Efficient Operation of Centrifugal Pumps

EasyChair Preprint 14562

Abstract

This paper aims to present maintenance cost and energy consumption, the major Life Cycle Costs (LCC) of a pumping asset, in a manner that can be appreciated by non-technical project stakeholders. The efficient operation of a centrifugal pump extends beyond reducing the energy consumed. As demonstrated by Barringer, efficiency and reliability are related. That is, the pump operation point relative to the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) affects the Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) significantly. To demonstrate the LCC implications of design decisions, the expected rate of component wear will be evaluated using a technique that considers pump and systems specific parameters to give a cost per unit volume pumped for various flow rates. This will then be combined with the expected specific energy and presented in a table for the system being analyzed. The results shown clearly identify that the minimum combined expense does not necessarily correlate with either the minimum specific energy or maximum pump efficiency. Additionally, a graph that is representative for the entire operating range of a variable speed driven centrifugal pump is presented. The graph has the ability to allow various operational scenarios and system designs to be reviewed in a financial context by non-technical project stakeholders. Finally, an example of the increased energy consumption that might occur due to expected operational wear will be presented. This acts a demonstration of the proportion of energy lost to component wear, the effect this has on the system efficiency, and the value of operational monitoring systems.

Keyphrases: Centrifugal pump, Energy cost of wear, Life Cycle Cost, Material efficiency, Rate of wear, energy efficiency

@booklet{EasyChair:14562,
  author    = {Troy Leyden},
  title     = {Efficient Operation of Centrifugal Pumps},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 14562},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2024}}