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Feature
WORLD PUMPS
November 2012
Operating
Clarifying nozzle
load and piping
Piping designers always want higher allowable nozzle loads to
simplify pump piping designs, while pump manufacturers want
smaller such loads to assure good alignment, higher reliability and
fewer problems in operation. With long-term reliability a key factor,
Amin Almasi recommends that users side with the manufacturer.
Figure 1. An example of a oating production, storage and ooading (FPSO) vessel. An FPSO vessel requires many
pumps. The nozzle loads and piping of these pumps present unique challenges.
WORLD PUMPS
Feature
November 2012
Alignment issues
For pumps, two eects of nozzle loads
should be carefully considered:
1. Distortion of the pump casing.
2. Misalignment of the pump shaft and
the driver shaft.
To minimize misalignment because of
piping load eects, the pump casing and
pump package base-plate should be
constructed with sucient structural stiness to limit the displacement of casings
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Feature
WORLD PUMPS
November 2012
Extreme temperatures
In a pump that works at a very high (or
very low) operating temperature, the
spring support(s) is sometimes set in such
a way that the spring force and piping
WORLD PUMPS
Feature
November 2012
Contact
Amin Almasi
Lead rotating equipment engineer
WorleyParsons Services Pty Ltd
Level 10, 151 Roma Street (East Tower)
Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Tel: +61 7 3319 3902
Email: amin.almasi@ymail.com
Thermal movement
To accommodate thermal growth, expansion loops or bends are usually added to
the pump piping. An expansion joint is
sometimes required to limit the nozzle
loads, particularly for large piping sizes.
However, the use of an expansion joint
(which is expensive and maintenanceprone) should be avoided to the
maximum possible extent; it should be
considered only as the last resort. One
modern approach is for the pump manufacturer to model the entire system
(including the piping and the pump) at
the same time. This concurrent modelling
can reduce the inherent conservatism and
may allow the thermal movements to be
accommodated correctly by both systems.
This may result in a more-exible
combined system and thus allow a better
optimization. The engineering time
needed to re-model, re-evaluate and
re-design the entire system is often paid
for by the elimination of the expansion
joint. This modern optimization simulation
should be included in the pump specication before the pump is ordered. All
possible operational scenarios (as well as
ambient temperature, installation situations, start-up, all shutdown situations and
others) should be considered.
One of the most important requirements
in designing an expansion joint system in
general plant piping is to install a sucient anchor system (Figure 3) to resist
the pressure end forces (the sum of the
forces). However, in those pumping
systems where the use of an expansion
joint cannot be avoided, anchors should
not be used on an expansion joint near a
pump. There is potential for unexpected
movement and high stress in a system
using an expansion joint with an anchor.
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