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Comparing long stroke 20’ (508 mm) with short stroke 14’ (356 mm)
piston diaphragm pumps
H Krimpenfort MHWirth, Germany
Abstract
Over the years the requirement for high flow rate piston diaphragm pumps has increased. In the eighties
capacity of such pumps was limited to 300‐400 m³/h. In the following decades the size and length of
pipelines in the mining industry has increased and pump manufacturers have developed pumps which met
these requirements. Currently the maximum flow rate of single piston diaphragms is in the range of
700‐750 m³/h at pressures of up to 80 bar.
The type of pump for such applications is normally of triplex single acting or duplex double acting design.
The stroke length of these pumps is 504‐556 mm and stroke rate is usually, in order to achieve these high
capacities, quite high which results in high piston velocities.
These pumps need a relatively high suction pressure which needs to be provided by a centrifugal type
charge pump. In order to fill the pump´s diaphragm chambers with slurry at such high piston velocities, the
charge system which provides the required suction pressure becomes very critical. By far, most pumping
problems are due to lack of suction pressure and subsequent cavitation.
This paper will show that piston diaphragm pumps with a shorter stroke and in triplex double acting
configuration are capable of the same capacities at much lower piston speeds. This results in optimised
suction conditions, longer lifetime of bearings and wear parts and safer maintenance conditions. The same
type of pump is also able to provide flow rates of up to 1,200 m3/h at 80 bar discharge pressure at optimum
operating and maintenance conditions. The application of these high flow rate pumps will result in fewer
operating pumps, smaller pump stations and lower operating costs.
1 History
Pipeline flow rates and lengths have increased over the years and piston diaphragm pumps have become
an accepted technology to meet these requirements. Flow rates of 3,000‐5,000 m³/h are nowadays quite
normal and in operation at tailings and concentrate slurry transfer applications worldwide. As pipeline
lengths have also increased, the required discharge pressures have increased accordingly. The maximum
flow rate of conventional piston diaphragm pumps is limited to approximately 700 m³/h and consequently
a multitude of pumps operating in parallel is required to meet the required capacity and pressure
conditions.
Table 1 Overview of some high flow rate pipelines
The combination of high capacity at high pressure requires high rod load designs of the crankshaft and
other components of the power end piston diaphragm pumps. As a result, the rod load of such pumps has
increased over the years from an initial 600 kN to currently 1,800 kN, either by design or hydraulic
enhancement.
Figure 1 Increase of rod load over the years
The increase in rod load has made the power end of these pumps very big, heavy and expensive. In
addition, the slurry end of the pump has grown to impractical proportions with very large diaphragm
housings and valves. As known, the diaphragms and valve components are the only wearing parts of such
pumps. However, they need to be replaced at regular intervals (valves usually three to six times per year,
diaphragms once a year, depending on the type of slurry and operating conditions). The replacement of
these large components is cumbersome and not without risk, due to their high weight and size.
Figure 2 NPSHr curve current design pumps
The required suction pressure in this particular case is approximately six bar which should be provided by
the charge pump. If the suction pressure is lower than six bar, this will result in cavitation. To achieve a
pressure of six bar, it may be possible that centrifugal charge pumps have to be placed in series.
Cavitation is the prime cause for pump failure, irregular operation, and excessive vibrations and decreased
wear part life and should be avoided at all times.
Figure 3 Impression of a typical, current design, single double acting piston diaphragm pump
Figure 4 NPSHr curve alternative design pumps
Figure 5 Impression of a typical triplex double acting piston diaphragm pump
Figure 6 Direction of load in single and double acting triplex pumps
Suction pressure at piston speed 1.02 m/sec Suction pressure at piston speed 0.73 m/sec
Figure 7 Comparison suction valves at varying piston speeds
The suction pressure at 1.02 m/sec drops below zero bar at which point cavitation occurs. This can be
avoided by running the pump at a lower piston speed.
4.4 Pulsations
PD pumps, due to their reciprocating action, inevitably create pressure pulsations in the suction and
discharge lines. A triplex single acting pump creates peak to peak pulsations of 23%. It appears that also
triplex double acting pumps create pulsations in this order. As the piston displacement volume of double
acting pumps is much less than of single acting design, the pulsations are much easier to dampen.
Consequently smaller dampeners are required to reduce them to an acceptable level.
Pulsations of a triplex single acting pump Pulsations of a triplex double acting pump
Figure 8 Pulsations of triplex single acting and triplex double acting pumps
Although the summarised peak to peak pulsations of all piston displacements of both types of pumps is the
same (23%), the differences in peak to peak pulsations between the individual piston volume
displacements is 35 L for the triplex single acting and 15 L for the triplex double acting pump. The required
dampening volume for the triplex double acting pump will therefore be much less.
Table 2 Comparison between single and double acting piston diaphragm pump
Figure 9 Comparison of piston speed and piston acceleration between 508 and 356 mm stroke pumps
The required suction pressure of the triplex double acting pump is therefore limited to 3 bar whereas the
NPSHr for the single acting pump exceeds 5 bar.
Table 3 Comparison wear parts costs between single and double acting piston diaphragm pump at similar capacity
Although bearings are not wearing parts, the above comparison shows that the B10 lifetime of con rod and
cross head bearings are much longer for the double acting pump.
7 Pump price
The comparison in Table 2 shows that the power end of the single acting pump is 27% larger than of the
double acting pump and is therefore more expensive. The slurry end of the double acting pump is equipped
with twice as many diaphragms and valves. These components are however half the size of the single acting
pump. Consequently, the price of both pumps is about the same.
If however the full flow rate potential of the triplex double acting pump is utilised, by increasing the rod
load, piston diameter and stroke rate to its maximum, the price of the pump will increase and be higher
than a single acting pump with the same rod load. The price per m³ flow rate of the double acting pump will
however be considerably less than of the single acting pump. If other pump station costs, such as civil
works, piping, cabling and other auxiliaries are included, the costs of triplex double acting pumps will be
approximately one third lower on a per m³/h basis than of triplex single acting pumps. Obviously, the
increased stroke and flow rate of double acting pump will result into higher velocities through the pump
which will inevitably increase wear parts costs and partially amortise the benefits. The cost of ownership of
the double acting pump however will remain substantially lower.
Pipeline flow rate: 1,800 m³/h.
Discharge pressure: 90 bar.
Table 4 Comparison of costs per m³ flow rate between single and double acting triplex piston diaphragm pumps
8 Summary
The preceding information can be summarised as follows:
Triplex double acting piston diaphragm pumps offer a capacity of up to 1,200 m³/h at pressures of
up to 80 bar.
Triplex double acting piston diaphragm pumps offer a number of significant advantages when
compared to single acting triplex pumps, such as:
○ Lower NPSHr.
○ Less prone to cavitation.
○ More reliable operation.
○ Lower parts costs.
○ Longer bearing life.
○ Safer maintenance conditions.
○ Lower price per m³/h capacity.