Desalination 126 (1999) 199205

The requirements to successful centrifugal pump application for desalination and power plant processes
Ali Nemdili*, Dieter-Heinz Hellmann
University of Kaiserslautern, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Fluid Flow and Positive Displacement Machinery, P.O. Box 3049, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany Tel. +49 (631) 205-2769, Fax +49 (631) 205-3909,E-mail: nemdili@rhrk.uni-kl.de

Abstract The centrifugal pumps find a wide application in the area of technology because of their hydraulical qualities, their capabilities to adapt oneself to variable operating conditions, and their ability to discharge different kinds of fluids. Today the designers of desalination and power plants pumps attempt to develop low cost and high efficiency pumps with a high reliability for the plants. This paper indicates the requirements to successful application of centrifugal pumps for desalination and power plants, and their realization, to optimise the reliability, the energy usage, the maintenance costs and to avoid an unsatisfactory hydraulic performance, high energy costs, high maintenance costs and poor reliability. Keywords: Centrifugal pump; Desalination; Power plant; Efficiency; Reliability; Cost

1. Introduction A centrifugal pump is a kinetic energy pump. It imparts energy to a liquid by means of forces produced by a rotating device known as an impeller. The centrifugal pumps find a wide application in the area of technology because of their hydraulic qualities, their capabilities to adapt oneself to variable operating conditions, _________________________
* Corresponding author.

and their ability to discharge different kinds of fluids. These pumps and their accessories are used in chemical industries, in seawater desalination plants, in petrochemical plants, in conventional or nuclear power stations. Fig. 1 illustrates the constructional principle of reverse osmosis seawater desalination (ROSD) plant to obtain potable water from sea water. In the ROSD plants [1], the following types of centrifugal pumps are mainly used: volute casing pumps (single stage), highpressure multistage pumps, vertical pumps with

Presented at the Conference on Desalination and the Environment, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, November 912, 1999. European Desalination Society and the International Water Association.
0011-9164/99/$ See front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

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Saline feedwater Membrane Pretreatment Assembly centrifugal pump Post-treatment Brine solution Stabilized freshwater
Fig. 1. Principle of reverse osmosis process.

Freshwater

mixed-flow or horizontally split types with doubleentry impeller.

These types of pumps for desalination by reverse osmosis and by multistage flash evaporation can be (see Fig. 2): single or multistage bearing bracket pumps, single or multistage close-coupled pumps, single or multistage inline pumps. A part of energy input can be recovered in turbines or reverse-running pumps. Today the designers of desalination and power plant pumps attempt to develop low cost and high efficiency pumps with a high reliability. Here the requirements for successful application of centrifugal pumps for desalination and power plants, and their realization, to optimize the reliability, the energy usage, the maintenance costs and to avoid an unsatisfactory hydraulic performance, high energy costs, high maintenance costs and poor reliability are indicated. 2. Losses and efficiency In general the design of pumps based on methods using empirical and semi-empirical equations allows to obtain the geometry of the hydraulic surfaces insuring a maximum effi-

ciency. The calculation of this efficiency usually assumes hydraulically smooth surfaces and minimum throttling clearances. The factors, which can influence the efficiency of a centrifugal pump are: surface roughness, internal clearances, seal components and bearings, flow rate, head and speed, balancing of the axial forces of the impeller, viscosity, presence of solid particles and/or gas in the liquid. The global efficiency of the pump is function of the various losses occurring during the working of the pump. Four kinds of losses [2] are summarized: 1. Hydraulic losses, generally provoked by the hydraulic resistance in the blade passages of the impeller and of the bladed diffuser, and in the scroll, the formation of the whirl and reverse flow. These hydraulic losses depend on the configurations of the surfaces limiting the liquid in movement and on the roughness of these surfaces. 2. Volumetric losses consist of return flows through sealing surfaces, flows in the orifices of the back part impeller shroud, leakages in the sealing surfaces of the shaft for multistage pumps, leakages accross blades if opened impellers are used, previous

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The pumps can make a considerable contribution to the economy of energy in an industrial plant. Therefore the improvement of the efficiency of the pumps was and is a more intensive development area in Universities and pump producers, and it is in very interest of pump users. 3. Flow requirements
Single-stage bearing bracket pump

Single-stage close-coupled pumping set

The following characteristics of the fluid, the viscosity and the density, the aggressiveness and the concentration of abrasive particles are very important. These characteristics with the temperature of the fluid and the vapour pressure influence the selection of the type of seal. They also may affect the amount of the NPSH required to avoid damage of the pump. The term NPSHR (net positive suction head required) is a pump characteristic, and defines the head required by the pump, for a specific flowrate, to avoid loss of performance due to cavitation, and can be estimated using the following equation according to [3]: NPSH R = [2.0 2.3 2.7] Q 2 / 3 (n / 60) g
4/3

(1)

Single-stage in-line pump Fig. 2. Types of pumps used for desalination by reverse osmosis.

deduction of the liquid to cooling bearings and sealing gaps. 3. Disc friction losses: they are one of the more important internal mechanical losses. 4. Mechanical losses consist in shaft friction losses in seal components and bearings.

A failure in the definition of the fluid characteristics can easily be the cause of an insufficient performance and of a poor reliability of the used pump. When a new pump is developed by a manufacturer, it is tested for performance under controlled conditions. The results of these tests are then plotted in the form of graphs, which show how head, efficiency, and power consumption vary with flow rate. During the operation the pump is expected to demonstrate the same performance data as shown in its rating curves, if not this generally indicates that something is wrong with the system and/or with the pump.

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Suction recirculation Discharge recirculation Radial force Axial force Vibration Delivery with gas Temperature

n = nA

Radial force Axial force Cavitation Delivery with gas

Q

n = nA

Q part-load Q opt

Q over-load

Fig. 3. Effects of low- and over-flow on the pump operation [4].

Fig. 3 illustrates phenomena, which appear when the pump operates in outside from the operating point. The shown phenomena could be the reasons for pump failures. As example, the recirculations at impeller inlet and impeller outlet represent a frequently effect in high-power pumps (Fig. 4). They appear depending on the specific speed by approximately from 30% to 70% of the optimal flow rate Qopt and can provoke damages of the pump. The energy of these recirculations will be reduced by design. The best measure to avoid the damage caused by these recirculations and first of all to increase the duration of life of the pump is the operating in the domain of the optimum point.

site, and to elaborate a general plan of several projects adapted to these exigencies. The adequate project is this, which gives the lower yearly cost. When designing a pump, it is ordinary to calculate first a dimensionless combination of the given operating conditions (the optimum capacity and head values and the rotational speed) known as specific speed. It is significant that this expression Eq.(2) can be related to dimensionless design parameters: nq = n Qopt
3/ H opt4

(b1 tg 1 )1 / 2
d 1 1 d2
2

g 60 = H ,opt
3/ 4

4. Life cycle costs In general the economy of a pump in a technical process is mainly determined by its efficiency (operating costs) and reliability [5]. The economical use of pumps depends on a number of factors. The final choice of the pump relies to a supplementary study of the working conditions and the available possibilities on the

b1 tg 1 b tg 2 2

d 31 2 d / 2

3/ 4

(2)

The attainable efficiency in accordance of the specific speed nq and the flow rate is shown as example in Fig. 5. The best efficiencies will be reached at specific speeds nq between 32 to 91. Above all for small specific speeds the efficiency drops off

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ATW

TLW

Fig. 4. Suction and discharge recirculations within an impeller of centrifugal pump. TLW, inlet; ATW, outlet.

Fig. 5. Attainable efficiencies as function of specific speed and flowrate [6]. a, radial; b, diagonal; c, mixed flow.

powerful. Further factor is the flowrate at same specific speed: the efficiency is better for high values of the flowrate. This preliminary rule to choice a pump stipulates that its basis price is function of the pump outlet diameter. And the energy is pro-

portional to the outlet diameter in the power five. The yearly cost is not only function of the basis cost of the pump, but also a function of the yearly working costs, of the maintenance costs, of the wages, of the additional taxes and of the necessary assurances. To achieve invariable working costs, it is necessary: to know the optimal values of pressure, the flow rate and the maximal required suction head; to know the daily or the yearly working time, and to know when the pump works near the Bep and when the pump must to be completely stopped, or when it works by season; the possibility to use a group of pumps to operate in series or in parallel instead of unique pump; the possibility to use, to replace, like for example the choice between an electric motor, a gas- or a steam-turbine, or it exists a unique specific energy source in the site where the pump works; the available labour according to its experience or its efficacy. In general the cost/benefit analysis dictates that a moderate degree of predictive maintenance results in potential improvements in reliability, safety and maintenance costs of an operating centrifugal pump. The following tasks, if they are performed can indicate the deterioration in pump components and allow to plan the necessary corrections in order to avoid a decline of the hydraulic performance due to the energy losses and/or the total pump failure (Fig. 6): a vibration data collection concerning the permanent vibrations will indicate e.g. the bearings deterioration, the misalignment and the non-balancing of the impeller due to an erosive or corrosive wear; a supervised hydraulic performance measure is required;

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Operation of the pump outside of the recommended flow range affects: failure frequency impact on the pump hydraulic efficiency

Poor lubrication principles: are the prime cause of many pump failures

Unsatisfactroy hydraulic performance High energy costs Increase of the potential of an unsafe failure High maintenance costs Poor reliability
Internal running clearances: impact on the hydraulic stability Poor maintenance practice associated with: early bearing failure early mechanical seal failure

early bearing replacements; maintenance of mechanical seals; balancing of impellers. And at end, the most important requirements to the selection and the operation of pumps are shown in Fig. 7. 5. Conclusion

The objective of this paper is to attract the attention about few requirements for a successful application of a centrifugal pump for desalination and power Fig. 6. Principal causes affecting the operation of the pump. plants, and this by reducing of the energy usage and the maintenance costs during the operation Proper specification Proper selection of the of the pump. and design material The reduction of the energy costs can be achieved by a reduction of maintenance costs, which are linked to performed Successful centrifugal pump application preventive and predictive maintenance. For future research and development, the following points Proper preventive and Optimised operation can be enumerated: predictive maintenance perfecting the design of the components of the pump; Fig. 7. The requirements to successful pump application. concentration of the research on the improvement of the inter an oil analysis concerning the viscosity, the action between the impeller and the difconcentration of various solid particles infuser, and on the axial thrust; crease the life duration of the bearings. a particular attention against the pump They are the base of the predictive mainteinternal running clearances, which have nance, and the preventive maintenance is perpronounced effects on the hydraulic formed if it is planned in accordance with the performance, on the energy consumption, program of the predictive maintenance. on the reliability and on the maintenance The basic tasks of this preventive maintecosts of the pump. nance are: regular oil changes; 6. Symbols regreasing of bearings; b width, m alignment corrections;

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d g H n nq Q

diameter, m acceleration due to gravity, m/s2 head, m rotational speed, min-1 specific speed, min-1 discharge, m3/s

References
W. Bolliger, Die Chemische Production, September (1987) 18. [2] A. Nemdili and D.-H. Hellmann, 3rd European Conf. on Turbomachinery: Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics, 25 March 1999, London, IMechE Conf. Transactions, 1B, C557/034/99 (1999) 987. [3] S.V. Saxena, Pumpentechnologie, Thyssen Ruhrpumpen, 4 (1) (1995) 36. [4] D.-H., Hellmann, Proc. Intl. Symp. Fluid Machinery and Fluid Engineering, Sept. 912, 1996, Beijing, China, pp. 247252. [5] D.-H. Hellmann, Proc. Intl. Symp. Fluid Machinery and Fluid Engineering, Sept. 912, 1998, Beijing, China, pp. 94102. [6] M. Hirschberger, Sicherung einer hohen Energiekonomie durch Vermeidung von berdimensionierung von Pumpenagregaten, Pumpen und Kompressoren aus Deutschland 1997 mit Druckluftund Vakuumtechnik, (1997) pp. 2733. [7] S. Shiels, Fluid Engineering, Plant Maintenance, Dec. (1996) 27. [8] S. Shiels, Proc. of the Twelfth Intl. Pump Users Symp., (1998) pp. 151161. [9] D. Bailey, Pumps and Systems Magazine, May (1997) 30. [10] W.H. Faragallah, Kreiselpumpen in Prozeanlagen, Pumpen und Kompressoren aus Deutschland 1999 mit Druckluftund Vakuumtechnik, (1997) pp. 2434. [1]

Greek letters

angle, efficiency slip factor constant = 3.1416

Subscripts Bep H part-load opt over-load 1 2 best-efficiency point hydraulic partial load optimum overload impeller vane inlet impeller vane outlet