2/18/2017 HowDoPlantPipeStrainProblemsAffectMyPumpingSystems?

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HowDoPlantPipeStrainProblemsAffectMyPumping
Systems?
byFluidSealingAssociation

Intoday'seconomicclimate,ithasbecomeincreasinglyimportanttoreduceprocessingcosts.
Prematurepumpfailurescaneasilyleadtothousandsofdollarsinmaintenanceandoperations
losses.SitesurveysconductedinnumerousprocessplantsacrossNorthAmericahave
concludedthat70percentofallpumpfailuresareattributedtosomeformofmisalignment.
Detailedfailureevaluationsperformedatspecificplantsiteshaverevealedthatthecauseof
morethan80percentofchronicfailuresinvolvedpipestrain.

Pipingshouldnotimposeexcessiveforcesandmomentsonthepumptowhichitisconnected.
Pipeflangesmustbebroughtsquarelytogetherbeforetheboltsareinstalledandtightened.
Suctionanddischargepiping,alongwithallassociatedvalves,strainers,etc.,shouldbe
adequatelysupportedandanchoredneartoandindependentofthepumptopreventstrainfrom
beingtransmittedtothepumpcasing.

Itiswidelyacceptedinthepumpindustrythatpipestrainleadstounreliableequipment
operation.Withsuchemphasisplacedoneliminatingbendingmomentsinhighspeed
Centrifugalpumps,itisimportanttodefinepipestrain,considertheeffectsithasonpumping
systemsandidentifymethodsofeliminatingit.

DefiningPipeStrain
Pipestrainiscausedbymisalignmentbetweenthepumpsuctionanddischargeflangesandthe
correspondingpipeflangeconnections.Unacceptablepipestraincanbedefinedasanyforces
fromunanchoredpipingthatwillcauseequipmentdeformationofmorethan.002in.

Figure1.Sourcesofpipestrain

Freeboltingisonemethodthatcanbeusedtoensurethatnobendingmomentswillbe
transmittedtothepump.Thispracticeinvolvesconfirmingthatallboltswillslidefreelythrough
theholesinboththepumpflangesandthepipeflangeswithoutexertingforce.Acommon
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engineeringpracticeistospecifytheboltholesinflangestobedrilled1/8inlargerthanthe
diameteroftheconnectingbolts.Thispracticeisconsistentwiththealignmentspecificationin
ANSI/ASMEB31.3,whichstates:
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"Flangedjointsshallbealignedtothedesignplanewithin1/16in/ftmeasuredacrossany
diameter.Flangeboltholesshallbealignedwithin1/8inmaximumoffset."

EffectsofPipeStrainonPumpingSystems
Parallelandangularmisalignmentofpipingflangesatthepumpnozzleresultsinexcessive
nozzleloads.Excessivenozzleloadscreatestressesinpumpholddownboltsaswellas
distortioninpumpsupportsandbaseplates.Otherthanseriousunbalanceofpumpcomponents,
thereisnosingledetractorofequipmentreliabilitymoresignificantthanpooralignment.
Incorrectalignmentbetweenpumpanddrivercouplingscancauseextremeheatincouplings
thatleadstohub,keywayandgridfailure.Reversebendingfatiguecreatesexcessiveloadsthat
canbend,crackorbreakapumpshaftandexcessiveradialandthrustloadsleadtopremature
radialandthrustbearingfailure.

Forcingpipinginplaceforattachmenttothepumpsuctionanddischargeflangescaneasily
createexcessiveloadsinpumpnozzlesthatstressmaterialsandproducebendingmoments.
Thesedistortinternalmovingpartsandaffectcriticalradialclearances.Rubbingcausedbyradial
clearancelossesbetweenrotatingandstationaryelementsrapidlydamagescomponentparts
andrequiresmorepowertorotatethepumpshaft.

SealingSystem
Pipingmisalignmentcanalsobecostlyfromaleakagestandpoint.Impendingforcesareplaced
onpipingcomponentsthatwillrelievecompressiononcasinggasketsaswellasgasketsthat
sealbetweenthesuctionanddischargeflangesandthecorrespondingpipeflanges.Damage
frompipingmisalignmentcanalsocausefailuresofsupports,expansionjointsandfittings.
Eccentricityofthepumpshafttotheboreofthestuffingboxorsealchambercausedbypipe
strainwillalsoimpactperformanceofpackingandmechanicalseals.Thisisofutmost
importancegiventhetremendousinterestplacedonreducingdilutionandwasteassociatedwith
flushingfluidandeliminatingcostlyproductleakagetotheatmosphere.

Packing
Thechoiceofusingpackingversusmechanicalsealstocontrolleakageislargelybasedonthe
enduser'sprocessconditionsandrequirements.Ifslightleakagecanbetolerated,oritis
undesirabletopullthepumpoffline,thenpackingmaybethepreferredchoiceforsealingthe
stuffingbox.Sealingwaterbasedslurriesandwateratelevatedprocesstemperaturesare
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examples.Packingreliesonradiallyexpandingsoftflexiblematerialstocontrolleakagebyfilling
theannulusbetweentherotatingshaft/sleeveandtheboreofthestuffingbox.

Toachievecosteffectiveleakagecontrolwithpacking,itbecomesincreasinglyimportantto
ensureleakageisconsistentlymaintainedatallowableratesfortheapplicationconditionsand
thetypeofpackingused.Ifthepumpshaftdoesnotremainconcentricwiththeboreofthe
stuffingbox,theradialgapiscompromised,preventingequalcompressiononthepacking.This
conditionthenleadstoproductdilution,leakagetotheatmosphereanddramaticallyincreased
processcosts.

Figure2.Typicalstuffingbox

MechanicalSeals
Investmentsinmechanicalsealsarecostjustifiedbasedonconsistent,longtermreliability.
Ensuring"leakfree"operationofamechanicalsealatmaximumperformancelevelsrelieson
preventingdestructiveheatbuildupwhilemaintainingcompressiononsecondarysealsand
providingcontroloftheparallelgapattheprimarysealinterface.Radialclearancelosses
betweenrotatingandstationarysealcomponentscreatedasaresultofpipestraincancause
sealcomponentstorubproducingexcessiveheatandseveremechanicaldamage.Radial
contactbetweenrotatingandstationarysealandpumpcomponentswillalsopreventtheseal
facesfromaligningandadjustingforsealfacewear,leadingtoleakage,prematurefailureand
costlyreplacement.AsnotedintheMarch2008SealingSense,thestationaryspringdesign
bettercompensatesforpipestrainmisalignmentthandoestherotatingdesign

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Figure3.Typicalstationary
designmechanicalseal

EliminatingPipeStrain
Aswithanyproblem,acompleteunderstandingoftherootcause(s)willleadtoaneffective
solution(s).Trainingisoneofthemosteffectivemethodstoensurethatequipmentinstallation
problemsthatcreatemisalignmentandpipestraincanbeaddressed.Careshouldbetakento
providetrainingprogramformatsthatincludemethodsofprevention,understandingand
recognition.Allmaintenancepersonnelincludingmillwrights,maintenancesupervisorsand
managementpersonnelneedtobeincludedinthetrainingprocesssoeveryoneunderstandsthe
timerequiredandtheimportanceofinstallingpumpscorrectly.

Identificationofrepeatoffendersthroughperformancetracking,coupledwithdetailedfailure
analysisofcomponents,willhelpdeterminethecauseoffailureandthecorrectiveaction
requiredtofixtheproblem.Inaddition,thereareacoupleofpracticesthatcanbeconsideredfor
positivelyidentifyingandcorrectingpipestrainandequipmentmisalignment.Vibrationanalysis
providesdatathatwillhelpidentifyspecificinstallationproblemsandtheseverityoftheproblem.
Pipestraincanbemeasuredwithshaftlaseralignmenttoolsinthesamewaythatsoftfootcan
andshouldbeconsideredanintegraltoolforpreciselyaligningpumpanddrivercouplingswithin
.002inT.I.R.

Conclusion
Itisimportanttounderstandthatpipestrainisoneoftheleadingcausesofprematurepump
failure.Pipestraincancause"failure"ofthepackingormechanicalsealsincetheyareboth
sensitivetomisalignmentsintroducedbypipestrain.Pipestrainmustbeeliminatedtoextend
reliabilityofpumpingsystemsandpreventcostlyrepairsanddowntimefromrepetitivefailures.
Eliminationofpipestrainshouldbeacriticalpartofthealignmentprocessduringpump
installation.Thiswilleliminateonesourceofpumpcomponentfailureincludingthatforpacking
andmechanicalseals.

NextMonth:Howcanthecapabilitiesofprimarysealmaterialsbeimproved?

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2/18/2017 HowDoPlantPipeStrainProblemsAffectMyPumpingSystems?

WeinviteyourquestionsonsealingissuesandwillprovidebesteffortsanswersbasedonFSA
publications.

Pumps&Systems,March2009

AbouttheAuthor
SealingSenseisproducedbytheFluidSealingAssociationaspartofourcommitmentto
industryconsensustechnicaleducationforpumpusers,contractors,distributors,OEMsand
reps.Thismonth'sSealingSensewaspreparedbyFSAMemberTommySeales.Incooperation
withtheEuropeanSealingAssociation,theFSAalsosupportsdevelopmentofharmonized
standardsinallareasoffluidsealingtechnology.Theeducationisprovidedinthepublicinterest
toenableabalancedassessmentofthemosteffectivesolutionstopumpsystemstechnology
issuesonrationalTotalLifeCycleCostprinciples.

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