisisimpracticalbecauseprocessesarefluidboth
literallyandfiguratively.
Formulationschangeandproductionratesvary,buttypicallythehundredsifnotthousandsof
pumpssupportingprocessdonotchangewiththem.Thesolutiontomaintainingreliablepump
operationsisarobustmaintenanceprogramthatcombinesmonitoringbasicmachinehealthdatain
additiontopumpoperatingconditions.
Therearefourareasthatshouldbeincorporatedinapumpmaintenanceprogram.
Pumpperformancemonitoringandpumpsystemanalysis
Vibrationmonitoring
Bearingtemperature
Visualinspections
Individually,eachoftheseisimportantindicators;collectively,theyprovideacompletepicture
astotheactualconditionofthepump.

Pumpperformancemonitoring
Ideallyfiveparametersshouldbemonitoredtounderstandhowapumpisperforming:suction
pressure,dischargepressure,flow,pumpspeed,andpower.
Ataminimum,suctionanddischargepressureareessentialfordeterminingtheTotalDynamic
Head(TDH)ofthepumpandtheavailableNetPositiveSuctionHead(NPSHa).Understandingthe
pumpTDHiscriticaltoestimatingwherethepumpisrunningwithrespecttoBEP.Thesuctionand
dischargepressurearemeasuredbyeitherpressuretranducersthatcantransmitrealtimedataor
pressuregauges,andtheinstallationofthetapsforthegaugesisveryimportant.Ideally,theyshould
belocatedadjacenttothepipewallandonthehorizontalcenterlineofthepipe.Theyshouldalsobein
astraightsectionofpipe,ideallyasection10timesthediameterora60inchstraightsectionfora
sixinchdiameterpipe.Locatingthetapsinelbowsorreducerswillnotaccuratelygaugethetruestatic
pressureduetothevelocityheadcomponent.Alsoavoidlocatingtapsinthetoporbottomofthe
pipe,wheretheycanbecomeairboundorcloggedwithsolids.
Therearelimitationsusingjustsuctionanddischargepressuremeasurements.Ifthepumpis
operatedbyavariablespeeddevice,pumpspeedmustbefactoredinusingtheaffinitylaws,which
statethechangeinTDHisproportionaltoSpeed^2.Itisalsodifficulttodeterminepumpwear.Asthe
pumpwearsandinternalclearancesincreasethepumpsabilitytogeneratepressurewilldecrease.
Withoutadditionalinformation,thisdecreaseinpressurecouldbeinterpretedasachangeinthe
processconditionsandnotnecessarilyawornpump.

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 Anaccuratepowermeasurement,incombinationwithsuctionanddischargepressurereadings,
canbeapowerfultoolinassessingpumpperformance.Whilecurrenttransducersofferthemostbasic
andcosteffectivepowermonitoringsolution,applytheirreadingscautiously.Motorampsarenot
directlyproportiontoload.Factorssuchasinputvoltage,powerfactorandmotorefficiencyshouldbe
consideredtoaccuratelydeterminetheactualshafthorsepowerbeingtransmittedtothepump.
Developedforfixedspeedpumpingapplicationsandatypicalinvestmentoflessthan$1,000USD,low
voltagepumploadmonitorsofferunsurpassedprotectionforunderloadandoverloadconditionsthat
mostoftenresultinmechanicalsealdamageorpumpfailure.Pumpspeedalsoplaysafactorin
centrifugalpumploadmonitoringandthechangeinpowerisproportionalspeed^3.Additionally,
changestothefluidpropertiessuchasspecificgravityandviscositycanhaveanimpactonpump
powerandshouldbeconsidered.Combiningbothsuctionanddischargepressurewithload
monitoringcanproveveryeffectivetounderstandingwherethepumpisoperatingwithrespectto
BEP.
Intheidealworld,flowmeasurementscouldbeobtainedonallpumps.However,thisoften
provesimpractical,butvitalforunderstandingoverallpumpefficiency.Insomeinstallations,
permanentflowmetersareinstalledtomakethejobofmonitoringeasier.Makesuretheseflow
metersareworkingproperlyandhavebeencalibratedonaregularschedule.Anoninstrusive
temporarysolutioncouldbetheuseofclamponultrasonicflowmeters.Thesedevicescanworkona
rangeofpipediametersandprovideflowaccuracyinrangeof1percent.Thechallengeisfindinga
straightrunonpipewhichtypicallyrequires10xdiametersbeforeand5xdiametersaftertheflow.
Whenalloftheaboveparametersareknown,itbecomesasimplematterofcalculatingpump
performance.Thereareinstanceswhenitisverydifficult,ifnotimpossible,todetermineallofthe
aboveparametersinthefield.Inthesecases,thefieldengineermustrelyonhisorherabilityto
understandwhereacompromisemustbemadetogetthejobdone.Thebasicdocumentthefield
engineermusthaveisthepumpperformancecurve.

Pumpsystemanalysis
Pumpsystemanalysisisoftenoverlookedbecauseitisassumedthatthesystemwas
constructedwiththeinstalledpumpinmind,andthatoperationofthepumpsisinaccordancewith
designspecifications.Thisisoftennotthecase.Pumpsareoftenpurchasedascomponentstomeetan
individualprocessneedorestimatedneednotaspartofacomprehensivesystemdesign.
Atypicalsystemanalysiswillincludethefollowinginformation:NPSHA,NPSHR,statichead,
frictionlossthroughthesystem,andacompletereviewofthepipingconfigurationandvalving.The
processmustalsobeunderstoodbecauseitultimatelydictateshowthepumpsarebeingoperated.All
indicatorsmayshowthepumpisindistresswhentherealproblemisitisbeingrunatloworhigh
flowswhichwillgeneratehighhydraulicforcesinsidethepump.

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 Apumpperformancemonitoringprogramthatincorporatesallofthetopicsdiscussedwill
greatlyenhancetheeffectivenessoftheprogram.Themorecompleteunderstandingtheengineerhas
ofthepumpingsystem,themoreeffectivethemaintenanceprogrambecomes.
Pumpvibrationanalysis
Vibrationanalysisisthecornerstoneofallpumpperformancemonitoringprograms.The
vibrationlevelofapumpisdirectlyrelatedtowhereitisoperatingandinrelationtoitsBEP.The
furtherawayfromtheBEP,thehigherthevibrationswillbe.Thereisnoabsolutevibrationamplitude
levelthatisindicativeofapumpindistress.However,thereareseveralguidelinesthathavebeen
developedastargetvaluesthatenabletheanalysttosetalarmlevels.Userscandeveloptheirownsite
criteriaasaguideline,andinstitutionssuchastheHydraulicInstitutehavedevelopedindependent
vibrationcriteria.Cautionshouldbeexercisedwhenapplyingthepublishedvalues,sinceeach
installationisunique.Whenamachineisinitiallystarted,abaselinevibrationreadingshouldbetaken
andtrendedovertime.
Typically,readingsaretakenonthemotoroutboardandinboardbearinghousingsinthe
verticalandhorizontaldirectionsandonthepumpoutboardandinboardbearinghousingsinthe
verticalandhorizontaldirections.Additionally,anaxialvibrationmeasurementistakenonthepump.
Theinboardlocationisdefinedasthecouplingendofthemachine.Itiscriticalthatwhenthebaseline
vibrationmeasurementistakenthattheoperatingpointofthepumpisalsorecorded.
Theengineermustalsolookatthefrequencywheretheamplitudeisoccurring.Frequency
identifieswhatthedefectisthatiscausingtheproblem,andtheamplitudeisanindicationofthe
problemsseverity.Thesearegeneralguidelinesanddonotcovereverysituation.Bearingdefect
analysisisanotherusefultoolthatcanbeusedinmanyconditionmonitoringprograms.Each
componentofarollerbearinghasitsownuniquedefectfrequency.Vibrationequipmentavailable
todayenablestheengineertoisolatetheuniquebearingdefectsanddetermineifthebearingisin
distress.Thisallowstheusertoshutthemachinedownpriortoacatastrophicfailure.Thereare
severalmethods,butthemostpracticalfromafieldengineeringperspectiveiscalledbearing
enveloping.Inthismethod,specialfiltersbuiltintotheanalyzerareusedtoamplifytherepetitivehigh
frequencysignalsinthehighfrequencyrangeandamplifytheminthelowfrequencypartofthe
vibrationspectrum.Bearingmanufacturerspublishthebearingdefectfrequencyasafunctionof
runningspeedwhichallowstheengineertoidentifyandmonitorthedefectfrequency.Similarto
conventionalvibrationanalysis,abaselinemustbeestablishedandthentrended.
Itisalsogoodpracticetomonitorbearingtemperature.Themostaccuratemethodtomonitor
theactualbearingtemperatureistouseadevicethatwillcontacttheouterraceofthebearing.This
requiresholestobedrilledintothebearinghousings,whichisnotalwayspractical.Inmost
circumstancesatemperaturesensormountedtothebearinghousingwillsufficetoalertofpossible
lubricationbreakdownorlackthereof.Theothermethodistheuseofaninfraredguninwhichthe
analystaimsthegunatapointonthebearinghousingwherethetemperaturereadingisgoingtobe

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taken.Thetemperaturebeingmeasuredistheoutsidesurfaceofthebearinghousing,however,not
theactualbearingtemperature.Thismustbeconsideredwhenusingmonitoringthebearinghousing
temperature.
Continuousconditionmonitoring
Themostrudimentaryformofconditionmonitoringisvisualinspectionbyexperienced
operatorsandmaintenanceengineers.Walkaroundsarepartofanypreventivemaintenance
program,andcandetectfailuremodessuchascracking,leaking,orcorrosionbeforepumpfailureis
likely.
Continuousvibrationanalysisonrotating
equipmentisamorecertainwaytospotproblems
beforetheyhappen,whichistheessenceof
predictivemaintenance.Onecategoryofsolutions
istoinstallawarningsignalasimplemechanical
vibrationswitchordigitalwarninglightthatwill
indicateexcessivevibrationonindividualpumps.
Toachievethefullbenefitsofapredictive
maintenanceprogram,plantscanemploydigital
monitoringsystemsthatgathermore
comprehensivedataonpumpperformance.Frost
&Sullivanpredictsrisingadoptionofthesedigitalmonitoringsystems,withgrowthratesof510
percentperyear.Optionsinclude:

Wiredsystems,whereequipmentsensorsarehardwiredtorackbasedcomputerservers,with
dataaccessedandanalyzedoveraninternalnetwork
Wirelesssystems,wheresensorstransmitdatatoacentralhub,withdataaccessedand
analyzedoversecureInternetconnections
Integratedsystems,wherehardwiredandwirelesssensorsfeeddatatoaninternalserver
basednetwork.

Allofthesesystemsprovidecontinuousmonitoringofkeymachinehealthindicators
includingperformance,includingvibration,temperature,flowpressureandpowerandprovide
advancewarningoftroublebeforeitoccurs.Ingeneral,wiredsystemsaremorecostlytoimplement
andprovidemorecomprehensiveprocessrelatedinformation.Wirelesssystemsaresimplertoinstall
andprovidegreateraccessibilitytoinformation.Datafromwirelesssystemscanbefedtoautomated
processcontrolsystemstoprovideafullyintegratedsolution.

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Themonitoringdatafromadigitalconditionmonitoringsystemcanbetransferredtoboththe
controlroomandtoawebbasedmonitoringplatform.Simple,easytounderstandKeyPerformance
Indicators(KPI)suchasNPSHa,BEPpercentageandvibrationdataallowanyoperatortomonitorpump
operationswithoutspecialtraining.Whenmoreadvanceddiagnosticsarenecessarysuchasvibration
spectrumsandtimewaveformsthereliabilityandmaintenanceteamscanaccessthesystemfromany
webenableddevice.Thesystemintegratesmaintenanceandoperationaldatainasingledashboard,
improvingoperationalefficiencyandreducingtheneedforonsitemanualmonitoring.

Casestudy1:Failedpumpcausesshutdownatrefinery
AcatastrophicfailureoccurredataNorthAmericanrefinerythatproducesabout70,000barrels
ofoiladay.Afirebrokeoutatthebottomofavacuumtower,forcingathreedayshutdownthatcost
$1.5millionindamagesandlostproductiontime.AninvestigationquicklyidentifiedafailedAPIOH3
pumpasthecause.
Thisisamorecommonoccurrencethanonemightthink,ifpumpsarenotoperatedand
maintainedproperly.Onaverage,oneoutofevery1,000pumpswithafailedmechanicalsealleadsto
afire.Arootcauseanalysisrevealedthatthepumpsmechanicalsealcausedthefireandareview

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ofmaintenancerecordsshowednumerousrepairsandpartsreplacementsconsistentwithoffBEP
pumpoperationintheweeksandmonthsleadinguptothefire.Subsequenttothedisaster,the
refineryinstalledacontinuousmonitoringsystemin2009.Innearlytwoyearssincethesystemwas
installed,therefineryhasrequirednounplannedmaintenanceonitspumps.

Casestudy2:Cornprocessorpickspredictiveconditionmonitoring
Theprocessingandrefiningofcornintoitsvariousmassmarketproductssuchasstarch,high
fructosecornsyrupandglucoserequiresalargeinvestmentinplantandequipment.Asthelargest
cornprocessorinCanada,CascoInc.hasasubstantialinvestmentinpumpsandotherrotating
equipment.Sinceitsfoundingalmost150yearsago,Cascohasbeenconsistentlylookingtoimprove
theeffectivenessofplantoperationsbyeffectivelycontrollingmaintenancecosts.
CascofoundtheanswerwithapredictiveconditionmonitoringsystemfromITT,enablingplant
officialstoidentifysuchproblemsasawornbearingthatcanbepickedupbyvibrationand
temperaturesensorstoavoidasystemshutdown.Therepairscouldthenbescheduledataconvenient
timetominimizedowntimeandlostproduction.
CascoispresentlyusingtheITTsolutioninthreedifferentareasoftheplant,enablingmanagers
togoonlineatanytimetocheckpumpreadings,providingacosteffectivesolutiontomaintaining
uptimeonallofrotatingequipment.

Casestudy3:Wirelessconditionmonitoringsavesboilerfeedwaterpumpatpapermill

ANorthAmericanpulpandpapermillwasexperiencingfailuresonamultistageboilerfeed
waterpumpeverysixto12months.Afterthethirdfailurewithin36months,ITTPROServicesoffered
toinstalltheITTProSmartWirelessConditionMonitoringsystemonthepumptoprovide24/7
monitoring.Shortlyaftertheinstallation,ProSmartdetectedhighvibrationonthepumpandalerted
themillsmaintenancestaff.Afterreviewingtheoperationaldataitwasconfirmedthatthepumpwas
operatingtotheleftofBEP,nearminimumflow,causingthehighvibrationandeventualfailure.Itwas
laterdiscoveredthatthepumpwasbeingimproperlyusedasthetrimpump.Thepumpwasoriginally
designedandsizedtoprovidebaseloadtotheboiler.Atperiodsoflowdemand,however,the
dischargevalvewasbeingheavilythrottledtoreducethetotalloadtotheboilercausingthepumpto
runbackonitspumpperformancecurve.Bycombiningbothmachinehealthdataandoperational
data,therootcauseofthefailurewasidentifiedandcorrected.SincetheinstallationoftheProSmart
WirelessConditionMonitoringSystemthepumphasnotexperiencedanyfailures.

Conclusion
Whilemanagers,maintenanceengineersandproductionsupervisorsarecontinuallychallenged
tomaintainproduction,theycantlosesightofproperpumpoperationandmaintenancethat
improvesefficiencyandreducesdowntime.TheyneedtoensurethatpumpsareoperatingnearBEP,

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andcloselymonitorpumpperformanceparameters,includingsuctionpressure,dischargepressure,
flow,pumpspeed,andpower.Inadditiontopreventivemaintenance,itsincreasinglyessentialto
makepredictivemaintenancepartofarobustmonitoringprogram.Conditionmonitoringsystems
supportbothmachinestatusandprocessdatatoanswerwhypumpsareabouttofail,notjustwhen
andwhere.Byimplementingthesebestpractices,operatorscanruntheirpumpslikethepros,while
boostingefficiencyandreducingriskatthesametime.

AboutITT
ITTCorporationisahightechnologyengineeringandmanufacturingcompanyoperatingonallseven
continentsinthreevitalmarkets:waterandfluidsmanagement,globaldefenseandsecurity,and
motionandflowcontrol.Withaheritageofinnovation,ITTpartnerswithitscustomerstodeliver
extraordinarysolutionsthatcreatemorelivableenvironments,provideprotectionandsafetyand
connectourworld.HeadquarteredinWhitePlains,N.Y.,thecompanygenerated2009revenueof
$10.9billion.www.itt.com

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