Taking Care of Your Pumps

Jim DeLee, Fluid Components International, LLC

Don’t fall into the trap of early pump replacement or repair by

ignoring best installation and maintenance pump practices.
If you learn to take care of your pumps, they’ll take care of you.

“A
n ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” engineers should control material flow to ensure that pumps
may have been coined by process and plant engi- operate efficiently. This results in moving stock or product with
neers tired of repairing or replacing pumps. Pumps the least possible expenditure of energy, reducing maintenance
are often the most under-serviced pieces of equipment in pro- requirements and extending the life of the pump.
cess automation when it comes to maintenance and preven- Failing to control material flow effectively can lead to some
tion best practices. Unfortunately, nothing moves without the unwanted conditions, such as cavitation, pump bearing failure
humble pump, and a process becomes inefficient when a pump or seal failure. Cavitation can reduce through-put or even cause
doesn’t operate properly or completely shuts down. Many times quality problems. Losing a bearing or a seal can lead to pump
the pump manufacturer is seen to be the problem, when in fact shutdown, possibly process line shutdown and progressively
the process or the surrounding equipment configuration is the worse conditions.
cause.
Engineers and technicians looking to optimize their pro- Monitoring for Irregular Flows
cess for productive operation can start with protecting the The first step in protecting your process and pump is analyz-
pump against common hazards. Pump protection improves ing the flow. You want to analyze the flow to ensure the media
end-product or batch quality, reduces material costs, eliminates is flowing regularly at the pressure required by the pump with
waste and lowers maintenance costs. Taking good care of your a minimum headloss. Any number of process conditions
pump delivers a positive payback. Here are some simple strate- can cause irregular flow—turbulence, temperature changes,
gies that can be employed—starting with an analysis of process unwanted air ingestion, etc. Irregular flows and turbulence, in
media flow rates. particular, can be especially challenging to solve because elimi-
nating the root causes are often difficult to impossible—so you
Protecting Your Process—24/7 need a workaround strategy.
Today’s highly competitive global market finds demanding pro- The chief culprit when it comes to damaged pumps is the
cess industries—petrochemicals (see Figure 1), food/beverage, buildup of heat from low flow or dry running conditions, which
pharmaceutical, water/waste treatment, etc.—transforming occur when liquid flow dramatically slows down or stops flow-
their plants into 24/7 lean operations. The result is pumps in ing altogether through the line or the pump. When the liquid
most plants running near capacity to keep up with material isn’t there to provide cooling, the heat can destroy a pump’s
through-put objectives and demand. One of the most common bearings or seals. If repair is even possible, it is going to be very
hazards to effi- expensive if you factor in downtime.
cient pump
operation is Eliminating Irregular Flows
irregular mate- Pumps require a stable upstream flow profile in the pipeline
rial flow, which before liquid enters the pump for proper and efficient opera-
can result in tion. Irregular flows often result in cavitation, a condition where
three negative cavities form in the liquid at the point of pump suction. One
conditions: (1) industry pump installation guideline suggests placing at least
flow turbulence, ten diameters of unobstructed pipe between the point of pump
(2) low flows or suction and the first elbow or other disturbance. Obstructions
(3) dry running and/or corrosion in a pipe can change the velocity and flow
conditions. profile of the media and affect its pressure as well.
Fa c i l i t i e s In most cases, plant real estate limitations result in the
Figure 1 and plant placement of elbows, valves or other equipment that are too

PUMPS & SYSTEMS www.pump-zone.com FEBRUARY 2008 51

 Troubleshooting Guide

close to a pump, and these devices can create swirl and velocity profile distortions, turbulence, swirl and other flow anomalies
profile distortion in the pipeline (as well as pressure changes). in your pipeline will result in a repeatable, symmetric and swirl-
Such disturbances can result in excess noise and cavitation, free velocity profile with minimal pressure loss.
resulting in reduced bearing and/or seal life. To increase a pump’s life, start with a more stable operat-
A good solution to ensure an optimal flow profile for effi- ing environment. A conditioned flow stream enters the pump’s
cient operation is to install an inline or elbow flow conditioner impeller in a uniform and equally distributed pattern, optimiz-
upstream from your pump. Isolating the effects of velocity ing pump efficiency and extending bearing life while at the same
time decreasing noise and cavitation.
If there is no choice other than to
deal with less than ideal piping config-
urations, an inline or elbow flow condi-
tioner will eliminate all upstream straight
run requirements for pumps, compres-
sors, flowmeters and other critical pro-
cess equipment. Tab type flow condi-
tioners have proved successful in these
applications. Other flow conditioning
choices, including tube bundles, honey-
combs and perforated plates, may also be
considered depending upon the pressure
drop limitations.
The inline or elbow flow condition-
er’s profile conditioning tabs produce
rapid cross-stream mixing, forcing higher
velocity regions to mix with lower veloc-
ity regions. The shape of the resultant
velocity profile is “flat” and repeatable
regardless of the close-coupled upstream
flow disturbances.
Incorporating anti-swirl mechanisms
into the design of the flow conditioner
eliminates the swirl condition typically
seen exiting 90-deg elbows. The result
is a flow stream that enters the pump in
such a way that maximizes the efficiency
of its operation and reduces stress. In
addition, the tapered design of the anti-
swirl and profile conditioning tabs make
them immune to fouling or clogging.

Pump Flow Monitoring

Avoiding the damage caused by a low
flow or a dry running condition can be
achieved with a point flow switch in the
process loop. Dual relay flow switches
will not only detect a low flow condi-
tion, but also alarm on a dry condition.
This capability allows the control system
or operator to take corrective measures
before the bearings of the pumps are
overheated and fail.
This dual-function flow switch
indicates flow, temperature and/or level
sensing in a single device. It can be speci-
fied in either insertion or in-line styles
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52 FEBRUARY 2008 www.pump-zone.com PUMPS & SYSTEMS
for large pipe or small line applications. This single switch proactive in evaluating the necessity of pump shutdown.
monitors flow and temperature simultaneously. P&S
Jim DeLee is a senior member of the technical staff at Fluid
Choosing a Flow Switch Components International, LLC, 1755 La Costa Meadows
When evaluating a flow switch for pump protection or any Drive, San Marcos, CA 92078, 800-863-8703, Fax:
application, the first step is choosing the appropriate flow tech- 760-736-6250, www.fluidcomponents.com.
nology. There are multiple flow switch sensing technologies
available, including:
• Paddle
• Piston
• Thermal Mass
• Pressure
• Magnetic Reed

Each of these technologies has

advantages/disadvantages, depending on
the media and the application require-
ments. Some may be the only choice in
certain media for your application. By
looking at these factors, as well as your
plant’s layout, environmental conditions,
maintenance schedules, energy cost and
ROI, you will quickly be able to narrow
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the field to one or two best choices.
Here are three preventative, proac-
tive steps to take to avoid early pump )SKEEPINGYOUROLD
replacement: SCREWPUMPALIVE
1. When designing new plants or retro- COSTINGTOOMUCH
fitting old ones, be sure to consider
pump requirements. Optimizing #ALL,EISTRITZ
your process with your pumps in 7ELLUSEASTANDARD,EISTRITZ
mind offers a wide range of benefits: PUMPCARTRIDGETHATBEST
higher capacity, improved quality, MEETSYOURSPECSANDFABRICATE
lower energy costs, reduced main- ACASINGTOMATCHYOUREXISTING
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tenance and increased equipment
INTERFACES!LLYOUWILLHAVETO
(pump) life. DOISREMOVETHEOLDPUMPAND
2. Consider inserting a flow condi- DROPINTHENEW
tioner to eliminate turbulent flow
problems. Irregular flows caused by s4YPICALLYCOSTSLESSTHAN
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turbulence frequently result when
the minimum pipe straight runs s.OHOTWORKORFOUNDATION
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required between the point of pump
suction and elbows, valves or other s/NLYONEMECHANICALSEALNO
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equipment are either ignored or
pushed to the limits. Inserting a flow s2EPLACEABLEPUMPCARTRIDGE
conditioner frequently eliminates FOREASYMAINTENANCE
turbulent flow problems.
3. Protect your pump from accidental WWWLEISTRITZCORPCOMPUMPS
low flow or dry running conditions,
which can lead to bearing or seal
loss and expensive repairs. A dual
alarm flow switch in your process #HESTNUT3TREET!LLENDALE.*4ELEPHONE  &AX  
loop not only protects the pump
from damage, but will alert you to
a potential problem and let you be
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PUMPS & SYSTEMS www.pump-zone.com FEBRUARY 2008 53