Chapter A01 Pumps, valves and coolers

Pumps
By definition a pump is a piece of equipment, which increases the pressure of a liquid
by mechanical means, usually to produce a liquid flow. There are a large number of
pumps used on ships for a large number of different purposes.

Pumps can broadly be divided into two types:

a) Centrifugal pumps
b) Positive displacement pump

A centrifugal pump driven by an electric motor

Centrifugal pumps.
To understand how these work we need to have at least some understanding of
Bernoulli’s principle:
We could sum up Bernoulli’s principle as: For the conditions given above if no
energy is added or taken away from the fluid then the energy in the fluid consists of
three types as shown. It can change from one type of energy to another.

The first type of energy is in the form of velocity. The second is in head or height of
the fluid above a given base level. The third is in the form of pressure.

Therefore it is possible to change velocity energy into pressure energy and pressure
energy into velocity energy, but in the relationship V²/2 to P/ρ

This is what happens in centrifugal pumps except that extra energy is added
mechanically.

Looking back at Bernoulli’s principle we see that if h/g does not alter then V²/2 + P/ρ
is constant. Now P/ρ is actually directly proportional to head (height the liquid would
be rise to, for example, in an open ended vertical pipe) and not pressure. If as in the
diagram bellow a velocity is given to liquid by a pump impellor and then reduce to
zero by going up a long vertical pipe after the pump, until the pump is delivering it’s
maximum pressure and there is no more energy left as velocity, to change into
pressure. The energy in the form of velocity will have changed to pressure energy. If
the pump does the same thing with a liquid of a different density (ρ) the same thing
will happen. The discharge head will be the same (P/ρ) but the discharge pressure (P),
as measured in bar by a pressure gauge at the bottom of the pipe, will be different.
The discharge pressure will alter in proportion to the difference in liquid density. This
explains why pump manufacturers quote pump discharges in head, so that the
discharge figures are correct for liquids of all densities
We can see from the above that a centrifugal pump will give more discharge head if
the liquid leaves the impellor at a greater velocity. There are 2 obvious ways to make
this happen:
1) Turn the impellor round faster
2) Make the impeller diameter larger so that the outside of the impeller is moving
faster for the same number of revolutions per minute.

We can also see that a large pump will be capable of pumping more liquid that a small
pump.

In practice the simplest, cheapest most available electric motors run at one speed only.
This would normally be very slightly under 1,200 or 1,800 or 3,600 revs per minute
(RPM) for a 60 Hz electrical supply or very slightly under 1,000 or 1,500 or 3,000
RPM for a 50 Hz supply, depending on the design of the motor.

Pumps like pump “A” below are high volume lower pressure pumps. Pumps like
pump “B” are lower volume and perhaps slightly higher pressure pumps.

Centrifugal pump “B”

We can say that with a given pump in which impellers of different outside diameters
can be fitted, driven by a constant speed motor the following are accurate enough to
be used for most practical purposes:

Looking at the above we have to emphasize that it is a working approximation, which

only applies with all other operating conditions the same and within normal
operating conditions.

Capacity is how much the volume of liquid that will be pumped. Head has already
been explained and power is the power provided by the motor.

One application of the above is, if the pump is taking too much power and the electric
motor is tending to run hot. One way to overcome this problem would be to fit a more
powerful motor. On the other hand we could reduce the impeller diameter a small
amount. This would bring the power down a lot (diameter ratio³) the maximum head
would be less (Diameter ratio²) but we could well be running it at well below the
maximum head, so this might not matter. The pump capacity could be reduced a bit
(Diameter ratio), but this also could be acceptable.
 A centrifugal pump in a ship’s engine room

Practical points to note about centrifugal pumps

A) They are only suitable for low viscosity liquids.
B) They will not give high pressure increases (Typically, with water, less than 20
bar)
C) They do have a maximum head and therefore it is safe to shut the discharge
valve for short periods.
D) They have to contain liquid (or at least mostly liquid) and not a gas, such as air
or steam, to work.
E) An advantage is they are simple with few moving parts.

Capacity, actual head and efficiency

Efficiency of a pump can be volumetric efficiency or overall efficiency. Volumetric
efficiency is:
The volume in a given time the pump actually pumps . 100 %
The volume in the same time the pump should theoretically pump

Overall efficiency is: The power increase in the liquid through the pump .100%
The power put into the pump by the motor

So what happens to the rest of the power? It is used overcoming various types of
friction in the pump and turns into heat.

A question we regularly get asked is: “What is the capacity (tons per hour) of your
centrifugal pump?” The answer is it depends on the conditions the pump is running
under and varies according to a graph, which should be supplied by the pump makers.
Usually the question comes from people who do not understand centrifugal pumps
and think that they are the same as positive displacement pumps.

Typical makers performance curves for 8 different pumps

The above is typical of what you might get from a pump maker. It is partly to help
you choose the best pump for what you want and partly to give you a normal value for
capacity at different actual heads.

We can also see that different pumps often have quite different operating curves.

A more complete set of curves for one particular pump is shown below. When we
look at them we see that there are 4 separate curves, for different functions against
flow (m³/hr). The top one is the same as the curves already mentioned. The second is
power against flow the bottom one is volumetric efficiency against flow. The 3 rd one
is explained below.

Looking at the top curve head against flow we see a point on the curve marked “Eff
82,3%” We can see that this is the point of maximum efficiency as given by the
makers. For any system a designer has to chose a pump that will normally work as
near as possible to this point. A motor is normally fitted which runs at the correct
speed and can give the maximum power which could be required plus some extra
power for safety.
 Set of curves for one centrifugal pump

Net positive suction head

This is the minimum suction head at which the pump can run without problems. It
could be less than atmospheric pressure. The curve may also be different for different
pumps. Problems can be cavitation or simply loosing the suction and not pumping.

Cavitation
For all liquids there is a point depending on pressure and temperature where vapour
bubbles will start to form and if heat is added ,then at that same temperature and
pressure it will turn to vapour. This is shown below for water.

If the pressure and temperature of liquid in the suction side of a pump reaches this
point, bubbles of vapour will form. As the liquid passes through the pump the
pressure increases and these bubbles collapse. Unfortunately they often collapse in the
way shown below and damage to the pump material takes place. This is known as
cavitation and cavitation damage. Typical cavitation damage is show below.
Cavitation also causes a specific sound, which can be heard by an experienced person
or detected by instruments. Cavitation damage can also take place in valves and on
propellers.

Ways to reduce or avoid cavitation damage could possibly be

a) Increase the liquid suction pressure somehow
b) Reduce the liquid temperature
c) Use cavitation damage resistant materials in the manufacture
The above are usually easier said than done. One way to cause cavitation is to run the
pump with the suction valve only partly open

Bubble formation and collapse The same pump stopped

With pump running Cavitation damage visible
Centrifugal pump suctions
The maximum height that any pump can theoretically be above the surface of water,
to be pumped is 9,81 meters, with normal atmospheric pressure. This would require
the pump to make a complete vacuum at its inlet point. Atmospheric pressure would
then push the water into the pump. In practice this is not possible and the actual figure
could be 4 meters under perfect conditions. The pump also has to be filled with water
to be able to do this. For this reason pumps are, if possible, fitted lower than the
surface of liquid to be pumped. If it is not possible to do this some method of filling
the pump must be fitted. This is called a priming system. The pump should be as low
as possible. Fitting a non-return valve at the bottom of the suction pipe will help. It
will tend to keep the suction pipe full of water if it has been filled once and then the
pump stopped. (Such a non-return valve is often called a foot valve.)

The priming system can be some sort air pump or air ejector. A typical air ejector
could be a compressed air driven ejector with a control valve operated by a pressure
switch on the pump discharge. When the pump is running but not delivering liquid
there will be no discharge pressure. The ejector will operate and make a partial
vacuum in the pump so the liquid is sucked in. The pump will then start to work and
the discharge pressure will rise. The ejector will then be stopped.

Diagram of Ejector
(Sometimes called an eductor)

Principle of an ejector:
 Picture of an ejector cut in half

The operating liquid (or a compressed gas) enters through the “motive connection”. It
increases in speed as it passes through the nozzle. According to the principle shown
above (derived from Bernoulli’s theory), the pressure drops. This causes a pressure
drop in the suction connection. In some applications an ejector can come close to
producing a full vacuum. Ejectors don’t work properly using viscous operating lquids.

Uses of ejectors include:

a) Priming devices of pumps, as previously explained.
b) Air ejectors for the vacuum condensers of steam turbine plants.
c) Air ejectors of fresh water generators (vacuum distillers)
d) Devices for stripping liquids from tank or even sucking up spilled liquid
e) For vacuum toilet systems.

Versions of ejectors are also used in low expansion foam branches for fighting fires.
Another version is can be used in a paint sprayer.

Low expansion foam nozzle

Positive displacement pumps
These are generally easier to understand. Liquid is physically and positively displaced
in various ways. Some common types of positive displacement pumps are shown in
diagrammatic form below.

Piston and cylinder type

Piston pumps can be easily used for low viscosity liquids like water or higher
viscosity liquids.

Gear pumps are usually used for liquids like oil, which also lubricates the wheels and
can be reasonably high viscosity.

In all cases the maximum pressure, which a positive displacement pump can produce,
is only limited by the power of the drive motor and the strength of the pump parts. It
is possible for the pump to deliver such a high pressure that one part or other of the
pump or motor is badly and often dangerously damaged. To prevent this, relief
valves (sometimes known as safety valves) must be fitted to positive displacement
pumps.
These are normally spring loaded valves which typically open 10% above the normal
maximum working pressure. They could discharge back to the pump suction or to a
tank and in doing so limit the pressure to a safe level.

Recent fuel transfer pump problems

Since legislation has been introduced requiring fuel of less than 0,1%S while in EU
ports, some problems have been found with fuel transfer pumps. 0,1%S fuel is for all
practical purposes MGO. This has a much lower viscosity than IFO. This is especially
so in warmer conditions. While pumps designed for IFO will normally pump MGO
some companies have found unacceptable wear of scrolls and frequent seal leakage,
in some makes of pumps.

The wear problem of the scrolls can be improved by designing pumps with the scrolls
in hydraulic axial balance. In this way the scrolls float without large end thrust and the
low viscosity is less critical.
Seal leakage
Mechanical seals (in theory at least) have surfaces in contact, which are lubricated by
the liquid being pumped. They will therefore always tend to leak at least a bit. They
tend to wear more if either dirty liquid is pumped or if the liquid viscosity is different
to what they are designed for. Good seal technology can reduce these problems.
However another solution is to not have seals at all. This can be done in 2 ways:
a) Use a magnetic coupling as shown below
b) Have the motor filed with the liquid being pumped. This is obviously not
suitable for many liquids.
 Typical relief valve

The above type of valve can be adjusted either by the makers or in a workshop to lift
at the required pressure. If the safety valve is particularly safety critical it often has a
seal fitted to prevent unauthorized people altering the adjustment. The lever on the
side can be used to lift the valve manually to drop the pressure if this becomes
necessary for safety reasons.

Other types of valve

The valves shown below are found in large numbers on ships. They are used in many
different systems.

All the following could suffer cavitation damage if used partly open, except the gate
valve which is shown with special corrosion and cavitation resistant materials.
Cutaway drawing of a gate valve
The following are non return valves which can not be closed and do not normally
suffer from cavitation damage, although it is not impossible for cavitation damage to
occur.

If you think about how they work you can see that they will not work if fitted the
wrong way up
Coolers
We could say that a more correct term for a cooler is a heat exchanger. A heat
exchanger transfers heat from a hotter fluid to a colder fluid. If we are interested in
making a fluid colder we call the heat exchanger a cooler and if we are interested in
making a fluid hotter we call the heat exchanger a heater. The design of heaters and
coolers depends mostly on the fluids involved. On ships the functions of coolers could
include:
a) Cooling lube oil with sea water or cold fresh water
b) Cooling diesel engine cooling water with sea water or cold fresh water
c) Cooling diesel engine charge air with sea water or cold fresh water
d) Cooling compressed air with sea water or cold fresh water
e) Cooling hot fresh water with sea water to use as cold fresh water for other
coolers
The function of heaters could include:
a) Heating fuel oil with steam
b) Heating lube oil with steam
c) Heating fresh water with steam

We could easily have 25 or 30 coolers of various sorts in a ship’s engine room, and 8
or 10 heaters.

There are 2 basic types of coolers in general use on ships:

a) Tube coolers
b) Plate coolers

Both these types are shown below:

Various types of tube cooler
 A tube cooler on a ship (right of picture)

2 positive displacement pumps, 2 filters and a heater for fuel oil on a ship
2 plate coolers on a ship
 Expanded view of a plate cooler

For tube coolers one fluid passes through tubes and the other round the outside. The
fluid passing through the tubes could be passed straight through from one end to the
other or, as in the diagram could flow through one set of tubes and back through
another. The flow could also be back and forward a few times through different sets
of tubes.

The materials used depend on the fluids. Obviously with sea water materials which
will not corrode too much in the sea water are needed. Typically the shell and the end
covers and end box could be cast iron. Cast iron will corrode to some extent in sea
water. The sea water spaces could be fitted with zinc anodes to reduce the corrosion.
Some few end covers have been made of gun metal. Brass tube pates are often used
with aluminium brass tubes. The composition of various types of brass is a specialized
subject but: Brass for tube plates could be 70% copper (Cu). 30% Zinc (Zn) with
small addition such as 0,03 % arsenic (As). Aluminium brass for tubes could be 76%
Copper (Cu). 2% Aluminium (Al) and 22% Zinc (Zn) also with small additions.

Plate coolers, as we can see from the pictures above, are made of a series of thin
plates with corrugations. They have nitrile rubber joints. The ends consist of two large
steel plates, one is fixed to the ships structure and has 4 connections for liquid inlets
and outlets. The other is free to move and is suspended from a beam, as are the plates.
Several long bolts hold the whole assembly together. It can easily be taken apart for
cleaning, bur when this is done care must be taken to re-tighten it so that the end
plates are the same distance apart. It is possible to over tighten the bolts and damage
the plates. Obviously the plates must not be mixed up, and should be put back in the
same order as before.

Plate coolers were originally developed for the milk industry, where the coolers have
to be cleaned every day. They are often used on ships. They are physically smaller,
for the same cooling effect, than tube coolers. They are also easy to clean.

They are not normally used as heaters using steam, or other higher temperature or
higher pressure applications.

The corrugations on the plates improve the heat transfer by giving a swirl effect.

The plates are made of titanium if sea water is involved. Some coolers where sea
water is not involved can be made of a suitable stainless steel. Titanium is very
expensive, but there is not an enormous weight of it. Other materials have been tried
but have frequently failed. The reason for this is the thinness of the plates and the
swirl effect of the sea water causing erosion/ corrosion.

Pipes and flanges

The normal way of joining all but small pipes together and to other fittings is by
flanged connections. Smaller pipes and fitting usually have screwed connections. It is
of course possible to weld or braze pipes together, but if this is done they can’t easily
be taken apart, as is often necessary. Some pipe connections are in places where it
would be impossible to get enough access to weld them together

It is sometimes necessary to specify the dimensions of a flange. 5 dimensions are

involved and the number of bolts must be given. The dimensions are shown on the
drawing below and are:
1) Inside diameter
2) Outside diameter
3) Hole pitch circle diameter
4) Hole diameter
5) Flange thickness

Joint thickness does not have to be quoted. The joint is usually made or selected by
the person fitting the joint together. It is cut from a sheet of suitable joint material and
could be rubber with canvas insertion or an asbestos substitute material.