Tag Archives: engineering

Byron Jackson Process Water Pump Improvements

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Application: Pond Process Water
Pump Details: Byron Jackson 32KXL
Pump Type: Multi-Stage Vertical

Industrial pumps are sometimes repaired or modified by smaller local repair shops that do not have the engineering oversight to ensure that the repairs and modifications meet the original design’s intent. When Hydro received this pump, it was clear that prior modifications that had been performed without engineering review were causing problems.

This pump had been “upgraded” by replacing the upper bearing with an enclosure tube, which was not part of the original design. The lack of that bearing contributed to the instability of the top shaft and may have lead to the pump’s failure.

After fully reverse engineering the pump, Hydro redesigned the existing enclosure tube to incorporate the missing upper bearing. The modification involved machining the enclosure tube into two pieces and joining them together with a coupling and adding a bushing to stabilize the shaft.

Because the spare parts provided were of an older design and no longer fit the pump, Hydro manufactured several parts. These included a new transition piece, diffusers, a new bearing, and suction bell. Moreover, the impeller vane tips were weld-repaired and re-machined, and the impellers were then balanced to 4 W/N. The pump, which was rebuilt to standard specifications and reconstructed using a durable stainless steel, was returned to service successfully.

Learn more about Hydro’s targeted upgrades for the pulp and paper industry here.

Lear more about Hydro’s Scotford service center, the service center that spearheaded this project, here.

Headbox Feed Casing Refurbishment

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Application: Headbox Feed
Pump Details: Single-stage Sulzer ZPP 800
Pump Type: Double-suction Horizontal Split Case

After years of useful service, casings of many horizontal split case pumps are quite worn and no longer meet the original specifications. Hydro offers an alternative to purchasing a new OEM casing that offers a much lower cost and reduced turnaround time.

Due to their long-standing relationship with Hydro, a paper mill decided it was time to restore the casing of their headbox feed pump. Because this pump was in a critical application, the mill required a very short turnaround time.

To avoid a temporary shut down of the mill, Hydro was able to perform a line bore and insert upgrade within a period of three days. Utilizing around-the-clock shifts, Hydro completed the case inspection and developed machining fits and tolerances to restore the casing to its original specifications. Hydro then manufactured and mounted inserts to the casing.

Not only were the casing and wear components restored to their original fits, the upgraded materials will significantly improve mean-time-between-repair.

Learn more about Hydro’s targeted upgrades for the pulp and paper industry here.

Hydraulic Rerate Proven in Performance Test Lab

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Custom Hydraulics for the Midstream Market

This summer, Hydro completed a hydraulic rerate project for a major US midstream pipeline. The project was completed through Hydro South, Hydro’s southeastern US service center in Alpharetta, Georgia. The project was completed with testing support from the Hydro Performance Test Lab, Hydro’s 5000 HP test facility located in Chicago, IL, with engineering direction from Hydro Global Engineering, based in Manchester, UK.

The pipeline originally used two booster pumps and the use of a Drag Reducing Agent (DRA) to achieve the desired flow rate. To increase the overall flow capacity of the line and remove the need for the DRA, the end user specified a pump to be added to the system downstream of the booster pumps.

The pump performance specifications were developed by system engineers and communicated to Hydro. The pump’s original design condition was modified to provide the necessary differential pressure required for the desired flow rate – for today and in the future. This will be achieved without the use of DRA or with little added to the system.

Hydro modified an existing pump casing provided by the pipeline and designed new impellers to meet the specific hydraulic performance requirements. Using computational fluid dynamics and advanced modeling, the new impellers were manufactured and installed by Hydro, then sent to Hydro’s test facility for hydraulic performance testing.

To provide an exact performance match, a larger impeller diameter size was selected for the first test and subsequently trimmed to meet performance within API 610 tolerances. Along with the hydraulic performance test, the mechanical integrity of the pump was measured with a vibration test, mechanical resonance test, and a bearing housing temperature stabilization test. All this information validates the quality of the rebuild and ensures a reliable machine.

The pipeline has a limited ‘budget’ of DRA concentration allowed pipeline wide. This concentration is measured in part per million (ppm). By adding the hydraulically rerated pump to the branch line, the DRA ppm budget can be allocated elsewhere in the pipeline. This will add efficiency and increase overall throughput.

Hydro is very fortunate to support critical industries like midstream pipelines in ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective pumps and rotating equipment.

Learn more about Hydro’s Performance Test Lab and Engineering Services

Phase Measurements Used to Diagnose Compressor Misalignment

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Hydro’s condition monitoring solution, Centaur, is currently being used to monitor rotating machinery at a Gulf Coast terminal facility. Through Hydro’s Centaur system, real-time vibration amplitude levels and temperature levels are collected and stored at several measurement locations on compressors and their drive trains. Analysts at Hydro’s Monitoring and Diagnostic Center help to evaluate the collected data. They use their subject matter expertise to make recommendations to the end user when they identify actions that could minimize downtime and maximize the lifespan of the monitored machinery. Continue reading →