Solving Pulsation Induced Vibration Problems in Centrifugal Pumps

Engineering Dynamics Incorporated	"Experts in the Analysis and Solution of Vibration Problems Worldwide."

Solving Pulsation Induced Vibration Problems in Centrifugal Pumps
K. E. Atkins, Pumps and Systems Magazine, January 1993, pp. 44-47.

When a series of six min oil line pumps were experiencing severe vibration problems, a solution was needed. These pumps were installed on two large oil platforms as part of a simultaneous drilling and production program in an offshore oil field. The pumps experienced high vibration and noise levels and were generally unreliable with numerous seal failures as well as failures of the attached small bore piping and gage lines.

The root cause of the failures was identified as an acoustic resonance of the pump internals excited by blade pass frequency. The solution was to change the number of impeller vanes, which was relatively simple compared to other options investigated.

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