Expeuer Slurry Pump: Sealéd Without Wat R.: Tional

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In. héif1dlmg r!ifticult stu.n/es, th& Worthington's research group


piocess .can frequRntly .be ir!+ .. . has been working for several years
proved !)y:elimiriatirig the need to perfect a practica! systern of
for saa/water ín t/¡e. stulfmg box. expeller shaft sealing. The result: a
·trr trie production of water,soluf;ile · series of hydrodynarnically sealecJ
po1ast1,..for example, anyarJdi: 'MX" expeller purnps has been
tional water introducedíl) the .
.cburse atpiocessirlglhe 9re
added to our service-proved line ol
hard-rnetal slurry pumps. Presently.
j
m¡¡st eventw;!ly be removed, raí$• "MX" slurry purnps are available in !
íl)Q the. cost.Qf tfíe already- sizes frorn 21/:>- to 12-inch (60 mrn-
. · expensive chem1oal compound, · to-300 rnrn) discharge with
capacities to 10,000 gprn (2300
. Even where dil¡¡tion ofthe rn"/h) and heads to 165 feet (50rn).
pmduct1Níthflus/¡ water 1s ,no
spec,a/ concern, c1ean w¡;ter No-water, low-maintenance
rnaybehaid 19 tome by And seal.
packing may faíl quíckly tfom
A hydrodynamic seal has distinct
ábrasive slurry partlcles mákíng
th(;írwayÍnto the stuftíog box.
advantages over conventional slurry
purnp sealing arrangernents. By
eliminating the neecJ for a contim.1-
ExpeUer slurry· pump: ous flush water supply to purqe the
stuffin¡J box of inqressirg solids and
sealéd without wat~r. contarninants. it also elirninates the
associated seal water supply sys-
Sy Gary Davidson ten1, including purnp, motor. con-
trols. valves, piping, ancl fittin[Js.
FOr these rea sons, a water!ess Tlie clean water whicr1 is not used
sea! wou/d be a .very welcame for tlust,inq is available tor ot11er
addition to a s/urry pump /me. Of process use. And, of course, there
course, ímproperly flushed me- is no product dilution. and so no
chanítal seals have very límíted. · additional dewatering is requirecj at
/}fe exp¡,ctancy in ah a.brasive the end of tne process
· envíronment Bc1t what about e . ·
hydrodynamíc sea/ 1r1 wtúch st1al A second woup of advanta[JeS
J'ng p¡essure is created byan relates to rnaintenance. The harci-
expeller? fhe concept 1;q rel$- rnetal expeller is clesigned asan
tively simple, but qesígning a integral part of the purnp, with the
practica/ sea/ to work over a sarne reliability ancl clepencJability
· range al t,eads and capacíties is as otner cornponents. While rne-
more complicated. In this articlé, chanical seals rJo not lend them-
ca11s1derali◊ns ín the develop-' selves to ahrasive slurry service
mentafWbrthingtan's hydroc¡y- and packinD must frequentiy lle
nam1cally seaied e,xpeller purnp ad¡usted or replacecl, an expeller
. are déscribéd works maintenance-free until se-
verely worn. Maintenance for tl1e
pump is therefore lirnited to occa-
sional irnpeller axial clearance
ad¡ustments or the replacernent
of worn parts.

Principie of operation.
The physics qoverning expeller
operation are straightforwarcJ. As
)he expel.ler.rota.tes.wrthir¡ a con-
Gary f]avidson IS supeNisorof .fi1'1Eld c:avíty, the van.es impar! fardes ,'
research. at Worth¡ngtan Canada, . .. to the mixture of fluid and solíds
lnc , 8r{3ntford · · wlthin the cavity, causing it to rotate
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about t11e shaft in a manner similar


tó. ~ forced)/o:t"'~ CeptrifÜQa! ac-
fi01) ¡¡s59cíatér:J. yiith this roJatípn
llingsthe rnixture outward, bu.t thé
(ixpeller l)ousing b9,mparies con-
fü\e tt\e outward motion.
The n.etre.sqltof thí.s action is the
creationoí a low,rr0ssure.area
abqut th!'l st¡aff .Air fills the region
.tif l9w press.ure, ancl a.. concentric'
míxture-oas interface is tormed at
sorne rs)diqLQi1>01eter l;\/Jthínt.h.e,
expeller vanes. Íhis intefface iS
ElSJElpti~I, \'S i.t forms a distinct
bar,r11¡(tiElt\'(eenthó mixture andfhé
~J1<!ÍL )tiil.s9 prpt~t;.Íf [h~.9lctJi.c. Si¡lijl
l(Qrn .~Xp9sure. to ahrasives duriríg
purnp operation. ·
The interface may form at various
radial d1stances frorn the shafl. de-
pendin9 on tl1e conditions of
operation, since its diameter is de-
terrnined by a balance of pressures.
i.e., the sealing pressure generated
by the expeller and the opposin(J
pressure qenerated within the purnp
casinq. The interface diameter can
be detern1ined from a knowledge of
expeller qeornetry. speed of rota-
tion, density of the mixture, and
pressure to be sealed.
In Figure 1, the mixture to be
sealed has a pressure P,. at the hub
of the irnpeller back shroud. As the
mixture floods the smooth fa ce of
the rotating expeller, a pressure rise
occurs because of viscous purnp-
ino action attributatile to disk lxp•H•r operation at a glano•.
fr1ction. The mixture pressure is in- ~ A11,.expell'et.iS a._hydrodyn,arnic_stia.ling-:<-i'eyice 2onsiqtirig Ó1
creased to a value P, at the tip a yf:1ned<djpk mt_a_t1ng,,o_f1 th~~.pqrnP shaf_t,. li'1t_"Jtct1· Qf::Jrterates_ á
rac1ius of the expeller Pressure P, is f?º~l_tiv~:s~~ting,-he:ad_a_Gm~t? 1ts vaneK Tll~ expel+l:'r i,s
balancecl by permittin~J the rnixttire pos1t1oned ,n a metál hous1ng loGated beh111d thé cónvent,onal
to partially flood the vaned side of pump 1mpéller, and the ttonl'vva1I óf the hous,ng sepaiates the
the expeller to a radial location r,. expeJ!er cavíty !mm fhe pump casing The act1011 o1 the
Presence of a gas pressum (nor- rotc11iútrexp_eHBr varies;_ forces· a_H liquki -an;d_ so-lid__matenafs in
mally atmospheric), along the shaft
. tht;! ~ousing_ a_y,¡q,y fr0íll:-t_h? _:,_haft,.maintairnng.a d-ry arna about
the sha1J ,,,. essentially a purnp soal.
on the vanerl side of the expeller,
completes t11e pressure balance. The expeller 1s the pnínary sealing dev,ce and as long as
thepu_mp 1s-opet;atJn.g:, ·it_-keep~ t-h0-st1aft dyn{:1mJc;:':11y·.sQa_loci_.
The surn of the interface pressure 'A packqd stufftng box acts as a sccondary stat,c seal to
P, and the pressure rise developed , P;~vent Jeakage, whe11 rhe purnp ,s shut ,1ow11.,
in the rotating rinq of mixture on the
vaned side of the expeller must
equal the tip pressure P, in equi-
lillrium conclitions. The location of
the mixture-gas interface at r, can
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Figure.a .
hóusinQ
be alteted by changing Ph for a
' - - - - - - - fJXÍ)eller
given seai geometry ancJ a fixed
;.c._ _ _ _ stumntfbOX--hcad
rotational speed.
- - - - é;<pefü?'r y¡e~rplate
Designing a working sea!.
The prímary task in desi()lling
St.aooarc{¡jaéke&bQx ,\¡Vith s[)liJ_'fJf_a,nd; a l1yclrodyriamic seal for a particular
ophpfl _1;5 -s-qlid gla,n:cJwltp- 'ó'' nng, an:él'Jií=tsba1s purnp application is t11at of evaluat-
ing the pressure rise clevelopecJ on
both tlie srnooth and vaned sides of
tlie expeller for a predesignated
mixture-gas interface diarneter
This is accornplished by ana-
lyzing all of th<? extemal forces
acting on an elemental fluid
volurne clV. between two consec-
utive rotatinq vanes. By equating
press1,re
forces to
centri-
fuga!
forces exerted on the fluid Ple-
rnent. an ordinary differential
equatio11 is obtained, the solution
of which yielcls:
[P, - P,l.i.,,,, = 1'Qi' X (r," - r '')
2g
wherff
p = der1sity of fluid or mixture
'" = angular velocity of shaft
q = gravitatíonal constan!
r = radial cJistance frorn shaft
centerline
This is an expression for prnssure
rise across the vanes tor an ideal fluio
ancl neglects the etfects dueto the
rotating inner annulus of air. To ac-
count 1or real fluid effects and devia-
tions frorn solio boCly rotation, a va,¡e
coefficient based upon experimental
data is introducecl. The actual
pressure rise across the annulus of
rotating mixture on the vaned side of
the expeller becornes:
[P,- rj,L"''"'· = l<c; {""' x (r, 2 - r 2 )
29
H1e vane coefficient K( ,. is an
indication of vane effectiveness ex-
pressed as tl1e arnount of "fluicJ slip.'·
This is nften clenoted as (rl/,"f
where i3 is the actual fiuicl anqular
velocity in the expeller cavity. For
the Wort11in(Jton expeller, ¡3/rn is very
, Figure 1 - Expeller seal ;_;, cut;,w,.y !liew. clase to the ioeal value of unity.
Sirniiarly, the pressure riso across
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Figure 2-
Dislribulion of
sealing pressure
developed by
impeller and
expeller vanes.

the floocled srnuullr side ol l11e the fiftl1 power of tip raclius,
expeller may be expressed as:
Figure 2 illustrates the distribution
of pressures arising from the impel-
IPt P.,Jsmooth = KL w'2 x (r,2- r,,2)
ler and expeller vaMs, In a pump,
clisk 2g
the expeller must seal against the
Once, again, K,_ is determinecl pressure at the hub of the back
experimentally and is considerably shroud of the impeller, This pressure
less than Kc, 1s transmitted througl1 the mixture,
along Hie shaft, to the smooth tace
The totai pressure P1c, generated of the expeller,
by the expeller is the difference
between the pressure generated on In conventionally sealed pumps,
the vaned side anrJ the smooth side, this would be called the stuffing box
pressure (SBP), lts magnitucJe de-
Expeller power requirements can pends on several factors, such as
be calcul;ited from shaft speed, the suction head (SH ), the total
torque (via a torque coefficient developed heacl (THH,), wr1ich is a
related to the height of the vane) function of speed and capacity, and
ancl the ratio of interface radius to the effect,veness of the back shroucl
expeller tip radius, pump-out vanes at generatin¡J a
sealing pressure (P,",vl
Optimizing the seal. A value for P,, can be determined
An importan! question for clesign from an equation of ttie followirig
of the specific purnps is, "To what form
outer vane diarneter should the ex- P,, ~ (constan! x TDH I SH) x p
peller be restricted?" The pressure - ppov
ranges the expeller must seal
aqainst need to be clearly estab- where the constan! is a fraction which
lished in order to keep the interface can be cletermined experimentally for
within a realistic range ol radii any pump geometry.
especially since the energy neecJs This means tliat wlien all other
of the expeller are proportional to parameters remain constan!:
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i . As capacity is clecreased at a
fixecJ operatinq spé'ed, the pres-
' , .-:>_- . --- ._ -
sure wl1ich the expeller must seal
against is increased. .Pl1_f1(Jírh•,hc~\)·tj_rnPt:r~taiin,at. 1206,Jriin' -
2. As suction pressure is incr-eased, 70
the totc1i pressure which the expel- - standard
ler rnust seal ElfJainst is increased.
3 /Is purnp-out vane effectiveness 60-~"""~~--+!"-::-'_""~'PJC8;,,.lie"''__j
deteriorates clue to vane wear and
impeller axial clearance adIust- ; . -Z"
50
ment, the expeller must seal
8{Jainst a qreater pressure !¡
Tl,ese were some of the param- J 40
eters requirincJ definition, to assure
a satisfactory seal against ali "'"-·t1'
_,,,
ªm:t:Jt\nty-
stuffin(J box pressures which rniqht
be rnet in service, Tl,e resultinq
optimized expeller to impeller
1 30 eo

diarneter ratio results in a purnp line


that rnaintains a functional seal over
.ti-
--'.t; 20

a wide pressure range-- even under


hiqh-suction pressures-with lowest
possible e.xpenditure of enerqy.
((} Part of a proven pump line.
The expeller pump was designed )Ó() 200 •, :soo ,400
to use the qreatest nurnber ol exist- -, ,pi!j,ilcitf (tlfGPWJ)
ing purnp parts, to take advantaqe
of the well-proverJ reliability and
efficiency of WorthinQton's slurry
purnp line, and to maintai11
1nterchanqeability. As a result the
Worthinglon expeller package can
readily be retrofitteo in the fielcl anc1 ~ st8nrlard
served from the s.?1me hasic spare ----=- :too f----+------le-x_pe,r_re_r+----+--l-'!.-l---1
par-ts inventory
!

Fiqure '.l is a sectional view of the
expeller slrmy purnp, The expeller 1 89 t-t-t--i---t--t---t--t--i ,,rne,,nN ,
,A ,
fits nver the shaft and is rnounted orI
the enrJ of the shaft sleeve. The
,.
rmpeller is thcn threac1ed onto the ! t0'---1---1-~
_·•<·-\
end of tlIe shaft, securinq the expel-
...
ler firrnly in place.
The expeller housin¡¡ is a sin~Jle
piece casting which mates wiH1 the
__

' _.-

easily replaceable expeller wear-


plate The l1ousing fits over the
expeller anr1 into the stuffinq box
lIead, The stuffinQ box head, wl1ich
cnn house an optional grease~lubri-
cated static seal system, fits into the
bearrng trame flanqe, and the
casing bolts tightly clamp the entire
assernbly in place.
figure 4 - Eftect of expel/er unit on 3-inch ( 76mm)
The entire liquid encJ, bearing slurry pump performance.
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Figure 5-
New expeller frame, and bearing cartridge as- slightly reducc➔ cl in overall efticiency
pump undergoes
sembly are the same as the because of the srnall arnount of
tests in the lab
at Brantford. standard, service-proved type M additional power required to rnain-
slurry pump. The expeller packaoe tain a11 eftective seal. As Figure 4
is very easily installed in the pump illustrates, the aclclition ot the ex-
Each standard bcarinq frarr1e has peller has 110 effect on the heacl-
the sarne size expeller for its various capacity curve. Expeller power con-
liquid-end options, and the greatest surnption is minirnized by optirniz·
sealinri pressure is obtainecl by ing va11e shape, vane heiqht. 11urn-
selectin¡¡ the srnallest liquid end of ber of vanes, ancl expeller niameter
that frarne size Tlie srnall cJebit to efficiency shoulcl
quickly be reclairned iri overall rnain-
Wear-resisting materials. te11ance savings, reduced down-
Ali expeller cornponents sub¡ect time, and eliminatio11 of tlush water
to wear are made from hard metal supply ancJ associated equipment.
ranging from 500 to 600 Brinell to
provide the greatest resistance to Process applications.
abrasive wear which results trom Worthington's hyclrodynmnically ·
low-anqle particle irnpinqement. sealed slurry purnp offers the best
Tile material has been provee! in of both worlcls a 11ew and improved
corwentional slurry purnps for rnany seal system, combined with proved
years. dependability of our existing suc-
The expeller parts have sutticient cessful slurry purnp line. The
wear allowance to ensure a service expeller pump should be consid-
lite comparable witl1 or better than erecl tor any application where
the liquicJ-end parts to avoid need abrasive particles cause frequent
for premature c!isassembly packing failure, where clean water
supply is limited, and where dilution
Efficiencies stay high. ot the pumped mixture cannot be
Of course, you don't get sorne- tolerated. lt should fincl ma11y ap-
thinq for nothing. While saving on plications in t11e potash, coal, and
flush water and associated pump- copper processinq industries
ing costs. plus dewaterinq and its
eriergy costs, an expeller pump is

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