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FFC Technical Training

Centre
Centrifugal Pump Maintenance

MAINTENACE
Practices

&

techniques

to

keep

the

machine in continuous operation in order


to fulfill the stated & intended requirement
fully & safely as well as to get the
maximum life out of it.

Maintenance Philosophy

Reliability of work
Improvement in MTBF
Reduction MTTR
Reduction of Maintenance Cost
Constructional Improvement

To attain these, the following are mandatory


requirements:

Training of Personnel
Tools & Equipment.
Replacement parts (Spares)

Recording of Maintenance histories.

Type of Maintenance
Preventive - Based on Time
Predictive

Based

on

condition

monitoring
Corrective - After occurrence of failure

Maintenance & Trouble-Shooting


Maintenance / Troubleshooting is not a rescue

operation.
It should be a combination of preventive,
predictive & corrective maintenance.
A good maintenance program starts well
before installation and continues through the
start-up phase until a plant is on-stream then
continuing it with special emphasis on
reliability improvement.

Maintenance Strategies
Categorization

of machines according to
criticality of applications.
Categorization of machines / parts of
machines according to maintenance types.
Preparation
of preventive & predictive
maintenance plans.
Effective implementation of these plans
Use of PDCA-cycle & Cost-Analysis techniques
to identify areas of improvement.
Continual improvement to enhance reliability.

Maintenance Approach For


Centrifugal Pumps
1. Preventive Maintenance
Develop Preventive Maintenance Plans on
the basis of Machine History.
Implement those Plans & compare the
results with history.
Check Vibrations.
Correct amount of lubricant in bearing
housing should be ensured.

Maintenance Approach
Centrifugal Pumps
2. Predictive Maintenance

Monitor
operating
parameters
including
motor
amperage to check consistency of operation and/or any
change in the system.
Develop Condition Monitoring plans i.e, measurement
of vibrations at a particular interval.
Build your own database of pumps noise and
vibrations by simply feeling with hands on regular
basis.
Trending the data of parameters; vibration, noise, etc.
helps in depicting clear picture of pumps behaviour.

Maintenance Approach
Centrifugal Pumps
3. Reliability Enhancement.
In other words, it is also called Continual
Improvement.
Problematic areas should be identified.
Try the option of modifying pump parts and/or
auxiliary systems to rectify persistent problems.
Keep in mind: Drastic changes can lead to drastic
results.
After modification, compare results with previous
history for continual improvement & keep the
machine under observation till next outage.

General Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting procedure requires some basic

questions, on which thoughts should be given:

Application
- New or Old
Failed Item - New Design or same model
Failure
Time
-Start-up,
seasonal
(temp.
related) or activity related.
Failure Frequency
- First time or repeated.
Develop habit of asking why questions.
Newer approach - Nothing can be solved until the
question why? has bee asked at least five times &
each question is supported by a sensible answer .

Trouble Shooting Process


Troubleshooting

of
involves the following:

any

problem

1. Gathering of all available data accurately


means parameters.
2. Gathering all the system information.
3. Making notations of the Physical evidence
symptoms.
4. Failure Analysis Causes & Failure Modes.

Centrifugal Pump Troubleshooting


Most of the pumps come into the shop

for repair because of the following these


reasons:
Something is wrong with the bearings.
The pumps seal is leaking too much.
Pumps vibrations are quite high.

Bearing Related Problems

Premature bearing failures occurs because of


the following two main reasons:
1. Overheating
Over lubrication is the most common cause of
overheating.

Loss of lubrication is also one of the main causes.


Over loading of bearings.

2. Contamination of the bearing Oil


Water, moisture & sludge are the biggest problems.

Trouble Shooting Bearings


Overloading
Bearings can be overloaded due to following reasons:
Wrong interference fit between bearing & shaft.
Misalignment
Bent shafts
Shaft radial thermal expansion
Cavitation
The bearing housing is sometimes out of round.
Vibration of almost any form.

Troubleshooting Bearings
Bearing Contamination
Major cause of premature bearing failure is Contamination.
0.002% water in the lubricant reduce bearing life by 48%.
Symptoms

Pitting & corrosion of bearing races & rolling elements.


Emulsion of water & oil in bearing housing.
Causes

Packing or Seal leakage directed towards bearing area.


Washing of running pump.
Aspiration Moist air enters through lip seals when the bearing
case cools down.

Troubleshooting Bearings
Bearing Contamination
Remedial Actions:
Replace grease or labyrinth seals with positive
seals.

Clean the oil in bearing casing by using oil


circulating and filtering system.

Replace oil frequently with fresh charge.

Alignment
Bringing the rotating members of driver and
driven machine in line / desired line is referred
as Alignment
Radial alignment
Radial Vertical Alignment
Radial Horizontal Alignment

Axial Alignment
Axial Vertical Alignment
Axial Horizontal Alignment

Important Tips for Alignment


Always carry out the alignment job in the early

part of the day. This will help in precluding the


error, which can occur due to sunlight.
Shims should be kink free. Also try to keep the
number of shims as less as possible.
Before alignment, always ensure that there is
no soft footing in the machine. If it exists,
remove it prior to align.
Before decoupling the machine, always take
alignment reading. It serves as a reference
reading, as some time it becomes difficult to
get the desired readings.

Important Tips for Alignment


Connected piping / supports have a tendency

to induce stresses in the machines during


operation if they are not properly designed. If
machine gets misaligned during operation,
review the connected piping and supports.
Do not expect symmetrical thermal growth in

unsymmetrical machines.
If the machine to be aligned has six feet, it

should be aligned by Graphical Method.

Maintenance Tips
Arrange all tools necessary for service in a

container near the machine.


Use the set of special tools supplied by
manufacturer.
Isolate the pump from the process gas.
Isolate electrically the equipment.
Make sure that the driver cannot be started.
During assembly, fully comply with assembly
drawings. Follow bolt torque sequence and
torque values given in the instruction manual.

Maintenance Tips
Rest the rotor on wooden V-notch stand. Cover

the V-notch with soft gasket material.


Clean the rotor with proper thinner/kerosene oil
in a ventilated place.
Do not remove any part of the rotor except for
the thrust collar.
Do not use a chisel to remove gaskets attached
to the surface. Carefully slide a blade between
gasket and surface. Damaging to the
compressor-sealing surface can be avoided in
this way.

Maintenance Tips
If

the bearings are found damaged,


perform thorough cleaning to avoid further
damage due to contamination of oil by
metallic particles.
Use soft hammer during replacement of
labyrinth seal. Do not force it, it is
advisable to remove and adjust.
Cover up all the pipe openings, when
bearing casing halves
are dismantled
during
major
or
minor
machine
maintenance.

Maintenance Tips
When hoisting system are used, ensure

that they are perfect. Best practice is to


check all these equipment before the
commencement of any major maintenance.
Copper based anti-seize compounds can
cause corrosion failures and should never
be used.
While lifting the bearing casing upper
covers, take care not to damage the flat
faces.

Maintenance Tips
During assembling, apply equal amount

of liquid sealant on the flat faces.


While adjusting the rotor float, always
keep the shim behind the active side
thrust bearing. Ensure the installed shim
should be kink free.
Always use appropriate design bridge to
hold the rotor, when complete bearing
block is required to be removed.

Coupling
Couplings are the connecting elements between the
compressor and its prime mover or between
compressors different stages.
Construction
In a particular flexible Shim Pack Coupling, there are two
hubs, one installed to each shaft end, a spacer and the
flexible elements located between the spacer and hubs.

Coupling
Efficient transmission of mechanical power from one
shaft to the other.
To compensate all types of misalignment without
inducing abnormal stresses and load on connected
equipment and without significant loss of power.
To compensate the axial movement of the coupled
shafts,

preventing

either

excessive thrust on the other.

shaft

from

exerting

Seal Related Problems


Packing

1.

Excessive wear causing leakage.


Overheating

Causes

Incompatible material for the service causes wear.


The service and/or flushing fluid is not clean.
Soft material of piston.

Remedial Actions

Compatible packing material to the selected.


Use packing for good & clean fluid.
Material of shaft may be improved for higher wear resistance.
Hard coating (Ceramic) may be applied on packing area of
shaft.

Seal Related Problems


2. Mechanical Seal
There are two main reasons that seals leak
prematurely:
One of the seal components becomes damaged.
The lapped seal faces open.
The carbon-graphite face is the only
sacrificial part of a mechanical seal.
There are usually five seal leak paths in
mechanical seal.

Mechanical Seal Failures


Causes of Failures
Shaft deflection
Mishandling damaged the lapped faces.
The stationary hard face was distorted due to tightening against
an uneven surface.
High pressure or surges in system distorted the face.
Incompatibility of seal parts with service handled.
Foreign matter or dirt dragged across the faces.
High temperature across the stuffing box.
Shaft fretting b/c of elastomer axial movement on shaft / sleeve.
Cavitation.
Last but the most important Vibrations.

Vibrations
Vibrations are measured by instruments

& the associated software helped in


identifying the probable causes.
Vibration diagnostics is very much
required to properly identify the exact
cause of high vibration.
Vibrations
cannot
be
eliminated
completely but must be brought under
Fair Zone.

Mechanical Seal Failures


Vibrations
Causes
Unbalanced
components

Bent or warped shaft


Misalignment
Mechanical looseness
Resonance

Remedial Actions
rotating

Balance them
Straighten it or replace it.
Proper

alignment

is

tightening

&

required.

Proper

interference to be ensured.
.

Add

mass

stiffness.

or

increase

Five Seal Leak Paths

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