According to Pump-Flo Solutions, more than 80 pump manufacturers support Pump-Flo Premium by making their pump performance catalogs available in electronic format. The program searches from more than 135,000 digitized pump curves, making Pump-Flo the largest pump performance database in the world.
The company said a goal of Pump-Flo Premium is to create a community of pump users where collaboration is convenient. Using the latest in cloud computing technology, Pump-Flo Premium stores pump projects on secured Web servers, and enables sharing of the pump selection between users. A new List Manager feature makes this possible, allowing users to save selection lists, add project notes, customize the view and rename columns. The List Manager also lets users share saved search results with anyone having an e-mail address and Internet access, including non-subscribers.
The user has the ability to allow full access or a view-only status with whomever they are sharing. Non-subscribers can view the selection list for free on the Pump-Flo Premium collaboration website.
Currently, 85 catalogs are available on Pump-Flo Select, the free Web-based version; and more than 100 catalogs are available through the Pump-Flo desktop and paid online Pump-Flo Premium versions. The Pump-Flo pump selection tool is included as part of the Pipe-Flo piping system design software.
HI Offers Guidelines & Standards
The Hydraulic Institute Pump Efficiency Prediction guideline (HI 20.3-2010) is now available in a separate, self-contained publication. The guideline presents a simple method that will help pump users predict normally attainable efficiency levels at the best efficiency point (BEP) for selected types of rotodynamic pumps when the rate of flow, total head per stage, net positive suction head available (NPSHA), and the service conditions are known. Graphs are used extensively to portray the relationship of pump efficiency versus different parameters.
The guideline contains information that explains how surface roughness and internal pump clearances affect pump efficiency and helps users understand the power consumption and efficiency loss created by bearings, lip seals, mechanical shaft seals and shaft packing.
“The data used to develop the material contained in this guideline is based on actual test results from many different rotodynamic pump manufacturers,” said Gregg Romanyshyn, technical director, Hydraulic Institute. “The pump community now has a reliable, easy-to-apply method to estimate rotodynamic pump efficiency and compare attainable efficiency levels for different pump types, including factors that influence efficiency.”
The Hydraulic Institute has also updated the 2004 edition of the ANSI/HI standard on viscosity correction and published the Effects of Liquid Viscosity on Rotodynamic (Centrifugal and Vertical) Pump Performance ANSI/HI 9.6.7-2010. This standard, which was previously revised in 2004, has been updated to provide better results and is easier to use for those who are involved in pumping liquids with viscosity higher than water.
ANSI/HI 9.6.7 – 2010 applies to single stage and multistage rotodynamic (centrifugal and vertical) pumps having radial impellers Ns = 60, (Ns = 3000), handling liquids exhibiting Newtonian behavior, and a kinematic viscosity greater than 1 and less than 4,000 centistokes.
Major improvements of the 2010 version of the standard compared to the 2004 version include refined mathematics for better results throughout, editorial changes for easier reading and increased educational content. Figures showing characteristics when pumping viscous liquids have been clarified for improved accuracy. The upper limit of the flow range has also been increased to 410 m3/h (1,800 gpm) in the updated standard.
“The classical version of viscosity correction developed years ago by the Hydraulic Institute relied on interpolation using correction curves and nomographs. This updated version of the viscosity correction provides a mathematical solution that eliminates the potential error created by interpolation,” said Romanyshyn.
PSG Acquires EnviroGear
Dover Corp.’s Pump Solutions Group (PSG) recently acquired the EnviroGear product line from PeopleFlo Manufacturing, Inc. of Franklin Park, Ill. Product line manufacturing will be relocated to PSG’s facility in Grand Terrace, Calif.
The EnviroGear product line is a portfolio of magnetically coupled internal gear pumps with patented technology. These seal-less pumps provide unparalleled safety, performance, and reliability by providing zero-leak environmental protection.
The pump’s patented features greatly reduce wear of key components and provide dimensional interchangeability for easy replacement of any brand of internal gear pump in the market. These pumps are designed to be used in a wide range of industrial applications.
“The addition of EnviroGear complements PSG’s product portfolio of premium global brands in the positive displacement pump space,” said Dean Douglas, president, PSG. EnviroGear joins PSG’s list of premium pump brands including: Almatec, Blackmer, Griswold, Mouvex , Neptune and Wilden.
Toshiba Launches P9 Drive
Toshiba recently unveiled its new adjustable speed drive for the pump industry, the P9. This new ARRRA-compliant drive, with cutting-edge capabilities, has completely optimized pumps and pump systems to dramatically reduce pressure buildup and energy consumption, thereby maximizing efficiency, energy savings and the life of pumping equipment.
By incorporating Toshiba’s proprietary, ground-breaking Virtual Linear Pump (VLP) Technology, the P9 directly, precisely and linearly controls pressure or flow. The P9 is user-friendly and a revolution in the industry as it eliminates many obstacles users thought were an integral part of pump control and sets a new standard in ingenuity, performance, and ease-of-use for the pump industry. The P9:
• Provides users with stable and precise variable pumping control;
• Solves the problem of load balancing over multiple pumps, eliminating PID tuning;
• Allows users to configure systems in five simple steps;
• Self-calibrates and eliminates common pump anomalies;
• Protects against dead head, loss of suction pressure, cavitation, etc.; and
• Maximizes energy savings on variable torque loads.
Prior to the P9 and VLP, pump-speed control was cumbersome and inefficient for multi-pump systems, resulting in unbalanced flow rates, pressure buildup, excess wear-and-tear on pumping equipment, and unnecessary energy consumption. Toshiba’s breakthrough VLP algorithm has taken PID and made it obsolete, completely reinventing how users control pressure or flow. With this new technology, after simply inputting a few values into the P9, optimum control is attained.
