This article will define a business case for achieving significant rotating equipment maintenance and energy cost reduction at industrial and municipal facilities.
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Wireless control and monitoring are a vital part of pump systems.
A sewage lift pump that pumps millions of gallons per day simply can't go down. To prevent this from happening, this pair of electricians went about testing some new electrical systems for those pumps with a new insulation multimeter.
Last month, we ended our discussion of proportional control by saying there are times when P alone cannot provide the accuracy required by a process. Take, for example, a constant pressure booster system under VFD control. If changes in flow and the resulting change in pressure occurred gradually over a long period of time, the VFD could use proportional control to keep pressure constant.
Paddle wheel flow sensors not only continue to remain strong in industrial applications, their use is growing. Because these devices offer the lowest cost per sensing point of any flow measurement technology, users can save significantly on purchase, installation and maintenance costs.
A successful infrared program involves planning and action. This article outlines steps that will help you implement a thermography program.
Cavitation is a destructive condition that can destroy the inside of a pump before you even realize it is occurring. Early detection can minimize damage, reduce downtime, and save money. Cavitation involves the creation of bubbles formed when the fluid being pumped vaporizes due to a decrease in pressure as the fluid enters the pump. These bubbles are then acted on by the pump impeller, causing them to implode.
Last year in “Trending Revelations in Vibration Analysis,” (Pumps & Systems, June 2009), I discussed the importance of statistic trending in vibrations analysis. Usually, as most would expect, vibrations gradually increase with time. This increase reflects the normal internal wear, accumulative misalignment and deformations that can occur within a pump. All these wear conditions will lead to eventual failure.
A Nashville-based hunting club required the flooding of several acres of land. A shallow area approximately 1.5-ft deep needed to be flooded to help attract wild game.
Increased efficiency, higher air handling and fast, automatic priming are provided with new technology.
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.
The past may be prologue to the future, but the time between the two seems increasingly short. In the past, labor, capital and raw materials were considered the underpinnings of wealth creation. Today, real-time process knowledge and innovative management strategies have become far more important for creating value, as evident in the headlines above. Accordingly, the time for systemic change is now. . . the opportunity to reinvent industrial manufacturing and the products and services that surround it have never been greater since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
What Are Your Vibration Monitoring Goals?
Identifying goals before starting is key to designing a process tailored to specific needs. What are you hoping to accomplish by monitoring vibration? How would you like to acquire data? What are you going to do with the data? These important questions should be addressed before moving forward.
The 4-20mA current loop is used to transmit analog data representing various process variables like level, pressure, temperature or flow. Although conceptually simple, a 4-20mA current loop can be tricky to troubleshoot. Current flows in a single direction through each device in the loop.
Of the technologies available for condition monitoring of rotating equipment, the quickest return on investment is from vibration analysis. For the novice, vibration data seems complex and is generally difficult to assess compared to other techniques. Once trained, however, the novice can recognize the patterns and diagnose a machine problem.
VFDs replace mechanical devices and PLCs for lead-lag pump control.
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.
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."
