GIW Technical Series

Temperature Extremes
In selecting a slurry pump, one must consider wear, corrosion, mechanical and hydraulic
performance. Temperature extremes can have an impact on all of these.

Wear Performance
The wear resistance of materials may be affected by their temperature. Where chemical attack is
not significant, the following limitations should be observed for wear resistant linings:
Natural rubber and low durometer urethane linings should be limited to applications from -20 to
65oC (0 to 150oF). At the lower limit, these materials begin to lose their resiliency and at the
higher limit, they begin to soften. Both effects can reduce wear performance. The range of
allowable temperatures can be shifted upward by changing to a harder urethane or synthetic grade
of rubber. Neoprene, for example, can be applied from -10 to 100oC (15 to 212oF).
Load bearing hard iron components should be limited to applications from -40 to 120oC (-40 to
250oF). Below the lower limit, permanent crystalline transformations can take place, affecting
internal stresses. The upper limit is based on sealing and safety considerations, since the white iron
itself experiences no loss of strength or hardness at temperatures up to 200oC (400oF).
For duties outside of the limits given above, contact your GIW Applications Engineer.

Corrosion Performance
The interactions of temperature with pH, chlorides, oxygen content and other corrosion factors can
be complex. For applications exceeding 10,000 ppm chlorides and/or having a pH outside the range
of 5 < pH < 10, or for elastomer applications where hydrocarbons are present, consult your GIW
Application Engineer.

Mechanical Performance
Temperature extremes can affect the mechanical performance of the pump in a number of ways.
For applications where the process temperature falls outside the range of 0 to 50oC ( 32 to 120 oF),
the following should be considered:
Bearing Lubrication. In cold applications, lubricants should be warmed before startup to reduce
starting torque and improve lubrication. While bearing assembly startup at low temperatures is
possible, since the friction within the lubricant will quickly warm the assembly, regular starts below
0oC (32oF) without warming may lead to reduced bearing life. The acceptability of such starts will
depend on their frequency and on the cost of installing the alternative heaters. For more
information on low temperature operation, refer to the GIW Technical Article: “Cold Weather
Operation and Storage”.
In hot applications, the running temperature of the bearing assembly will be increased accordingly.
If normal running oil temperatures will exceed 85 oC ( 185 oF ), the use of synthetic bearing oils
such as GIW Blue 150 is recommended. For more information on bearing temperatures, refer to the
GIW Technical Article: “Pump Bearing Temperature”
Stuffing Box Shaft Seals. At temperatures above 65-90oC (150-195oF), depending on operating
pressure, packing and lantern ring materials should be converted from the standard flax and Teflon,
to high temperature designs. Lantern rings are generally converted to brass. For packing, GIW
offers several grades suitable for high temperature operation. In particular, when combined with

TECH Temperature Extremes 2008-01-22.doc

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Temperature Extremes

high pressure and/or hot seal water, TUF PAC 500, (an aramid-PTFE-graphite blend) is
recommended. For recommendations specific to your duty, contact your GIW Application
Engineer.
Seal or Flush Water. Temperature differentials between sealing or flushing water (if present) and
process water can set up thermal stresses in the hub side of the pump wet end. In cases where white
iron casings with integral hub side liners are used, the temperature differential between the seal
water and process fluid should not exceed +/- 45 oC ( +/- 80 oF). If higher differential temperatures
are needed, open back designs having a separate hub liner should be used. This arrangement
prevents the thermal stresses from being carried into the pump casing.
Sudden changes in process temperature. Temperature gradients set up within the pump by sudden
changes in the process temperature can cause significant thermal stresses to be developed within the
wet end and mechanical end parts. In general, the following guidelines should be followed.
Allowable instantaneous process temperature Allowable rate of change in process
change (ΔT)* temperature (for larger ΔT)*
Operating Integral hub, white Open back, TBC and Integral hub, white Open back, TBC and
pressure iron casing design double wall designs iron casing design double wall designs
o
(+/- C (+/- oF (+/- oC (+/- oF
(% of MAWP) (+/- oC ) (+/- oF ) (+/- oC ) (+/- oF )
/minute) /minute) /minute) /minute)
< 50% 60 110 100 180 24 45 40 75
< 75% 45 80 75 135 18 32 30 55
< 100% 30 55 50 90 12 20 15 35
* Mechanical seal, if present, must be evaluated separately. Consult seal manufacturer for recommendations.

For more precise information about a particular pump assembly, a transient thermal FEA analysis
may be required.
Piping loads. Even slow changes in process temperatures can result in significant increases in the
loads applied to the pump from the piping. These loads should be determined in advance by the
piping engineer and compared to the allowable loads which the pump assembly can handle.

Hydraulic Performance
Temperature increases in the process fluid will decrease its NPSHA (Net Positive Suction Head
Available), which is a measure of the pressure energy entering the pump. If the NPSHA falls below
the NPSHR (NPSH Required) by the pump, cavitation will occur, affecting head produced and
possibly causing erosion damage. To prevent problems with cavitation due to high temperature
operation, be sure to include the effect of temperature when calculating the worst case (minimum)
NPSHA which the pump will see during operation.
NPSHR is a property of the pump design and is theoretically not affected by temperature.
However, in practice NPSH performance is less predictable in high temperature applications due to
the effect of dissolved gasses. Experience is the best guide, but consider doubling the normal
margin between NPSHA and NPSHR at process temperatures above 85oC (185oF).
For more information on NPSH, refer to the GIW Technical Article: “NPSH – An Introduction for
Pump Users”.

TECH Temperature Extremes 2008-01-22.doc