Reprinted from July 2012

HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
The craft of choice
W
ith the evolving demands of the LNG market and the need for different
types of pumps comes a strong emphasis on proper selection for a given
application. From receiving terminals to peak shaving facilities and, more
recently, oating applications, the changing demands of the global market
have inuenced the way pumps are selected (and therefore designed) to meet the specic
needs of the customer. Several factors including application type, liquid, installation location,
and the evolution of worldwide standards and codes have added complexity to the pump
selection process. It is important to be aware of the history of how the industry has inuenced
LNG pump design and how those designs have been applied to meet ever more stringent
codes and regulations, as well as the increasing demands of the industry.
The present day
Over the past several years, LNG market growth has increased exponentially. With worldwide
consumption and demand increasing, new markets within the industry have emerged to meet
the needs of both the consumer and the producer. In the case of a custom pump
manufacturer, it is the process requirements, specic application and varying specications of
the customer that provide the framework against which the selection of equipment is made.
Several factors must be considered when optimising a process or system: from increased
efciencies and improved net positive suction head (NPSH) and pump down levels, to
KELSEY AZCARATE, EBARA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, USA, DETAILS
THE COMPLEXITIES OF PUMP SELECTION AND DESIGN, AGAINST THE
BACKDROP OF THE EVOLVING GLOBAL LNG MARKET.
PUMP &
valve
PUMP &
valve
REVIEW
2012
In
trod
u
ction
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Reprinted from July 2012
Reprinted from July 2012
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
equipment size, and codes and standards. For these reasons, the
process of selecting and/or designing a pump or expander is
complex and multi faceted.
The installation locations of cryogenic pumps and
expanders range from import and export terminals to newer
technology such as oating applications. Equipment needs vary
with regard to selection and design. Likewise, international
codes, standards and project specications will vary depending
on factors such as region, installation and contractor. One
example would be a US based import facility with a send out
capacity of approximately 28 metric tpy and a storage capacity
of 800 000 m
3
. A send out facility is typically comprised of
several high pressure send out pumps operating in series as well
as in tank pumps to transfer the liquid from the tank. However,
selecting the quantity of pumps based on ow and head
requirements and space available at the site is just the rst step
to properly selecting a pump for a customers specic
application.
Data presentation and pump
selection fundamentals
When an inquiry is received, datasheets and a specication
package including commercial terms and conditions are
typically provided, thus allowing the pump manufacturer to
produce an adequate proposal. The amount of detail varies
depending on the stage of the request for proposal (FEED, EPC
select or purchase phase). However, the technical parameters
included in the datasheets represent only the minimum
information needed to prepare an estimated pump
performance in the form of datasheets and curves. Further
requirements imperative to the design of the pump or
expander are listed in the remainder of the specications.
Pump and motor performance curves and datasheets are
generated to depict the overall performance parameters and to
summarise the requirements of the pump or expander being
selected for a customers application. The typical curve will
show a head versus ow graph together with efciency, a rated
power curve and an NPSH curve (Figure 1). The datasheets will
summarise all of the important design parameters, such as
minimum and maximum continuous ow; shut off head; design
pressures; power requirements; synchronous speed and motor
rating(s) in terms of load; efciency; and current. Providing a
picture of a pump or expanders future performance helps the
customer understand how the equipment will t into their
process.
The creation of datasheets and curves begins with hydraulic
combinations consisting of an impeller, diffuser vane and
inducer. The specic hydraulic combination is derived from
coefcients established from the basic requirements for ow
and head. Several adjustments to existing hydraulics can be
made to meet specic duty requirements that do not fall
within an otherwise existing hydraulic. For example, a diffuser
vane may need to be modied to adjust the best efciency
point (BEP). Likewise, an impeller may need to be modied for
the same hydraulic combination to meet a head (pressure)
requirement. Adjustments are made to the estimated
performance data based on the physical design and presented
accordingly. Should the physical dimensions of the hydraulics
change, the housing or casing design details and overall column
diameter may also be affected.
Pump selection
Several factors should be considered when selecting and
designing a pump for a specic application. As with any
application, the most crucial information required to begin the
selection process is ow, head, liquid type and its specic
gravity, voltage, frequency and suction pressure. This basic but
very important information provides the framework from
which selections are made. Using a library of proven hydraulics
and the ability to modify proven hydraulics to meet specic
needs, a pump can be selected to meet the basic requirements.
In cases where the duty requirement falls within the
parameters of an existing hydraulic without modication, pump
and motor datasheets and curves are generated and the output
data necessary complete system design is produced. The
number of stages is modied to determine how to achieve the
required head rise or pressure drop considering all other factors
such as efciency, best efciency point (BEP), NPSH levels and
shut off head. This is just the beginning of the selection process
and since the overall goal is to optimise the proven hydraulic to
provide customers with the best pump or expander possible,
the technical selection is taken a few steps further.
Consider a pump and its input requirements whose duty
ts into a hydraulic with an 8 in. discharge and a 15 in. impeller
with 13 stages. Looking rst at the BEP, the goal is to fall within
specic ow parameters. For example, API 610 requires that the
rated ow fall within 80 110% of the best efciency ow rate.
Likewise, the BEP value should be within a specic range of the
impeller trim parameters. Should the BEP fall outside the range
of values for which the existing hydraulic combination is
designed, a shift in the curve would need to be made.
Once the desired performance characteristics have been
achieved, further research must go into determining the physical
changes that must be made to the hydraulics. In several cases,
Figure 1. Performance curves.
HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Reprinted from July 2012
the diffuser vane machining alone can be revised to
meet the requirements. However, in cases where
diffuser vanes are new, the design work required to
submit a curve to a customer suddenly becomes
more complicated. At this stage, the entire pump
design must be considered, encompassing each
hydraulic component and its housing, and interface
dimensions throughout the entire assembly.
Specic considerations include how vanes and
their housings match up to the impeller and/or
inducer, pump casings, shaft length, and motor size
and its casing; all while taking into account the
additional factors such as efciency and NPSH
levels. Figure 2 depicts a high pressure pump and all
of its components, with the cut away showing the
importance of each part and its interfaces.
In order to optimise the performance of each
pump and the customers process requirements,
factors such as high efciency and low NPSH
levels are key. In an application where a pump is
required to unload a tank, the NPSH levels should
be as low as possible. Again, the proper hydraulic
combination must be selected and designed to
meet this condition. Likewise, high efciency is
desired and the proper combination together
with the number of stages is paramount to
achieving the best possible efciencies. Motor
power is often limited by site parameters as well
as shut off head, since these affect downstream
piping and interface requirements. It is clear from
these basic rst steps that there are several
important factors impressing on the pump
selection process.
Developing a cost basis
Once a selection has been made based on basic
information and an overview of customer
specications, the remainder of the specications
and standards for which the proposal is being built
should be noted. Review is focused on key factors
that affect the design of the pump: from shut off
head requirements and NPSH levels to motor ratings
and column sizing for retractable style pumps; all of
which affect performance and design. At this point in the process,
the technical requirements and ideal resultant design have been
identied but the nancial impact still needs to be addressed. If
necessary, further changes may be made to reduce cost.
Larger columns and higher shut off head, higher NPSH levels,
and efciency are essential to pump design, but these factors
also effectively increase costs or decrease potential income to
the purchaser or end user. Consider a case where all of the
specication requirements have been met, but better efciency
can be achieved by increasing the amount of stages through a
higher specic speed. The customer may wish to trade the
increased length to gain efciency. All designs must ultimately
be considered to optimise for performance and reliability.
Specification packages
Assuming the pump selection meets the requirements of the
specication package, deviations and exceptions must be taken
accordingly. All requisition package
specications must be reviewed whose contents
range from pump and motor standards such as
API, NEMA, or DEP to customer specications
such as electrical, instrumentation, welding,
piping, and quality inspection. There will be
cases where a specication may not apply to
the pump design at all. For example, API 610 in
general does not apply to cryogenic, submerged
motor pumps; nor do NEMA standards. The key
point is that specications come in varying
degrees of magnitude, but considering each and
every one of them is important to both the
design and overall cost to the customer and
pump manufacturer.
As the industry has evolved, there has been
a dramatic increase in the amount and
complexity of specications. This is all due to
the expansion of the market into regions where
standards may be different, safety codes have
been enforced and environmental factors come
into play. Alternatively, this may simply be
because the cryogenic pump market has
steadfastly grown to the point that site design is
better understood. Furthermore, new markets
such as oating storage and regasication units
(FSRUs) have complicated the overall design of
the supplied equipment. This is due to new
physical design requirements, environmental
footprint and location. Moreover, factors such
as limited site space have created the need for
modularised construction, which must be taken
into account when designing each piece of
equipment: pumps and expanders included.
Behind the budget
At this point, a pump or expander selection has
been made based on all of the specications
and standards relevant to the inquiry and
deviations; exceptions or clarications have
been compiled accordingly. Through these
exercises, the entire scope for the main
equipment has been determined, as well as
optional items such as spare parts, instrumentation, service and
quality requirements in order to produce a budget and price
summary for a proposal. In order to build a budget cost, a
baseline structure is built or an existing structure is utilised to
include the full pump or expander layout and its components.
For accuracy, a budget is built considering all major
components individually, as well as how they interface with
one another (not excluding weldments, motors, and electrical
components such as junction boxes and feedthrust). Once all
components have been determined and t into the structure,
the specic design and their manufacturability must be
considered.
Manufacturability refers to whether or not a part can or
will be machined or forged from billet, or whether it can be
cast, or the type of machining. Cost and precision are key
factors in these types of decisions, as are lead times. Moreover,
when it comes to longer lead items whose design requires
Figure 2. High pressure
pump cut away.
larger amounts of materials and whose standards are strict, the
overall design must be determined in advance (for example,
suction vessels, headplates and suction valves). In essence, the
entire pump layout must be considered in order to create an
accurate structure.
Due to the customisable nature of bespoke pump design
and the volatility of the materials for which the pump is
comprised, a budget can only loosely be based on past costs
(Figure 3). In effect, it is almost necessary to base a unit cost and
price on real time data, which can mean receiving individual
quotes for each component. These trends and index prices are
utilised to estimate current and future costs based on time of
manufacture. For instance, typical marine application orders
have deliveries more than one or two years past the purchase
order date. In essence, in order to develop an accurate estimate,
the quotation date, purchase order date, and delivery dates
must all be referenced. Several hours and resources must be
spent to produce an accurate budget whereby cost and price are
favourable to the manufacturer and the customer. Together with
increasingly complex specication packages and the
expectation to create an accurate and complete commercial
and technical proposal, the time required to prepare it can be
quite extensive.
Conclusion
In summary, the evolution of market demands has driven the
way equipment is supplied, and therefore quoted, to the
customer. A technical proposal can no longer be supplied
based on a standard set of assumptions or specications.
Likewise, a commercial proposal can no longer be supplied
based on these same factors. In effect, a scope of supply is no
longer standard. The increasing requirements from customers
in worldwide regions within the LNG industry have added a
great deal of complexity to the process. This evolution will
continue as the market demands for LNG increase and more
players are involved. As for the process of making a proper
selection, this too will adapt in time.
References
1. http://cruonline.crugroup.com/steelferroalloys/priceindex/tabid/143/
default.aspx.
2. http://www.kitcometals.com/charts/copper_historical_large.
html#1year.
Figure 3. Aluminum and stainless steel index
pricing.