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Pumps101:Operation,MaintenanceandMonitoringBasics
DanielKernan Manager MonitoringandControlGroup,ITT ExecutiveSummary Pumpsareattheheartofmostindustrialprocesses,andthesecondmostcommonmachinein theworld.Becausetheyaresocommon,pumpsareoftenoverlookedasapotentialsourceof improvedproductivity,oracauseofexcesscostsifnotoperatedproperly.Plantmanagers, maintenanceengineersandproductionsupervisorsshouldadheretobestpracticesandunderstand theoperationaldosanddontsforemployingpumpsproperlyinmanufacturingandindustrial applications.Thiswhitepaperprovidesanoverviewofhowtooperatepumpsproperlyandthe performanceparametersthatneedtobemonitoredinapreventiveorpredictivemonitoringprogram. Italsodescribescontinuousmonitoringsystems,withseveralcasestudiesonhowtheycanbeapplied toimprovesystemperformanceandreducemaintenancecosts. Contents Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2 Pumpoperationbasics ...........................................................................................................................2 . Problemsofinefficientoperation............................................................................................................3 Pumpmonitoringandmaintenance........................................................................................................4 Pumpperformancemonitoring..............................................................................................................4 Pumpsystemanalysis..............................................................................................................................5 Pumpvibrationanalysis...........................................................................................................................6 Continuousconditionmonitoring............................................................................................................7 Casestudy1:Failedpumpcausesshutdownatrefinery........................................................................8 Casestudy2:Cornprocessorpickspredictiveconditionmonitoring.....................................................9 Casestudy3:Wirelessconditionmonitoringsavesboilerfeedwaterpumpatpapermill..9 AboutITT................................................................................................................................................10

Introduction AccordingtotheU.S.DepartmentofEnergys2002IndustrialElectricMotorSystemsMarket OpportunitiesAssessment,processpumpsaccountfor25percentoftotalmotorsystemenergyin manufacturingtoday.Thatmakesthepumpthesecondmostcommonelectronicmachineafterthe motor.Thoughtheperformanceofprocesspumpshasimprovedwithenhancementstodesign, materials,andtheemerginguseofdigitaltechnologytomonitorperformance,thebasicstructurehas changedlittleindecades. Acentrifugalpumpisarotatingmachine comprisedofsixmainpartsthatworktogether tokeepthepumpoperatingproperly.They includeanimpeller,apumpcasing,bearings,a bearingframe,ashaft,andamechanicalseal. Theoperatingprincipleofthepumpisto convertmechanicalenergytopressure.In operation,arotatingimpelleracceleratesa liquidandastheareaofthepumpcasing expandsthevelocityofthefluidisconvertedto pressure.Asaresultpressurizedfluidexitsthe pumpdischarge. Pumpoperationbasics BestEfficiencyPoint(BEP),theflowratewhere apumphasitshighestefficiency,isakeyfactorto assesswhetherapumpisbeingoperatedproperly. FewpumpsoperateattheirexactBEPallofthetime, becauseprocessvariablesinaproductionenvironment arenot100percentconstant.Butapumpthatis properlysizedforitsapplicationwillmaintainaflow nearpeakefficiency.Maintainingaflowbetween80 percentand110percentofBEPisagoodrangeto maximizeefficiencyandminimizetheriskofexcessive wearorpumpfailure. Unfortunately,manypumpsdonotachievethislevelofefficiency.Considerastudybythe FinnishTechnicalResearchCenterofnearly1,700pumpsat20processplantsacrossmultiple industries.Thestudydeterminedthataveragepumpingefficiencyisbelow40percent,andmorethan 10percentofpumpswererunningbelow10percentefficiency.
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Problemsofinefficientoperation Improperlysizedpumpsarethemajorculpritwhenitcomestopumpinefficiency.Foravariety ofreasons,processpumpsfrequentlyareoversizedfortheneedsoftheprocess.Onereasonisthat processparametersareoftennotfullydefinedaspumpsarebeingspecifiedandbecausenoone waseverfiredforhavingtoomuchhorsepower,engineerstendtoerronthesideofoverestimating pumpneeds.Itsalsopossibleforapumpthatisperfectlysuitedtoitsfirstinstallationtobecome oversizedorundersizedasthedemandsoftheprocesschange.

OperationtotheRightofBEP OperationtotheLeftofBEP

WhenapumpoperatestoofaroffBEP,forcesinsidethepumpbecomeimbalanced,whichcan causepartstodeflectandwearexcessively.OperatingtotherightofBEP,aconditionknownas runout,meansthattheflowrateishigherthanthepumpwasdesignedtomaintain.Thehighflow increasestheexitvelocityoffluidleavingthepump,whichinturncreatesalowpressureareainside thepump.OperatingtotheleftofBEPoccurswhenthedischargeflowisrestricted,causingfluidtore circulatewithinthepumpalsocreatingalowpressureareawhichcanleadtoincreasedradialloading andlowflowcavitation. Ineithercase,thecreationofimbalancedpressureincreasestheradialloadsontheimpeller, whichcancauseshaftdeflectionthebendingoftheimpellershaft,whichincreasesvibrationofthe pump.Thevibrationandimbalanceforcescancreatestressonthepumpsinternalcomponentsmost likelytobeseenfirstinthebearingsand/ormechanicalseals,thetwopartsofacentrifugalpumpthat failmostoften. Cavitationisanotherproblemthatinefficientpumpoperationcancause.IthappenswhenNet PositiveSuctionHead(NPSH)thepressureprovidedatthesuctionofthepumplessthefluidsvapor pressureistoolow.Whenfluidpressureonthetrailingsideoftheimpellerblade(oppositethe pumpintake)fallsbelowthevaporizationpointofthefluid,vaporbubblesbegintoform.Whenthese vaporbubblesreachanareaofhighpressureinsidethepump,theycancollapseviolentlycausing sudden,unevenaxialandradialloadingontheimpeller.This,inturn,cancauseshaftdeflectionthatis randomindirectionandoftensevereinmagnitude.
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Pumpmonitoringandmaintenance Intheidealworld,allpumpswouldbeproperlysizedtorunconstantlyattheirbestefficiency points.Intherealworldofanindustrialplant,thisisimpracticalbecauseprocessesarefluidboth literallyandfiguratively. Formulationschangeandproductionratesvary,buttypicallythehundredsifnotthousandsof pumpssupportingprocessdonotchangewiththem.Thesolutiontomaintainingreliablepump operationsisarobustmaintenanceprogramthatcombinesmonitoringbasicmachinehealthdatain additiontopumpoperatingconditions. Therearefourareasthatshouldbeincorporatedinapumpmaintenanceprogram. Pumpperformancemonitoringandpumpsystemanalysis Vibrationmonitoring Bearingtemperature Visualinspections Individually,eachoftheseisimportantindicators;collectively,theyprovideacompletepicture astotheactualconditionofthepump. Pumpperformancemonitoring Ideallyfiveparametersshouldbemonitoredtounderstandhowapumpisperforming:suction pressure,dischargepressure,flow,pumpspeed,andpower. Ataminimum,suctionanddischargepressureareessentialfordeterminingtheTotalDynamic Head(TDH)ofthepumpandtheavailableNetPositiveSuctionHead(NPSHa).Understandingthe pumpTDHiscriticaltoestimatingwherethepumpisrunningwithrespecttoBEP.Thesuctionand dischargepressurearemeasuredbyeitherpressuretranducersthatcantransmitrealtimedataor pressuregauges,andtheinstallationofthetapsforthegaugesisveryimportant.Ideally,theyshould belocatedadjacenttothepipewallandonthehorizontalcenterlineofthepipe.Theyshouldalsobein astraightsectionofpipe,ideallyasection10timesthediameterora60inchstraightsectionfora sixinchdiameterpipe.Locatingthetapsinelbowsorreducerswillnotaccuratelygaugethetruestatic pressureduetothevelocityheadcomponent.Alsoavoidlocatingtapsinthetoporbottomofthe pipe,wheretheycanbecomeairboundorcloggedwithsolids. Therearelimitationsusingjustsuctionanddischargepressuremeasurements.Ifthepumpis operatedbyavariablespeeddevice,pumpspeedmustbefactoredinusingtheaffinitylaws,which statethechangeinTDHisproportionaltoSpeed^2.Itisalsodifficulttodeterminepumpwear.Asthe pumpwearsandinternalclearancesincreasethepumpsabilitytogeneratepressurewilldecrease. Withoutadditionalinformation,thisdecreaseinpressurecouldbeinterpretedasachangeinthe processconditionsandnotnecessarilyawornpump.
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Anaccuratepowermeasurement,incombinationwithsuctionanddischargepressurereadings, canbeapowerfultoolinassessingpumpperformance.Whilecurrenttransducersofferthemostbasic andcosteffectivepowermonitoringsolution,applytheirreadingscautiously.Motorampsarenot directlyproportiontoload.Factorssuchasinputvoltage,powerfactorandmotorefficiencyshouldbe consideredtoaccuratelydeterminetheactualshafthorsepowerbeingtransmittedtothepump. Developedforfixedspeedpumpingapplicationsandatypicalinvestmentoflessthan$1,000USD,low voltagepumploadmonitorsofferunsurpassedprotectionforunderloadandoverloadconditionsthat mostoftenresultinmechanicalsealdamageorpumpfailure.Pumpspeedalsoplaysafactorin centrifugalpumploadmonitoringandthechangeinpowerisproportionalspeed^3.Additionally, changestothefluidpropertiessuchasspecificgravityandviscositycanhaveanimpactonpump powerandshouldbeconsidered.Combiningbothsuctionanddischargepressurewithload monitoringcanproveveryeffectivetounderstandingwherethepumpisoperatingwithrespectto BEP. Intheidealworld,flowmeasurementscouldbeobtainedonallpumps.However,thisoften provesimpractical,butvitalforunderstandingoverallpumpefficiency.Insomeinstallations, permanentflowmetersareinstalledtomakethejobofmonitoringeasier.Makesuretheseflow metersareworkingproperlyandhavebeencalibratedonaregularschedule.Anoninstrusive temporarysolutioncouldbetheuseofclamponultrasonicflowmeters.Thesedevicescanworkona rangeofpipediametersandprovideflowaccuracyinrangeof1percent.Thechallengeisfindinga straightrunonpipewhichtypicallyrequires10xdiametersbeforeand5xdiametersaftertheflow. Whenalloftheaboveparametersareknown,itbecomesasimplematterofcalculatingpump performance.Thereareinstanceswhenitisverydifficult,ifnotimpossible,todetermineallofthe aboveparametersinthefield.Inthesecases,thefieldengineermustrelyonhisorherabilityto understandwhereacompromisemustbemadetogetthejobdone.Thebasicdocumentthefield engineermusthaveisthepumpperformancecurve. Pumpsystemanalysis Pumpsystemanalysisisoftenoverlookedbecauseitisassumedthatthesystemwas constructedwiththeinstalledpumpinmind,andthatoperationofthepumpsisinaccordancewith designspecifications.Thisisoftennotthecase.Pumpsareoftenpurchasedascomponentstomeetan individualprocessneedorestimatedneednotaspartofacomprehensivesystemdesign. Atypicalsystemanalysiswillincludethefollowinginformation:NPSHA,NPSHR,statichead, frictionlossthroughthesystem,andacompletereviewofthepipingconfigurationandvalving.The processmustalsobeunderstoodbecauseitultimatelydictateshowthepumpsarebeingoperated.All indicatorsmayshowthepumpisindistresswhentherealproblemisitisbeingrunatloworhigh flowswhichwillgeneratehighhydraulicforcesinsidethepump.

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Apumpperformancemonitoringprogramthatincorporatesallofthetopicsdiscussedwill greatlyenhancetheeffectivenessoftheprogram.Themorecompleteunderstandingtheengineerhas ofthepumpingsystem,themoreeffectivethemaintenanceprogrambecomes. Pumpvibrationanalysis Vibrationanalysisisthecornerstoneofallpumpperformancemonitoringprograms.The vibrationlevelofapumpisdirectlyrelatedtowhereitisoperatingandinrelationtoitsBEP.The furtherawayfromtheBEP,thehigherthevibrationswillbe.Thereisnoabsolutevibrationamplitude levelthatisindicativeofapumpindistress.However,thereareseveralguidelinesthathavebeen developedastargetvaluesthatenabletheanalysttosetalarmlevels.Userscandeveloptheirownsite criteriaasaguideline,andinstitutionssuchastheHydraulicInstitutehavedevelopedindependent vibrationcriteria.Cautionshouldbeexercisedwhenapplyingthepublishedvalues,sinceeach installationisunique.Whenamachineisinitiallystarted,abaselinevibrationreadingshouldbetaken andtrendedovertime. Typically,readingsaretakenonthemotoroutboardandinboardbearinghousingsinthe verticalandhorizontaldirectionsandonthepumpoutboardandinboardbearinghousingsinthe verticalandhorizontaldirections.Additionally,anaxialvibrationmeasurementistakenonthepump. Theinboardlocationisdefinedasthecouplingendofthemachine.Itiscriticalthatwhenthebaseline vibrationmeasurementistakenthattheoperatingpointofthepumpisalsorecorded. Theengineermustalsolookatthefrequencywheretheamplitudeisoccurring.Frequency identifieswhatthedefectisthatiscausingtheproblem,andtheamplitudeisanindicationofthe problemsseverity.Thesearegeneralguidelinesanddonotcovereverysituation.Bearingdefect analysisisanotherusefultoolthatcanbeusedinmanyconditionmonitoringprograms.Each componentofarollerbearinghasitsownuniquedefectfrequency.Vibrationequipmentavailable todayenablestheengineertoisolatetheuniquebearingdefectsanddetermineifthebearingisin distress.Thisallowstheusertoshutthemachinedownpriortoacatastrophicfailure.Thereare severalmethods,butthemostpracticalfromafieldengineeringperspectiveiscalledbearing enveloping.Inthismethod,specialfiltersbuiltintotheanalyzerareusedtoamplifytherepetitivehigh frequencysignalsinthehighfrequencyrangeandamplifytheminthelowfrequencypartofthe vibrationspectrum.Bearingmanufacturerspublishthebearingdefectfrequencyasafunctionof runningspeedwhichallowstheengineertoidentifyandmonitorthedefectfrequency.Similarto conventionalvibrationanalysis,abaselinemustbeestablishedandthentrended. Itisalsogoodpracticetomonitorbearingtemperature.Themostaccuratemethodtomonitor theactualbearingtemperatureistouseadevicethatwillcontacttheouterraceofthebearing.This requiresholestobedrilledintothebearinghousings,whichisnotalwayspractical.Inmost circumstancesatemperaturesensormountedtothebearinghousingwillsufficetoalertofpossible lubricationbreakdownorlackthereof.Theothermethodistheuseofaninfraredguninwhichthe analystaimsthegunatapointonthebearinghousingwherethetemperaturereadingisgoingtobe
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taken.Thetemperaturebeingmeasuredistheoutsidesurfaceofthebearinghousing,however,not theactualbearingtemperature.Thismustbeconsideredwhenusingmonitoringthebearinghousing temperature. Continuousconditionmonitoring Themostrudimentaryformofconditionmonitoringisvisualinspectionbyexperienced operatorsandmaintenanceengineers.Walkaroundsarepartofanypreventivemaintenance program,andcandetectfailuremodessuchascracking,leaking,orcorrosionbeforepumpfailureis likely. Continuousvibrationanalysisonrotating equipmentisamorecertainwaytospotproblems beforetheyhappen,whichistheessenceof predictivemaintenance.Onecategoryofsolutions istoinstallawarningsignalasimplemechanical vibrationswitchordigitalwarninglightthatwill indicateexcessivevibrationonindividualpumps. Toachievethefullbenefitsofapredictive maintenanceprogram,plantscanemploydigital monitoringsystemsthatgathermore comprehensivedataonpumpperformance.Frost &Sullivanpredictsrisingadoptionofthesedigitalmonitoringsystems,withgrowthratesof510 percentperyear.Optionsinclude: Wiredsystems,whereequipmentsensorsarehardwiredtorackbasedcomputerservers,with dataaccessedandanalyzedoveraninternalnetwork Wirelesssystems,wheresensorstransmitdatatoacentralhub,withdataaccessedand analyzedoversecureInternetconnections Integratedsystems,wherehardwiredandwirelesssensorsfeeddatatoaninternalserver basednetwork. Allofthesesystemsprovidecontinuousmonitoringofkeymachinehealthindicators includingperformance,includingvibration,temperature,flowpressureandpowerandprovide advancewarningoftroublebeforeitoccurs.Ingeneral,wiredsystemsaremorecostlytoimplement andprovidemorecomprehensiveprocessrelatedinformation.Wirelesssystemsaresimplertoinstall andprovidegreateraccessibilitytoinformation.Datafromwirelesssystemscanbefedtoautomated processcontrolsystemstoprovideafullyintegratedsolution.
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Themonitoringdatafromadigitalconditionmonitoringsystemcanbetransferredtoboththe controlroomandtoawebbasedmonitoringplatform.Simple,easytounderstandKeyPerformance Indicators(KPI)suchasNPSHa,BEPpercentageandvibrationdataallowanyoperatortomonitorpump operationswithoutspecialtraining.Whenmoreadvanceddiagnosticsarenecessarysuchasvibration spectrumsandtimewaveformsthereliabilityandmaintenanceteamscanaccessthesystemfromany webenableddevice.Thesystemintegratesmaintenanceandoperationaldatainasingledashboard, improvingoperationalefficiencyandreducingtheneedforonsitemanualmonitoring. Casestudy1:Failedpumpcausesshutdownatrefinery AcatastrophicfailureoccurredataNorthAmericanrefinerythatproducesabout70,000barrels ofoiladay.Afirebrokeoutatthebottomofavacuumtower,forcingathreedayshutdownthatcost $1.5millionindamagesandlostproductiontime.AninvestigationquicklyidentifiedafailedAPIOH3 pumpasthecause. Thisisamorecommonoccurrencethanonemightthink,ifpumpsarenotoperatedand maintainedproperly.Onaverage,oneoutofevery1,000pumpswithafailedmechanicalsealleadsto afire.Arootcauseanalysisrevealedthatthepumpsmechanicalsealcausedthefireandareview
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ofmaintenancerecordsshowednumerousrepairsandpartsreplacementsconsistentwithoffBEP pumpoperationintheweeksandmonthsleadinguptothefire.Subsequenttothedisaster,the refineryinstalledacontinuousmonitoringsystemin2009.Innearlytwoyearssincethesystemwas installed,therefineryhasrequirednounplannedmaintenanceonitspumps. Casestudy2:Cornprocessorpickspredictiveconditionmonitoring Theprocessingandrefiningofcornintoitsvariousmassmarketproductssuchasstarch,high fructosecornsyrupandglucoserequiresalargeinvestmentinplantandequipment.Asthelargest cornprocessorinCanada,CascoInc.hasasubstantialinvestmentinpumpsandotherrotating equipment.Sinceitsfoundingalmost150yearsago,Cascohasbeenconsistentlylookingtoimprove theeffectivenessofplantoperationsbyeffectivelycontrollingmaintenancecosts. CascofoundtheanswerwithapredictiveconditionmonitoringsystemfromITT,enablingplant officialstoidentifysuchproblemsasawornbearingthatcanbepickedupbyvibrationand temperaturesensorstoavoidasystemshutdown.Therepairscouldthenbescheduledataconvenient timetominimizedowntimeandlostproduction. CascoispresentlyusingtheITTsolutioninthreedifferentareasoftheplant,enablingmanagers togoonlineatanytimetocheckpumpreadings,providingacosteffectivesolutiontomaintaining uptimeonallofrotatingequipment. Casestudy3:Wirelessconditionmonitoringsavesboilerfeedwaterpumpatpapermill ANorthAmericanpulpandpapermillwasexperiencingfailuresonamultistageboilerfeed waterpumpeverysixto12months.Afterthethirdfailurewithin36months,ITTPROServicesoffered toinstalltheITTProSmartWirelessConditionMonitoringsystemonthepumptoprovide24/7 monitoring.Shortlyaftertheinstallation,ProSmartdetectedhighvibrationonthepumpandalerted themillsmaintenancestaff.Afterreviewingtheoperationaldataitwasconfirmedthatthepumpwas operatingtotheleftofBEP,nearminimumflow,causingthehighvibrationandeventualfailure.Itwas laterdiscoveredthatthepumpwasbeingimproperlyusedasthetrimpump.Thepumpwasoriginally designedandsizedtoprovidebaseloadtotheboiler.Atperiodsoflowdemand,however,the dischargevalvewasbeingheavilythrottledtoreducethetotalloadtotheboilercausingthepumpto runbackonitspumpperformancecurve.Bycombiningbothmachinehealthdataandoperational data,therootcauseofthefailurewasidentifiedandcorrected.SincetheinstallationoftheProSmart WirelessConditionMonitoringSystemthepumphasnotexperiencedanyfailures. Conclusion Whilemanagers,maintenanceengineersandproductionsupervisorsarecontinuallychallenged tomaintainproduction,theycantlosesightofproperpumpoperationandmaintenancethat improvesefficiencyandreducesdowntime.TheyneedtoensurethatpumpsareoperatingnearBEP,
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andcloselymonitorpumpperformanceparameters,includingsuctionpressure,dischargepressure, flow,pumpspeed,andpower.Inadditiontopreventivemaintenance,itsincreasinglyessentialto makepredictivemaintenancepartofarobustmonitoringprogram.Conditionmonitoringsystems supportbothmachinestatusandprocessdatatoanswerwhypumpsareabouttofail,notjustwhen andwhere.Byimplementingthesebestpractices,operatorscanruntheirpumpslikethepros,while boostingefficiencyandreducingriskatthesametime. AboutITT ITTCorporationisahightechnologyengineeringandmanufacturingcompanyoperatingonallseven continentsinthreevitalmarkets:waterandfluidsmanagement,globaldefenseandsecurity,and motionandflowcontrol.Withaheritageofinnovation,ITTpartnerswithitscustomerstodeliver extraordinarysolutionsthatcreatemorelivableenvironments,provideprotectionandsafetyand connectourworld.HeadquarteredinWhitePlains,N.Y.,thecompanygenerated2009revenueof $10.9billion.www.itt.com

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