3/15/2013

Presentation
on
Boiler Feed Pump
Rajeev Kumar Jain
DGM(PMI)
rkj_ntpc@rediffmail.com
Mobile: 9650997939

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FEED WATER SYSTEM

DEA

FRS
FST HPH
7

HPH

MD TD-A TD-B 6

HPH
5
HPBP
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NPSH NPSH
NPSH is an acronym for Net Positive Suction Head.
It shows the difference, in any cross section of a Considering the circuit
hydraulic circuit, between the actual pressure of liquid shown in the picture, in
and the liquid vapor pressure in that section. 1-1 NPSH is :
whenever the liquid pressure drops below the vapor NPSH = P0 + H - Y - Vt
pressure, liquid boiling occurs, and the final effect will (to be solved with
be cavitations coherent measuring
In pump operation, two aspects of this parameter are units), where Y is the
called respectively NPSH(a) Net Positive Suction Head friction loss between 0-0
(available) and NPSH(r) Net Positive Suction Head and 1-1, and Vt the liquid
(required), where NPSH(a) is computed at pump inlet vapour pressure at the
port, and NPSH(r) is the limit NPSH the pump can actual temperature in
withstand without cavitation. section 1-1.
The NPSH(a) must exceed the pumps NPSH(r) or the
liquid will vaporize within the pump impeller.
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NPSH AVAILABLE CLOSED SUCTION SUPPLY WITH HEAD

More on
NPSH available is a function
of the system in which the
pump operates.
It is the excess pressure of the
liquid over its vapor pressure
as it arrives at the pump
suction NPSH (A)
NPSHA = p + LH (VP + hf )
Where
p = pressure in suction
vessel
LH = static height of liquid in and
suction vessel to centerline
pump

NPSH (R)
VP = vapor pressure of liquid
at pump suction
hf = frictional losses of liquid
in suction piping
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REMEMBER PUMP BASICS NPSH IS A LITTLE LIKE A BUSINESS

The fluid needs to enter the impeller before the impeller
can begin adding energy.
NPSH Defines the energy available to the fluid, or required
by the pump to do this.
NPSH(R) is like the money you need to pay your bills.
NPSH(A) is your income.
You need at least as much income as your bills.

THERE ARE REALLY TWO TYPES OF NPSH THE GOLDEN RULE:

NPSH(R) is the NPSH REQUIRED by the pump. It is a
function of pump design. NPSH(A) NPSH(R)

NPSH(A ) is the NPSH AVAILABLE to the pump. It is

a function of the system design. NPSH (A) shall be = or > NPSH (R) by 0.5Mwc
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FACTORS AFFECTING NPSH FACTORS AFFECTING NPSH

NPSH(R)
Running Speed (The faster the speed; the higher the NPSH(A)
NPSHr ) Static Head or Pressure
Impeller Design: shape; eye area; entry angle, Impeller Suction line design Piping size and length, type of
vanes curvature Fittings installed, Frictional of inner surface of piping;
Selected Duty Point. (closed to shut-off) Mesh size of suction filter or strainer, foot valve..
Impeller Diameter (The more the impeller trimmed, the Pumped Liquid Vapor Pressure
higher the NPSHr) Viscosity of Pumped liquid.
Viscosity and Specific Gravity of Pumped liquid. Pumps suction line velocity and entrance design.
Pitch of screw or nos. of Tooth
Suction line velocity and entrance design.
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NPSHr is a function of pump design NPSHr increases as capacity increases

NPSH required is a function of the pump design and is determined based The NPSH required varies with speed and capacity within any particular
on actual pump test by the vendor.
pump.
As the liquid passes from the pump suction to the eye of the impeller, the
velocity increases and the pressure decreases. The NPSH required increase as the capacity is increasing because the
velocity of the liquid is increasing, and as anytime the velocity of a liquid
There are also pressure losses due to shock and turbulence as the liquid
strikes the impeller. goes up, the pressure or head comes down.
The centrifugal force of the impeller vanes further increases the velocity Pump manufacturer's curves normally provide this information.
and decreases the pressure of the liquid. The NPSH is independent of the fluid density as are all head terms.
The NPSH required is the positive head in feet absolute required at the
pump suction to overcome these pressure drops in the pump and
maintain the majority of the liquid above its vapor pressure.
The NPSH is always positive since it is expressed in terms of absolute fluid
column height.
The term "Net" refers to the actual pressure head at the pump suction
flange and not the static suction head.

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VAPOR PRESSURE OF WATER Vapor Pressure of Liquid

(ABSOLUTE)
VAPOR PRESSURE TEMPERATURE VAPOR PRESSURE CURVE
o o
FEET OF WATER PSIA C F

0.20 0.0686 0 32
0.29 0.125 5 41
0.40 0.173 10 50
0.56 0.245 15 59
0.78 0.339 20 68
2.47 1.07 40 104
6.68 2.89 60 140
15.87 6.87 80 176
33.96 14.7 100 212
66.53 28.8 120 248
121.04 52.4 140 284
206.98 89.6 160 320
334.95 145 180 356
519.75 225 200 392
773.85 335 220 428

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NPSH(A) FORMULA
NPSH(A) = H(A) +/- H(S) - H(VPA) - H(F)
WHERE

H(A) = ABSOLUTE or ATMOSPHERE PRESSURE

H(S) = STATIC PRESSURE (HEAD); It can be + or
H(VPA) = VAPOR PRESSURE OF THE PUMPED LIQUID AT PT

H(F) = SUCTION PIPING FRICTION HEAD = fLV2/2gD

L = total pipe length of suction pipe including the converted
equivalent length of all pipe fitting accessories.
D = ID of suction pipe
V = flow velocity of liquid in suction line = Q/A,
where Q = Discharge=M3/S and A = Area=M2
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NPSH Loss of NPSH

NPSH

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Avoiding Cavitation
1. Avoid low pressures if at all possible. Pressurize the supply
tank.
2. Reduce the fluid temperature.
3. Use a larger pipe diameter, and reduce minor losses in the
pipe.
4. Use special cavitation-resistant materials or coatings.
5. The available NPSH should always be more than the required
NPSH.

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Boiler Feed Pump General Arrangement of BFP

To HPH. Recirculation to FST

To give the required pressure to the Feed water Feed Water
From D/A FST
before entering into boiler
Suction
Horizontal barrel type multi stage pump. Strainer

Main
Motor
Pump
Booster
Pump

Suction Strainer for Hydraulic

Main Pump Coupling
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BOILER FEED PUMP Components of BFP

Booster Pump :
NDE BEARING DE BEARING Operating speeds of BFP is very high hence the
required NPSH is high and hence BFP requires a
separate booster pump.
A separate booster pump provides a high margin
between available and required NPSH
Booster Pump saves a Costly Main Pump due to any
damage from Cavitations.
SLEEVE
KEY Typically it is a single-stage, centrifugal pump
FOUNDATION BOLT Because of booster pump always there will be positive
SOLE PLATE
suction pressure at main pump suction which will
(BASE PLATE) remove any possibility of cavitations to main Pump.

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DESIGN FEATURES OF Booster Pump

Horizontal, Single Stage, Double Suction, Axial Split

Casing, Radial Flow.

Double Suction Impeller for minimum NPSHR.

Shaft sealing by Mechanical Seals.

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Components of BFP contd..

Recirculation :
To maintain the Continuous flow of feed water
when the valve to Economizer is Closed
Suction Strainers
To Protect Booster pump and main pump
against failure due to entry of coarse particles
Hydraulic Coupling
Used to Transmit power from motor to pump as
per the Load requirement

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Fluid Drive (Hydraulic Coupling)

Fluid drive is a method of varying the Pump speed for flow control.
Fluid drive is located between the motor and the Pump to control the Pump
speed.

CONSTRUCTIONAL FEATURES OF
BOILER FEED PUMP

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Boiler Feed Pumps Cross Section

DESIGN FEATURES OF BFP
Horizontal, Multi Stage, Barrel Casing, Single
Suction, Radial Flow Pump
High Efficiency.
Boiler Fe
ed Balance Drum and tilting pad Thrust Bearing for
Axial thrust.
First Stage Impeller erosion life : 40,000 hrs
(minimum)
Shaft sealing by Mechanical Seals.

Boiler Fe
ed
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BOILER FEED PUMP CARTRIDGE Boiler Feed Pumps Installation (Removal of Cartridge)
BFP CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLY COMPRISES OF THE FOLLOWING
SALIENT PARTS :
SHAFT
IMPELLERS
DIFFUSERS
RING SECTIONS
SUCTION GUIDE
DISCHARGE COVER
BEARING HOUSINGS
BEARING BRACKETS
JOURNAL BEARINGS
THRUST BEARING
MECHANICAL SEALS

IN OTHER WORDS BFP CARTRIDGE IS A COMPLETE PUMP

EXCEPT BARREL (PUMP CASING).
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BFP WITH COMMON FOUNDATION FRAME

BFP ROTOR

Boiler Fe
ed

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BOOSTER PUMP TUBING BEARINGS

They support the Pump Rotor.
They keep the Shaft or Rotor in correct alignment with
stationary parts under the action of radial and axial loads.

They are of two types :

Line or journal Bearings

Thrust Bearings

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JOURNAL AND THRUST BEARING Line Bearings

ARRANGEMENT They give radial positioning to the rotor.

AND

AND

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Thrust Bearings
THRUST BEARING ARRANGEMENT
They locate the rotor axially & take residual axial thrust.
They are fitted in the NDE Bearing Housing.
They have 6 to 8 white metal lined tilting pads held in a split
Carrier Ring positioned on each side of the Thrust Collar.

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BEARING HOUSINGS A DETAIL VIEW OF BEARING HOUSING ASSEMBLY

They house Journal Bearing at the DE side and both Journal &
Thrust Bearings at the NDE side.
These are in the form of cylindrical castings split on the
horizontal Shaft axis, located one each at DE & NDE sides of the
Pump.

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PUMP CASING SUCTION GUIDE

It houses the hydraulic components of Pumps.
It prevents the leakage and guides the liquid in a proper direction. It guides the fluid from suction pipe to the eye of the Impeller.
It is closed by Suction Guide at its suction side and Discharge Cover at its
discharge side. It closes the drive end of Pump Casing and forms the suction annulus.

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DISCHARGE COVER IMPELLER

It closes the NDE of Pump Casing and forms the balance chamber.
It is closed by NDE Water Jacket and Mechanical Seal Housing. It rotates the mass of fluid with the peripheral speed of its
A Spring Disc is located between the last stage Diffuser and the vane tips, thereby determining the head developed or
Discharge Cover Balance Drum Bush. the Pump working pressure.

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DIFFUSER
It converts Kinetic energy of the fluid into Pressure Energy.

IMPELLER

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RING-SECTION ASSEMBLY ROTATING ASSEMBLY

It consists of Ring Sections located one to another. It consists of Shaft, Impellers, Balance Drum, Thrust Collar, rotating parts of
Mechanical Seals and the Pump Half Coupling.
Each Ring Section houses one Impeller and one Diffuser.
It is dynamically balanced.
Ring Sections along with Diffusers form the passage of liquid from the
Impeller outlet of one stage to the Impeller inlet of the next stage.

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Balancing Device BALANCE DRUM

A small portion of the feed water in the order of about 10% which is not
calculated to the guaranteed delivery capacity is taken off from the space
behind the last impeller for the operation of the automatic balancing device
to balance the hydraulic axial thrust of the pump rotor.
The purpose of the balancing device is to take up thrust pressure in a similar
way as the thrust bearing.
The Balancing Chamber is connected to the Pump suction thus the back
pressure in Balancing Chamber is slightly higher than the suction
pressure.
95% of axial thrust is balanced by the Balancing Drum.
Residual axial thrust is taken by Thrust Bearing.
Provision of Thrust Bearing is recommended for varying condition of
Head and Flow which affect the axial thrust.

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Purpose of balance Drum AXIAL THRUST DEVELOPMENT

In any centrifugal pump, each impeller tends to produces some
amount of thrust because of different pressures and different
geometries on the two sides of the impeller.
In a high pressure multi-stage pump (such as BFP) the number of
impellers is high, thus the net thrust would be large unless Stacked impeller design results in
something is done to balance it out. adding of (thrust) in the direction
The two main ways to reduce the net thrust are to oppose the of Suction
impellers or to use a balance disk/drum. Developed thrust must be
For axial split pumps, it is usually most economic to oppose the compensated by a hydraulic
impellers. About half of the stages are oriented with the suction balancing device. Residual
pointing toward the coupling and the rest are oriented with the
suction toward the thrust bearing. The thrust of the stages thrust is handled by a thrust
pointed in opposite directions tend to cancel out. The net thrust bearing
that the thrust bearing must take is much smaller than it would
be if they all pointed in the same direction

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Balance Drum Purpose of balance Drum contd

For very high pressures, barrel pumps are used since they can handle the very
Balances 85 - 90% high pressures better. With a barrel pump, it is much more difficult to find a
good way to direct the flow path through a set of opposed impellers. So
of generated instead, they point all the impellers in the same direction and use a balance
thrust. Residual disk or drum on the end.
thrust handled by The balance disk is just after the last stage so it has full discharge pressure on
one side. A line is routed from the other side of the balance disk back to the
a thrust bearing. suction. The size of the drum is made so that it provides almost as much net
thrust as all the impellers combined. Area times pressure difference between
suction and discharge equals thrust force. Since there is a very high pressure
Most reliable design differential across the balance disk/drum, it is critical that the clearances are
for transient correct or else excessive flow will be diverted back to suction and the thrust
balancing force will be lost. In other words, if the balance drum/disk fails, a
conditions (start up thrust bearing failure is likely to follow.
and run down, The difference between a balance disk and a balance drum is whether the
primary pressure drop is taken across a radial clearance (drum) or an axial face
quick temperature (disk). Some pumps use a combination drum/disk that incorporates both
changes, daily radial and axial
starts and stops).
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BOILER FEED PUMPS

ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

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