2/2013

New materials
Material innovations
Suspension spray technology
Steel hardening
Combined materials in extraction columns
Panorama
Customized weld procedures
Vibration measurements
Flow simulations for customers

EDITORIAL

About Sulzer
Sulzer Pumps
Pump technology and solutions

Powerful and indestructible

Sulzer Pumps offers pumping solutions and

related equipment and services.
Customers benefit from intensive research and
development in fluid dynamics, process-oriented
products, and reliable services. The global manufacturing and service network of Sulzer Pumps
ensures high customer proximity.

Sulzer Metco
Surface technology
Sulzer Metco enhances surfaces with coating
solutions and equipment.
Customers benefit from a uniquely broad range
of surface technologies, coating solutions,
equipment, materials, and services, as well as
specialized machining services and components.
The innovative solutions of Sulzer Metco improve
performance and increase efficiency and reliability.

Sulzer Chemtech
Separation, mixing, and service solutions
Sulzer Chemtech offers products and services
for separation, reaction, and mixing technology.
Customers benefit from advanced solutions in the
fields of process technology, separation equipment,
as well as two-component mixing and dispensing
systems. The global footprint of Sulzer Chemtech
ensures local knowledge and competence.

Sulzer Turbo Services

Service solutions for rotating equipment
Sulzer Turbo Services offers repair and maintenance services for turbomachinery, generators,
and motors.
Customers benefit from reliable and efficient
repair and maintenance services for gas and steam
turbines, compressors, motors, and generators
of any brand. The global network of Sulzer Turbo
Services ensures high-quality local service.

Dear Technology Professionals, Customers, and Partners,

Materials in modern machinery construction have to endure a great deal. In order
to increase the efficiency and performance of the machines, processes are becoming
even faster and operating conditions ever more aggressive. Pumps are increasingly
being used to transport corrosive und erosive media. Turbine and motor components
are exposed to extreme heat. Herculean tasks of this kind are only being made
possible by new types of materials.
Metals are indispensable for high performance. They make up more than 80%
of all chemical elements, and they have significantly shaped our world. Over the
last century, material scientists have achieved remarkable breakthroughs regarding
the influence of microscopic structures. We are now able to create alloys and surfaces
with tailor-made properties.
Amazing results are also being produced with material innovations at Sulzer. Thanks
to our own foundries and our expertise in hardening processes, we are able to make
hard steel even harder, and we can manufacture pumps from particularly resistant
materials. With our latest coating processes, such as suspension spraying, we can
create microstructured surfaces for particularly robust thermal-barrier coatings and
for extremely dense and thereby efficient fuel cell layers. The intelligent combination
of different materials brings remarkable benefits in separation technology. Our
engineers increase the performance and the flexibility of extraction columns by
combining materials with different wettabilities.
This issue of the Sulzer Technical Review shows how we leverage the potential
of new material technologies and how our clients benefit from our high-tech
materials.
I hope you enjoy reading these articles.

Sulzer was founded in 1834 in Winterthur, Switzerland,

and today is active in machinery and equipment
manufacturing and surface engineering at over
170 locations worldwide. The divisions are global
leaders in their respective customer segments,
which include the oil and gas, power, water, and
transportation industries.
www.sulzer.com

| Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

Sincerely yours,

Klaus Stahlmann
CEO Sulzer

CONTENT

New materials
4

Suspension sprayingan emerging coating technology

Thermal spray technology for microstructured coatings

The lobster as a packaging artist

Sulzer analogy

10

Improving pump materials for harsh environments

Specific heat treatment for duplex steel

10 Steel-hardening process

13

Better separation with combined materials

Coalescer for liquid-liquid extraction

Panorama
16

It all comes down to choosing the right partner

Customer partnership

17

New vibration test rig

Sulzer innovation

18

Calculation instead of trial

Reproducible mixing results thanks to simulation

20 Coil shop expansion

20

Welcome to the coil shop of Sulzer Dowding & Mills Birmingham

Sulzer world

21

Customizing weld procedures

Weld repair of gas turbine disks

24

Oil and gas downstream developments in India

Interview with Mick Wigglesworth, Sulzer Pumps

26

For smooth-running drive trains

Avoiding damage by measuring torsional vibrations

21 Customized welding

30

Events & News

31

Imprint

On the cover:
Innovative surface technologies protect turbine components against
harsh operating conditions. Read more about the latest developments
in suspension spraying on page 4.
Klaus Guldbrandsen / Science Photo Library

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 3

NEW MATERIALS

Thermal spray technology for microstructured coatings

Suspension sprayingan emerging

coating technology
Microstructured coatings are needed for new applications and improved performance.
Sulzer Metco develops suspension spray technologies that produce microstructured
coatings with cost-effective thermal spray processes. The first results show the great
potential of this new technology for demanding applications like thermal-barrier coatings
or solid-oxide fuel cells.

oatings with designed micro- and

nanoscale structures are becoming
increasingly popular because of
their improved physical and mechanical
properties. The range of applications that
can benefit from such coatings is broad,

and these applications use various deposition methods. Current coating methods
that produce designed microstructures
such as physical vapor deposition
(PVD)have the combined disadvantages of being high cost and providing

a slow deposition rate. The popular coating technologies atmospheric plasma

spraying (APS) and high-velocity oxy
fuel spraying (HVOF) are favored
because of their versatility, their rapid
deposition rate, and their relatively low

Thermal spray equipment adapted for liquid suspensions is versatile and economical.
More information on plasma spray guns: www.sulzer.com/plasma-spray-guns

| Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

4410

NEW MATERIALS

cost. However, they are not yet capable

of producing microstructured coatings
(overview in 1).
Suspension spraying is an emerging
coating technology that produces finestructured coatings in the micro- and
potentially nanoscale while capitalizing
on the desirable features of APS and
HVOF processes. Suspension feedstocks
can cover the full range of chemical material compositions already produced by
Sulzer Metcofrom ceramics and metal
oxides to metal alloycarbide blends.

Overcome the limitations of gasbased powder feeders

gun evaporates the fine agglomerated

powder and transports the vapor along
the plasma jet onto the substrate. This
process results in new and unique
coating microstructures similar to electron-beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD) columnar structures (Fig. 2). Additionally, due to the forced gas stream of
the plasma jet, complexly shaped parts
with non-line-of-sight areassuch as
multiple airfoil turbine vanes can be
coated with columnar thermal-barrier
coatings.
Another way to overcome this limitation is to use fine-particle suspensions
with a liquid carrier feed system in place
of a gas carrier feed system. APS and
HVOF torches are versatile and simple
systems. They can be easily modified to

Conventional APS and HVOF technologies cannot produce fine-structured coatings because the feedstock powder must
be greater than about
Sulzer develops suspensions that are optimized
10 microns in size.
for the liquid feed equiment.
Such particles, when
melted by the plasma
or flame, are deposited as splats that
accommodate liquid suspensions by subare much larger than the micron scale. stituting existing gas-based powder feedThis is the limitation of the gas feed sys- ers with liquid-based suspension feeders.
tems that deliver the powder to the
Sulzer Metcos liquid feeder prototype
plasma or flame.
5MPE-SF was described in the Sulzer
One way to overcome this drawback
Technical Review 2/2011.
is to use agglomerated particles. These
Suspension and liquid feed systems
are large enough to be fed but will break
must work together in an overall design
into fine raw particle sizes in the plasma
to produce coatings with repeatable charjet upon injection. Sulzer already offers
acteristics. Sulzer Metco develops susthis process in a newly developed low- pensions that are optimized in perforpressure plasma spray (LPPS) technology. mance for the prototype liquid feed
The plasma spray physical vapor depo- equipment and achieve the desired propsition (PS-PVD) process at 1 mbar work
erties of the micro- and nanoscale strucpressure combined with a high-power
tures of the functional layers produced.

microstructured coating

bond coating
substrate

2 Coatings with designed microstructures have specific

microscopic morphologies (e.g., the size and shape of
the deposited particles and the pores) in order to achieve
desired coating properties. Columnar structures with
vertical cracks can for example compensate thermal
expansion differences between the coating and the
substrate (used in thermal-barrier coatings).

Liquid suspensions have unique

challenges
Suspensions consist of solid particles dispersed in a liquid medium. In coating
applications, these are particles of the
coating material to be deposited. The liquid mediums function is to carry the
particles from a feed hopper to the torch.
Suspensions for coating applications
must have a high degree of consistency
to ensure stable and repeatable deposition
rates, efficiencies, and physical properties.
Suspension consistency is difficult to
establish because suspensions are inherently unstable unless certain measures
are taken. Particles have a natural tendency to settle and stick together forming
larger clusters or agglomerates (see
infobox). This behavior is detrimental to

1 Comparison of PVD and thermal spraying.

PVD (Physical vapor deposition)

In PVD processes, a vapor is condensed on the substrate.
It is possible to coat large areas and multiple parts as well as
to create microstructures. The downsides are higher investment costs and lower deposition rates.
Types:

Thermal spraying
The melted feedstock is applied with a spray gun onto the substrate. Thermal spraying
processes are versatile and rapid, but the conventional gas-based powder feeders
create structures larger than micron scale. The spray pattern is generally small and
has to be moved to coat parts.
Types:

EB-PVD
Electron-beam PVD

PS-PVD
Plasma spray PVD

PS
Plasma spraying

HVOF
High-velocity oxy-fuel spraying

The coating material is evaporated from ingots with a

focused electron beam.

The feedstock is evaporated

with a high-energy plasma
gun.

The feedstock is melted in a high-temperature

plasma jet at different spraying environments:
APS: Atmospheric plasma spraying (ambient air).
HPPS: High-pressure plasma spraying
LPPS: Low-pressure plasma spraying

A combustion flame heats and

propels the particles at near
supersonic speeds but at reduced
temperatures.

The deposition rate and the

material utilization efficiency
are higher than conventional
PVD.

This process fills the gap between the conventional PVD

technologies and thermal
spray processes.

Plasma spraying is the most flexible of all the

thermal spray processes and has sufficient
energy to melt materials such as ceramics and
metals.

HVOF can deposit very dense

coatings.

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 5

NEW MATERIALS

How suspensions sediment

Keeping particles separated

Choosing suitable solids content and

liquid types
In an ideal suspension, the particles are
Particles in liquid suspensions used
The solids content of suspensions (called
fully separated, or dispersed, in the
for coatings typically range in size
liquid. If the particles are small and sep- loading) typically varies from 130%, but
from a few microns down to 0.01
it can potentially be higher. A high solids
arated, the sedimentation process is
microns, or 10 nanometers. The suspended particles settle over time,
much slower. The problem of agglomer- loading is economical because it miniwhich is called sedimentation. While
mizes both the volume of suspension
ation is counteracted by a combination
smaller particles do not settle as
required and the coating deposition time.
of chemical and mechanical processes:
quickly as larger particles, they tend
However, the practical maximum for
The agglomerates are pulled apart in
to stick together more readily due to
electrostatic attraction, thus forming
solids loading is also determined by the
the liquid through various types of
agglomerates. These clustered partidesign of the suspension feed system
high-energy mixing.
cles sediment in the same way that
and the ability of the torch to process
The particles are treated in order to
large single particles do. Sedimented
the material.
prevent
them
from
sticking
together.
particles are problematic for spray
processes because they can clog
Although many kinds of liquids may,
This is commonly achieved using a
the narrow orifices in the suspension
in principle, be used for suspensions in
class of chemical compounds called
feeder.
thermal spray, the most common ones
dispersants.
are alcohols, water, ethylene glycol, and
One example is the use of a dispersant
the operation of the liquid feed equipment
that imparts either
Spray tests with the optimized suspensions
and hinders the achievement of stable
a positive or a negdemonstrated the high performance of the
and repeatable material flow. For good
ative surface charge
coatings.
flow, the particles in the suspension must
to the particles to
be well dispersed and homogeneous
keep them separated
throughout the coating operation. through electrostatic repulsion. Well-dis- various mixtures thereof. Alcohols are
Although the stirring agitator in the
preferred, because they do not cool the
persed suspensions also benefit from
liquid feed hopper assists in mixing, the
plasma as much as water. However, the
reduced viscosity, which allows them to
suspension itself must be designed to
flammability of alcohols raises safety conflow more easily in a pressurized feed
resist settling and agglomeration.
cerns. The cooling effect of suspensions
system.
is a primary challenge in suspension plasma spray. A substrate needs to be brought
closer to the torch to intercept the melted
particles where the plasma is hottest.
This reduced working distance makes it
3 The sedimentation rate is measured by resting the suspension in a glass container and obsermore difficult to coat complexly shaped
ving the clear liquid phase over time. There is a sharp interface between the growing clear liquid
layer at the top and the settling suspension containing the particles at the bottom.
parts such as turbine blades.

Sedimentation line

Optimizing suspensions

Time
Suspension

| Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

Carrier liquid

Sedimentation Line

In order to develop applicable suspensions, Sulzer Metco measures the sedimentation rate (Fig. 3) and the viscosity
as the primary indicators of dispersion
and stability. Well-dispersed suspensions
have slower sedimentation rates and
lower viscosity than aggregated or
poorly dispersed systems that involve
the same materials. Suspensions with
agglomerated particles have higher viscosity because of molecular bonding
mechanisms (interparticle bridging) that
resist turbulent flow. With reduced
agglomeration, the individual particles
are unbound and the suspension flows
more easily.
Dispersants can have a dramatic effect
on suspension stability. Sulzer Metco

NEW MATERIALS

Experimental results
Sulzer Metco evaluated the behavior of suspensions and the effect of
dispersants. The suspension tested contained 0.3-micron zirconium oxide
stabilized by yttrium oxide particles (commonly referred to as yttria-stabilized
zirconia, or YSZ) in ethanol.

Sedimentation line

The sedimentation rate is much slower

with the use of a dispersant. With a dispersant, the suspension is still in the
early phase of sedimentation after 144
hours. This short-term level of stability
is suitable for use for the time frame of
a spray session.

100 m

100 m

With dispersant
Without dispersant

25

50

75
Hours

100

125

150

A high solid content increases the

viscosity of the suspension. With a dispersant, the viscosity is significantly
lower and the range of possible solid
loadings is increased.

Viscosity (centistokes)

30

20

With dispersant

10

Without dispersant

0
20

25

30
35
Solids loading (wt%)

40

Commercial suspensions must be able

to retain or recover their properties upon
simple remixing after storage, as one
would do with a can of paint. A
suspension without dispersant that is
remixed at one month intervals shows
a marked increase in viscosity from its
original fresh condition. With a dispersant, the suspension recovers its original
low value when it is remixed at various
times throughout the test storage period
of six months.

3
Viscosity (centistokes)

4 Sulzer Metco uses suspension plasma spray to create columnar

microstructures on various materials. This example shows a 7 wt%
Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 coating in side view A and top view B .

With dispersant
Without dispersant
0

4
2
Storage time (months)

The settling rates (both with and without

the dispersant) were not significantly
affected by remixing through the storage
period.
Sedimentation line

With dispersant

24 hours settling

With dispersant

72 hours settling

With dispersant

144 hours settling

Without dispersant

24 hours settling

Without dispersant

72 hours settling

Without dispersant 144 hours settling

The last two plots indicate that the

potency of the dispersant did not deteriorate during the storage period.
0

2
4
Storage time (months)

investigated these effects with a series

of experiments (see infobox). The results
enabled Sulzer Metco to optimize the
suspensions. The following spray tests
with these suspensions demonstrate the
performance of the coatings.

High-performance thermal-barrier
coatings
Ceramic materials such as yttria-stabilized
zirconia are used as thermal-barrier coatings in gas turbine engines. Their low
thermal conductivity can reduce the thermal load on the components by as much
as 300 C. Thermal-barrier coatings are
usually produced by APS and electronbeam PVD (EB-PVD). In demanding
areas, such as in the hot section of the
turbine, columnar microstructured coatings produced by EB-PVD provide
improved mechanical properties, particularly, improved strain tolerance. Cooler,
less-demanding components use APS to
produce denser coatings with vertical
cracks that also provide high strain
tolerance.
Sulzer Metco has produced suspension
plasma spray coatings using a liquid
feed prototype system adapted to a
TriplexPro-210 torch. The preliminary

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 7

NEW MATERIALS

100 m

30 m

5 Sulzer Metco suspensions produced thin and dense SOFC coatings with suspension HVOF technology. The 14 wt% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 coating

was applied to a steel substrate

and a porous substrate

experiments successfully demonstrated

the capability of producing columnar
microstructures composed of a variety
of materials, including zirconium oxide
stabilized with:
Yttrium oxide (Fig. 4)
Cerium oxide
Dysprosium oxide
The performance of suspension plasma
spray coatings and their structures such
as dense, vertically cracked thermal-barrier coatings are being actively studied.
They will be compared with standard
APS coatings and similar microstructured
coatings produced by other methods
such as EB-PVD and PS-PVD.

Efficient electrolyte coating for solidoxide fuel cells

Solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are used
for power generation and can be manufactured in a wide variety of sizes from
a few watts to several kilowatts of power.
An SOFC is composed of several multilayer systems, each comprising an anode
(YSZ/NiO), electrolyte (YSZ), and cathode (LSCF, lanthanum strontium cobalt
ferrite). Usually such multilayer systems
can be produced on porous metallic supports, which bring the mechanical
stability of the cell to the system. The

Brian W. Callen
Sulzer Metco (Canada) Inc.
10108-114 Street
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, T8L 4R1
Canada
Phone +1 780 992 5154
[email protected]

| Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

to show the good coverage of the coating.

directly into the combustion chamber

operating temperature of these devices
is in the range of 750 to 900 C. The elec- of a modified Diamond Jet 2700 spray
gun.
trolyte, which is one of the main parts
The coatings on a flat steel substrate
of the cell, must be thin (preferably less
and on a porous substrate (Fig. 5) are
than 20 microns) to efficiently conduct
compliant to the morphology and are
the ions, and it must be dense to form
shown to be free of cracks and delamia gas-tight seal between the gases of both
nations. The coating on the porous subthe anode and cathode.
The benefit of suspension HVOF tech- strate is promising because the pores
nology over conventional HVOF, APS, beneath the coating have not been
and suspension plasSuspension HVOF technology can produce
ma spray is the
coatings that are both very thin and very dense.
potential to produce
coatings that are both
blocked. Thus, they allow fuel gases to
very thin and very dense. This is mainly
contact the coating electrolyte.
because of the high particle velocity and
The preliminary trials show the potenthe increase of the heat transfer into the
tial that HVOF suspension technology
particles from the additional combustion
has for SOFC applications. Sulzer is curheat passed on by the organic carrier
rently investigating several SOFC mateliquid of the suspension. As the powder
rials:
feedstock in suspension-based processes
is very fine, the minimum coating thick- Lanthanum strontium manganite
ness to achieve dense coatings is much Manganese cobalt oxide
lower than for all the standard process- Zirconium oxide stabilized with 14%
yttrium oxide
es.
Further trials will show the possibilities
Promising results
of HVOF suspension coatings for other
Sulzer Metco investigated the applica- SOFC applications where dense coatings
tion of HVOF suspension technology
are required such as chromium evapofor SOFC coatings. For the experiments, ration barrier coatings or porous coatings
the liquid suspension was injected
such as cathode layers.

Malko Gindrat
Sulzer Metco AG (Switzerland)
Rigackerstrasse 16
5610 Wohlen
Switzerland
Phone +41 56 618 83 14
[email protected]

Jing Liu
Sulzer Metco (US), Inc.
1101 Prospect Ave.
Westbury NY 11590-0201
USA
Phone +1 516 338 2135
[email protected]

Johannes Rauch
Sulzer Metco WOKA GmbH
Im Vorwerk 25
36456 Barchfeld
Germany
Phone +49 36961 861 67
[email protected]

SulzeR analogy

The lobster as a packaging artist

The lobster has to remain mobile despite its protective
shell. And the periodic shedding of its shell should take
place quickly and efficiently. This poses a real material
technology challenge.

ature knows how to make optimal

use of materials. It tries to produce
maximum strength with a minimum of
weight and limit durability to the
intended functional period. This saves
energy and makes the building materials
immediately available again for new
purposes.
The exoskeleton the outer-body
skeletonof the lobster is a miracle
in the optimization of materials. In their
search for new materials, scientists and
engineers at the Max Planck Institute
for Iron Research in Dusseldorf have
unraveled the constructive and biochemical secrets of the lobster shell.
The shell of the arthropod is a highly
complex composite material that is lightweight, flexible, and nevertheless very
strong. Similar to the skin of human
beings, the lobster shell encloses the
entire body, which requires a variety of
material properties. For example, the
animal requires hard components to compose its armor and to protect its limbs.
However, at its joints, the lobster needs
flexible membranes. The eyes, which are
also protected by the exoskeleton, need
a transparent shell. And because the

lobster has to repeatedly adapt its

skeleton to its growing body, the
structure must be designed to be rapidly
shed and regenerated.

Multifunctional composites
All these requirements are fulfilled with
the same construction plan, but with different materials. Nature simply arranges
and combines the smallest building
blocks in different ways. A multifunctional
composite material is constructed from
both organic and inorganic raw materials,
which are built up in a strictly hierarchical
manner from the molecular basis to the
finished component.
Everything starts from sugar molecules,
which are woven together to form chitin
chains. A dozen of these chitin molecules
merge to form a six-nanometer thick
thread, called a fibril. The fibrils are surrounded by a protein jacket and aligned
in parallel for the epithelium, the outermost cell layer of the arthropod.
Under this first layer, further fibril
layers form, which are rotated by a few
degrees with respect to the upper layer.
Because they are now stacked together
layer by layer like a spiral staircase, they

The microstructure of the lobster shell consists of fibril layers. The layers are rotated
by a few degrees to each other and create an extremely stable material.

20 m

4411

The secrets of the lobster shell have

been unraveled.

create a material that is extremely stable

thanks to this plywood effect.
There are numerous fine pores in the
lobster shell. These are the openings to
the transport channels that are built up
from the inside of the body to the outside
during the periodic shedding of the animals shell. They allow the still-soft shell
made from the biochemical mixture to
rapidly harden into solid armor.

Variable hardness thanks to calcium

dosage
In addition to the organic fibers, the composite material consists of different forms
of calcium carbonate. As minute grains
between the chitin fibers, these molecules
determine the local hardness of the skeleton, depending on the form, quantity,
and type of the crystal matrix. In the
lobster shell, only the outermost layer
of armor is mineralized to a crystalline
and therefore particularly resistant
calcite, while the deeper layers are hardened into amorphous and less-resistant
calcium carbonate. This way, the animal
is protected against enemies and external
wear but can nevertheless easily dissolve
the inner shell while shedding.
The mineral content varies in different
parts of the shell for further optimization.
The defensive claws are particularly
strong thanks to their high calcium content. The rest of the body armor contains
fewer minerals, which makes the animal
lighter and more agile. Thus, the
otherwise rather sedate lobster can
scamper away amazingly quickly in
case of danger.
Herbert Cerutti

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

NEW MATERIALS

Specific heat treatment for duplex steel

Improving pump materials for harsh

environments
Pumping corrosive fluids containing abrasive solids is a challenge. Sulzer can adapt
pumps to such requirements by making the ideal choice of hydraulics and seals and by
improving the materials used to produce the pump. Because it has its own foundry,
Sulzer can offer materials that are not easily available on the market. The company has
developed a specific heat treatment procedure for steel that improves wear resistance,
while leaving corrosion resistance nearly unchanged.

ulzer supplies a variety of pumps

that can operate in corrosive
and abrasive environments, such
as chemical or metal processes and
demanding wastewater treatment. To
ensure high reliability, research and
development in the fields of fluid
mechanics and materials technology

as well as detailed knowledge of the

applications and operating conditions
are essential. Hydroabrasive wear and
corrosion can significantly reduce the
lifetime of pump components. One possibility to optimize operational life in
such aggressive surroundings is the
use of specially adapted hydraulics

or seals. Furthermore, the selection of

appropriate materials is the key to substantially extending the service intervals
of a pump.

Specialized foundry
Cast duplex stainless steels, as defined
by ASTM International (the international

Sulzers foundry in Karhula, Finland, manufactures stainless castings for pumps, mixers, and agitators. www.sulzer.com/PU-Finland

10 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

4412

NEW MATERIALS

standards organization formerly known

as American Society for Testing and Materials), are the materials mainly used
today under corrosive and erosive conditions. When sourcing from commercial
foundries, pump manufacturers are
required to use these standard grades
for their components. By contrast, Sulzer
operates its own foundries in Karhula
(Finland) and in Jundia (Brazil). This
gives the company the option of developing alloys and methods for material
treatment that commercial foundries do
not offer (see Sulzer Technical Review 1/2005,
p. 13). The foundry in Karhula supplies
high-quality, corrosion-resistant steel
and special cast-iron castings primarily
to the companys own factories. Of the
total annual production of some 30 000
castings, almost 90% are made of corrosion-resistant duplex and super duplex
cast steel grades.

Making a standard material better

Even though duplex steel offers outstanding wear properties along with its corrosion resistance, some demanding applications require an enhancement. Precip-

itation hardening is a specific heat treatment that can improve the characteristics
of duplex steel without the need for
expensive additional alloying elements.
This heat treatment strengthens the material by allowing the controlled release of
constituents that form precipitated
nanoscale and microscale intermetallic
clusters. However, it is not applicable to
all duplex grades and bears the risk of
impairing the corrosion resistance and
the toughness of the respective material.
Sulzer has examined several procedures
for the precipitation hardening of duplex
steel containing copper. By varying the
copper content and the parameters of
the heat treatment, Sulzer engineers have
succeeded in improving the wear resistance of the material without undermining
its corrosion properties and toughness.

Proprietary testing knowledge

Various process parameters, such as heating rate, heating temperature, dwell time,
and cooling rate, influence the size and
the distribution of the precipitates. The
optimal control of these two characteristics
provides the balance between the

Sulzer examined several procedures for the precipitation hardening of duplex steel.

What is duplex stainless steel?

The corrosion resistance of stainless
steels is based on the presence of a
substantial amount (>12%) of chromium in the steel. It forms a protective
film of chromium oxide on the surface
that inhibits corrosion. By alloying
other elements like nickel, molybdenum,
nitrogen, titanium, and manganese, it
is possible to achieve a wide range
of mechanical and chemical properties
in the stainless steels.
Stainless steels are categorized into
four groups according to their crystal
structure:
Austenitic stainless steels (facecentered cubic structure)
Ferritic stainless steels (bodycentered cubic structure)
Martensitic stainless steels (bodycentered tetragonal structure)
Duplex stainless steels (mixture of
austenite and ferrite phases)
The austenitic grades are most
popular, but the duplex grades are
the most important for industrial pump
applications. Owing to their two-phase
microstructure consisting of austenite
and ferrite grains, duplex alloys combine the advantages of both steel
groups. They are roughly twice as
strong as purely austenitic stainless
steels. They have significantly better
toughness and ductility than ferritic
grades. They exceed austenitics in
their resistance to stress corrosion
cracking. And these advantages are
not associated with higher costs.
Because of the increased yield
strength, it is often possible to reduce
the section thickness of components
compared with designs based on
austenitic grades. Furthermore, duplex
stainless steels have a lower content
of expensive nickel and molybdenum
than their austenitic counterparts do,
making them a cost-effective and
weight-saving choice for many applications.
Duplex steel combines two different phases:
austenite (white areas) in a ferrite matrix
(grey areas).

200 m

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 11

NEW MATERIALS

200
180

160

Temp. 1

Time A

Temp. 2

Time B

Temp. 3

Time C

Temp. 4

Toughness [J]

140

Solution annealed

120

100

80

60

40

20
0
240

260

280
300
Hardness [HV10]

320

1 The hardness and the toughness of the steel can be controlled by varying
the precipitation hardening temperature and the dwell time.

resulting increase in strength and the

loss of ductility and toughness. Methods
for the testing and characterization of
the material developed by the experts
at the research unit Sulzer Innotec (see
Sulzer Technical Review 1/2010, p. 11) were
used to optimize the parameters. The
goal was to adapt the ASTM material
A 890 Grade 1B (duplex steel containing
some copper) to make it usable in
challenging pump applications. During
the materials development project, the
following parameters were varied:
Copper content
Solution annealing temperature
of the base material
Heating rate
Treatment temperature for
precipitation hardening
Dwell time
Cooling rate

Improved hardness
The testing clearly showed that there is
only a small temperature range where
hardness and toughness can be optimized.
This temperature range is limited on both
sides by the precipitation of harmful
intermetallics (brittle metallic structures).
However, within that process window,
hardness and toughness can be tuned
over a wide range by choosing the appropriate dwell time (Fig. 1).

12 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

340

pumped liquid is both corrosive and contains fine, abrasive particles.

Improving process reliability

A client who operates a fertilizer production plant wanted to replace the original pumps, which had an insufficient
lifetime. These machines were sealed
with gland packings. This type of seal
works with a lubricating fluid and failed
to seal the aggressive fluid dependably.
Because the customer had had a positive
experience with the Sulzer pumps being
used in the first step of absorption, he
entrusted Sulzer again with the replacement of the second-step pumps.
Based on their experience with the
pumps in first step of the absorption in
the fluor salts manufacturing process,
the Sulzer experts selected a WPP (wearresistant) pump with an open impeller
and a dynamic seal. These seals operate
very reliably with corrosive and abrasive
fluids. The pumps are made from pre-

Measured with a high-velocity slurry

jet, precipitation heat treatment leads to
a significant improvement in wear resistance compared with
The heat-treated material increased the
the reference materireliability of the overall process.
al, which was only
solution annealed.
Corrosion testing of the precipitation- cipitation heat-treated material with a
hardened steel also showed only minor
hardness of 300 HBW. The chosen pumps
relative changes.
operate close to their duty point, which
is essential for efficient hydraulic operExtending pump lifetime
ation.
Sulzer has successfully used this heatIn this case, the combination of pump,
treated material in cases where the
fabrication material, and seal typeall
pumped media are corrosive fluids that
well suited for the applicationled to
contain moderately abrasive solids such
increased reliability of the overall process.
as pure salt crystals. For these applications, This improvement reduced outage and
typically an Ahlstar process pump type
increased the time between repairs. FolWPP with wear-resistant hydraulics is
lowing the successful installation of the
selected. The special material is used for
first pump, several pumpsall made
pump impeller and side platebecause
from specifically heat-treated steelare
these parts are normally the most
now running in same fertilizer production
exposed to wearor for all wetted cast
line.
parts.
Thomas Krnzler
Sulzer Pumps AG
An exemplary application of a pump
Sulzer Allee 25
made from this new material is the
8404 Winterthur
Switzerland
second step of absorption in the fluor
Phone +41 52 262 51 16
[email protected]
salts production, which is part of the
production process of phosphoric fertil- Raimo Arola
Sulzer Pumps Finland Oy
izer. As for most chemical processes, the
P.O. Box 66
performance of these pumps is critical
48601 Kotka
Finland
for the production, and the requirements
Phone +358 10 234 3234
[email protected]
relating to their reliability are high. The

NEW MATERIALS

Coalescer for liquid-liquid extraction

Better separation with combined

materials
When extraction columns operate at their limits, fine droplets often may formthe separation
of which requires special internals. Sulzer Chemtech improves the performance of extraction
columns by using coalescers made of composite materials, and thereby extends the range
of application for these columns. Pilot tests in the Sulzer Chemtech test center confirm the
process and cost advantages of this solution.

hen it comes to removing highboiling components from wastewater streams1 or purifying

pharmaceutical agents2, liquid-liquid
extraction is frequently used (see infobox). As in distillation units, this separation process often is implemented in
the form of a countercurrent column. In

liquid-liquid extraction, however, two

liquids (two liquid phases) are in contactnot a liquid phase with a vapor
phase, as in the case of distillation.
Special internals are therefore required
for the extraction columns, which differ
depending on the column technology
and the application.

The right column for every

application
The packed extraction column ECP is
used for applications with a high
throughput (Fig. 1). The construction of
these columns is very similar to that of
the well-known distillation columns, but
the packings used have a smooth surface.

In coalescers, small droplets accumulate on net-like structures and can thereby merge (coalesce). The special feature
of the DC Coalescer from Sulzer is the combination of two materials with very different wettabilities, normally metal
and plastic, which enhances the droplet coalescence of each phase.

4413

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 13

NEW MATERIALS

Liquid-liquid extraction
Liquid-liquid extraction is an important basic operation in
separation technology. The principle behind this process is
a material transfer between two liquids: The key component
transfers from one liquid into another. The prerequisite for
this is that these two liquids are immiscible or that they
mix only to a small extent. In order to create sufficient
surface necessary for the mass transfer, one of the liquids
is dispersed into the other in the form of droplets. The mass
transfer takes place between the droplets (dispersed phase)
and the surrounding liquid (continuous phase). In order to
be able to subsequently separate the two liquids, they must
have different densities. The droplets thereby accumulate
above or below the continuous phase depending on the
relative density. The boundary surface between the two
liquid layers in the columns is referred to as interface and
is located at the top or at the bottom.
The picture illustrates the two possible dispersion
directions:
Feed continuous

Feed dispersed

Extract

Extract

Interface

Feed

Feed

Interface

Solvent

Solvent

Raffinate

Raffinate

The liquid with the key components which are to be

extracted is fed into the column and sinks
downwards (heavy phase).
The solvent is fed into the column and rises upwards
(light phase).
The obtained extract is removed.
The residue (raffinate) is removed.
Feed continuous (left picture)
The liquid with the key components which are to be
extracted is fed as a continuous material flow, while the
solvent is dispersed as droplets. The droplets extract
the transfer components and
accumulate at the top as
the extract.

Feed dispersed (right picture)

The solvent is added as a
continuous phase and the
material flow is dispersed
into this phase as droplets.
When the transfer components have been removed
from the droplets, the remaining residue (raffinate) accumulates below.

14 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

The main difference is in the distributors

for the two liquid phases, because in
extraction one of these phases has to
be broken down (dispersed) into
droplets. To achieve this, specially
adapted distributors are necessary for
the different applications.
The agitated Khni column ECR is
used for separation tasks that require a
higher number of separation stages or a
high level of flexibility. In this type of
apparatus, mixing turbines create the dispersion of droplets in the individual agitated compartments. The speed is
selected so that droplets in the desired
range of 24 mm diameter are formed.
Depending on the density of the liquids,
the droplets either rise or sink in the
column (see infobox).
In both types of equipment, the
droplets collect at one end of the column
after flowing through the surrounding
liquid (continuous phase). The individual droplets thereby come so close
to one another that they flow together
and eventually form a continuous
liquid layer. This process is described as
coalescence. The resulting separation
layer between the two liquid layers
is called interface.

The problem of the entrained

droplets
Under certain conditions, considerably
smaller dropletsso-called fine dropletsare also formed in the columns, in
addition to the droplets in the desired
diameter range. These are no longer
able to move against the flow of the
surrounding liquid. The drag force of
the surrounding liquid is greater than
the buoyancy of the droplets. The
droplets are thereby carried along and
remain in the continuous phase. This
process is referred to as entrainment3.
This microscopic phenomenon has
undesired macroscopic effects. Depending
on the application, it can lead to contaminated product flows or a yield loss
in the process. In some cases, the entrainment of the external phase interferes with
the downstream process steps so strongly
that the system can no longer be operated
safely. This is, for example, the case when

1 The ECP extraction column from Sulzer

uses similar type of packing as in distillation
columns but distinctly differs by the specially
adapted distributors.

toxic or flammable substances are

entrained in an aqueous phase that
should be discharged as wastewater.

Solution: Separators support the

coalescence
The entrained phase can be separated in
an additional gravity separator, a socalled decanter. However, this step
requires a calm flow and a very long
residence time of the dispersion. Depending on the diameter of the fine droplets,
this time can be up to several hours or
even days. Therefore, the decanter has
to be uneconomically large.
In these cases, separation vessels with
internals that help to coalesce the fine
droplets are used. Knitted coalescers
have proven especially useful here. On
their way through the mesh, the droplets
come into contact with the individual
filaments, adhere to them, and are
thereby removed from the continuous
phase. When more droplets follow, these
merge with the droplets that are already
stuck to the filaments, and these grow
into larger droplets. Once the droplets
reach a certain size, the force of gravity

NEW MATERIALS

(because of the difference in density)

becomes greater than the drag force of
the continuous phase flowing around it
and the adhesive force of the droplets
to the mesh. The accumulated droplet
then separates from the coalescer and
moves in the desired direction through
the column along with the other large
droplets. The continuous phase is thereby
freed from the entrainment.

Universally applicable material

combination

therefore be known from the very beginning. Because this is not always possible,
ideally, both materials should be used
at the same time, so that both organic
and aqueous droplets can wet the material.
Sulzer has developed the DC Coalescer for this purpose. DC stands for
Dual Composite, because metal and plastic filaments are knitted together, thereby
ensuring that the finished mesh can be
used universally. Tests confirm that the
high gradient in the surface properties
at the points of contact of plastic and
metal filaments significantly improves

For the fine droplets to be captured by

the mesh and to grow there, the material
of the filaments must
The DC Coalescer reduced the customer's
be wetted by the
investment costs by 35%.
droplets. Depending
on the surface tension of the liquids involved, different
the level of separation compared with
materials are wetted to different extents. that of mono-material meshes.
For example, if fine water droplets are
present in an organic liquid such as oil, Customer success thanks to
metallic surfaces will be well wetted, combined technology
By combining extraction columns with
while the water droplets will literally
a DC Coalescer, Sulzer can significantly
bounce off when impacting onto plastic
surfaces. Droplets of an organic liquid, expand the application range of the
such as a solvent in an aqueous medium, extraction columns for challenging systems. This effect has been confirmed in
will behave in exactly the reverse way.
a recent customer project. In order to
For the technical application of knitted
increase the production of an established
coalescers, the dispersion direction must
product, a Sulzer customer built a new,
second production line. Among other
things, the process includes an extraction
stage. With less than 1 mN/m, the interMaking large from small
facial tension of the mixture is very low,
The Sulzer DC Coalescer contains
which promotes the formation of fine
two materials with very different wettabilitiestypically metal and plastic
droplets. In the first pilot trial, this led
whereby the droplet coalescence of
to an entrainment at the head of the agiliquids with hydrophilic and hydrotated extraction column and thereby to
phobic properties is significantly
a loss of product.
increased.
Sulzer solved this problem by
combining the new columns with a
Good wettability
DC Coalescer. In the pilot trial, the
DC Coalescer, fitted with a special leadLow wettability
through for the mixer shaft, visibly
While the droplets pass through the
reduced the entrainment (Fig. 2). Based
Sulzer DC Coalescer, they collect on
on
this very good experience, the
the filaments and coalesce with
neighboring droplets to form larger
customer decided to equip the new indusdroplets. This process is repeated
trial columns with this coalescence aid.
continuously within the DC Coalescer.
Instead of simply copying the existing
When the droplets become large
production line, the customer is now
enough, they separate towards the
phase boundary.
using an agitated extraction column supMore information: www.sulzer.com/DC-coalescer
plemented with a DC Coalescer. By this,

2 Pilot trials confirm that the DC Coalescer from Sulzer considerably

reduces the entrainment (carrying along of fine droplets).

considerably less equipment, fewer ancillaries (such as pumps), and consequently,

less space is required. As overall result,
these changes have reduced the customers investment costs by 35%.

Jrg Koch
Sulzer Chemtech Ltd
Gewerbestrasse 28
4123 Allschwil
Switzerland
Phone: +41 61 486 3712
[email protected]
Daniel Egger
Sulzer Chemtech Ltd
Sulzerallee 48
8404 Winterthur
Switzerland
Phone: +41 52 262 5008
[email protected]

References
1

Jrg Koch (Dis)Solving the high boiling problem Sulzer Technical

Review 3/2011, 2024.
Teh C. Lo, Malcolm H. I. Baird, Carl Hanson, Handbook of Solvent
Extraction (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1983).
G. A. Davies, G. V. Jeffreys, D. V. Smith, F. A. Ali The Formation of
Secondary Droplets in a Dispersion at a Phase Boundary Canad.
J. Chem. Eng., Vol. 48 (1970), 328-329.

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 15

CUSTOMER PARTNERSHIP

It all comes down to choosing

the right partner
Long-term cooperation with coating experts is essential for tool manufacturers,
as is shown by the successful partnership of the Metz Company and Sulzer Metco.

M.POWER coating was able to achieve

We have almost 100% of all tools
a service life that was up to 80% longer
coated nowadays, explain managing
than for that of a tool coated with
directors Wolfgang and Daniel Metz, and
they emphasize the importance of coop- titanium aluminum nitride.
The titanium-silicon-based M.POWER
eration and the selection of the right coatcoating reduces the wear and the friction
ing partner. The outstanding quality of
at the coated cutting edgein particular,
the coating solutions from Sulzer has
at high cutting speeds and in dry prowon us over time and again, says Daniel
cessing. Different coating architectures
Metz.
can be chosen and these permit the effiFrank Schnberner and his colleagues
cient machining of numerous materials.
from the customer service of Sulzer
Metaplas are always
The outstanding quality of the coating
present when it
solutions from Sulzer has won us over time and
comes to working
again. Daniel Metz
together with the
customer to develop
and test suitable tool solutions. Applica- These materials include alloyed and highalloy tool steels, cast iron, titanium, and
tion-specific coating solutions are the
titanium alloys, as well as nickel-based
focus at Metz, because the company
alloys. High wear resistance and a hardregards itself as a problem solver for
ness of up to 3600 HV (Vickers hardness)
individual customer requirements.
characterize the particularly smooth
Together towards success with
coating. The low tendency to form buildM.POWER
up edges and oxidation resistance at up
The Metz Company is particularly
to 1150 C completes the high surface
impressed with the new M.POWER coat- quality.
ing from Sulzer. The latest tests at Metz
The success of the M.POWER coating
have delivered excellent results: when
shows where the trend is heading: away
hard milling a high-performance, high- from conventional standards and towards
speed steel (CPM Rex M4) with a hard- tailor-made solutions. Metz has respondness of 62 HRC (Rockwell hardness), the
ed to this trend and is already relying
on its close cooperation with Frank
Through its close cooperation with customers, Sulzer succeeds in adapting the coating solutions
Schnberner and his colleagues from
to the tool material, the application, and the special geometry of the tool.
Sulzer in the development phase of its
tools.
rank Schnberner is a welcome guest
at the Wolfgang Metz e.K. company.
He is a field service employee of Sulzer
Metaplas and advises the tool manufacturer on site at regular intervals. The
family company, which has offices in
Zell am Harmersbach, Germany, has
been manufacturing cutting tools for
more than 30 years, and it supplies clients
in many different industries throughout
Europe. These industries include tool,
mold, model, and machine construction,
as well as medical technology. Thanks
to Metzs modern machinery, which consists of several numerically controlled
machines as well as manual grinding
machines, not only standard tools but
also special precision tools are manufactured to the highest level of quality.
The drive towards longer service lives
and the continually increasing requirements on tools have always been primary
topics in machining. Therefore, highquality tools are nowadays supplied with
coatings. Coated tools make high cutting
and feed rates possible and reduce processing times. Thanks to state-of-the-art
coatings, even materials that were once
impossible to machine can now be
processedparticularly in dry and hard
milling.

Annette Norin
Sulzer Metaplas GmbH
Am Bttcherberg 30-38
51427 Bergisch Gladbach
Germany
Phone +49 2204 299 262
[email protected]
Frank Schnberner
Sulzer Metaplas GmbH
Am Bttcherberg 30-38
51427 Bergisch Gladbach
Germany
Phone +49 172 6807347
[email protected]

16 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

4417

SULZER INNOVATION

New vibration test rig

Many machines and components have to withstand strong vibrations. With its new vibration test
rig, Sulzer Innotec can reproduce vibrations that occur during operation, transport, or earthquakes. A number of customers have already been able to test the durability of their machines on
the new test bench. The following example illustrates the earthquake test on a pump.

Sulzer customer wanted to test

whether its vacuum pump could
withstand earthquakes without damage.
The pump was part of an aerosol monitor
that measured the radioactivity of air
particles. Sulzer Innotecs new hydraulic
test bench, which permits tests on large
objects and small machines, was used
successfully here.
Heretofore, only small and light
objects up to approximately 25 kg could
be tested with small displacements. With
the construction of a horizontal table and
the commissioning of a hydraulic shaker,
Sulzer has now significantly extended
the range of tests for larger vibration
forces and displacements.

Well shaken

1 The new hydraulic shaker with a horizontal table can also thoroughly shake larger objects
(like this vacuum pump) according to standards.

The hydraulic cylinder of the new test

bench has an actuating force of 30 kN. tional check reveals whether the test
It can be mounted vertically for vertical
object has resisted the required loads.
shaker tests or horizontally as the drive
Practical example of a seismic test
for a guided horizontal shaker table
1
For the vacuum pump that was to be
(Fig. ). All mechanical connections are
free of clearance to avoid uncontrolled
tested, Sulzer simulated two earthquakes
impacts on the test item.
of different strengths with the new test
Test objects up to 50 kg in weight
bench:
and 0.5 m 0.5 m x 0.5 m in size can be A safe shutdown earthquake (SSE):
actuated with a frequency of up to 100 Hz.
the strongest possible earthquake in
Tests outside these borders as well as
the operating region of the test object
specification of maximal acceleration and An operating basis earthquake (OBE):
displacement require a preliminary
an earthquake that can be expected
assessment of the overall dynamics. The
during the operational life of the test
test is carried out in close cooperation
object
with the customer,
The operational integrity of the pump has been
and the test signal is
proven with two earthquake tests.
generated according
to the required load.
The excitation can result, for example, For these two earthquakes, test signals
for all three excitation directions were
from a sine sweep (sinusoidal signal
generated conforming to standards.
with increasing frequency) or filtered
After the tests, Sulzer verified that the
noise, while the acceleration of the table
is measured and controlled. In addition, measured test response spectrum (TRS)
enclosed the required response spectrum
the acceleration of the test object can be
measured at several points. A final func- (RRS). In this way, it could be shown

4418

that the required test accelerations had

been achieved. No functional disorders
occurred during the test, and no mechanical or electrical defects appeared afterwards, so that the operational integrity
of the pump has been proven.
Sulzer Innotec has more than 30 years
of experience in executing vibration tests,
seismic tests, and transport simulations.
In the past, several vibration tests have
been carried out, for example, on valve
blocks and electrical cabinet components
and an earthquake simulator has been
developed. With its extended range of
test offerings, Sulzer can now meet the
needs of its customers even better.

Sjors Huijbers
Sulzer Innotec
Sulzer-Allee 25
8404 Winterthur
Switzerland
Phone +41 52 262 26 84
[email protected]

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 17

PANORAMA

Reproducible mixing results thanks to simulation

Calculation instead of trial

Sulzer is making use of a completely new calculation system for mixtures in medical technology.
Medical technicians face the daily challenge of reproducibly mixing a homogenous mass from
several substancesfor example, when making dental impressions. Until now, users and manufacturers of mixtures have had little information about the behavior of the various components
in the mixer, so that many mixing trials have been necessary. Sulzers new approach facilitates
the determination of the optimal mixing ratio and the selection of a suitable dispenser.

FD simulations (computational
fluid dynamics) have so far
been used commonly, above all,
in the automotive and aviation industries,
but are still largely unknown in medical
technology. Thanks to many years of

research, Sulzer Mixpac has a great

deal of experience in this field and
wants to make its expertise in the development of innovative products available
to its customers. Sulzer is the only
company in the world that applies CFD

technology for multicomponent mixtures

in medical technology. These CFD
simulations are mainly used in the
optimization or development of multicomponent mixtures for use by
dentists.

The results of the CFD simulation (top) correspond well with the mixing trials (bottom: section through the hardened epoxy resin).

18 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

4414

PANORAMA

All the components at the right place

at the right time
The goal of the simulation is to achieve
an optimal mixing ratio of a number of
components. Factors such as viscosity,
pressure, density, and surface tension
affect the flow of a substance. The experts
at Sulzer Mixpac simulate the mixing
process based on the mixing geometry
and the material properties of the components. In this way, they can find the
dispenser that produces the best mixture
and homogeneity. Furthermore, the optimal holding time for a substance in the
mixer can be calculated with the CFD
simulation. This should not be too long
to ensure that the components do not
already react with each other before leaving the mixer. The pressure that must
be applied to press the mixture out of
the mixer should also not exceed the
hand strength of the user. The simulation
ensures that the two materials come into
contact in the mixer at the right time
and remain in the mixer for the same
period of time.
Because medical technology predominantly uses viscous materials, Sulzer
Mixpac largely focuses on the flow behavior of highly viscous substances. The
components thereby move in a laminar
waythat is, in layerswithout visible
turbulence. When Sulzer receives data
on the material properties of a substance
from the customers, the engineers can
start calculations directly. If the customer
does not have information on the properties of the materials, such as the
viscosity curves (rheology), Sulzer is able
to determine these.

Modern research center

Sulzer carries out material tests and simulations for its customers in its in-house
application laboratories. A specially
equipped computer center consisting of
a cluster of more than 200 high-performance processors is available for the simulations. If the calculations deliver the
desired results, the next step is the real
mixing of the components. Comparison
images demonstrate that the simulations
correspond well with the mixing ratios
that are actually measured. The following

Dietmar Salzgeber is responsible

for medical technology products
at Sulzer Mixpac. He discusses
the expanded range of offers for
customers.
Why does the medical technology
industry need high-tech simulations?
Until now, this industry has mainly
used trial-and-error methods. This
means that dentists, medical technicians,
or the providers of compounds have
carried out mixing trials by hand. In
many cases, the users only know
whether and how two components
react to one another after a large number
of testsand the chemical reactions
behind it remain a mystery. Exactly the
same result seldom arises twice with
this approach. It is often very difficult
to determine the mixing qualityin
particular with components of similar
colors. In addition, the time to market
is very long and cost-intensive for new
product development.
Mixing trials by hand sounds like a lot
of waste
Indeed. Until a perfect mixing ratio has
been found, there is an enormous and
unnecessary loss of disposable mixers
and material. This is inacceptable in
times of increasing environmental
awareness and rising raw material
prices.
What is the advantage of computational flow simulation?
Optimal mixing ratios can be determined
with the help of CFD simulations, and
efficient and reproducible mixing results
are guaranteed. The entire development
process can be significantly shortened.

applies here: the more accurate the

boundary conditions of the calculation
are, the more accurate the result will be.
Customers benefit from the simulation
method in two ways: they save time
through a shorter time to market as well
as costs through the reduced consumption
of disposable mixers for test purposes.
With the introduction of this new offer,

How did you come up with the idea

of using CFD methods?
We had previously primarily used CFD
simulations internally to optimize the
development of our mixing systems.
Flow simulations help us to develop
completely new mixing technologies,
such as the MIXPACTM T-mixer. The
idea thereby arose that our customers
could also benefit from this method.
How have you been able to implement
the idea?
We have benefitted from the expertise
of the Sulzer corporation, which has
more than 175 years of experience in
the field of the flow behavior of substances. Through the intensive promotion of innovation and the financial support of the corporation, we have been
able to expand our own service
portfolio at Sulzer Mixpac with such
attractive offers as CFD simulations
for customers.

Sulzer Mixpac can position itself as the

technology leader in the field of CFD
for multicomponent mixing systems.
Dietmar Salzgeber
Sulzer Mixpac AG
Rtistrasse 7
9469 Haag
Switzerland
Phone +41 81 772 20 60
[email protected]

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 19

SULZER WORLD

Welcome to the coil shop of Sulzer

Dowding & Mills Birmingham
Sulzer Dowding & Mills Birmingham provides highly efficient and
dependable coil manufacturing and service. The purpose-built,
comprehensively equipped coil shop offers the highest level of
flexibility, adaptability, and speed. In order to fulfill customers
needs even better, Sulzer is planning a major capacity increase.

ince locating to the current site in

Birmingham about 35 years ago,
the coil shop of Sulzer Dowding & Mills
has established itself as a major international high-voltage coil manufacturer.
Customers appreciate the outstanding
quality supported by excellent, reliable
service all over the world.

Manufacturing
Product development has been a key
area of growth for the coil shop over the
years. Alongside the Sulzer Dowding &
Mills technical department and insulation
manufacturers, the coil shop has developed in-house coil specifications that are
used in a wide range of machines across
the globe. Coil-winding specifications in
the extensive database range from those
for 400 V DC motors to those for 16 kV
and above.
By using these specifications and computer-aided design tools, Sulzer can
check existing designs, redesign coils for
improved performance, and then produce
From stocks of continuously cast copper rod, the in-house rolling mill
with inline annealing produces soft copper to a tolerance of 25 microns.

20 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

The coil shop produces a vast range of coils and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

production drawings and process instruction sheets automatically.

In-house copper rolling

accuracy and reliability. Extensive quality

assurance checks are carried out on all
coils. This quality assurance system is
strictly adhered to at every stage and is
assessed, approved, and regularly audited
by the major clients, as well as by the
British Standards Institute.

The in-house copper rolling mill has both

inline and pot annealing facilities (i.e.,
heat treatment processes that make the
copper more deformable). The mill offers
Future expansion
around-the-clock coil manufacturing
Sulzers high-voltage coil manufacturing
capability from continuously cast soft
department has seen steady growth to
copper rod. Sulzer can therefore offer
incredibly short lead
The expansion will ensure even better efficiency
times. For any coil
and lead times.
specification, the necessary copper can be
reach its current capacity. New investproduced within five hoursand all
ments of over one million GBP will
that on a 24/7 basis.
increase the capacity further. This expanFirst-class quality
sion, backed by the Sulzer LEAN prinThroughout the manufacturing process, ciples, will ensure even greater efficiency
Sulzer combines the highest levels of
and better lead times to the clients.
skill and experience with purpose-built
Watch the video about coil manufacturing:
www.sulzer.com/coil-video
machinery, thus ensuring continuous

4416

PANORAMA

Weld repair of gas turbine disks

Customizing weld procedures

Sulzer offers customized weld repair solutions for critical rotating equipment. In some situations,
conventional rotor weld repair procedures cannot be used on certain components. The required
postweld heat treatment of such procedures would result in permanent distortions and loss of
critical dimensional tolerances. Sulzer engineers have developed a specialized weld procedure
for gas turbine disks that addresses this issue and makes repair with a fast turnaround possible.

ulzer Turbo Services Houston was

commissioned to overhaul a 150MW-class, two-bearing gas turbine
that had suffered a catastrophic failure
in the thrust bearings. The failure had
resulted in extensive damage to the seal

areas of the rotor. The seal of the firststage turbine disk was completely
destroyed, and the seal land was rubbing
on the inside of the case (Fig. 1). Sulzer
has a well-established methodology for
repairing rotor seal lands and other areas

by depositing material using a submerged

arc welding process. This process requires
a localized postweld heat treatment often
performed with induction heating equipment to closely match or exceed the
mechanical properties of the base metal.

Sulzer Turbo Services has developed many proprietary welding procedures that restore performance,
reduce costs, and increase the lifetime of gas turbines.

4415

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 21

PANORAMA

1 The first-stage gas turbine disk was damaged due to a seal rub and frictional heating of the seal land.

In the case described, the area to be

repaired was too close to certain
geometric features that hold very tight
dimensional tolerances. Localized heat
treatmentwith temperatures of up to
593 Cwould have certainly caused
permanent thermal distortion of the
blade roots and curvic coupling teeth.
The blade roots were particularly at risk
because of their proximity to the
proposed weld buildup. Therefore, the
goal of this repair was to develop a weld
buildup procedure that did not include
a postweld heat treatment.

2 Sulzer used gas-tungsten arc welding

heads for the specialized gas turbine disk
repair. Propane torches were used to maintain
the correct interpass temperature.

Welding head

Area of repair

22 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

Developing and testing a new

approach

of the ASME (American Society of

Mechanical Engineers) Boiler & Pressure
Vessel Code, Section IX, Welding and
Brazing Qualifications:
Tensile tests
Charpy V-notch impact tests
Hardness profiles
Metallographic examination
One of these two preliminary weld procedures showed clearly superior finished
propertiesvery nearly meeting the
mechanical specification of the base
metal. The tested yield strength was well
in excess of the predicted stresses in the
applicable area of the turbine disk.
In addition to the standard mechanical
tests performed according to ASME
Section IX, samples were also used for
rotating-beam fatigue tests according to
ISO 1143. These tests were necessary
because there was a possibility of brittleness being formed in the weld fusion
and the heat-affected zone, as well as a
possibility of cyclic stresses occurring
during operation of the turbine. For reference, steels are generally considered
to have an endurance limitwhich is
defined as a cyclic stress amplitude below
which the material will survive indefinitely. If a steel sample shows no fatigue
cracking after 10 million cycles, it is considered to be operating below its
endurance limit. This weld test proved

Welding a high-strength alloy steel without postweld heat treatment is a

challenge. The greatest risk is that of
brittle steel structure (untempered martensite) being formed in the weld metal and
heat-affected zone. This risk can be minimized by carefully controlling the
cooling rate of the
The welded samples were tested at cyclic
weld with preheatstresses and proved to have excellent fatigue
ing and by limiting
resistance.
the heat input of the
process. Sulzer selected the automatic gas-tungsten arc
to have excellent fatigue resistance, as
welding process for the proposed
all samples ran for more than 10 million
buildup because of its relatively low heat
cycles without failing or showing any
input and fine parameter control. For
signs of fatigue cracking after the tests
this repair, two different preliminary
were stopped. The fatigue specimens
weld procedures were devised with dif- were tested at cyclic stresses well over
ferent filler metals and other parameters. those expected in service.
Neither of the procedures used postweld
Implementing the new repair
heat treatment. These preliminary weld
procedure
procedures were then used separately to
Before performing the weld repair, Sulzer
build up weld metal on test pieces of
subjected the disk to non-destructive testA470 Class 7the same alloy steel used
in the turbine disk covered in this article. ing to ensure that no cracks or other
damage remained after the damaged seal
To examine the quality of the weld
repair, Sulzer performed weld qualifica- land had been removed by machining.
The examinations included wet fluorestion tests according to the requirements

PANORAMA

Thorough examination is half the battle

Evaluating the properties of the base material
Before developing a specialized weld procedure, it is necessary to examine
whether the base material of the damaged disk can be welded. Engineers must
carefully assess how the damage has affected the base material due to localized
frictional heating. They must also ensure that the base material will withstand
the operational stresses. In the case described, Sulzer verified the chemical composition of the base alloy with optical emission spectroscopy and estimated the
actual yield strength based on hardness measurements.
Analyzing the stresses
To estimate the operating stresses in the area to be repaired, Sulzer engineers
perform finite element analyses. The stress results are evaluated according to
Sulzers engineering design criteria. These are based on estimated actual yield
strength in the area of concern (Fig. 3).

cent magnetic particle testing and

phased-array ultrasonic testingwith
the same acceptance standards as those
used for new forgings.
Because the turbine disk was so
large in diameter, two gas-tungsten arc
welding heads were mounted simultaneously on opposite sides (Fig. 2).

qualified for this specific weld procedure.

After machining to its original dimensions,
the repaired disk was subjected to a spin
test to up to 115% of design speed in
the at-speed balance bunker at the Sulzer
Turbo Services facility in Houston.

Meeting customer needs

Sulzer Turbo Services Houston has developed an engineered repair strategy that
allows expensive gas turbine disks to be
repaired when they would otherwise
have been considered scrap. The weld
procedure described in this article has
been extensively tested, and it demonstrates mechanical properties comparable
to that of the original forged-disk
material. Every gas turbine disk repaired

Propane torches were also placed around

the circumference to keep the applicable
area of the disk withThe customized weld repair ensures the
in the weld procereliability of critical equipment.
dures prescribed
interpass temperain this manner is subjected to the same
ture range. Each welding head was then
strict quality testing performed on new
operated and monitored by a welder
forged components. This weld repair procedure has been used on three other gas
3 The finite element analysis provides the stress distribution (equivalent von-Mises stresses) at
turbine rotors for different users, and
the seal area of the turbine disk. The maximum stress at the base of the seal land (light blue tag)
was well below the estimated yield strength of the disk material. The maximum local stress (red
the repairs have been validated by suctag) occurred in the blade-loading slots and was higher than the estimated yield strength of the
softened material. However, it was still within acceptable ranges per Sulzer design criteria for
cessful field operations.
local stresses, which allow for a certain amount of localized yielding.
As shown in this article, Sulzer engineers and technicians carefully define,
validate, and execute customized repair
procedures in order to protect the reliability of the customers critical equipment.
This type of repair is performed for a
fraction of the cost and the time required
for a new replacement disk. This allows
the customer to avoid a capital expenditure due to an unplanned event such
as a catastrophic failure. This is only
one example of how Sulzer can engineer
innovative and fast-track solutions to
the customers specific needs.
Seal land to be welded
Blade loading slot

Alfred Frank Thomas

Sulzer Turbo Services Houston Inc.
11518 Old La Porte Rd.
La Porte, TX 77571
USA
Phone +1 713 567 2769
[email protected]
Luis E. Rodriguez
Sulzer Turbo Services Houston Inc.
11518 Old La Porte Rd.
La Porte, TX 77571
USA
Phone +1 713 567 2776
[email protected]

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 23

INTERVIEW

Mick Wigglesworth:
We are proud of our facilities in India.
Mick Wigglesworth is head of the hydrocarbon
processing business segment of Sulzer Pumps.
In this interview, he talks about substantial
developments in the oil and gas downstream
industry in India.

After managing Sulzer Pumps in Russia

for the last three years, you took over
the lead of the downstream business
segment at the beginning of this year.
What is different about your new job?
My new job is a strategic role rather
than managing the buildup of a new
businesslike the one I did in Russia.
Pursuing customer relationships and
developing strategies are very interesting challenges. I used to work for the
oil and gas upstream business segment
of Sulzer Pumps many years ago. Now,
I look forward to dealing with the
other side of the oil industry. Instead of
getting the oil out of the ground, this
time it is about doing something with
the oil.
What role does India play in your field
of activity?
India has huge potential, and it is a
fantastic place. I have been there a few
times, and I love India. It belongs to the
big four BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia,
India, and China) that have rapidly developing economies. Maybe India is not
booming as fast as China, but you have
to consider that China carries out its fiveyear plans under very special political
conditions. Despite the different situation
in India, many large companies there are
growing and successfully positioning
themselves as major players in the global
business.

24 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

The development of the Indian downstream industry is remarkable. The

capacity of the Indian refinery industry
has increased by 50% in the last five
years.
Yes, this boom is impressive. Many people
do not know that India currently has the
worlds biggest refinery industry.
Why is that?
A lot of the smaller refineries around the
world are becoming uncompetitive. They
are being closed or sold. But in India,
people are building great big refineries,
and companies are going forward to
spend more money. Major oil companies
in India talk about significant investments
in the next two to three years. They are
planning projects that need several thousands of pumps. So, hopefully things are
going to go crazy there.
That means India is an increasingly
important pump market.
Absolutely. India is the fifth largest pump
market in the world. With Sulzer Pumps,
we are in an excellent position because
we already have an established factory
in India. When you get to our facility in
Navi Mumbai, you clearly feel that you
are in a Sulzer location. We keep the
same standards, and we have good
people and modern equipment. We are
proud to take our customers to this
facility.

What are the main competencies and

offerings of Sulzer Pumps in India?
The focus is on the hydrocarbon processing industry. In addition to that, we also
serve the power, the oil and gas upstream,
and the water industries. The site
includes a manufacturing plant including
test facilities and a service center. We are
one of the leading suppliers of pumps
to the Indian market, but we offer pumps
for export as well. For example, we recently made pumps in India for projects in
Russia and the Middle East region. The
export business is as big as the domestic
business, and we want to increase it further. Thats why it is important for us
to follow international standards and to
communicate that to our customers.
Some oil companies outside India are
still skeptical about sourcing from India.
But when they visit our facility, all doubts
are removed. Thats how we just received
the approval for a job in New Zealand,
for instance.
Does the geographical distance
between a pump manufacturer and its
customers matter?
In the world of automobiles and other
equipment manufacturers with a high
degree of standardization, it really does
not matter. But in high-engineering businesses like pumps, turbines, and compressors, distance does make a difference.
We are increasingly seeing that being

4419

INTERVIEW

The Indian downstream

industry is booming
and has built many
new refineries in the
last years.

close to the customer is very important

to the relationships. Of course, we can
take pumps from one side of the world
to the other. But in the execution phase
and also in the ordering phase, it is
difficult to deal across great distances,
time zones, and cultural divides. That is
why Sulzer Pumps has a large global
network with 22 manufacturing sites
and service centers and sales offices in
more than 150 locations worldwide.
Is Sulzer Pumps planning to increase
its presence in India?
Yes, this year we are opening a second
service center in Raipur. This facility will
offer repair and refurbishment services
for all types of rotating equipment
with 24/7 availability. A further highlight
in India is our technical resource center.
There, we have a team of around 60 engineers and business development people.
They support the other locations with
tendering or order-related engineering.
With this help, our facilities can be very
flexibleand the customer benefits
from that. If a big project is coming up
and the factory is busy, we can use this
center.
What are the needs of Indian
customers?
Indian companies are right now building
new, modern refineries or upgrading
existing refineries to higher standards.

So, they need pumps with high standards

we are planning to extend the product
as well. The Indian customers appreciate
range that is produced in India.
that Sulzer is a supplier with an excellent
We also want to increase cooperative
reputation that produces locally but pro- efforts with other Sulzer divisions. Cusduces according to
Being close to the customer is very important
international stanto the relationships.
dards. In many cases,
we can locally manufacture 6070% of the pumps we deliver. tomers in the downstream industry parEven if we import certain product types, ticularly benefit from the combined
expertise of Sulzer Pumps and Sulzer
our Indian facility can do the front line
Chemtech by having a single supplier
execution, customer facing, and local
for pumps and process technology.
packaging. That clearly distinguishes us
from our competitors.
This year, you will hit a personal
milestone at Sulzer
How important is pump customization?
Customization makes a big difference. Yes. In September, I will have been with
In many refineries, customers have spe- Sulzer for 40 years. I have been very
cific requirements. These are sometimes
lucky. I have traveled the world and
only small things, like the nozzle orien- have been in many interesting positions.
tation on a pump. Standard pumps have
Now, I want to make a success of our
nozzles coming out in a certain position, hydrocarbon processing business going
but some customers need the nozzles in
forward in the next few years. Well see
different positions. That sounds simple, what happens after that.
Interview: Tnde Kirstein
but it requires a redesign of the whole
pump. Thanks to our product developMick Wigglesworth
ment team, we can offer such configured
has an MBA in industrial management from
Hallam University UK. His 40-year Sulzer
pumps.
What are the plans for India?
We want to do more technology transfer
and training in India. It is important to
train the local team in our product portfolio and to transfer knowledge from
other Sulzer factoriesespecially because

career has developed across several Sulzer

divisions and locations. He completed his
apprenticeship at Sulzer and worked in the
factory and field before moving into service
and then project management. He held
positions as Vice President of Sales for
Europe and as Vice President of Oil and Gas
for both Sulzer Pumps and Sulzer Turbo
Services (now MAN Turbo). In January 2013,
he took over the lead of the hydrocarbon
processing business segment of Sulzer Pumps.

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 25

PANORAMA

Avoiding damage by measuring torsional vibrations

For smooth-running drive trains

Torsional vibrations in drive trains can lead to machine failures and serious damage.
Sulzer Innotec has methods for measuring the torsional vibrations of drive trains and to
optimize the design of the drive system. Customers can thereby increase the reliability
and productivity of their systems.

typical drive train consists of the

driving machine, a torque or
speed converter (gearbox), and
the driven machine (Fig. 1). Each of the
components of the drive train can
generate undesirable torsional vibrations.
These rotary vibrations are superimposed
onto the drive torque and often reach
significant amplitudes, which shorten
the lifetime of the drive train.
When designing drive trains, a theoretical torsional vibration analysis is

therefore normally carried out. In doing

has two important disadvantages, howthis, possible excitation sources are con- ever:
sidered, and the natural torsional The amplitudes of the torsional vibrafrequencies are calculated. Based on the
tions cannot be calculated reliably,
torsional natural frequencies, the critical
because no information is avaliable on
speed ranges are determined where
the strength of the excitation and
torsional vibrations
Torsional vibrations often reach significant ampliof the drive train can
tudes and shorten the lifetime of the drive train.
be excited during
operation. These
areas can be defined in advance as sodamping of the drive train. If the amplicalled exclusion areas. This procedure
tudes are small enough, there could

1 Sulzer examines the torsional vibrations on the compressor drive train of a natural gas pipeline.

Gearbox

Compressor

Measurement system

Low-speed
coupling shaft

26 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

4420

PANORAMA

be an unnecessary restriction on the

measurements for customers all over the
operation of the drive train.
world, as shown in the following exam It is possible that the analysis does
ple.
not take into account certain excitations
For the manufacturer of compressors
that show large amplitudes and cause
for a natural gas pipeline, Sulzer
damage (Fig. 2).
measured the torsional vibrations on
For these reasons, Sulzer recommends
drive trains. The aim of the measurement
to experimentally
Sulzer carries out torsional vibration measureevaluate the actual
ments for customers all over the world.
torsional vibration
behavior of a drive
train.
was to verify or establish exclusion areas
for the entire operational speed range,
Previously difficultpossible today
in order to guarantee the safe operation
Measuring torsional vibrations used to
of the compressor. The examined drive
be difficult. With contact-free measuring
train (Fig. 1) consisted of:
methods in particular, the measurements A 15-MW asynchronous motor with a
variable-frequency drive (i.e., an elechad to be carried out with very high
trical converter that controlled and
sampling rates or the data had to be
supplied the motor)
transferred from the rotating shaft to the
fixed recorder. Thanks to advances in A gearbox with a transmission ratio
of 4.774
metrology, however, analog-digital converters with high sampling rates and A centrifugal compressor
telemetry systems (remote measurement Coupling shafts: a low-speed coupling
shaft between the motor and the
technology) have become available at
gearbox and a high-speed coupling
reasonable prices. The Machinery Dynamshaft between the gearbox and the
ics and Acoustics Group of Sulzer Innotec
compressor
successfully carries out torsional vibration

Clever implementation of the

measurement method
Various measurement methods are available for determining torsional vibrations:
Measurement with strain gauges (see
infobox) and telemetry is a very accurate and well-proven method. However,
the fixation requires space on the component.
Surface acoustic wave sensors measure
the detuning of a resonator. This
passive sensor principle requires no
telemetry.
Torsion angle measurements can also
determine torsional vibrations. For
this, the shaft must have certain circumferential markings at the measurement location (sprocket, optical chopper disk). The measurement can be
carried out contact free with optical,
capacitive, or inductive sensors.
In this case, Sulzer decided to use strain
gauges and found a solution for positioning the sensor on the drive train.
Because the primary interest is the behavior at the first natural frequency, any
location along the drive train is theoretically suitable. A location with low speed

2 Torsional vibrations can cause immense damage to components, as these fractures on an intermediate shaft of a marine diesel (left) and a torsion spring (right) illustrate.

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 27

PANORAMA

is advantageous, however, because the

tapes. The battery power supply was
telemetry transmitter also has to be
thereby located on the opposite side of
mounted. For this reason, the Sulzer engi- the shaft with an additional mass, in
neers attached the strain gauge to the
order to compensate the imbalance of
low-speed coupling shaft, where the cen- the telemetry transmitter. The solder
trifugal acceleration is relatively small
posts of the strain gauge rosette were
(but still amounts to 400 g).
connected to the terminals of the
Bending moments and forces in the
telemetry in such a way that a so-called
axial direction are
superimposed onto
The measurements delivered key findings that
the torque on the
were not apparent from the torsional analysis.
drive train, which
leads to additional
full-bridge circuit resulted. The signals
strains. By clever arrangement of multiple
from the transmitter were received by
strain gauges and the correct wiring of
an antenna under the coupling shaft and
the strain gauges to a full bridge, the
bending and tension portions can be com- were converted in the telemetry receiver
into a voltage proportional to the strain
pensated. That way, the pure torsion
strain can be measured. For this purpose, and recorded. A laser tachometer synspecial strain gauge rosettes are available, chronously determined the speed of the
which combine four measurement grids, coupling shaft. Measurement preparations of this kind can be implemented
arranged at 45-angles to the drive shaft
quickly, so the measurement system can
axis.
normally be ready for operation at the
Accurate measurement comes from
customers location within three hours.
good preparation
In this case, the calibration of the meaAfter grinding, cleaning, and etching
surement chain took place with a shunt
preparations at the measurement location, resistance. This is a precision resistance
Sulzer mounted a strain gauge rosette
that is connected in parallel to one of
with a special adhesive. The prepared, the strain gauges and simulates a defined
battery-powered, single-channel teleme- strain. In this way, the actual sensitivity
try was secured alongside it with steel
of the strain gauge rosette can be deter-

Dynamic torque
[kNm]

Total torque
[kNm]

Speed [rpm]

3 The measurement shows the time behavior of the speed (top), the total torque (center), and the
dynamic torque (bottom). With the diagram it can be checked whether the amplitudes exceed allowable
values and which exclusion regions are necessary.

Time [s]

28 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

mined in mV/ (: microstrain). In

order to convert the torsion strain into
the dynamic torque, one needs the cross
section of the coupling shaft and the
shear modulus for the coupling shaft
material. The cross section can be easily
measured. There are three options for
determining the shear modulus:
Use of the nominal shear modulus,
i.e., the manufacturers data for the
shear modulus (sometimes inaccurate,
but can be verified using a known
input power and speed on the basis
of the drive torque)
Determination of the shear modulus
from a material sample (often not
available)
Calibration of the entire structure
by introducing a defined torque (complicated)
In this example, for time and cost
reasons, the manufacturers specifications were used.

Key findings from the measurement

In Fig. 3, the direct measurement result
of a speed ramp can be seen as a time
sequence. With this representation, the
actual amplitudes can be compared with
the permissible values, and exclusion
regions can be defined.
The same torque signal can also be
presented in the so-called Campbell diagram. In a Campbell diagram, the frequency content of a signal is shown in
a three-dimensional representation
against the speed. The abscissa is
normally the speed, the ordinate the frequency, and the color represents the
amplitude. The evaluation of the Campbell diagram is very helpful in understanding how the different peaks arise
in the course of time (in Fig. 3). Fig. 4
(upper part) shows the Campbell
diagram of the dynamic torque from
Fig. 3, and makes the different excitation
mechanisms recognizable. Comparison
with the theoretical torsional analysis
(Fig. 4 lower part) helps in the assignment of the sources of excitation.
Comparing the two diagrams in Fig. 4,
one can see additional excitation mechanisms that were not considered in the
torsional analysis. They are caused by

PANORAMA

Strain gauges

50

Strain gauges detect the change in

the shape of the surface of components.
A strain gauge consists of a
meandering conductor (semiconductor
or metal) that is attached to a foil.
This foil is then fixed to the object
being examined using a special adhesive. Strains at the location of the
strain gauge elongate the grid, and
lead to a change in the electrical resistance, which is measured as a voltage
drop. The calibration can be carried
out through a shunt resistance (lowresistance measurement resistor), with
which the sensitivity of the strain
gauge is determined. Other calibration
devices determine the conversion factor to the dimensions to be measured
experimentally (e.g., calibration weight
for scales). Strain gauges find a variety
of applications:
In scales of all sizes
As force and pressure sensors
As sensors for determining
mechanical stresses
For measuring vibrations
Depending on the application, strain
gauges are used in a very wide variety
of configurations. In some cases, there
can also be several measurement
grids on a single foil (rosette). The
strain gauge rosette that Sulzer used
in the case described is shown in the
photograph.

45

12 11 10 9

40
2

Frequency [Hz]

10

30

0
10
20

25

30

[dB (re. 1 kNm)]

35

40

20

15

10

0
2

10
Speed [rps]

12

14

16

18

50
45
40

Frequency [Hz]

35
30
25
20
15
Torsional eigenfrequency (14.7 Hz)
Variable-frequency drive: abs(6fm+3fn)
Variable-frequency drive: 3/8abs(6fm+3fn)
Motor speed (single)
Motor speed (double)
Compressor speed

10
5
0

10
12
Speed [rps]

14

16

18

4 The calculated torsional analysis (bottom) provides a characteristic color line for each
considered excitation mechanism (variable-frequency drive, motor speed, compressor speed).
The horizontal black line represents the first torsional eigenfrequency. A comparison of the
calculation with the measurement result (top: Campbell diagram of the dynamic torque) shows
deviations. Some of the measured dynamic torsion moments do not lie along the calculated
characteristic lines. The strong v-shaped features in particular, which meet the abscissa at
8.3 rps and 12.5 rps, indicate excitations that are not considered in the torsional analysis.
These excitation levels are caused by the variable-frequency drive.

the variable-frequency drive and lead to

the largest measured amplitudes. In addition to this important finding, the tests
also show that the control parameters of
the motor and the variable-frequency
drive have a strong influence on the
amplitudes of the torsional vibration. The
control strategy bears a significant potential to reduce the amplitudes. For
example, rapid acceleration through resonance frequencies is not always advantageous, because the excitations of tor-

sional vibrations are also higher due to

the required higher drive torque.
With the help of the measurements
that were carried out, Sulzer was able
to define the exclusion regions and test
the rapid passage through these critical
regions. The verification tests show that
the permissible torsional vibration amplitudes are not exceeded at any time. This
means that the customer can operate the
system productively and safely over the
long term. This example demonstrates

how important the measurement of

actual torsional vibrations is, in particular
for machinery with a variable-frequency
drive.

Frank May
Sulzer Innotec
Sulzer-Allee 25
8404 Winterthur
Switzerland
Phone +41 52 262 21 56
[email protected]

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 29

EVENTS & NEWS

July 30August 1, 2013, So Paulo, Brazil
Fenasan 2013 24th National Exhibition on Sanitation
and Environment Services
www.fenasan.com.br
September 15, 2013, Estoril, Portugal
EUROCORR 2013
www.eurocorr2013.org
September 1012, 2013, Darwin, Australia
SEAAOC 19th Annual South East Asia Australia
Offshore Conference 2013
www.seaaoc.com
September 1112, 2013, Tampere, Finland
EuroMining Trade Fair
www.euromining.fi
September 1518, 2013, Goinia, Brazil
Fitabes 2013 International Fair of Environmental
Sanitation Technologies
www.fitabes.com.br
September 1621, 2013, Essen, Germany
Schweissen und Schneiden Essen
www.schweissen-schneiden.com
September 2527, 2013, Shanghai, China
2nd International CTI Symposium Innovative
Automotive Transmissions, Hybrid & Electric Drive
http://cn.transmission-symposium.com
September 30October 3, 2013, Houston, TX, USA
Turbomachinery Symposium
http://turbolab.tamu.edu
October 24, 2013, Bangkok, Thailand
Power-Gen Asia
www.powergenasia.com
October 59, 2013, Chicago, IL, USA
WEFTEC 2013 86th Annual Water Environment
Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference
www.weftec.com
October 810, 2013, So Paulo, Brazil
ABTCP Pulp & Paper Congress
http://abtcp2013.org.br
October 911, 2013, New Orleans, LA, USA
International WorkBoat Show
www.workboatshow.com
October 1623, 2013, Dsseldorf, Germany
K 2013 International trade fair for plastics and rubber
www.k-online.de

Dispenser manufacturer
Sulzer has acquired Krger A/S, a
leading manufacturer of dispensers in
Greve, Denmark. The acquisition expands
the product portfolio of the Sulzer
Mixpac Systems business unit and
strengthens its position as a technology
leader and a provider for one- and twocomponent application systems for
industrial sealants and adhesives.
Over the last 50 years, Krger A/S
has developed high-quality manual,
pneumatic, and battery-driven one- and
two-component dispensers with the well-

known brand name MK Guns for numerous industry and construction applications. A joint development with Sulzer
for a spray coating dispenser has successfully opened new growth potential
in the area of corrosion protection.

Development of subsea pumps

Sulzer Pumps has strengthened its longstanding cooperation with FMC Technologies, Inc., a global provider of equipment and services for the energy industry.
The companies signed a long-term and
exclusive collaboration agreement on
subsea pumps.
Over the last several years, Sulzer
Pumps and FMC Technologies have
developed, built, and qualified a new,
high-speed helico-axial multiphase subsea
boosting unit based on Sulzer Pumps'
market-leading topside pump designs.
This new system received the Spotlight
on New Technology Awards at the Offshore Technology Conference OTC 2013
in Houston.

Biopolymer production plant

October 2025, 2013, Tianjin, China

IDA World Congress 2013
www.idadesal.org/world-congress
November 38, 2013, San Francisco, CA, USA
2013 AICHE Annual meeting
www.aiche.org/conferences
November 56, 2013, Bangkok, Thailand
OFI Asia 2013 Oils & Fats International
www.ofievents.com/asia
November 56, 2013, Ludwigsburg, Germany
Heavy-Duty-, On- und Off-Highway-Motoren 2013
8. Internationale MTZ-Fachtagung
www.atzlive.de
November 1214, 2013, Orlando, FL, USA
Power-Gen International
www.power-gen.com
November 1013, 2013, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
ADIPEC 2013
www.adipec.com
More events:
www.sulzer.com/events

30 | Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

Sulzer Chemtech has been awarded a contract for the delivery of a biopolymer
production plant in Asia. The facilitywith a capacity of more than 10 000 tons
per yearwill produce high-performance polylactic acid (PLA) for a broad range
of applications. The PLA produced with the proprietary Sulzer Chemtech technology
exhibits excellent crystallinity and withstands temperatures as high as 180 C
(see Sulzer Technical Review 1/2012, p. 13/14).

IMPRINT

Ceramic materials production

Sulzer Metco is expanding its ceramic
materials production site in Barchfeld,
Germany. The investment significantly
extends Sulzers production capacity for
agglomerated and sintered ceramics and
enhances customer service. Ceramic
materials are used in a broad range of
applications to make parts last longer
and function at optimal efficiency.
Demand is driven by the growing semiconductor and solid-oxide fuel cell
(SOFC) markets. The Barchfeld facility
also develops and produces a broad

range of high-quality carbides, such as

those with corrosion-resistant matrixes
for the oil and gas and aerospace industries, as well as carbides with unique
chemistries that are tailored to customers'
requirements.

2/2013
95th year of the STR
ISSN 1660-9042

Expansion of pump services

Sulzer Pumps has opened new service centers in China, Brazil, and South Africa.
The new service center in China is located in Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan
province. It provides pump services to the rapidly growing oil and gas, hydrocarbon
processing, and power industries of Southwestern China.
The new Brazilian service center is located in Nova Lima in the Minas Gerais
state. In this region, mining is prevalent, and the demand for dewatering pumps
and wastewater solutions is high. The new service center operates in close collaboration
with Sulzer Pumps' Curitiba manufacturing facility in Southern Brazil.
In South Africa, Sulzer Pumps has expanded its sales and service center and
relocated to a new premise in Durban. The new location is a larger facility that
houses service, sales, and project management to meet customer needs in the regions
of Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa.

Plant opening in China

At the end of April, Sulzer Metco
celebrated the opening of its new
12 000 m2 plant in Anting, the automotive
hub in the north of Shanghai. This
new facility supports Sulzer Metco
in serving its continuously growing
customer base in China more efficiently.
Sulzer Metco Shanghai now has
more than 225 coworkers and provides

The Sulzer Technical Review (STR) is a customer

magazine produced by Sulzer. It is published three
times a year in English and German and once a year
in Chinese. The articles are also available at:
www.sulzer.com/str

the Chinese market with:

Surface solution products and
services such as friction solutions
for drivetrain components
Surface treatment and coating
services
Sales of coating materials and
equipment
Customer support services

New plasma spray gun

Sulzer Metco released a new plasma spray
gun, the SinplexPro, with cascading
arc technology. Previewed in 2012 at the
International Thermal Spray Conference
in Houston, the SinplexPro is now ready
for immediate sale. The new spray gun
typically boosts process efficiency
for its customers by 60% to 170% over
conventional spray guns based on testing
performed to date.
Read more about the benefits of the cascading arc technology
from Sulzer: www.sulzer.com/cascadingarc

Publisher
Sulzer Management Ltd.
P.O. Box
8401 Winterthur, Switzerland
Editor-in-Chief
Tnde Kirstein
[email protected]
Editorial Assistant
Laura Gasperi
[email protected]
Advisory Board
Jocelyn Chang
Samuel Eckstein
Thomas Gerlach
Hans-Michael Hhle
Ernst Lutz
Claudia Prger
Heinz Schmid
Daniel Schnyder
Translations
Interserv AG, Zrich
Design
Typografisches Atelier
Felix Muntwyler, Winterthur
Printer
Mattenbach AG, Winterthur
July 2013
Reprints of articles and illustrations are permitted
subject to the prior approval of the editor.
The Sulzer Technical Review (STR) has been
compiled according to the best knowledge and
belief of Sulzer Management Ltd. and the
authors. However, Sulzer Management Ltd. and
the authors cannot assume any responsibility
for the quality of the information, and make no
representations or warranties, explicit or implied,
as to the accuracy or completeness of the
information contained in this publication.
Circulation: 16 000 copies.
Magno Satin 135 g/m2
from sustainably managed forests.

For readers in the United States of America only:

The Sulzer Technical Review is published periodically by
Sulzer Management Ltd., P.O. Box, 8401 Winterthur,
Switzerland. Periodicals postage paid at Folcroft, PA,
by US Mail Agent La Poste, 700 Carpenters Crossing,
Folcroft, PA 19032.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to Sulzer
Technical Review, P.O. Box 202, Folcroft, PA 19032.

Sulzer Technical Review 2/2013

| 31

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Our dedicated team of experts works

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always close to our customers.
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