Hindawi

International Journal of Rotating Machinery

Volume 2021, Article ID 6643282, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6643282

Research Article
Critical Hydraulic Eccentricity Estimation in Vertical Turbine
Pump Impeller to Control Vibration

Ravindra S. Birajdar ,1 Appasaheb A. Keste,2 and Shravan H. Gawande2

1
Corporate Research & Engineering Development, Kirloskar Brothers Limited, Pune, Maharashtra, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, M.E.S. College of Engineering, Pune, S. P. Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Correspondence should be addressed to Ravindra S. Birajdar; [email protected]

Received 25 December 2020; Revised 3 July 2021; Accepted 16 July 2021; Published 31 July 2021

Academic Editor: Sourabh V. Apte

Copyright © 2021 Ravindra S. Birajdar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.

In many applications, pumps are tested against standard specifications to define the maximum allowable vibration amplitude limits
of a pump. It is essential to identify the causes of vibration and methods to attenuate the same to ensure the safe and satisfactory
operation of a pump. Causes of vibration can be classified mainly into mechanical and hydraulic nature. Respective unbalance
masses are the two major factors which cause dynamic effects and excitation forces leading to undesirable vibrations. In this
paper, the procedure of vibration magnitude measurement of a vertical turbine pump at site and the process of dynamic
balancing to measure mechanical unbalance of an impeller are explained. After that, the impact of hydraulic eccentricity on the
vibration displacement of a vertical turbine pump has been explained using numerical simulation procedure based on “One-way
Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI).” The experimental results from a pump at site are used to compare the numerical results.
After the solver validation, the one-way FSI approach is used to find the critical hydraulic eccentricity magnitude of a vertical
turbine pump impeller to limit the vibration magnitudes on motor component to less than 100 μm. From the numerical
simulations, it is deduced that the critical hydraulic eccentricity should be limited to 400 μm in X and Y direction. The process
can be used as a guideline procedure for limiting the hydraulic unbalance in vertical turbine pumps by limiting the hydraulic
eccentricity.

1. Introduction structural type. The causes for the vibrations can be under-
stood by studying the data of the vibration readings over a
Geometrical deviation in any impeller is due to the range of flow, speed, and other variables such as pressure
manufacturing process. It is very difficult to produce an ideal and temperature. The rotor dynamics causes can be studied
component with design dimensions. Hence, the tolerances using spectrum analysis and Bode plots. The structural
are defined for the manufacturing process to ensure a safe resonance can be found using modal analysis. The fluid
and satisfactory operation. The existing process in any indus- dynamic vibrations can be studied using spectrum analysis
try is to have a final component within the specified toler- under different operating conditions. However, the predic-
ances. A pump impeller with geometrical deviation due to tion of fluid dynamic vibrations is very difficult to find dur-
the manufacturing process causes two types of unbalance: ing testing [1]. Dynamic balancing of a rotating system can
(1) mechanical unbalance and (2) hydraulic unbalance. The be used to limit the mechanical unbalance, which is a direct
mechanical unbalance can be corrected in machine shop by method. However, no direct method is available for hydraulic
removing or addition of material to align the mass center of unbalance. The reason for vibration in a pump unit ranges
the component with its center. However, no traditional over a broad range of causes, which includes the pump type
methods are available to eliminate the hydraulic balance in (radial, mixed flow, or axial), operating points at the site, sys-
a machine shop. The prevalent reasons for excessive pump tem resistance, type of fluid, design of impeller, and flow
vibrations are due to rotor dynamics, fluid dynamics, and intake conditions. The other important phenomenon which
2 International Journal of Rotating Machinery

Curtain wall

(a) (b)

Flow wall splitters

P5 P1 P2 P3 P4

(c) (d)

Figure 1: Pump intake—geometry and streamlines.

can cause vibrations is suction cavitation. All these factors pumping system can be divided into three parts: (1) pump
are to be considered for the possible causes of the severe intake, (2) pumping system, and (3) discharge system [9].
vibrations which may further lead to shaft failure and hence Different parts of a system-related flow characteristics
the operational loss to the customer [2]. Apart from the indi- and its impact are always coupled in a vertical turbine pump.
vidual components, the coupled impact also affects the The flow-induced forces in any part cause vibration of the
vibrations. A theoretical study has been conducted for an structure, and the structural vibrations are further impacting
impeller under two-dimensional conditions. It concluded the flow characteristics in return. Few of the fluid-structure
that the flow nonuniformity created by a rotating impeller interactions in a vertical pump are vortex-induced vibrations,
affects the volute casing performance [3]. At sites, FFT also flow-induced vibrations in annular sections, and flow insta-
used to measure the vibration displacements and predict bility due to leakage flow. These phenomena are further ver-
the possible cause of failure. Vertically suspended pumps ified with tests at different conditions [10]. The impeller
have been analyzed to find the root cause of the vibrations unbalance has been divided into two types: (1) mechanical
[4]. The upstream flow conditions of a pump suction or bell or structural unbalance and (2) hydraulic unbalance.
mouth are defined by the pump intake design. The possible Mechanical unbalance is purely related to the manufacturing
adverse flow phenomena near pump suction due to improper deviation. It is defined as the deviation between the mass cen-
intake design are high swirling flow, surface vortices of differ- terline of a rotating impeller and the shaft axis. Hydraulic
ent types, and air entrainment [5]. The improper intake unbalance is defined as the flow unevenness between impeller
design enhances the magnitude of vibrations in the pump vanes, which is due to geometrical deviations in vane pitch.
due to the resulting nonuniform flow condition at the suction The nonuniform vane pitch in an impeller which occurs dur-
side. Additionally, if there is any presence of manufacturing ing the manufacturing stage results in the hydraulic unbal-
deviation in a rotating geometry, it causes the increase in ance. This unbalance force rotates at rotor speed. Apart
the magnitude of the unbalance force. The unbalance force from the speed of the impeller, the flow rate also increases
magnitude raises with the raise in deviation from design the unbalance force [11].
geometry due to the manufacturing process [6]. The permis- Numerical tools and simulations are playing a major role
sible residual unbalance in terms of eccentricity for a rotating in the present digital world to predict the design product effi-
impeller has been given in the form of a graph in ANSI HI ciency prior to its manufacture. It also helps in studying the
standard [7]. Finding the cause of vibration for any pump product under typical operating conditions and viewing the
system at the site is not a single step method. It is a step- output parameters at different points, which is a cumbersome
wise method to trouble shoot vibration problem at site. The effort during testing. In centrifugal pump industry, numeri-
study of pump system is recommended to find the cause cal simulations are used in many applications, which include
and provide the solution. From the manufacturing point of performance prediction, cavitation and erosion level predic-
view, any deviation in the impeller design results in enhanc- tion, natural frequency of a system, and rotor dynamic anal-
ing the subsynchronous vibrations which further lead to shaft ysis. It is also possible to check the variation of different
failure in vertical turbine type pumps [8]. The operation of a parameters and its impact on the performance using numer-
vertical turbine pump depends on mainly on three factors ical tools. Numerical simulations are also having vital impor-
which are suction conditions which are the pump intake tance in pump intake design, impeller design, and system
design, discharge piping design, and the system resistance design. The primary output parameters from the simulations
characteristics. Accordingly, any vertical turbine pump are performance prediction, flow phenomenon prediction,
International Journal of Rotating Machinery 3

X Y

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 2: Continued.
4 International Journal of Rotating Machinery

(d)

Figure 2: (a) Pump vibration measurement location. (b) Pump at site. (c) Impeller. (d) Scanned image of impeller.

Table 1: Test data of vibration displacements.

and cavitation prediction. CFD tools are widely used by
industries to check the design and do the required modifica- Vibration readings on vertical turbine pumps, displacements (μm)
tions [12]. The recent developments in CFD tools include the Pump location Motor NDE Motor DE Pump DE
coupled flow simulation which describe the real flow phe- number X Y X Y X Y
nomenon. The coupling can be one way or two ways based 1 62 51 49 34 28 45
on the nature of the problem. Both methods have various
2 148 159 404 376 281 254
advantages in terms of accuracy and resources and applicable
for certain applications [13]. 3 99 119 59 61 55 41
The annular regions in the seals are with very high pres- 4 58 41 37 29 22 41
sure magnitudes, and the coupled flow analysis gives the 5 77 72 64 49 35 34
appropriate flow characteristics. The L/D ratio and impact
in annular seals are well predicted with FSI technique, and
its impact on critical speed is found to be aligned with the test and over a period of time changes the hydraulic profile of the
data [14]. The flow-induced forces are also possible due to vane. This continuous phenomenon causes excessive vibra-
upstream flow conditions and which can be limited by a tions in the rotating unit due to flow-induced unbalance
proper intake design. The suction recirculation is the main forces near the impeller with uneven mass distribution [18].
phenomenon result from improper intake design. In such The trouble shooting of vibration problems in vertical pumps
cases, the provisions like splitter walls at the back wall and and the solution for the same is possible with the available
bottom wall and the change in the design of the impeller in numerical tools. The impact of various structural modifica-
terms of the number of blades reduce the suction recircula- tions on structural resonance is possible to find with opti-
tion [15]. Moreover, the upstream flow impact will be mum resources. The stiffness of the prime mover base has
enhanced after the flow passes over the impeller-to- been increased numerically and found that the resonance
discharge system. The relative impact of the discharge system has been shifted from 1X operating speed [19]. Moreover,
can be well predicted by fluid-structure interaction. The the flow coupled simulations are used to find the cause of
numerical simulation results are found to be aligned with vibration in a vertical pump. Hydraulic unbalance is a phe-
the test data [16]. The Modal Analysis of Vertical Turbine nomenon which is possible to check only either by theoretical
Pump has been conducted for predicting the natural frequen- method or numerical tools. The one-way fluid-structure sim-
cies of the pump and to understand its mode shape. The ulation of a vertical turbine pump with hydraulic unbalance
structure can be modified or stiffened at appropriate loca- and its impact on vibration displacements have been pre-
tions based on the natural frequency margin over the operat- dicted and shown good agreement with the experimental test
ing speed of the pump [17]. The suction recirculation further data [20].
results in the cavitation of the impeller due to creation of low- The mechanical eccentricity is considered during
pressure zone. This results in pitting over the impeller surface dynamic balancing of rotating system. It is important to
International Journal of Rotating Machinery 5

Table 2: Details of mesh statistics of four test cases.

Mesh Bell mouth Impeller Bowl Column pipe Total nodes (million) Head (m) Absolute deviation with test data (%)
Mesh 1 0.017 0.23 0.31 0.12 0.68 22.6 —
Mesh 2 0.02 0.265 0.365 0.17 0.82 23.1 2.2
Mesh 3 0.0287 0.32 0.415 0.206 0.97 23.5 1.7
Mesh 4 0.033 0.375 0.47 0.235 1.12 23.6 0.5

consider hydraulic unbalance which cannot be balanced by 25

dynamic balancing method on balancing machine. Hence,
the purpose of the present study is to understand the impact 24
of hydraulic unbalance on the vibration displacements of

Bowl head (m)

specific rotor and stator components of a vertical turbine Mesh 3
23
pump. In addition, numerical studies are used to provide
the preliminary idea in terms of eccentricity of hydraulic
22
masses to limit the vibrations. First, the analytical method
(theoretical and graphical) is reported to estimate the eccen-
tricity of hydraulic rotating masses rotating in a single plane. 21
Second, to predict the impact of eccentricity of the hydraulic
portion on vibrations, numerical simulations were con- 20
ducted. ISO 1940-1:2003 was used as an experimental 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 1.1 1.2
method to estimate the vibration displacement limits of cer- Mesh (node) count in million
tain stator and rotor components. One-way fluid-structure
Figure 3: Mesh independent study (CFD) of the pump.
interaction method is used to estimate the impact of the
eccentricity on the vibration displacements of specific parts.
The obtained numerical results are compared with the test 2.3. Pump Vibration Measurements at Site. The vibrations are
results and found that the results are in good agreement. measured at motor top location as indicated in Figure 2(a) in
Finally, the eccentricity of hydraulic mass is used as a variable X, Y, and A directions. X and Y are vibrations in the lateral
in numerical simulations to estimate the impact of eccentric- direction, and A is in the axial direction. Vibrations are mea-
ity of hydraulic mass which leads to excessive vibrations in sured using NPP-KOHTECT make C911 vibration analyzer
the pump components. with magnetic base type accelerometer. Accelerometers are
mounted at respective locations to measure the vibration in
terms of displacement units being slow speed machine (less
2. Materials and Methods than 600 rpm speed). Vibrations are measured at Motor
2.1. Pump Intake Geometry. At site, there are totally five ver- Non-Drive End (MNDE) bearing, Motor Drive End (MDE)
tical turbine pumps for which the pump intake has been bearing, and Pump Drive End (PDE) bearing location. The
designed. Each pump is to deliver flow of 30000 m3/h with vibration response is obtained by capturing the vibration dis-
23.5 m head at the speed of 373 rpm. Figure 1 shows the placement data while pump is in operation.
geometry (a, b) and flow streamlines (c, d) of the modified
pump intake geometry. The sump geometry is having multi- 2.4. Pump Overhauling. Overhauling is a procedure to disas-
ple inlets to flow in the perpendicular direction to the fore semble the pump components and inspect the individual
bay wall. Pumps located in the pump chamber are notated components to replace and reassemble the pump. For the
as P1 , P2 , P3 , P4 , and P5 for measurement purposes. P stands pumps with high vibrations, the overhauling procedure has
for pump, and suffix number stands for pump number. Cur- been carried out to check the impeller, bowl unit, shaft, shaft
tain wall at the appropriate location in the original geometry, sleeves, bell mouth, suction side bearing, and shaft intermedi-
the guide walls, and flow wall splitters in the pump chambers ate bearings.
are finalized using CFD analysis for flow improvement in the 2.5. Dynamic Balancing of Impeller. The residual mass unbal-
sump, and the same have been incorporated at site. ance in any rotating system creates a force which further
transmits to the bearings and foundation unit when it rotates
2.2. Pump Vibration Problem. Excessive vibration was at rated speed. To minimize the forces, the balancing is to be
observed at the site for two pumps among 5 pumps. To carried out to limit unbalance mass by referring dynamic bal-
check the cause of the vibrations in two particular pumps ancing procedure. For the present case, balancing of the
and to reduce the magnitude of the vibration in respective rotating units comprising of parts like impeller, shaft, sleeves,
pumps, a step-by-step trouble shooting procedure has been and keys is carried as per standard ISO 1940 grade 6.3.
applied. Below subsections describe the vibration measure-
ment procedure along with the different phenomenon 2.6. Repeated Vibration Measurements. Vibration measure-
related to pump vibration. ment is conducted for 5 pumps at site, and Table 1 shows
6 International Journal of Rotating Machinery

1.23
Mesh 1 1.148
1.22 Mesh 1
1.146
Max. deformation (V), mm

Max. deformation (H), mm

1.21 1.144
1.2 1.142
1.19 Mesh 2 1.14
Mesh 3 1.138
1.18 Mesh 2
1.136 Mesh 3
1.17
1.134
1.16 1.132
1.15 1.13
543717 775858 1177506 543717 775858 1177506
Total no. of elements Total no. of elements

0.412
Mesh 3
0.41 Mesh 2
Max. deformation (A), mm

0.408
0.406
0.404
0.402
0.4 Mesh 1
0.398
0.396
0.394
0.392
543717 775858 1177506
Total no. of elements

Figure 4: Mesh independence study plots of FEA model.

Pressure 0.23142 Max

contour 1
0.2314
0.20578
0.2059
0.1804 0.18015
0.1549
0.15451
0.1294
0.1040 0.12888
0.0785
0.10324
0.0530
0.0275
0.07761
0.0020
–0.0235 0.051975

–0.0490
0.02634
–0.0745
0.00070488 Min
–0.1000
[MPa]
(a) (b)

Figure 5: Pressure contours from CFD model to structural model: (a) CFD model; (b) structural model after pressure mapping.
International Journal of Rotating Machinery 7

Table 3: Vibration displacements when impeller is with hydraulic unbalance.

Sr. no. Hydraulic eccentricity 688 (μm) Bell mouth Shaft Impeller Suction bearing Discharge bend Motor
Maximum vibration displacement X (μm)
1 Numerical results 296 239 222 173 57 137
2 Test results — — — — — 148
Maximum vibration displacement Y (μm)
1 Numerical results 364 298 279 222 64 141
2 Test results — — — — — 159

Table 4: Vibration displacement when the impeller is on hydraulic unbalance.

Sr. no Hydraulic eccentricity (μm) Bell mouth Shaft Impeller Suction bearing Discharge bend Motor
Maximum vibration displacement X (μm)
1 0 (design) 166 78 74 60 20 44
2 200 204 125 117 93 30 71
3 300 223 149 139 109 36 84
4 400 242 172 160 126 41 98
5 500 261 196 182 142 47 112
6 688 296 239 222 173 57 137
Maximum vibration displacement Y (μm)
1 0 (design) 236 138 132 111 27 47
2 200 273 185 174 143 38 74
3 300 292 208 196 159 43 88
4 400 310 232 217 176 49 101
5 500 329 255 239 192 54 115
6 688 364 298 279 222 64 141

the vibration readings near the motor Non Driving End and tetrahedron elements for 3D flow domain using Ansys
(NDE) and Motor Driving End (DE) in X and Y direction. ICEM CFD. The hydraulic geometry of pump is divided into
X direction represents the direction perpendicular to the dis- four domains: bell mouth, impeller, bowl, and column pipe. 3
charge flow, Y direction represents the direction along the layers of prism layers are generated near impeller blade wall
discharge flow, and A represents the shaft axis. The vibra- surfaces to resolve the boundary layer near rotating wall.
tions are also measured near the pump Driving End (DE) The mesh is independently created in fluid domains like
bearings. The measured vibration displacement readings are impeller, bowl geometry, discharge column pipes, and
much higher than the limit of 100 μm as specified by Hydrau- assembled for analysis purpose. Denser mesh is created near
lic Institute standard (HIS). Vibrations of pumps 1, 4, and 5 impeller vanes and bowl vane regions. In order to restrict the
are less than the specified limit by HIS. influence of grid number on the numerical results, a mesh
Table 1 indicates the high magnitude of displacements in independence study has been conducted with four different
pumps 2 and 3. This data is used to verify the impact of vane sets of mesh. The values of the relative deviation of total head
profile deviation on the performance of a pump using for each mesh with its subsequent mesh for 4 points are
numerical simulations. Figure 2 shows (a) the vibration mea- shown in Table 2. Mesh 3 is with 1.7% deviation, and mesh
surement location, (b) pumps installation at site, (c) manu- 4 is 0.5% deviation with respect to mesh 3. It means that
factured impeller, and (d) scanned data of the impeller, mesh 3 and mesh 4 are producing same consistent results.
respectively. So, it is decided to consider the mesh 3 as optimized mesh
with total node quantity of 0.97 million. Figure 3 shows the
2.7. Numerical Setup Procedure. The stability of any numeri- plot of total bowl head with respect to mesh numbers.
cal solution depends on the quality of mesh and its robust
nature. Since the present approach is a multiphysics solver
approach, a careful study of mesh is required in both solvers. 2.7.2. Mesh Independence Study (FE). The FE mesh is used to
Hence, a mesh independence study has been carried out in subdivide the CAD model into smaller areas called finite ele-
CFD and FE solvers. The following sections explain the ments, based on which a set of equations are solved. These
details of the studies conducted in each solver. equations approximately present the governing equation of
interest with a set of functions which are polynomial defined
2.7.1. Mesh Independence Study (CFD). The unstructured over each element. As the mesh is refined by making them
mesh is created using triangular elements for 2D surfaces smaller and smaller, the computed solution will converge to
8 International Journal of Rotating Machinery

Unit: 𝜇m Unit: 𝜇m
Global coordinate system Global coordinate system
Time: 2 Time: 1
–54.225 Max –40.402 Max
–59.103 –47.191
–63.981 –53.979
–68.859 –60.768
–73.737 –67.556
–78.615 –74.345
–83.493 –81.133
–88.37 –87.922
–93.248 –94.71
–98.126 Min –101.5 Min
(a) X direction (b) Y direction

Figure 6: Displacement contours of motor component in X and Y directions with hydraulic eccentricity of 400 microns.

Unit: 𝜇m Unit: 𝜇m
Global coordinate system Global coordinate system
Time: 2 Time: 3
172.33 Max 67.8 Max

147.69 34.523

123.04 1.2465

98.396 –32.031

73.752 –65.307

49.107 –98.584

24.463 –131.86

–0.1816 –165.14

–24.826 –198.42

–49.471 Min –231.69 Min

(a) X direction (b) Y direction

Figure 7: Displacement contours of shaft component in X and Y directions with hydraulic eccentricity of 400 microns.

the true solution. However, computation or simulation time In this analysis, the mesh independence study is car-
increases as the mesh elements decrease in size. Therefore, ried out on FE solver using three different mesh sizes to
an optimum mesh is required to validate any FE simulation estimate the variation in results such as displacements
through mesh independence. and stresses. Firstly, a coarse mesh was taken for analysis,
International Journal of Rotating Machinery 9

160 X-direction

Vibration displacement - X (Microns)

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750

160 Y-direction
Vibration displacement - Y (Microns)

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750
Hydraulic eccentricity (Microns)

Numerical P3-Test
P1-Test P4-Test
P2-Test P5-Test

Figure 8: Vibration displacement variation at motor end with hydraulic eccentricity in X and Y directions.

and subsequent finer meshes are taken with same loading to predict the flow-induced vibration on different compo-
and boundary conditions. nents. The process was established for vibration prediction
The results from mesh independence study are plotted on a VT pump using numerical simulations. The CFD results
between “Total number of elements” in model (abscissa) are predicted initially for total pump hydraulic geometry, and
vs. “maximum displacements” (ordinate) for all three direc- pressure mapping has been done on to the structural model.
tions. As seen from Figure 4, the variation between mesh 2 The pump geometry has been fixed at base plate and dis-
and mesh 3 results is within ±1%. It is observed that the charge flange locations along with the applied hydraulic load
number of elements in mesh 3 is almost 1.5 times (involves as pressure mapping. These boundary conditions are as per
higher computation time) as compared to second mesh, but the operating philosophy of pump at site. The deviation in
the change in deformation value is less than 1%. Hence, the the pressure mapping from CFD surfaces to structure part
mesh 2 with 775858 elements is optimum and used in fur- is found to be less than 5%. The output of the simulations
ther analysis. is the vibration displacements in X, Y, and Z directions on
motor geometry for comparison with the test data. The mea-
sured numerical data is reported to be in good agreement
3. Results and Discussion with the test data. For a set of assumptions and appropriate
3.1. One-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) Analysis of a boundary conditions, it is proved that the one-way FSI is a
Vertical Pump with Maximum Hydraulic Unbalance good option to predict the flow-induced vibrations in a VT
pump. Also, the impact of hydraulic load and hydraulic
3.1.1. Solver Validation. Birajdar et al. [20] conducted one- eccentricity is included in the process. Hence, the FSI meth-
way FSI numerical simulations on a vertical turbine pump odology is found to be suitable as an initial method with good
10 International Journal of Rotating Machinery

accuracy to predict the fluid induced vibration on different tion, the critical hydraulic eccentricity is found as 405
components in any VT pump and to find the limitation of microns. Similarly, for a limiting value of vibrational dis-
impeller hydraulic eccentricity and vane pitch. The pres- placement to 100 microns in Y direction, the critical hydrau-
sure mapping and the numerical results are explained lic eccentricity is found as 400 microns. Further, the test data
subsequently. of all 5 pumps is compared with the numerical predicted
The process consists of CFD analysis, structural analysis, results. These are found in very close vicinity to the numeri-
and comparison with experimental data. The results from the cal prediction. Using this methodology, the critical eccentric-
CFD analysis are used as input to the structural model based ity value is deduced by varying the hydraulic eccentricity of
on the hydraulic eccentricity and unbalance force. Figure 5 the impeller, to limit the maximum vibration displacement
shows the pressure contours from CFD and mapped vectors to 100 μm as per HIS standard.
to structural model. Measurements of vibrational displace-
ments near the motor surface are noted and compared with 4. Conclusions
the test data.
Table 3 shows the qualitative data of vibration dis- In this paper, one-way FSI coupling method is used to deter-
placements for both geometries. The displacements in X mine the interaction between the fluid and structure to deter-
and Y direction are compared with the displacement of mine the vibration displacements of a vertical turbine pump.
the motor component as per the test data. The deviation The pressure mapping has been carried out on the wetted
that is observed is less than 10%, which can be attributed surface of a vertical pump considering the direction of
to the assumptions in the analysis and the one-way appli- hydraulic load on specific parts. The deviation in the map-
cation of load. ping is approximately less than 5%.
The X and Y direction displacements for a maximum
3.2. One-Way Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis of Vertical hydraulic eccentricity case are compared with the test data
Pumps with Hydraulic Eccentricity as a Variable. Table 4 and found with a deviation less than 10%. This deviation is
shows the vibration displacements with respect to hydraulic mainly attributed to the assumptions and measurements of
eccentricity in X and Y directions, respectively. The selected the readings at site. Further simulations are carried out on
components are the shaft and suction bearing, which are the same geometry using hydraulic eccentricity as a variable.
located below the base plate and the motor which is above The numerical results shown that the components near to
the base plate. Now, the hydraulic eccentricity value has been the impeller are prone to more vibrational displacements
varied near the pump impeller in terms of rotational unbal- compared to components above the base plate. The allow-
ance force. During the experiment, the vibration displace- able vibration displacements as mentioned in the standard
ments are measured on the pump motor surface. The are much below to the results obtained from hydraulic
maximum limit for vibrational displacement should be below eccentricity variation cases. It is necessary to control the
100 microns. These vibrations are excited due to rotating hydraulic geometry of the impeller, in turn to control the
components below the base plate of motor. The rotating eccentricity value to limit the lateral vibrations of the pump.
components are rotating with the speed of the impeller, For a vertical turbine pump, the critical hydraulic eccentric-
which then leads to nonuniform pressure near the pump ity is found 400 microns using numerical simulations. It is
impeller. Hence, X and Y directional displacements observed observed that the one-way coupling fluid-structure interac-
are maximum. tion method in vertical pumps can be used to understand
The readings from Table 4 depict that the vibration dis- and predict the fluid-induced vibrations in any vertical tur-
placements in both X and Y directions are increasing line- bine pump. Further, it can be used to find and limit the
arly with the increase in hydraulic eccentricity. Bell mouth, eccentricity of an impeller due to the deviation in vane pitch
shaft, and the suction bearing are observed with high mag- and hydraulic geometry.
nitude of vibration displacements in both X and Y direc-
tions as these components are located near to the impeller Data Availability
which has hydraulic eccentricity. Figures 6 and 7 show the
contours of the vibrational displacements of the motor The results of study are new and not found elsewhere.
and shaft components with hydraulic eccentricity of 400
microns, respectively. Conflicts of Interest
It is observed that, as the hydraulic unbalance increases,
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests
the vibration displacements of all component increases in
regarding the publication of this paper.
the same manner as of a lever which has a fulcrum in
between. Therefore, the vibration displacement value is seen
in the increasing order, as one moves away from the fulcrum
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vibrations which are above base. From Figure 8, for a limiting influencing hydraulic forces on centrifugal impellers,” Pro-
value of vibrational displacement to 100 microns in X direc- ceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A:
International Journal of Rotating Machinery 11

Power and Process Engineering, vol. 201, no. 3, pp. 163–174, [19] M. Dalia, “Finite element analysis for structural modification
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