In keeping with the HHGTTG towel theme we continue on our Engineering

quest of exploring multistage pumps for light HCs in utterly excruciating

detail. I will note that on the plus side my writing has a probability of two to
the power of 276,709 to one against that it is less painful than Vogon Poetry.

This second post will cover some über geeky pump topics. I do want to
attempt to do them justice so my apologies in advance if they send you to
sleep or give you a headache. My recommendation is pop a few of aspirin
and wash them down with strong coffee. Then we can get started :). The three
topics we will cover are:

 When it is appropriate to switch from an axially split pump (BB3)

to a radially split pump (BB5)
 Rotordynamics and how light HC affects the design
 NPSHa, NPSHr, fluid heating and balance line management

This is the continuation of an abridged version of a presentation I recently

gave to several engineering contractors in Houston. If your company is
interested in the topic, feel free to contact me to discuss whether we
could provide a session for your engineers.

When it is appropriate to switch from an axially split

pump (BB3) to a radially split pump (BB5) ?
As I mentioned in Part 1, the BB3 axially split multistage pump is the most
common multistage style applied in the pipeline industry. This pump type
utilizes heavy bolting and a flat gasket to seal the axial joint between the
casing halves. On heavier hydrocarbons (SG ≥ 0.7), permeation of the
pumped fluid through the gasket is very low. However with lighter fluids,
gasket permeation can increase significantly. Note that here I'm
(mis)using permeation as an umbrella term covering several possible
modes for the fluid to pass through the gasket and being released into the
atmosphere. These modes are:

 Laminar flow through capillaries in the gasket material

 Molecular flow through smaller capillaries in the gasket material in
accordance with the Knudsen Law
  Diffusion of the fluid through the polymer binder of the gasket itself in
accordance with Fick's Law

The physics of all this are not particularly straightforward and still the subject
of research by ASME and others. However we can reasonably correlate the
overall level of permeation to the density and viscosity of the fluid together
with the pressure differential across the gasket.

So far so good, but how do we quantify these modes of permeation in

BB3 pumps in such a way as to guide a decision on when this pump
type is acceptable ? This is an important question given that we are handling
fluids that are flammable, cause air pollution and can have significant global
warming potential (GWP). For example Ethane has 5.5 x the GWP of Carbon
Dioxide.

One option would be to fall back on the API 610 criteria for BB3 pump
usage. As I stated in Part 1 these are:

 Fluid SG ≥ 0.7
 MAWP ≤ 1450 psi (100 bar)

However these limits have been found to be very conservative in practice,

with many pumps operating successfully well beyond these criteria. So any
pump company adopting them as a hard line wouldn't get much respect (or
business).

Luckily we have another reference point which comes from the compressor
industry in the form of an API 617 rule that limits axially split compressors to
services where the partial pressure of Hydrogen is below 200 psi. This rule
has the advantage that it considers the amount of a small (and hence high
leakage) flammable molecule which is a more nuanced risk assessment than
the API 610 rules.

ITT Goulds Pumps has adapted this rule for fluids as I will describe below. I
will note in advance that you may not agree with the adaptation, but if that is
the case I would ask that you offer up an alternative rather than say that the
adaptation is "wrong". Here is how our rule works:

1. Determine the percentage of hydrogen in the fluid

2. Determine the densities of the fluid in the liquid state at the rated
process temperature as well as the density of the fluid at the critical
point. If the fluid is super critical then there is only one state and the
pump is a compressor so we omit this step.
3. The MAWP is the API 617 200 psi limit / the percentage of
Hydrogen multiplied by the ratio of the pumped liquid density / the
fluid density at the critical point.

To help here is a worked example for Ethane at 25 deg F.

1. Percentage of hydrogen in the fluid is 20.1%

2. SG of the fluid is 0.41. SG of the fluid at the critical point is 0.206
3. MAWP is 200 / 0.201 * 0.41/0.206 = 1980 psig

Some customer's have pointed out that the Hydrogen in pumped fluids is
chemically bonded to other elements. This is true, however the percentage of
hydrogen is used as a proxy for how small the molecule is (its Kinetic
Diameter) and hence in part how likely it is to permeate through the gasket.

Based on the scenarios we've reviewed, we feel the rule better reflects the
variety of liquids that might be handled reliably in a BB3. If your company
has had specific experiences on this issue we would be interested to get your
feedback.

Rotordynamics and how light HC affects the design

Lomakin Effect primer

The Lomakin Effect is a restoring (and centering) force that occurs when
fluid flows through a small annular clearance with a resulting pressure
drop. The effect is analogous to the rotor being supported by a small spring
and damper at that location. For more discussion on the importance of this
force in pump rotordynamics refer to Bill Marscher's paper on the subject.

For economic, NPSHr and efficiency reasons, multistage pump rotors are not
“classically stiff”, meaning the first natural frequency of the rotor in air
is below running speed.

 Multistage pump rotors rely on the Lomakin Effect at the wear rings &
bushings.
  The strength of the Lomakin Effect depends on speed, clearance &
pressure drop (proportional to the fluid density)
 Since we can’t change the speed or fluid density, if the Lomakin Effect
is insufficient to achieve rotor stability, we need to change the
clearances inside the pump

API 610 Rotordynamic Requirements

API 610 Appendix I has very specific requirements that must be met when
multistage pump rotors are evaluated for lateral rotordynamics. The rotor
must be analyzed over the speed range of interest, at 1x new clearances and at
2x new clearances (which simulates wear in the pump). The results
(specifically all the natural frequencies found) are plotted on API 610 Figure
I.1, an example of which is shown below.
On the X axis of the chart is a dimensionless ratio relative to the running
speed of the pump. So for example if the pump running speed is 3560 RPM
and a rotor natural frequency is found at 8200 RPM it would be plotted at 2.3
on this axis as the 2nd lateral mode is in this example.

On the Y axis of the chart, the damping factor of the natural frequency is
plotted. The higher the value, the more damping exists. If the resulting
natural frequency falls inside Region 2 (coloured light red), then the
pump rotor does not meet requirements. However if the results all fall
in Region 1, the rotor is viewed as being sufficiently damped and will operate
acceptably.

In the example, you can see that a there is in fact a rotor natural frequency
right at running speed ( 3510 RPM to be exact), but because there is
sufficient damping it is in Region 1 and hence acceptable. It might seem
counter intuitive that the rotor could have a natural frequency exactly at the
running speed and still be ok. The way I like to look at is to consider a simple
pendulum with and without damping. The video below is a very cool
demonstration of the effect of critical damping on the response of the
pendulum.

Note how tiny the movement of the critically damped pendulum is relative to
the underdamped (or undamped) pendulum. The underdamped pendulum is
like our pump rotor in Region 2, while the critically damped pendulum is like
our pump rotor in Region 1. So even though our natural frequency coincided
with running speed, the damping prevents excessive rotor movement and
reliable operation is ensured.

Dealing with Rotordynamics & Light HCs

Ok so much for the basics, now onto the issues presented with light HCs. As I
mentioned earlier these reduce the strength of the Lomakin Effect because of
their low density.

Since we can’t change the speed or fluid density, if the Lomakin Effect is
insufficient to achieve rotor stability, the preferred method to resolve the
problem is to reduce the clearances inside the pump. (We could also
lighten the rotor by utilizing impellers in materials such as titanium but this is
a costly option with other side effects and so seldom implemented).

With reduced internal clearances comes an increased risk of contact under

transient conditions (such as a process upset). As a general rule of thumb
most pump vendors will allow the use of metallic wear rings with internal
clearances that are around 75% of those mandated by API 610. With
clearances below 75% of API 610, non metallic wear rings must be used.

Some customers utilize/recycle general API 610 overlay specifications that

mandate API 610 clearances at every location in the pump (including
bushings). These are extremelyunhelpful in achieving acceptable rotor
stability. Every year I come across examples where ITT Goulds Pumps has
expended significant time and effort to educate a customer's engineers as to
why API 610 clearances can't always be used. Please don't be one of those
customers....
NPSHa, NPSHr, fluid heating and balance line
management
Many light HC services are close to the boiling point of the fluid and hence
NPSHa is very limited. The good news is that for these services
NPSHa/NPSHr requires only small margin ≈ 1.15 This is for a couple of
reasons:

 Although API 610 doesn't allow it to be considered, the Hydrocarbon

Correction Factor (or Thermodynamic Effect as it is also known),
means that the pump NPSHr is lower when pumping light HCs than
with water
 The cavitation experienced with hydrocarbons is relatively benign
compared to that experiencd with water with much lower shock being
generated from the bubble collapse

In order to reduce the pump NPSHr, any of the following can be used:

 A double entry 1st stage impeller (see the illustration below)

 A higher suction specific speed (Nss) 1st stage impeller
 An inducer fitted ahead of the 1st stage
impeller
I do not recommend a hard Nss 11,000 limit for these services. (Nss
limits are less important on multistage pumps where only one
impeller affected and single value Nss limits are not appropriate on any
pump). For a more in depth discussion on why single value Nss limits ignore
the laws of physics (hint, that isn't a good thing), go here.

NPSHa and Fluid Heating

Due to the pump inefficiency, the pumped fluid will gain temperature as it
passes through the pump. Consequently the fluid vapor pressure also
increases. BB3, BB4 and BB5 pump types all utilize a balance line that
returns fluid (that has passed through the axial thrust compensation device),
back to the suction of the pump. I've shown this in purple below for a BB5
style pump.

Since this balance line is essentially at suction pressure, the hotter

fluid (and its higher vapor pressure), may cause flashing in the balance line
which could then vapor lock the pump. Even if it does not cause flashing, the
hot balance line fluid mixes with the cooler fluid in the suction
branch reducing the effective NPSHa at the pump suction. In some cases this
necessitates an alternative piping of the balance line back to a remote vessel
where vapor formation can be handled without disrupting the pump
suction. Your pump supplier will tell you if this is necessary by means of a
calculation.

Similarly in part load operation, hot fluid recirculating in the 1st stage
impeller (as well as the leakage losses through the impeller eye wear ring),
reduces the effective NPSHa and need to be accounted for. This effect is
strongest at the pump Minimum Continuous Stable Flow (MCSF) since the
impeller recirculation is strongest and the pump efficiency is the lowest. In
some cases the pump MCSF must be increased to limit this effect.

Fitting non-metallic wear parts with reduced clearances is helpful in these

situations because they increase the pump efficiency and reduce leakage
through the impeller eye wear ring.

It is vitally important that the pump supplier gets full information on the fluid
being pumped including:

 A vapor pressure vs temperature curve or tabulation

 A fluid density vs temperature curve or tabulation
 The specific heat capacity of the fluid (these fluids have low specific
heat capacity which results in larger temperature rises)