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Lily Feng
Application Engineer
GC Transport
Common wastewater pump issues
Clogging
Corrosion
Waterhammer
Vibration &
Cavitation
Noise
Physical Motor
Damages Overheating
Abnormal Abnormal
Flow Current
Adverse
hydraulic
Wear
phenomena
Agenda
Wastewater pump issues
Clogging
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Agenda
Wastewater pump issues
Clogging
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Clogging
Result in:
Reduced pump efficiency
Pump tripping—more
emergency calls
Increased operational and
maintenance cost
Environmental issues from
overflow.
5
Soft clogging
A gradual build-up of solids and fibers in the hydraulic end, when the pump
stops the buildups can be flushed back to the sump, and when the pump
restarts it works normally.
Result in
Decreasing/unstable flow
Increasing/unstable current
Vibration and noise
Verification
Start/run/stop the pump at least three cycles and write down water level, flow, current or
power for analysis.
Soft clogging
Case study—Guangzhou Lijiao STP, China.
4 units C3602
Flow
1 2 3
Water level
Time
Pump stop
Hard clogging
Soft clogging
Hard clogging
8
Clogging Actions
1 Long running cycle without alternation Alternate the pumps every certain hours
Clogging Actions
1 Long running cycle without alternation Alternate the pumps every certain hours
1 Long running cycle without alternation Alternate the pumps every certain hours
3 Pump always runs at high water level Stop the pump at snoring level regularly
Clogging Actions
Cleaning cycle
1 Long running cycle without alternation Alternate the pumps every certain hours
3 Pump always runs at high water level Stop the pump at snorning level regularly
1 Long running cycle without alternation Alternate the pumps every certain hours
3 Pump always runs at high water level Stop the pump at snoring level regularly
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Vibration & noise
Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby
oscillations occur around an equilibrium point.
Vibration also creates pressure waves– noise.
Vibration and noise are closely related.
Flygt vibration standard: 7.1mm/s
Flygt vibration sensor’s settings:
15mm/s---alarm
25mm/s—stop the pump
Result in:
Mechanical seals failure
Decreased bearing life
Damaged pipe/accessories
Vibration & noise Actions
Item First assessment of causes Remedial Action
1 Unqualified installation/support Enhance the fixing
Vibration & noise Actions
Installation considerations
Vibration & noise Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
5 Adverse hydraulic phenomena Optimize sump design, add walls, splitters or slope etc.
Adverse hydraulic phenomena
Excessive pre-swirl
Entrained air
Vortices
Result in:
Vibration and noise
Cavitation
5 Adverse hydraulic phenomena Optimize sump design, add walls, splitters or slope etc.
5 Adverse hydraulic phenomena Optimize sump design, add walls, splitters or slope etc.
Natural frequency
Resonance
Source frequency
Vibration & noise Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
5 Adverse hydraulic phenomena Optimized sump design, add walls, splitters or slope etc.
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Cavitation
When the impeller/propeller's blades accelerate the fluid to pass the blades,
low-pressure areas are formed. If it reaches vapor pressure, the fluid
vaporizes and forms small bubbles of gas. When the bubbles implode later,
they cause very strong local shock waves in the fluid.
Result in:
Noise--crackling sound
Vibration
30
Cavitation Actions
1) Increase submergence
1 NPSHav < NPSHre 2) Use VFD to reduce speed
3) Optimize inlet pipe if possible (dry installations)
Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH)
NPSHav ≥ NPSHre
NPSHav = Hatm + Hsub – Hev – Hloss
Hsub
Hloss
1) Increase submergence
1 NPSHav < NPSHre 2) Use VFD to reduce speed
3) Optimize inlet pipe if possible (dry installations)
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Wear
Wear means the loss of material from a surface due to abrasive particles in the
media.
When velocity increase by 50%, wear increases
2.64 times per pumped volume.
Result in:
Worn hydraulic parts
Mechanical seals failure
Reduced pump efficiency
High operation and maintenance cost
35
Impeller material relative wear resistance
Hardened
Material Impeller leading Flygt Recommendation
edge
WW without abrasives or
Grey iron 13 HRC 47 HRC
chlorides
WW with abrasives
Hard-Iron 37 HRC 60 HRC
and/or chlorides
36
Wear Actions
Check if
cable entry?
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Corrosion
Result in:
Damage of pump parts or accessories
Cable or cable entry failure
Mechanical seals leakage
O-ring leakage
39
Corrosion
Common metal corrosions in wastewater:
General corrosion
Occurs slowly
Accelerated by pH, temp., oxygen, chlorides
Erosion-corrosion
High velocity water remove protective layer of material surface
Accelerated by gas bubbles or solid particles
Galvanic corrosion
Different materials are in contact in the media
is determined by magnitude of materials electrical
potential difference
is determined by conductivity of the liquid
40
Corrosion Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
Item
Corrosion Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
5 Other corrosive ingredients Check CREST or contact application engineer for suggestions
CREST-Version 5.2
http://oasis.xyleminc.com/en-us/Home/our-value-center/is-it/Software/Pages/
CREST.aspx
46
Wear & Corrosion — impeller selection
Agenda
Wastewater pump issues
Clogging
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Motor Overheating
Check:
Motor submergence
Power consumption
Changes of flow or power during operation
Voltage and current balance
Coolant and cooling jacket
MAS setting about alarming temperature, compensation, disturbance
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
1)Change to smaller impeller so that the pump will not overload
2 Higher ambient temperature than expected
2)Add an external cooling system for the pump
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
1)Change to smaller impeller so that the pump will not overload
2 Higher ambient temperature than expected
2)Add an external cooling system for the pump
3 Faulty signal due to wrong Pt 100 setting Change the setting
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
1)Change to smaller impeller so that the pump will not overload
2 Higher ambient temperature than expected
2)Add an external cooling system for the pump
3 Faulty signal due to wrong Pt 100 setting Change the setting
Faulty signal due to long control cable
4 Compensate in MAS
between the pump and MAS
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
1)Change to smaller impeller so that the pump will not overload
2 Higher ambient temperature than expected
2)Add an external cooling system for the pump
3 Faulty signal due to wrong Pt 100 setting Change the setting
Faulty signal due to long control cable
4 Compensate in MAS
between the pump and MAS
Faulty signal due to unscreened cable Change to screened cable and keep at least 500mm between
5
between the pump and VFD power cable and control cable
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
1)Change to smaller impeller so that the pump will not overload
2 Higher ambient temperature than expected
2)Add an external cooling system for the pump
3 Faulty signal due to wrong Pt 100 setting Change the setting
Faulty signal due to long control cable
4 Compensate in MAS
between the pump and MAS
Faulty signal due to unscreened cable Change to screened cable and keep at least 500mm between
5
between the pump and VFD power cable and control cable
6 Clogging in the pump Check ''clogging Action''
Motor Overheating Actions
First assessment of causes
Item Remedial Action
1 The motor is not submerged enough Top up the level
1)Change to smaller impeller so that the pump will not overload
2 Higher ambient temperature than expected
2)Add an external cooling system for the pump
3 Faulty signal due to wrong Pt 100 setting Change the setting
Faulty signal due to long control cable
4 Compensate in MAS
between the pump and MAS
Faulty signal due to unscreened cable Change to screened cable and keep at least 500mm between
5
between the pump and VFD power cable and control cable
6 Clogging in the pump Check ''clogging Action''
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Wrong impeller rotation direction
Result in:
Less/no flow
Less current/power consumption
Low efficiency
Reason:
Wrong connection between electrical phases
Action:
Invert two phases
Other common issues
Actions
Check ’’Installation, Operation and Maintenance’’
brochure
Agenda
Wastewater pump issues
Clogging
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Pipe Issue- Waterhammer
Waterhammer is a pressure surge or wave
propagating in the pipe when the pump stops or a
valve closes suddenly in a long pipeline system and
the fluid in motion is forced to stop or change
direction suddenly.
Result in:
Pipe can rupture or collapse
Pipe movement and noise
Seals leakage
Check valve damage
64
FET –Flygt Engineering Tool
Waterhammer calculation
Waterhammer Actions
Air Chamber
Surge Tower
Air inlet/release valve
Slow closing valve
By pass pipe
VFD (not for power failure)
Soft stopper (not for power failure)
Common wastewater pump issues
Many pumps issues are related with each other
Clogging
Corrosion
Waterhammer
Vibration &
Cavitation
Noise
Physical Motor
Damages Overheating
Ad Abnormal Abnormal
ver Flow Current
se
hyd
rau
lic Wear
phe
no
me
na
Agenda
Wastewater pump issues
Clogging
Cavitation
Wear
Corrosion
Motor Overheating
Pipe issue--Waterhammer
Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting Guide
Troubleshooting Guide can be used to define
your hypothesis for the most likely causes for a low
performing pumping system.
The goal is to solve customer’s issues quickly.
Follow steps:
1) Collect the information
2) Find the customer's problem
3) Make the first assessment
4) Verify the hypothesis
5) Propose remedial actions
6) Feedback the result
Troubleshooting guide
Step 1: Information Collection
Item Basic Information for Troubleshooting
Best Practice!
Questions?
77
Thanks!
78