IMPORTANCE OF RIGHT PUMP SELECTION

Performance of a Centrifugal Pump largely depends on a correct specification and

selection.

IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION
The best selected pump for any duty condiAon may be most Hydraulically t or with best eciency but it may not be most suitable or cost ecient. The selecAon criteria must include maintainability and reliability as a foremost factors.Engineers overlook systems where the pump has to be used and lack of experience oKen results in under performing and oversized or wrong pumps with higher operaAng costs .Considering pump as a plug and play device will always add cost burden to the process.

SELECTING A PUMP

SelecAon can be divided into technical and commercial consideraAons. Various steps are taken before concluding on the pumping equipment.

STEPS
1. Complete analysis of the system A complete system analysis is necessary before proceeding with the pump selecAon . An engineer should consider following points Net Posi*ve Suc*on Head (NPSHA) : Pump failures are oKen mistaken on number of unrelated causes and oKen NPSH is never examined. NPSHa or NPSH available should always be 1.5 m more than NPSHr or NPSH Required

which has to be specied by Pump manufacturer. Dierence less than 1.5 m will lead to CavitaAon and may lead to complete failure of the pump. Fluid Type and Specica*on : The Nature of uid is very important to know before selecAng a pump. Impeller Design, Metallurgy of the pumps and type of pumps are largely dependent on the specicaAon of the uid. Few ConsideraAons to be taken care are Solids to be handled, Temperature of uid, Corrosive and abrasive nature of uid , toxicity of uid and we should check if the uid is highly ammable . Cri*cality of the applica*on : In case of applicaAon criAcal to the system a spare pump is necessary and is installed on the common header. The pump is of idenAcal duty parameter and is used if one pump fails prematurely . Sealing requirement : Mechanical seals are used where leakage is not permiXed . The reason for Zero tolerance can be hazardous liquid or it may be commercial moAves . Construc*on Requirement : Various types of pumps are available in the market for numerous services. Some of the types are CanAlever Type VerAcal Sump Pumps, Split Casing Pumps, End SucAon , Torque Flow, VerAcal Mixed Flow, Horizontal Mixed Flow ,MulA Stage Pumps etc. Right pump should be selected as per the space constraint , liquid to be handled and other commercial factors. LubricaAon type of the pump is also criAcal in many cases where clean water is not available and oil lubricated pumps are desired. Cyclone separators shall be used . Eciency : Pump is one of the biggest consumer of Energy and therefore one should look for highly ecient system . In a conAnuous duty process plants it can save 1000s of KiloWaX of Energy and in turn reduces the Power Bill and eventually help reduce CO2 Emission. But one should keep in mind a pump with highest eciency does not mean high suitability for that parAcular applicaAon . Drivers : Pump can be driven using Steam Turbine, Diesel Engine and Electric Motor . It should be menAoned to the Pump Vendor . Pumps in Parallel opera*on : Pumps in parallel operaAon should be analyzed throughly. As all pumps have dierent hydraulic characterisAcs, system curves should be drawn for parallel operaAon and analyzed properly

2.Commercial ConsideraAons
Capital Costs : OKen buyers purchase oversized pumps with various misconcepAons. Unnecessary safety margins are added and thus resulAng in huge Capital Cost.I most of the cases discharge valve has to be throXled and resulAng in increase Energy Cost.

Opera*ng and maintenance costs : A pump lower in capital cost does not always guarantee low operaAng cost . Unreliable pumps can increase downAme, burden on inventory of spares and increased power consumpAon . Eciency : More eciency means higher energy saving. Though energy eciency should be one of the primary consideraAon , but it should not be the only consideraAon.For example a torque ow pump with about 50% Eciency is more suitable for brous and high solid content than a one size bigger Semi open impeller pump with eciency over 70%. Though it has Lower eciency , but it is almost maintenance free with negligible spare part cost. Saving on Maintenance ,operaAon and spare part cost is much more than more energy consumed in the process. Other Factors : Other Factors may include Service history and capabiliAes of the Vendor, Spare part cost and availability , proximity to the service centre etc. For more informaAon on Pumping Systems please feel free to contact Mr Sahil Dhingra at sahil@sintechpumps.com