IMPROVING LIFE AND

EFFICIENCY OF PUMPS &

SYSTEMS USING
COMPOSITE COATINGS
Cost of energy for pumping water constitutes an important element of
utilities for industries. The authorities responsible for pumping water
are among the biggest consumer of electricity and in some locations
largest single consumer. Cost of electricity in pumping the water over
a period of its' life amounts to 90-95 % of the total cost, while 5-
10% relates to purchase of pump and maintenance cost.

In any pumping system, over the years, the hydraulic passages of

casings and impeller vane shape gets damaged due to wear, tear and
corrosion, also the clearance in wearing rings increases substantially.
All these damages lead to head & flow losses and ultimately
deteriorate hydraulic performance. Due to this deterioration of
performance the power consumption increases putting pressure on
energy demand due to inefficient operation of pump.
In order to keep balance of energy demand, frequent shutdown of
plants are essential. These frequent shutdowns lead to production
loss and lower utilization of scarce energy resource. To overcome
these situations it is essential to have a longer period between
shutdowns and minimal cost for maintenance.
To achieve these objectives high technology composite resin systems
along with glass fiber matting technology are available which can be
used to refurbish and restore the hydraulic passages of the pump.
These passages can be applied with specially formulated energy
improvement coating, “Fluiglide.” The Fluiglide system helps to
achieve very low coefficient of friction as compared to original metal
substrate. With this, not only performance is improved
over existing one but the life of equipment is also increased.

Over a period of last 8-10 years number of pumps have been applied
with Fluiglide systems. These systems have following attributes:
 They limit the effect of mechanical damage.
 They resist chemically aggressive constituents in the service
environment.
 They provide a barrier to prevent permeation of corrosion ions to
the substrate.
 They provide low coefficient of friction.
Most of the pumps, medium and large size, can be effectively treated
with polymer resin systems, both old and new. Before deciding the
specific polymer system for the pump under consideration its
operating and service conditions are studied. Based on the operating
and service conditions a appropriate resin system is selected to give
protection to the substrate from corrosion and /or erosion. This resin
system is then over-coated with “Fluiglide.”

These coatings are known to be effective by two established

qualities:

1. The reduction in surface roughness. (Refer Illustration No. 1)

2. The hydrophobic nature of coating. (Refer Illustration No. 2)
1. The reduction in surface roughness :

It is well known that surface roughness has substantial bearing on

flow characteristics. A rough surface introduces micro or even macro
turbulent eddies in the boundary layer causing an increase in velocity
gradient. This velocity gradient creates resistance in passage of flow.

With the application of coatings surface roughness is reduced by

manifolds, thereby allowing the flow to be comparatively less
turbulent. Due to this phenomenon overall performance i.e. head and
flow characteristics increases.

For example the surface roughness of a cast iron substrate is Ra 18.8

microns while surface roughness of Fluiglide coating is as low as Ra
0.4 to 0.08 microns (Refer illustration no. 1). Due to lower coefficient
of friction, between the fluid and the coating and hydrophobic nature
2. The hydrophobic nature of coating:

When the attractive forces between the substrate and the water
molecules exceed the cohesive forces in the fluids, then the water or
other media will spread across the surface until a state of equilibrium
is reached between the two.

Therefore, where the surface energy is high, low contact angles will
be achieved and where surface energy or attraction is low, the high
contact angles will result in large gradients in velocity between the
mainstream flow and the boundary layer. In case of aqueous media,
materials which have low surface attraction are hydrophobic and repel
water, will result in lower frictional losses than surfaces which are
highly attractive to water molecules.
As all common untreated metals have relatively high attraction
energies wetting out of the surface with aqueous media and the
consequent low contact angle is readily achieved. A substantial
reduction in boundary layer friction can therefore be achieved by
utilizing a coating, which is hydrophobic. The effects of these are
demonstrated below
It has been observed that efficiency gains from coating are presented
in two different ways:

 An increase in flow (water output) for the same input energy

(electrical consumption).
 A reduction in input energy for the same water output.

It is possible to obtain the combination of these two extremes and

this is usually the case. The actual improvements achieved depend on
various factors including the specific speed of the pump.
A lot of experimentation has been carried out by coating small as well
as medium and large size pumps and testing them. After the study it
has been established that low flow pumps having delivery sizes upto
100-mm size are not amenable to substantial efficiency enhancement
by coating. But pumps of delivery sizes larger than 100 mm and
impellers with outlet widths larger than 20 mm show a remarkable
improvement in efficiency, and discharge rates and head development.

The life of coating is generally more than 5 years. The coating can get
damaged only by external causes like foreign matter with sharp
corners and edges getting into the pump and passing through it or by
operation of the pump under cavitation due to inadequate available
NPSH or cavitation due to re-circulation during operation at part
capacities.
 GLASS FLAKE TECHNOLOGY
TORTUOUS PATH

Tortuous path for corrosive ion

Layers of glass flakes

Coating

SUBSTRATE
ADVANCED GLASSFLAKE TECHNOLOGY

• The development of in-house Glassflake

technology has allowed for the production of the
inner more uniform and consistent Glassflake
• Glassflake can now be made at sub micron
thickness
 COMPARISONS OF
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

DENSITY TENSILE MODULUS SHEAR

STRENGTH OF ELASTICIY STRENGTH
lbs/cuft kg/m² PSIx10³ MPa PSIx106 GPa PSIx103 MPa

ALUMINIUM 168 2698 22 155 10 70 3.0 1.9

BRONZE 557 8920 33 230 15 103 4.5 31
CAST IRON 458 7300 32 220 17 120 26.1 180
MILD STEEL 491 7860 47 325 30 210 5.0 35
POLYESTER COMPOSITE 104 166 117 807 18 123 12.0 83
EPOXY COMPOSITE 94 1550 90 621 17 120 9.0 62
 BENEFITS/PROPERTIES OF
GLASSFLAKE COATINGS
• Excellent temperature • Dimensional stability
resistance
• Reparability
• Excellent chemical
• Impact resistance
resistance
• High tensile strength
• Excellent dry and immersed
adhesion • High resistance to
cathodic disbondment
• Low permeation rate
• Durability, very long
• Applicable over a wide
service lives
range of substrates
• Very low VOC
• High abrasion resistance
• Cost effective
• Machinability
Sr. No. Liquid Type and Description Specifications Attributing Properties of
Name Coating

1 Clear Water Dry Film DFT 1000 microns Avg. Tolerance minus Dry Film Thickness
Fluiglide System Thickness 100 micron
Base Coat A medium viscosity pre accelerated Adhesion layer to ensure
Bisphenol ‘A’ polyester glass flake proper bonding with
compound, cured by the addition of organic respect to Base Metal
compound.
Intermediate Coat A heavy Built Glass Flake coatings based on Anticorrosion Layer
low reactivity , Bisphenol ‘A’ Polyester resin
pre accelerated, A two pack resin system
sing organic peroxide

Top Coat A cold cured highly modified chemically Efficiency Improvement

resistant, two-pack resin system filled with Layer
stabilizing enforcement to reduce cold flow
characteristics. The coating should have
good gloss with waxy appearance when
cured.

2 Raw Water , ETP Dry Film DFT 1500 microns Avg. Tolerance minus Dry Film Thickness
and Sewage Thickness 100 micron
Fluiglide E System
Base Coat A solvent free, high build, two or three pack Adhesion layer to ensure
epoxy coating with excellent erosion proper bonding with
resistance, toughness and outstanding respect to Base Metal
erosion properties.
Intermediate Coat A solvent free, two or three pack epoxy Anticorrosion Layer
coating with excellent erosion resistance,
toughness and outstanding erosion
properties.
Top Coat A cold cured 100 % solid epoxide specially Efficiency Improvement
modified to give roughness amplitude of Layer
0.08 microns.
 PUMPS

After 4 years sea-water service

After 7 years service

After refurbishment with

Corrocoat Corroglass
 PUMPS

After 4 years sea-water service

After 7 years service

After refurbishment with Corrocoat Corroglass, note the

wear ring areas using specialist casting techniques
Case Study
Background:
20”X24” horizontal split casing pumps, 8 Nos. are working for supplying
cooling water. These pumps were designed for 70.4 meter head and
4500 M3 / Hr. flow at 90.5% efficiency. These pumps were installed in the
year 1985. During the course of operation it was observed that these pumps
were operating at lower head at 50.0 meter and higher flow consuming more
power and operating with the danger of cavitation.

The customer considered trimming of impeller to suit the actual site duties of
4500 M3 / Hr at 50.0 meter head. They approached the manufacturer and
informed that with such a severe trimming of impeller there would be loss of
efficiency. The trimming was carried out and this resulted in deterioration
of efficiency.
At this point customer approached us. A proposal was
put forward by us to restore the new duty point efficiency to
original level by modification to the casing and application of energy
efficient Fluiglide system. Customer placed an order for refurbishment
and coating of one pump.

Following activities were involved in the process:

1. Test the pump at factory with trimmed impeller and establish the
existing performance.
2. Design and carry out modification in the casing to suit new trimmed
impeller.
3. Application of energy efficient coating.
4. Test the pump after modification and coating with Fluiglide system to
establish the restoration of efficiency.
5. We decided to carry out CFD analysis of as built design and also with
modification (before carrying out actual modification on pump) to
give confidence to the client about the proposed modification in
design.
 Performance parameters:
Performance Original Performance After
Parameters Performance after refurbishment
trimming of & application
impeller of coating
Flow in m3/Hr 4500 4500 4523.4
Head in m 70.4 50 50
Speed in RPM 990 990 990
Pump input in kW 953.31 729.45 671.64
Best efficiency 90.5% 84% 91.23%

• Due to restored dimensions inside casing and improved efficiency of

91.23% the modified pump consumes pump-input power of 671.64 kW only.
• Power saving 57.81 kW.
• This saving converted on yearly basis is 506415.6 kwH and is for one pump.
• For 8 pumps working it would be 40,51,324.8 kWH per year. This meant
saving of Rs.22,78,867 annually.
• Pay back period for re-furbishment worked out to be only 2-3 months.
 CURVE NO.
KIRLOSKAR BROTHERS LIMITED, PUNE (INDIA) RKP/20173/0 CURVE NO.
KIRLOSKAR BROTHERS LIMITED, PUNE (INDIA) RKP/20172/0
SUC. 600 mm DEL. 500 mm
*PERFORMANCE CURVE OF 20/24 CME (DV)
SUC. 600 mm DEL. 500 mm
CORPORATE RESEARCH & ENGG. *PERFORMANCE CURVE OF 20/24 CME (DV)
THIS CURVE RELATES TO THE LIQUID OF SP. GRAVITY 1 DIVISION CORPORATE RESEARCH & ENGG.
THIS CURVE RELATES TO THE LIQUID OF SP. GRAVITY 1 DIVISION

* PUMP AS DELIVERED TO KBL

* AFTER REFURBISHING OF CASING AND COATING OF PUMPS

APPROVED BY : JTK

DATE: 17/11/00
85

APPROVED BY : JTK
85

DATE: 17/11/00
80
100
PUMP HEAD ( m )

PUMP HEAD ( m )
70 80

60 60

CHECKED BY : RGP

CHECKED BY : RGP
SPECIFIED

DATE: 17/11/00

DATE: 17/11/00
50 40

ACHIEVED
40 20

SPECIFIED
PUMP INPUT ( kW)

PUMP INPUT ( kW)

30 30

DRAWN BY : GUNA
DRAWN BY : GUNA
600

DATE: 17/11/00
DATE: 17/11/00
600

400
400

200
0
200
0

90

TEST WITNESSED BY : --
90 SPECIFIED

TEST WITNESSED BY : --
80
80

PUMP EFFICIENCY ( % )
ACHIEVED 70
PUMP EFFICIENCY ( % )

DATE: --
70

DATE: --
60
60
50 10
50 10

NPSHR IN ( m )
NPSHR IN (m ) 40 8

40 8
30 6

30 6
20 4

20 4
10 2

10 2
0 0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000

0 0 DISCHARGE ( m3/hr)
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
CLIENT HEAVY WATER BOARD, MANUGURU GUARANTEED DUTY POINT
DISCHARGE ( m3/hr ) PUMP HEAD H 50 m
PROJECT --
DISCHARGE Q 4500 m3/hr
CLIENT HEAVY WATER BOARD, MANUGURU GUARANTEED DUTY POINT
PUMP HEAD H 50 m
SERVICE COOLING WATER PUMP EFFICIENCY  91 %
PROJECT -- CONSULTANTS/ -- PUMP INPUT 673.76 kW
DISCHARGE Q 4500 m3/hr
REQUIRED NPSH m
SERVICE COOLING WATER PUMP EFFICIENCY  84 % INDENTOR
MIN. SUBMERGENCE -- mm
CONSULTANTS/ -- PUMP INPUT 729.5 kW O/A NO./ITEM NO.:- 10J0V0050/01.00 DT- 13/11/1999
RECOMMENDED PRIME MOVER 1080 kW
INDENTOR REQUIRED NPSH m IMP. DIA./MAT.:- -- mm -- FULL LOAD SPEED 990 rpm
MIN. SUBMERGENCE -- mm
O/A NO./ITEM NO.:- 10J0V0050/01.00 DT- 13/11/1999
RECOMMENDED PRIME MOVER -- kW
IMP. DIA./MAT.:- -- mm -- FULL LOAD SPEED 990 rpm
View of Bottom & Top Casing prior to
blasting…………..
View of coated components, top casing……
View of coated components, bottom casing…….
View of coated Impeller after coating &
balancing…..
 Conclusion:

During last 5-6 years our company has used

Fluiglide coating systems on hundreds of
medium and large size pumps resulting in
efficiency gain of 1-3 points depending on
type of pump & the specific speed, in case of
new pumps. This gain in efficiency was over
and above designed one.
Also hundreds of old pumps have been
refurbished to restore the shapes of hydraulic
passages near to its original one and
application of Fluiglide systems have resulted
into gain in efficiency of 4-6 points and
improvement in head – flow characteristics
over its existing one during the operation in
the plant.
As the efficiency enhancement achieved with
Fluiglide treatment is expected to be retained
for a period of at least 3 years, the benefits
achieved is expected to continue for a
minimum period of 3 years. This has been
established by inspecting the pumps after
opening them during shutdown after a period
of 4-5 years.
The concept of composite resin systems could
be advantageously used for internal lining of
pipelines to combat corrosion on internal
surface of pipes, which takes place mainly
due to depositions of chlorides and sulphates.
The depositions over a period of time increase
frictional head by reducing area of pipes.
Composite coatings combined with appropriate
refurbishing techniques have potential to provide
pumping solutions which were so far not available.
This is a concept and not a product, which should
be propagated across the length and breadth of our
country to arrest huge national loss taking place
due to corrosion and wear of pumping and other
equipments.
THANK YOU