There is nothing “soft” about a soft foot—instead, it means machine frame distortion. The effects of machine frame distortion are numerous and potentially very damaging to the machine. This white paper explains in depth the causes and characteristics of soft foot conditions and how to diagnose and solve.
Since the introduction of mechanical seals in nuclear boiling water reactor (BWR) feed pumps operating with high drive ratings, keeping mechanical seal reliability high became a challenge. A problem also encountered in fossil feed pump applications using similar electrically low conductive feed water, referred to as Combined Water Treated (CWT) feed water operation. After a […]
The tutorial outlines the basic concepts and offers some tips on witness testing of API 610 centrifugal pumps and API 611 steam turbines. The section on API 610 pump testing discusses performance, NPSH and mechanical run tests of API 610 centrifugal pumps that are often specified with witness testing. Various parameters that are measured during testing and the related instrumentation […]
Mechanical seals are the most common means of sealing industrial centrifugal pumps. There are a wide variety of seal options including the use of single or dual seal arrangements. While dual seals provide benefits in leakage containment and monitoring, single seals continue to be widely used due to their lower cost and simpler designs. Newer […]
Achieving lowest possible life cycle cost (LCC) and value-optimized mean-times-between-repairs (MTBRs) are the undisputed goals of thoughtful pump users. Achieving these goals requires concentrating not only on pump hydraulics, but also on improving pump power end (drive end) reliability. Because bearing protection and lubricant delivery have not kept pace with the demand for least-risk configurations, […]
This document contains recommendations of rigorous pump casing design techniques. A comparison of different design methods is made. The most sophisticated of these is then described in detail. Finally, a list of design checks by which most centrifugal pump casings might be evaluated is given. Currently, there is not an existing code or standard particular to […]
This tutorial outlines the basics of pump rotordynamics in a form that is intended to be Machinery End User friendly. Key concepts will be defined in understandable terms, and analysis and testing options will be presented in summary form. The presentation will explain the reasoning behind the HI, ISO, and API-610 rotor and structural vibration […]
This is a paper presented at the Twenty-Ninth International Pump Users Symposium in 2013. API 682 is the leading document for mechanical seals in petrochemical, chemical, and pipelines services worldwide. It has combined the aspects of seal design, testing, standardization, and applications to provide the users and OEMs alike with a common source of information […]
This case study focuses on the use of Wilden pumps by SABA Dinxperlo B.V., based in The Netherlands, a manufacturer of adhesives and sealants.
Plant engineers sometimes ask how to best justify purchasing a precision laser alignment tool and training. My first answer is usually to point to a pump in the plant, and say, “How much is the mechanical seal in that pump?” Normally, the answer is a few thousand dollars. To which I then say, “If you […]