This article will define a business case for achieving significant rotating equipment maintenance and energy cost reduction at industrial and municipal facilities.
Topic Sponsor
Top Instrumentation Articles
In today's growing industrialized market, the need for reciprocating pumps is increasing daily. As technology drives modernization, the demand placed on the pumping systems is continually rising.
Variable frequency drive technology is more efficient and accurate, which leads to increased energy savings. Advancements in capacitors and direct current (DC) link reactors, IGBTs, heat management, processing power and measuring technology are all enabling the development of solutions to problems that were not even recognized earlier. Additionally, new and advanced algorithms affect energy efficiency.
Lift stations can be difficult and costly to monitor, especially when the stations are located in remote areas.
If pump cavitation is not detected and quickly eliminated, significant damage can occur to the impeller and other internal components. Since cavitation (the formation and collapse of vapor bubbles in the pumped fluid as it passes through the pump impeller) is often temporary or even induced by the process, timely knowledge of the condition is extremely important so operators can act to alleviate the problem and prevent damage.
In the early days of adjustable frequency drive (AFD) technology, the typical application was in process control for manufacturing synthetic fiber, steel bars and aluminum foil. Because AFDs improved performance and lowered maintenance costs, they replaced motor generator sets and DC drives. When the energy crises occurred in the early 1970s, saving energy became a critical goal, and the use of AFDs quickly spread into large pump applications and eventually into HVAC fan systems.
Precision laser alignment can help end users avoid multiple problems in wind turbine applications.
The third annual Product Innovation of the Year award was hotly contested again this year. The contest examined products entered into the marketplace between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011.
In the power industry, clean water is crucial for a variety of tasks, including extending the service life of turbine seals and protecting spray nozzles and heat transfer equipment. Raw water drawn from lakes, rivers and reservoirs must first be strained to create acceptable clean water for use. The power industry and other industries must continuously strain tens of thousands of gallons of water per minute to remove dirt and debris that can wreak havoc on critical process systems and equipment.
In my experience, there are three types of maintenance philosophy regarding vibration programs: No philosophy at all, utmost attention with zeal, attention to particularly problematic units
Latest Instrumentation Articles
This article will define a business case for achieving significant rotating equipment maintenance and energy cost reduction at industrial and municipal facilities.
Many items must be considered when designing pump station control systems with power requirements, level control method and control panel location often among the most important.
Choosing the right differential pressure flow meter for an application can be challenging. This article outlines the considerations and trade-offs in selecting the optimal technology.
Increased efficiency, higher air handling and fast, automatic priming are provided with new technology.
In my experience, there are three types of maintenance philosophy regarding vibration programs: No philosophy at all, utmost attention with zeal, attention to particularly problematic units
Growing infrastructures are creating more complex problems for municipalities than ever before, forcing them to search for a diverse range of system solutions to issues involving energy savings, maintenance savings and total life cycle cost analysis.
An 1,800 MW power station in the Midwest experienced constant trouble with four of its four-stage boiler feed pumps, which were driven by steam turbines and operated at variable speed to meet the required plant load.
Balancing is essential for minimizing vibration, increasing bearing life and minimizing downtime and repair costs. Follow the guidelines from these standards to balance centrifugal pumps properly.
It required only a couple notes of the haunting soundtrack to signal an imminent shark attack in the movie Jaws. As the theme began to swell, it became obvious that someone was going to “get it.” It would be nice to have a sixth sense that allowed us to hear "warning" music in daily situations. Condition monitoring systems provide a means of sensing when sharks are skulking toward your critical machines.
Columns and Blogs
In this multi-part series, we will investigate several aspects of centrifugal pump efficiency.
First of Five Parts
Since the original publication of this draft standard in the January 2008 issue of Pumps & Systems, I have received feedback, encouragement, numerous questions and criticism. The draft listed three basic levels of repair.
The McGraw-Hill scientific dictionary [5] states that a volute is "a spiral casing for a centrifugal pump... designed so that speed will be converted to pressure."
