Corroded Steel

Fertilizer Focus: Volute Reprofiling Resolves Vane Pass Vibration

A hot potassium carbonate pump at a nitrogen fertilizer plant had been experiencing elevated vibration at vane pass frequency. Recognizing that this vibration likely contributed to shortened equipment life, the end user partnered with Hydro to investigate the root cause of the vibration and modify the pump as necessary to remove it.

When the vibration and performance indicated that it was time to take the pump out of service for refurbishment, it was sent to Hydro’s Chicago service center for inspection and analysis. The inspection showed significant damage caused by component contact and erosion.

After reviewing the inspection data, an engineering analysis was completed on the design to determine what could be done to eliminate the vibration. The engineering team determined that the vane pass vibration was related to shock waves caused by the high energy fluid impacting the volute lip. This was intensified in the first stage, where the 4-vane impeller was discharging into a dual volute. The volute lip was reprofiled to reduce this impact and provide a smoother transition from the impeller exit into the volute passage.

The upgraded design was tested in Hydro’s performance test lab. This gave the end user confidence that the hydraulic performance of the pump had not been negatively affected by the volute lip geometry modification. It also verified that the vibration amplitudes had been reduced. After successful testing, the modified pump was returned to the field, where it continues to run smoothly.

chart, bar chart

1. Reduced Vane Pass Vibration Observed During Testing

Field Testing Assesses Risk of Reducing Minimum Unit Load

With changes in the energy landscape, many older plants need to adapt to more flexible operation to fluctuating needs of the grid and remain economically viable.  This flexibility often includes operation outside of the original design of the plant and its equipment.

A Midwest coal-fired power plant recently found themselves in this position. The plant had been designed for a minimum commercial load of 350MW, but they were considering reducing the load to 300MW. Plant engineering wanted to understand what risk operation at this low capacity posed to equipment reliability operation and life. The power producer contacted Hydro Reliability Services to develop an on-site test plan for their condensate, boiler feed booster, and boiler feed pumps to better understand how this operation would impact these critical pumps. Continue reading

What Happens When Things Go Bump in the Night?

What happens when an alarm is signaled from our Condition Monitoring System? Is the software customizable to customers’ needs? Glad you asked.

It all starts in the home of our Centaur engineers – the Monitoring and Diagnostic Center, where dedicated personnel are checking the status of monitored equipment 24/7. These vibration and pump subject matter experts keep an eye on concerning trends and use the digital twin interface to identify areas of concern. Continue reading

Asset Monitoring Improves Reliability & Visibility

Hydro remote condition monitoring A major pipeline transmission company found itself reconsidering the effectiveness of its maintenance strategy. The company faced a challenge: optimizing asset visibility and implementing remote condition monitoring of equipment health while avoiding a high-cost investment and installation disruptions.

This particular pipeline transfers a variety of products, ranging from gasoline to jet fuel, serving customers via pump stations and storage tanks across the United States. For this customer, it is imperative to ensure that pumping assets are efficient, reliable and safely maintained consistently. The pipeline supports the needs of more than 50 cities, thus making the pumping assets critical to the availability and overall operation.

Technology plays a vital role in day-to-day operations in supporting end user activities, ensuring strict safety regulations, optimizing maintenance and providing data on equipment health. In this case, the pipeline company wanted to significantly improve and innovate upon its current maintenance approach in two ways: by monitoring asset visibility in real-time and trending data for their critical pumping equipment.

Authored by Ares Panagoulias and Ken Babusiak.
Sourced: pumpsandsystems.com