Using Vibration Signatures Analysis to Detect Cavitation in Centrifugal Pumps

Surendra N. Ganeriwala (Suri)

Vetrivel Kanakasabai (Vetri)
SpectraQuest Inc.
8205 Hermitage Road
Richmond, VA 23228
(804)261-3300
www.spectraquest.com

Abstract
Timely detection of the occurrence of cavitation in pumps is very important as it can cause pitting, erosion, and loss of pump
performance. Attempts to determine a unique signature of cavitation using vibration, acoustic emission [1] [2], audible-
acoustics [3], and higher order non-linear modeling [4] techniques have been elusive. This paper presents the results of an
experimental study undertaken first to understand the structure of cavitation and develop an effective means for on-line
detection of it. Tests were performed to measure vibration, pressure, audible sound, motor current and the force due to
cavitation of a centrifugal pump. A special force transducer capable of measuring fluctuating forces exerted by cavitation
process on the pump casing was developed to understand the dynamics of cavitation phenomenon and signatures of a
centrifugal pump operating under different cavitation conditions. Two of the abnormal operating conditions studied were the
formation of tiny air bubbles (initiation of cavitation) and then fully developed cavitation. Experiments were also run with a
transparent LEXAN cover using colored water to observe the cavitation. A Video was also taken for observing and
developing an understanding of cavitation mechanism. Vibration, force, audible sound, and dynamic pressure were analyzed
to detect cavitation. It was found that the pump has higher vibration amplitude in the axial direction than in the radial
direction. This may be due to lower stiffness in the axial direction. From the experiments, it was also determined that
significant amount of air bubbles will increase vibration component associated with the impeller vane pass frequency.
Cavitation seems to excite high frequency structural resonances. Also, a fully developed cavitation may reduce the impeller
vane pass frequency vibration amplitude. The force spectra did not provide any measurable information of cavitation.

1. Introduction
A pump is a mechanical device used to move liquids. Mechanical energy is transformed into hydraulic energy at the pump.
Pumps can be classified into two categories: displacement pumps and centrifugal pumps. In this work, a centrifugal pump
was tested and studied. Fig. 1 illustrates the single stage bronze centrifugal pump used in this work. This pump has a single
rotating metal impeller. Liquid enters at the center and is thrown outward radially by centrifugal force. The five impeller
vanes can be identified in Fig. 1 clearly.

Figure 1a: Centrifugal Pump – Figure 1b: Impeller

One of the important, but damaging, phenomena in pumps is cavitation. Cavitation occurs when the pressure of the fluid
drops below the vapor pressure for the temperature of the fluid. When this pressure drop occurs, whether it is a system
pressure drop or a localized pressure drop, voids or cavities (bubbles) will form in the liquid. These bubbles implode or
collapse when the fluid moves through impeller to the high pressure side of the pump, causing the impeller to erode. These
implosions tear out tiny pieces of the metallic surface near which they implode. This can be very damaging and eventually
the impeller will fail. Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of the cavitation process.

T. Proulx (ed.), Rotating Machinery, Structural Health Monitoring, Shock and Vibration, Volume 5, Conference Proceedings of the Society 499
for Experimental Mechanics Series 8, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-9428-8_41, © The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc. 2011
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Figure 2: Cavitation

An essential concept in pump theory is net positive suction head (NPSH). NPSH is a measure of the difference between the
total suction head and the fluid vapor pressure. The concept of NPSH is related with cavitation closely. For a specific pump,
there are the required NPSH and available NPSH. The required NPSH is the factory suggested value which must be
maintained to prevent cavitation. The available NPSH is the real pressure difference between the suction head and the fluid
vapor pressure.

2. Experimental Setup
In this study, tests were performed on the SpectraQuest Machinery Fault Simulator equipped with pump kit as shown in fig 3.

Figure 3: Machinery Fault Simulator (MFS)

In first arrangement the pump was directly connected to the motor. In the second arrangement the pump was mounted at the
lower right hand corner of the MFS base plate and coupled to the rotor shaft by two drive belts. The transmission ratio of the
belt drive is 1:1. Water was used as the liquid in the experiment. Both arrangements are shown on figs. 4a and 4b,
respectively.
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Figure 4a: Pump Direct Drive

Figure 4b: Belt Drive

The pump and tank configurations during the experiment are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The suction and
discharge sides of the pump are fitted with pressure gauges. The pump discharge is directed through a
manual modulating valve and then a flow meter back into the head tank. In the direct drive pump, a tri axial
accelerometer over the pump, one single axis accelerometer in the axial direction, microphone and pressure
sensor were installed. In the case of pump driven by belt, two single axis accelerometers were glued on the
pump in the radial and axial directions respectively. The vibration, force, audible sound and motor current
were measured using a SpectraQuest 16 channel, SpectraPad software/hardware system.

Figure 5: Tank
3. Experimental Procedure
The experiments are categorized into two groups. In the first group, the original brass pump was tested. In
the second group, the original brass pump cover was replaced with a transparent plastic cover to observe
the liquid motion inside the pump. Vibration, pressure, sound, motor current and force due to cavitation of
the centrifugal pump were measured in this study.

First, the pump was running around 3600 rpm to check the integrity of the system. Through the transparent
hose connected with the pump suction end, it was noticed that significant amount of air bubbles were
sucked into the pump. By directing the water returning hose to the wall of the tank, the water would return
to the tank smoothly without creating too many air bubbles. The data was collected for both the cases with
and without air bubbles. The same experiments were performed by closing the suction valve to initiate and
introduce different levels of cavitation. Tests were repeated at two lower speeds in order to understand the
effects of speed on cavitation. The occurrence of cavitation is clearly seen when the pump is installed with
a LEXAN cover instead of brass cover. The Figure 6a and 6b shows the vanes of the pump when there is
no cavitation and when cavitation is occurring.
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Figure 6a: Cavitation in Centrifugal Pump: Figure 6b: Cavitation in Centrifugal Pump:
No Cavitation Cavitation

4. Experimental Observations and Results

The acceleration spectra are presented in Fig. 7 for pump speed of 3588 rpm without air bubble and
cavitation. Figs. 7 (a) and (b) display the acceleration spectrum in the pump radial and axial directions
respectively. The fundamental 1X component and its harmonics can be identified. The fifth harmonic
which corresponds to the impeller vane pass frequency (Because there are five vanes on the impeller) has
the highest amplitude. Moreover, two impeller vane pass frequency harmonics also have high amplitude. A
comparison of the amplitude of Figs. 7 (a) and (b) indicates that the pump has higher vibration in the axial
direction. This may be due to lower stiffness along the axial direction.

Figure 7a: Vibration Spectrum for Pump Figure 7b: Vibration Spectrum for Pump
Speed 3588 RPM (Without air bubble and Speed 3588 RPM (Without air bubble and
extreme low suction head pressure): Radial extreme low suction head pressure): Axial
Acceleration Acceleration

The same experiments were run both with direct couple and belt driven pumps. The data in the Figure 7 are
belt driven configuration, but the results for the direct driven configuration were pretty much similar.
Baseline data was also obtained for force transducer, pressure transducer and microphone. Spectral graphs
for each transducer are shown in the Figure 8.

Figure 8 Baseline Data for (a) Force (b) Pressure (c) Motor Current and (d) Noise
As discussed earlier, the pump was running at different speeds. At each individual speed, the pump suction
head and discharge pressures were read from the two pressure gauges connected with the pump for three
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tank discharge valve position: 1) the valve is full open 2) the valve is closed somewhat until the appearance
of cavitation 3) the valve is closed continuously until severe cavitation is observed. The pressures are
shown in Table 1.

Figure 8a: Baseline Data for Force Figure 8c: Baseline Data for Motor Current

Figure 8b: Baseline Data for Pressure Figure 8d: Baseline Data for Noise

From Table 1, it can be found that the NPSHavaible and pump discharge pressure are all increasing with
pump speed. Another observation from Table 1 and the experiments is that the NPSH range from the
cavitation appearance to fully developed severe cavitation is also increasing with an increase in pump
speed. For example, for pump speed 3600 rpm, the NPSH for cavitation appearance is -13 inHg. While the
NPSH for severe cavitation is -20 inHg. It has a 7 inHg pressure difference. For pump speed of 3000 rpm,
the NPSH for cavitation appearance is -20 inHg, the NPSH for severe cavitation is -21 inHg. The pressure
difference is only 1 inHg. Moreover, for pump speed 2400 rpm, the cavitation appears at -18 inHg NPSH,
and the cavitation develops into severe cavitation very quickly. This observation indicates that, although it
is less likely for a slow speed pump to have the problem of cavitation, the cavitation will develop quickly
into severe condition if it happens.
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Pump RPM Valve position Pump Head Pump Discharge

Pressure (inHg) Pressure (psi)
3600 Full open -5 14~15 (depends on
air bubble)
Cavitation appear -13 13
Severe cavitation -20 9
3000 Full open -4 11
Cavitation appear -20 5.5
Severe cavitation -21 3.5
2400 Full open -2.5 8
Cavitation appear -18 3
Further valve closing will cut water
off
1800 Full open -1.5 5
No cavitation can be generated
Table 1: Pump Pressure

It can be seen from figures 9a-9d that as the cavitation starts the flow rate starts to decrease. This is another
detrimental effect of cavitation beside erosion and loss of material. These results confirm that the cavitation
must be detected and avoided.

Figure 9a: Variation of Discharge Pressure Figure 9b: Variation of Discharge Pressure
with Speed with Suction Valve Closing
The acceleration in the radial and axial directions is presented in Fig. 10 for pump speed of 3590 rpm with
significant amount of air bubble formed in the tank. A careful inspection of Fig. 7 (a) and Fig. 10 (a)
indicates that with formation of air bubble, the vibration component associated with impeller vane pass
frequency increase significantly. The vibration amplitudes of 1X and its other harmonics components do
not change significantly. A comparison of Fig. 7 (b) and Fig. 10 (b) suggests similar trend. An examination
of Figs 10 (a) and (b) indicates higher vibration level on the pump in the axial direction.
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Figure 10a: Vibration Spectrum for Pump Figure 10b: Vibration Spectrum for Pump
Speed 3590 RPM (With air bubble): Radial Speed 3590 RPM (With air bubble): Axial
Acceleration Acceleration

Figure 11 illustrates the vibration spectra in radial and axial directions respectively for pump speed 3617
rpm with severe cavitation. Figures 11 (a) and (b) present the spectrum of pump radial and axial vibration.

An inspection of Fig. 11 (a) indicates that the amplitude of the vibration component with impeller vane
pass frequency (the fifth harmonic of 1X) has decreased significantly. However, this phenomenon does not
appear for the pump axial vibration. The vane pass frequency vibration is still strong as illustrated in Fig.
11(b).

Figure 11a: Pump Vibration with Severe Figure 11b: Pump Vibration with Severe
Cavitation: Radial Vibration Cavitation: Axial Vibration

Fig. 12 shows the experimental data obtained when severe cavitation was observed in the pump. The
comparison of vibration in the axial direction for baseline and severe cavitation shown in Figure 12(a)
suggests that the vane pass frequency in the axial direction decreases when cavitation occurs. Fig. 12(b)
shows the vibration comparison in the vertical direction of baseline and severe cavitation. The vane pass
frequency in the vertical direction increases when cavitation occurs.

Fig. 12(c) and (d) indicate the amplitude spectrum of force along the axial and horizontal directions.
Neither force along the axial nor horizontal directions change significantly when cavitation occurs. Fig.
12(e) shows the amplitude spectrum of pressure when the pump is experiencing severe cavitation. During
cavitation the amplitude of pressure increases and indicates the occurrence of cavitation. Figures 12(f) and
12(e) show the amplitude spectrum of motor current and noise. The motor current and noise do not change
notably when cavitation occurs.
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Figure 12a: Severe Cavitation: Axial Figure 12d: Severe Cavitation: Horizontal
Vibration Force

Figure 12b: Severe Cavitation: Vertical Figure 12e: Severe Cavitation: Pressure
Vibration

Figure 12c: Severe Cavitation: Axial Force Figure 12f: Severe Cavitation: Motor Current
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Figure 12g: Severe Cavitation: Noise

5. Summary
In this work, a single stage centrifugal pump was tested for its vibration signatures for different operational
conditions. Pump vibration was measured in the radial and axial directions by accelerometers. The pump
was running under three different speeds, 3600 rpm, 2400 rpm and 1200 rpm. Air bubble caused by the
impacting of returning water with the water inside the tank was observed under pump speed of 3600 rpm.
Cavitation was created intentionally by closing the tank discharge valve somewhat to drop the NPSH available
below NPSHrequired.

Several observations can be made tentatively based on the experiments.

1. Based on the vibration, pressure, force, noise, and motor current data, it is hard to see a unique
signature associated with cavitation.
2. The centrifugal pump has higher vibration amplitude in the axial direction than in the radial
direction.
3. Significant amount of air bubbles will increase vibration component associated with impeller vane
pass frequency greatly.
4. Cavitation might decrease impeller vane pass frequency vibration.
5. While cavitation is less likely to happen in slow speed pump, it will develop very fast if it
happens.
6. Force seems not to be affected by the cavitation.
7. Pressure seems to be a better indicator of cavitation – more correlated.
8. Motor current and noise do not change much with cavitation.
9. Cavitation seems to high frequency structural resonances.
10. Vibration appears to increase with the initiation of cavitation.
11. The centrifugal pump has higher vibration amplitude in the axial direction than in the radial
direction.
12. More work needs to be done to determine the unique signature of cavitation.

6. Reference
1. L. Alfayez, D. Mba, G. Dyson, The Application of Acoustic Emission For Detecting Cavitation
and the Best Efficiency Point of a 60kW Centrifugal Pump: Case Study, NDT & International, Vol
38, Issue 5, Pages 354-358, 2005
2. Seyed Farshid Chini, Hassan Rahimzadeh, Mohsen Bahrami, Cavitation Detection of a
Centrifugal Pump Using Noise Spectrum, Proceedings if IDETC/CIE, DETC2005-84363, pages
13-19, 2005
3. M Dina, Detection of Cavitation Phenomenon in a Centrifugal Pump Using Audible Sound,
Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, Vol 17, Issue 6, pages 1335-1347, 2003
4. Lahdelma, Sulo, Juuso, Esko Kalevi, Vibration Analysis of Cavitation in Kaplan Water Turbines,.
World Congress, Vol 17, Part 1, 2008