We have proposed a screw pump for 680Cst HFO with a capacity 1500m3/hr along with

a heating system. The client have installed the pumps but not the heating system and
started pumping 380Cst product. But they are experiancing a very high sound and
vibration. I have checked the available and required NPSH ie NPSH required is 5.4mWC
.and the pressure available at the suction nozzle of the pump is 65KPaa (6.62mWC)
During the test run we have observed a suction pressure of 0.4barg at suction. To my
.understanding the cause points to cavitation due to lack of heating system
Can we mitigate this problem with out installing a heating system. I would appreciate if
.you share if you have a different openion or solution
Mind goes directly to cavitation; there will be stronger evidence for it, if pump flow is
verified to fall considerably from the specified value of 1500 m3/h (also resulting in
discharge pressure reduction). Screw pump cavitation seems more "progressive"
compared to centrifugal pumps (see http://www.springer...2mt38646581631/), yet
.symptoms are similar
Assuming HFO sg = 1.0, NPSHr=5.4 m CL in pump data sheet; suction pressure = 1.41 bara during test (14.4 m CL). What was operating temperature of (non heated) fuel oil
during test? Vapor pressure of "dry" fuel oil is usually quite low (to ensure flash point>60
oC), but vapor pressure of any water content is additive to it, since the two liquids are not
miscible. Moreover HFO temperature should be at least 90 oC to suspect cavitation from
water vapor (vap press = 0.7 Bara) under test conditions, and this 90 oC is probably
higher than operating temperature. Anyway check both water and HFO vapor pressures
.at actual operating temperature
Can you feed the screw pump with another liquid (water at ambient temperature?) to see .whether it runs smoothly? You can exclude pump mechanical problem in this way
At the end I would repeat the test using fuel oil with more instruments (at any case additional suction manometer for verification of 0.4 Barg) in the presence of a
.representative of pump supplier
HFO heating to a higher temperature (i.e. reducing suction frictional P) is not certain to .solve the problem, according to my understanding
?Gold: So without heating, what temperature is the fuel
.380cst is the viscosity at 50C
At 20C: 4,650cst (approx, based on CIMAC data for a 390cst fuel)
At 30C: 1800cst
....At 40C: 790cst
.Heating is important
....Especially for the intended 680cst
AT 20C: 10,200cst

At 30C: 3,600cst
at 40C: 1500cst
It isn't just cavitation due to the suction problems, but if you do get the discharge line
primed the headloss may cause the pressure relief valve to trip so you will be
.recirculating fuel outlet to inlet
Ask: ere is more details about the fluid
Density @ 50C = 930kg/m3
Vapr. Pr = 1.3KPaa
The temperaturing during the pumping was ambient temp (arnd 35degC). Our proposed
operating temperature is 50degC but they can't maintain that temp as they do not have
the heating system at present. I can not feed feed these lines with anyother fluid at this
.moment as this is a dedicated HFO system
At the same time I proposed them to do a test by flushing and cleaning the suction line
back to one tank and then take suction from a tank with full level HFO. This is see
whether P is prominent. Also asked them to open the suction valve and tank valve to
.prime the pump before start. I'm waiting for its result
BTW I suspect the heating because the night temp her sometime go to 15-20degC which
enhance coagulating the HFO on the walls and these agglomerates when flow to the
pump will create more problem. Need you guys enlighten me on this
.I have attached the hydraulic calculation summary for more info
Gold: Low fluid vapor pressure (even if oil contains water at 35 oC) and suction pressure
of 0.4 Barg makes the possibility of cavitation remote, especially if flow remains at 1500
m3/h during test. During a new test run, try to check suction pressure (with additional
manometer) and to measure flow rate, directly (e.g. by a meter) or indirectly (e.g. by
measuring level in destination tank, etc). Actual flow rate is of interest, to be compared to
.1500 m3/h (specified in the attached hydraulic calculations for linesizing)
It is noted that heavy fuel oils stored here (s.g. =0.95-0.98) would require continuous heating to (say) 55 oC; handling temperature of 35 oC (lower in the night) seems too low.
But suction pressure of 0.4 Barg (as measured) is in excess of what you need. So
measurement of suction and discharge pressure during test run has also to be
.continuous and reliable
.Mentioned cleaning and priming of suction line are judged to be on the right direction I think fuel oil gums (rather from polymerization / oxidation) are formed in long time; in your case fuel oil can be locally viscous (or even agglomerated?) due to moderate cold,

and this could remain during day; but a screw pump is generally tolerant to it; and suction
line is not plugged, since it has enough suction pressure at rated flow. So ambient 15-20
oC at night may not have a significant result, on the condition that suction pressure
.remains at 0.4 barg during test run
Probably it is good to call an engineer of the pump supplier to solve the problem, if it continues. Will the supplier be present during the pump commissioning? This is normal
.practice here, especially for pumps of such size
Eager to know the result of this case. Test run can give a guidance for solution, watch
.pressures continuously (and flow rates, if possible)
Concerning event of PSV chattering, I suppose you could detect whether noise comes
.from pump or PSV, if you approach the pump discharge closely
I remember plant operators able to detect cavitation from the characteristic noise of the
specific pump, in the common case when cavitation produces noise. So probably an
.operator could diagnose PSV chattering from the noise
.Water mixed with fuel oil is not expected to cause cavitation at 35 oC operating pressure
For your purpose of estimating Cp you should not worry to much about the exact value of K. For
example: you could take for
Light Naphtha K=13
Heavy Naphtha average of 13 and that of crude
,kero and gasoils about the same as crude
.atmospheric residue 0.5 points lower than crude

The K-values of products relative to crudes are my personal experience based on data
from other crude assays that I have seen through the years. No specific reference, I am
afraid.
But you should not worry too much about the exact K of each fraction as the impact on
the Cp is small anyway.

can u guide me through the process of calculation K value using Distillation Data. I have
read it in API Technical Databook and Maxwell (1950) but I just cant get it right. The
formula mentioned is

Sp Gr @ 60 F/60 F/( 1/3^(MEABP))

Calculating the MeABP is not easy, but you can estimate it using API method 2B1.1 and
figure 2B1.2

For example: if VABP = 515 oF and 10%-90% slope is 6.25 oF/% then MeABP = 515 - 60
= 455 oF

So UOP-K = (455 + 460 oR)0.3333 / 0.8112 = 11.97