Addressing Pump Reliability

Problems
Matthew A. Gaydon
May 9, 2006
Mechanical Solutions, Inc.
11 Apollo Drive
Whippany NJ 07981
973-326-9920
www.mechsol.com

Summary
Pump Basics
Pump Selection
Common Pump Problems

Imbalance
Misalignment
Suction Conditions
Nozzle Loads
Resonance

Problem Solving Techniques

Centrifugal Pump Selection

Rule #1: Match Pump BEP to System Head & Flow

Rule #2: Require NPSHA greater than NPSHR plus margin
Rule #3: Use a Long Straight Piping Run to the Suction Nozzle
Rule #4: Thou Shalt Not Dead-Head
Rule #5: Avoid Flat or Positive-Slope H-Q Characteristics
Rule #6: Minimize Nozzle Loads & Use Expansion Joint Tie Bars
Rule #7: Avoid Structural Natural Frequencies and Rotor Critical Speeds
Rule #8: Minimize Load Cycling
Rule #9: Select Materials Based on Corrosion, Galling, Fatigue, Erosion
Resistance
Rule #10: You Get What You Specify & Pay For

Pump Internal Hydraulic Design

Pump Design Fundamentals

The Fan Laws
Specific Speed (Ns)
RPM * GPM
Ns
Describes Impeller Design
HEAD 3 4
Suction Specific Speed (Nss)
RPM * GPM
Describes Suction Performance Nss
NPSHR 3 4
Cavitation Potential
NPSHA: net positive suction head
available at the centerline of the
impeller
NPSHA = (Psuct Pvap)/fluid density
NPSHR: Suction head that causes 3%
drop in TDH

Pump Characteristics
Pumps follow the fan laws or affinity laws
Flow

Head

Power

Q1 N1

Q2 N 2

H1 N1

H 2 N2

HP1 N1

HP2 N 2

Pump Specific Speed Chart

Basic Pump Components

Rotor

Casing

Shaft
Impeller(s)
Coupling(s)
Diffusers / Volutes
Stuffing Box
Discharge Head (VTPs)
Bearing Housings

Bearings
Seals

Basic Pump Designs

Single Stage End Suction

Pump with Open Impeller

Horizontal Split Case Pump

Pacific RLIJ (Barrel Pump)

Pacific BFI (Barrel Pump)

Bingham MSD Pump

Vertical Turbine Pumps

Pump Selection
A properly selected pump will operate at or near its
Best Efficiency Point (BEP)
Pumps operating in parallel will operate at the same
head point on their curves
Two identical pumps operating in parallel at different
speeds will not operate properly
A pump will operate where its performance
characteristic matches the system resistance
characteristic

Pump Performance

Typical Pump System Head

Curve

Typical Pump System Head

Curve

Pump Vibration vs. Flow Rate

Vibration Testing

Instrumentation Options

Data Processing:
Converting from time domain to
frequency domain with an FFT

Raw Time Signal

Result of FFT

Common Vibration Measurements

Typical Pump Vibration Issues

Imbalance at 1X RPM (40%)

Misalignment at 2X and 1X RPM (40%)
Natural Frequency Resonance (10%)
Everything Else (10%)
Excessive Vane Pass Forces
Hydraulic Forces, Including Rotating Stall
Motor Electrical Problems

What Does Vibration Do?

Bearing Failures
Seal Failures
Internal Wear (affects performance)
Increases Power Consumption
Vibration Decreases Pump Reliability
And Increases Cost of Operation

Common Excitation Frequencies:

Identifying the Source of the Problem

Balance and Alignment

Vibration Problem #1:

1X Running Speed

Vibration Caused by an
Oscillating Force - Imbalance

Balance: Single vs. Two Plane

Vibration Problem #2: 1X and

2X Running Speed

Angular Misalignment

Offset Misalignment

Checking Alignment Reverse Dial

Indicator Method

Dodd Bars for Continuous

Monitoring of Alignment
(Thermal Effects)

Typical Alignment Limits

2

Alignment Accuracy (mils/in)

1.8
1.6
1.4

Unacceptable

1.2
1
0.8

Acceptable

0.6
0.4

Good

0.2
0
0

10
RPM X 1000

12

14

16

18

20

Pump / Driver Alignment

Guidelines
General Guideline for Acceptable Misalignment
Offset: less than 2 mils * (3600/RPM)
Parallel: less than mil * (3600/RPM) per axial inch

Remember: Alignment when machine is cold and nonpressurized will be different than when machine is hot
and pressurized. Machines may have cold offsets for
best COS alignment, and may need compromise
alignment for variable COS
Beware of soft foot (e.g. teetering pump or
delaminated foundation)

Modern Laser Alignment

Same Principle as Dial Indicator
Eliminates

sagging indicator brackets

sticking / jumping dial indicators
low resolution / round-off error
reading errors: sign error, parallax error, etc.
looseness in mechanical linkages
offset error due to tilted dial indicator

Piping Design Issues

Suction Piping and Inlet Design

Hydraulic Considerations
Long Straight Pipe Leading into Pump Suction
Minimize bends or elbows close to the pump inlet
Minimize restrictions before inlet

Ample NPSHA vs. 3% Head drop NPSHR

Operate Near Best Efficiency Point (BEP)

Mechanical Considerations
Do Not Use Pump Nozzle as Pipe Anchor
No Unrestrained Expansion Joints

Flow through Elbows

(Courtesy Koch Engineering)

Static Piping Load Sources

Unrestrained Expansion Joint (Like a
Rocket Nozzle, F=P*A)
Bourdon Tube Straightening
Thermal Growth / Mismatch
Static Piping Loads are a Common Cause of
Casing Deformation and Misalignment

Piping Loads
(Misalignment due to Warped Casing)

Vibration Problem #3 High Vane Pass

Frequency Vibration

Vane Pass Frequency Vibration

Key Internal Gaps

Vibration Problem #4 High Harmonics

of Running Speed

Vibration Problem #5 Excitation of a

Natural Frequency (Rotor or Structure)
All structures have natural
frequencies
Natural frequencies are harmful if
they can become excited
Common excitation frequencies are:
1X rotational speed
2X rotational speed
NX rotational speed (where N =
number of impeller blades)

Typical Rotor Vibration Response vs.

Speed

Typical Rotor Mode Shape

Avoiding Resonance:
Campbell Diagram

Avoiding Resonance:
Critical Speed Map

Improving Reliability by Avoiding

Natural Frequencies and
Resonance

Natural Frequency

Approximating Natural Frequency

How Natural Frequencies Affect

Vibration

Vibration Impact Response

(Bump Testing)
Concept: Provide artificial
stimulation to a machinery
system to identify rotor or
structural natural
frequencies
Practice: Measure vibration
response for a known input
excitation

Using Waterfall Plots to Identify

Natural Frequencies

Natural Frequency

Approximate Identification of Natural

Frequencies

Modal Test Results

Test Data

Analytical Prediction

Advanced Problem Solving

Use test data to identify most likely source of
problem
Model pump to analytically approximate installation
Adjust analytical model to match site measurements
Use calibrated model to test possible fixes
Accurate model allows us to avoid eliminating one
problem, but causing a new one

Testing + Analysis = SOLUTION

Conclusions
Theres more to pump and system vibrations
than you might expect
Keys to success: knowledge, experience, and
the right tools
Good rules-of-thumb exist
Good condition-based methods and
instrumentation are getting better