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John Donatiello – Treasurer for the Hydraulic Institute

Earlier this year, the Hydraulic Institute held its 2023 Annual Conference in Tucson, AZ where attendees and participants came together and shared their knowledge and experiences to further advance the pump industry. It is also an opportunity for the Hydraulic Institute to appoint new board members.

On April 10, the Hydraulic Institute released a statement announcing the new board members and their roles. Our very own John Donatiello, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, was appointed to the seat of Treasurer.

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Build your skills: View Hydro’s upcoming pump training seminars

Interested in pump training? Hydro’s got you covered. Providing aftermarket-focused training is an important part of our commitment to our customers. We offer training on a range of topics from pump fundamentals to more specialized hands-on programs for high pressure multistage pumps.

Hydro’s training helps you do what you do – better. Visit our training page to view our upcoming seminars!

Pump Training Seminars | Hydro, Inc. from Hydro, Inc. on Vimeo.

Quality Nuclear Performance Testing in Urgent Conditions

A 5-day emergency testing turnaround for a nuclear pump proved no problem for this world-class testing facility.

Written by: Nick Dagres & Faisal Salman
Published by: Nuclear Plant Journal

When a vertical safety-related residual heat-removal pump failed its required surveillance performance test at a nuclear power plant, it created the need for emergency hydraulic performance and vibration testing. The plant required the pump back in operation within one week, to prevent shutdowns that could cost the facility up to $1 million per day.

The plant contacted Chicago based Hydro, Inc., which has Hydraulic Institute (HI) Pump Test Lab Approval (PTLA) – certified testing facilities and the ability to perform crucial testing on an urgent basis.

Background
During a routine check by the regulator, a safety-related heat removal pump failed its required in-house surveillance pump performance test. With a safe shutdown of the unit, the plant entered an LCO (Limited Conditions of Operation) period. The power station shut down the unit but wanted to avoid a full shutdown of the facility. This created an emergency situation for the plant.

According to the regulator’s strict standards, if performance requirements are not fulfilled immediately, the plant can be shut down completely. The LCO allows the plant to continue to operate as long as the problem is being resolved in a limited time frame. In this case, the time frame was seven days. To allow for shipping to and from the facility, Hydro had only five of those days to complete the project. The plant was concerned that the repair time might exceed the LCO. Other similar pumps remained in operation performing the same function, however the unit was shut down because there were no spare pump store place it while testing was being
performed. The original equipment manufacturer could not schedule the required tests in the abbreviated time span; therefore the Chicago service company was commissioned. Under normal conditions the scope of work would generally take about six to eight weeks to complete.

Pump as received

Pump as received

Identifying the Problem
In such cases, the regulator requires that a third party inspect the equipment to discover whether the issues were with the instrumentation or with the pump itself. As a result, immediate testing was required to determine whether the pump was functional.

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Hydro’s Test Lab is the first to be certified by the Hydraulic Institute (HI) Pump Test Lab Approval Program

screen-shot-2016-09-23-at-4-49-50-pmWe are very pleased to announce that Hydro’s Test Lab is the first test lab to be certified by the Hydraulic Institute in their new pump test approval program.

The Hydraulic Institute which will celebrate 100 years of industry leadership in 2016 is a prestigious organization which develops and delivers comprehensive industry standards and educational programs.

Special thanks to Hydro’s Jeff Johnson, General Manager of the Test Lab and Ares Panagoulias Test Lab Engineer whose dedicated efforts in working with the accreditation team were critical to the approval of our test lab.

Learn more via Pumps & Systems