a close up of a tire

State of the Art Parts: Expedited Impeller

The destroyed sample used for reverse engineering

State of the Art Parts: A Gulf Coast refinery had the primary pump for a critical system at the HydroTex Golden Triangle facility for refurbishment. While the primary pump was in the shop, the backup pump operating on-site began to show signs of failure. The impeller of the pump being repaired had extreme wear and was unable to be reused. The shop needed to source an impeller in an expedited timeframe to complete the repair ahead of schedule and get the primary pump back in service before the backup pump failed. Continue reading

an island in the middle of a body of water

Pitfalls in Puerto Rico: Rescued by Reverse Engineering

diagramWhen the experts at Hydro were called on to reverse-engineer parts for a large circulating water pump in the Caribbean, they were concerned to discover an OEM-provided suction bell had failed during service. All internal ribs were lost and the bearing holder was found loose within the assembly. Not only had the suction bell failed, but the customer was facing excessive lead times for the parts needed for the refurbishment of the pump.

After a meticulous review of the suction bell design, it became clear that low manufacturing costs had been prioritized over reliability. Instead of providing the customer with a cast component, the OEM had provided a suction bell that had been fabricated, resulting in an excessively thin wall thickness. Continue reading

Root Cause Analysis Uncovers Casting Defects

Efficiency and reliability are at the forefront of a successful pumping system. As such, unplanned outages can be a detrimental disturbance to the overall operation. In this case, the end user’s high pressure multistage  BB5 barrel pump was experiencing severe vibration, unstable performance, and failure in the field leading to unit shutdown.

This particular unit, used in boiler feedwater operations, is critical to the plant’s uptime and throughput. Furthermore, continued failures can cause growing costs due to inevitable maintenance and repairs, often overlooking a long term solution. With each unplanned outage, the plant could face a significant loss in capital.

Previously, the pump had been running for six months before experiencing catastrophic failure, requiring a shutdown and removal for further analysis. Initially, the unit’s damaged components were repaired by welding, and the volute was reassembled and installed for use. Upon its installation, the power plant placed the unit back into service but encountered a second emergency shutdown after two months in operation.

Video: https://vimeo.com/362808909

Source: https://www.pumpsandsystems.com/root-cause-analysis-uncovers-casting-defects-critical-boiler-feedwater-unit

a group of people looking at a computer

Engineering is at the Heart of Hydro Inc.’s Aftermarket Services

Hydro Inc. has a strong engineering capability and an expansive global reach in the pump industry, especially in aftermarket services. Pump Engineer had the pleasure of speaking with George Harris, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Hydro Inc., where he discussed the company’s recent research initiatives, reliability support for customers, customized designs and the significance of upgrades and health audits.

Written by: Deirdre Morgan
Publisher: Pump Engineer / December 2016

“We were very fortunate that early in the company’s development we had the good fortune to work closely with Dr. Elemer Makay, a foremost consultant to the power generation industry and a specialist in troubleshooting multi-stage, high energy pumps”, states Harris. “Engineering combined with meticulous observation and analysis in the field were key to his troubleshooting process. As a result of his training over a twenty year period, engineering became the focus and strength of Hydro Inc.’s aftermarket services”.

According to Hydraulic Institute statistics, 85% of the critical pumps in industries, such as power, refineries and pipelines, are custom designed for the specific application intended. In order to properly rebuild, upgrade or troubleshoot these installations requires a solid aftermarket engineering capability and experience. Not only must the engineer understand pump fundamentals, but also the application and system in which the pump is being used, as well as the changes that may have occurred in plant operating conditions since the pump was originally installed.

Continue reading

Hydro Inc. is Carving out their Niche in the Global Pump Aftermarket

Written by: Sarah Schroer
Publisher: Pump Engineer / June 2015

 

Pump Engineer spoke with George Harris, Hydro Inc.’s CEO and Founder, to learn more about what sets them apart from other pump aftermarket services. “Hydro has developed a unique niche where we have the capabilities, the engineering support, and the lab for testing purposes to provide comprehensive support for customers, while providing prompt capable service on a global basis,” says Harris. Hydro Inc. makes customers the cornerstone of their business. “Everything that we do is focused on the needs of the customer,” explains Brian Scorer who is the Executive VP at Hydro Inc. “We make sure we are entrepreneurial, fl exible, agile, and very quick in the way that we go about our business. We provide world class quality, world class delivery, and we wish to be competitive on cost. The foundation for what we do is built upon engineering excellence and technology. We also have some of the world’s best pump engineers.”

 

screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-4-05-34-pm

Werner Barnard and Dr. Gary Dyson of Hydro, Inc.

Continue reading