Integrating a pump into a piping system with a high stiffness casing design

Paul Boughton
The scientist Daniel Bernoulli discovered a physical relationship between the flow velocity of a fluid and its pressure in the middle of the 18th Pumps in nearly all chemical plants are a central part of the process. Recently some processes needed higher temperatures to achieve high energy efficiency.

About a year ago, a pilot plant for butyl rubber synthesis was tested in Russia leading to a strong increase in temperature, high pressure and a corrosive fluid.

The challenge in this process was to pump 6000 m(3)/h at 170°C with an inlet pressure of 13 to 15 bar. This was a challenge for the construction of the piping system.

A high liquid flow with high temperature leads to heavy thermal expansion of this piping system. An important decision was to integrate the pump into a pipe bend. Usually this creates problems for pumps since the pipe bend makes thermal expansion very difficult. The outer bend has a larger expansion than the inner one.

This thermal expansion can force the impeller against the casing and can lead to a bending motion in the shaft sealing area.

Friatec - Rheinhütte was able to solve this problem with a high stiffness casing design. The customer has successfully used four units of pump type RPROP 700 in this process.

Enter 58B or at www.engineerlive.com/epe

Friatec - Rheinhütte Pumps Division is based in Wiesbaden, Germany. www.rheinhuette.de

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