Maintenance and Reliability ae Le ee es Mee cL) Consider pitot tube pumps for low-flow, high-head applications Low-flow, high-head pumping re uirements in refining and petrochemi cal plants make up less than 2% of the total pump population, This minor per centage is creating significant reliability concerns, which result in low mean-time between failures (MTBE), as well as high maintenance costs. The pump duty of concern is any flowrate below 90 m’/hr, with a head higher than S00 m, ‘Typical centrifugal pump hydraulics, including the multi- stage design, do not cover this portion of low specific speed (less than 500 in US units), where a relatively small flowrate is required at a very high pressure. From a technical and manufacturing perspective, itis possible to make such a pump, but it would be very expensive and would need to run at extremely low efficiency, which is neither practical nor economical FIG.1 shows typical hydraulic coverage for the OHI centrifugal pump type at single speed with diflerent sizes. ntegrally geared pump (OH6). For decades, the process designer's pump of choice for low-flow, high-head applica- ‘ions was the integrally geared pump (i.e, API OH6), as shown in 16.2 The impeller used in this type of Pump is semi-open, with straight vanes and a small diameter. The main reason for selecting this design is to reduce dise friction losses, as well as to keep ‘mechanical stresses on the impeller toa ‘minimum. The required high head can be achieved by increasing the speed using an integrated gear box. Inthe majority of this pump’ instal lations, an inducer is supplied to reduce os Sm y ql 3 a « ai 5s En 0 px. ma a Hydraulic coverage of OH centrifugal pump type at 1.50 rpm, the net positive suction head required (NPSH,) by the pump. The inducer en. ables the pump to work at alow suction head, but at the expense of a narrow op- erating flow window and unstable opera tion during minor process upsets. ‘The OH6 pump has many years of satisfactory runs for a good number of applications, especially for those pumps that are not equipped with an inducer and are running at lower rpm. Some common user concerns about the OHS pump include + Tehas high capital and maintenance costs + Significant damage occurs quickly due to high speed + Narrow operating range FIG. 2. AP OG int aly geared pumo, Hyttocarbon Processing | FEMRUARY 20% 49| P Maintenance and Reliability a FIG. 5. Cutaway of ait «+ Possible contamination of the gearbox from process fluids «+ Requires auxiliary systems + Requires highly experienced maintenance staf, Pitot tube pump (rotating casing). For various reasons, the pitot pump isnot highly utilized in the oiland gas industry. So, its mot a surprise to find pump en gineers with more than 20 yr of exper: tence who are unfamiliar with this type of pump. A cutaway ofthe pitot tube pump, Sometimes called a rotating casing, is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 references Heros turbine, and provides a better understanding of the teay this pump operates. In this tuebine, the energy pressure in the steam wil sult in the wheel gaining kinetic energy and beginning to rotate. “The pitot tube pump works in the re verse mode ofthis ancient turbine, where Kinetic energy is converted to pressure en ‘ergy. Adetailed look at how the pitot tube pump operates, along with the pumps FIG.5. The uid enters the pump casing from the suction manifold, where ts guided to the inner rotating casing. The inner cas ol) ing will sin ata speed ranging rom 2,000 spm-7,000 rpm, where the fluid will cap ture its velocity head, Simultaneously, the flu will capture the pressure head result- ing from the centrifugal force of the lui. tube pure, ‘main components, are shown FIG. 4. Hoto’s turbine is the reverse The stationary pitot tube will pick up ofa ptot tube the high-velocity fluid and convert it to | share i Retr charmed Pha tbe Facktotackanmia beter ‘oun \ exing tame Pater FIG. 5. Main components ofthe pitat tube pur, 50 FEBRUARY 2018 | HydroeatbonPocesina com to the way that the vo- a centrifugal pump (ie, by expansion). The pitot tube is more ef ficient in converting the velocity head to pressure head. ‘The high-pressure fluid feats the pump axially through the pitot tube tothe discharge manifold. ‘The pitot tube is sealed inside the ro- tating casing by a mechanical seal, which will be exposed only to the suction pres sure, AP] 610 for centrifugal pumps pro- ‘vides a designation for each pump type The pitot tube pump is still not recog: sized in this standard, even though it complies with the standard’s major tech: nical requirements, Other standards clas: sify this pump asa speciality pump. "The main advantages ofthe pitot tube pump design over OHG include: imple design and easy maintenance «+ Lower tanning speed for the same performance Higher efficiency + Dryrunning capabilities Mechanical seal will be exposed only to suction pressure Wider operating window Gearboxis not an integrated design, and there is no chance ff contaminating process uids Pitot tube limitations. The pitot tube pump does have some limitations, which must be fully understood by the end user, ‘The main limitations of the pitot tube pump can be summarized as follows: + Itcannot handle viscous fluid, FIG. 6. Pitt tube damage caused by erosion, tef aid tot ich pe. a be + Fluid with abrasive material will erode the pitot tube. The rotating casing centrifugal force wll cause particles to build up in inside the pump casing. With time, the parti buildup will create thick fouling layer of abrasive material and will begin eroding the pitot tube. «+ tis prone to high vibration ifsome fouling sticks on the rotating casing unevenly. Itis recommended for the end user to installa fine filtration system upstream of the pump for unclean services. Moreover, aily switching between the running and standby pump can significantly help to prevent solids buildup in the pump. Pitot tube pump performance. Mod- em pitot tube pump design can deliver a head of upto 1,600, chil the maximum achiewed flow is approximately 90 s/he Twwomethods existto change the hydraulic periormance ofa specific ptot tube pump. ‘The fist is to change the running speed of the pump, which wil affect the generated head. The second method is to change the pitot tube size; the larger tube will ak low the pump to process more flow. FG. 7 shows the hydcaulic performance ofa spe cific pitot size with different speeds. Some vendors oer double pitat tubes in single pump, which normally helps achieve the required head ata lower running speed Case study. refinery inthe Midale East thas approximately eight OH6 pumps. Four of them were running satisfactorily with a MTBF above 3 yr. Conversely, the other four pumps hada MTBF of approx imately 6 mos, which was unacceptable. The refinery implemented several ac- tions to improve the OH6 pumps’ relic ability; however, no significant impeove- ments were observed. Two pumps were used for a caustic transfer serviee in the refinery, while the other two were used for wash water service in the diesel hy- Adrotreating facility ‘The common system characteristic for both previously mentioned appl cations is the wide operating window, which doesnot favor the OH6 since both ‘pumps are equipped with inducers ‘Among several new pump options, the pitot tube was selected to replace all four OH6 pumps. The replacement was carried out during mid-2012, and both applications have achieved more than Maintenance and Reliability [Ip 5.00 va Tae] coi 50mm 7350 anime FIG. 7. Pitot tube pun performance at ciferent speeds FIG. 8. Pitot tub installed for wash water (= 24 mtg H= 87 4 yr of operation without any concern, FIGS. 8 and 9 show the installations of the first pumps for wash water and caustic transfer, respectively High-head, low-flow applications that can benefit from the pitot tube pump include: + -Feed/charge pumps + Boiler feed + Wash water + Well injection + Deaerated water ustic transfer + Desuperheate Takeaways. The pitot tube pump is not 1 replacement for centrifugal pumps or positive displacerrent pumps. It cannot compete with centrifugal pumps at nor- ‘mal flowrates and head. FIG. 9. Ptt tube installed for caustic transfer (= 9miw,H= 222m, Integrally geared pumps cannot tol: erate process upsets, which normally is the main reason for this pumps frequent failures. Itis paramount to make the fluid as clean as possible at the suction of the t tube pump, Upstream self-cleaning Bilters are recommended for fuids that may contain some solids, FP [ABOULMAIEED ALSHAYE san nance speci with Su to rose option He one Emigrant Engineer His ma xpainaa compressed aa Seatatien enero) optimizaten, steam systems butngenvelooe and HVAC. Ne alshye iran Aesoition of Era Enos (AEt-crtied energy manage anda 98 grate ofking Seu Univesity im Riyadh Saud Ara. ha Feamuarr 208 SI