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College of Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering

Principles of Chemical Engineering II (CHE 206)

Spring 2016 Term Paper

Centrifugal Pump

Mohammad Ahmmed Shabib Talukder

ID: 58988

Dr Ghaleb Husseini

10th May, 2016

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Abstract

Through the discovery of fossil fuels and efficient extraction methods,

mankind has been successfully meeting its energy needs. It is almost impossible to

think of the world without the availability of crude oil and natural gas, as they are the

single most common source of energy. In order to meet the ever increasing needs of

fossil fuels, extractions processes had to make a technological leap. Hydraulic

fracturing is one such advancement in the extraction process of crude oil and natural

gas, that has successfully overcome the challenge of drilling deep down in the earth.

An important equipment in this process of extraction is the centrifugal pump, without

which it would be impossible to acquire the valuable energy resource trapped deep in

the earths crust. This paper aims to introduce hydrofracking, the main components of

a centrifugal pump and the challenges of manufacturing and maintaining them. GE

Oil and Gas is a leading supplier of centrifugal pumps in the petrochemical sector and

aims to contribute to the worlds demand for energy by providing equipment that

maximum crude oil and natural gas extraction.

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Table of Contents

Introduction.5

The Process of Hydraulic Fracturing..6

Description...8

Impeller9

Volute Casing.10

Diffuser...11

Function..11

Challenges and Solutions...14

Conclusion..16

References..17
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List of Figures

Figure 1: The Process of Hydrofracking..7

Figure 2: Cross-sectional view of centrifugal pump8

Figure 3: Impeller with curved vanes ..9

Figure 4: Cross-sectional of the volute casing...10

Figure 5: Representation of diffuser...11

Figure 6: Impeller velocities in the tangential direction.12

Figure 7: 3 types of blade styles..13

List of Tables

Table 1: Comparison of impeller blade styles.14

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Introduction
General Electric Oil and Gas is one of the subsidiaries of the General Electric Company (GE), a

multinational organization that has been actively contributing to the energy sector throughout the globe.

GE Oil and Gas is a leading manufacturer and supplier of machineries in the petrochemical industry,

which aims to provide technological solutions to engineering challenges. GE Oil and Gas currently has

its facilities located in 19 countries to provide equipment and maintenance service [1]. It provides

quality machineries like centrifugal pumps for extraction processes like hydraulic fracturing

(hydrofracking). Hydrofracking is a process by which crude oil and natural gas is extracted from deep

underground wells by drilling holes and pumping water at high pressure to cause fracturing in the

rocks. The centrifugal pumps that are developed by GE are used by many of the leading companies to

conduct hydrofracking. As an application engineer for GE Oil and Gas, it will be my responsibility to

ensure that the best products are supplied to our clients based on their requirements and process

conditions. In order to do so, it is essential for me to introduce our clients with the best solutions that

GE can provide in order to meet their need for efficient industrial equipment.
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The Process of Hydraulic Fracturing

The process by which rocks that are present deep underground in the earths crust are fractured,

in order to extract natural gases and crude oil, is called Hydraulic fracturing or simply Hydrofracking.

With the popularity of this extraction method, it was learned that a great quantity of natural gas as well

as crude oil was trapped inside particular types of rocks known as shale rocks. These shale rocks would

naturally form deep underground at a distance of 1 mile below the ground surface [2]. In order to

conduct the drilling process and protect underground fresh water, a casing of a hollow steel pipe is

inserted inside the wellbore [4].

The hydraulic fracturing process begins with the drilling operation using an industrial level

drilling machine. The machine continues to drill a hole underground until fresh water is reached. This

is followed by lining the steel casing inside the drilled wellbore and pumping cement in the pipe. The

cement will reinforce the casing in the hole and prevent fluids in the steel pipe from coming in contact

with the fresh water. After this stage, the drilling operation starts again to reach the kick off point,

which is basically achieving the needed depth [2]. Now, in order to drill through the shale rocks, the

drilling operation continues in the horizontal direction. This enables the drilling operation to continue

in any lateral direction from a single pad. After acquiring the required distance, the newly drilled hole

will be cemented in the same way as before.

After the drilling operation is completed, a perforating gun is inserted through the steel pipe in

order to create pores by firing the gun in the steel pipe. These pores make their pathway into the shale

rocks that contain natural gas and crude oil. This is followed by the removal of the perforating gun

from the steel pipe.

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Figure 1: The Process of Hydrofracking [12]

The next step in the hydrofracking process involves pumping water (99%), sand and chemicals

(1%) at a very high pressure down the steel pipe [10]. Now, due to the high pressure the mixture enters

the rocks through the pores that were created previously. As a result, the sand and water cause the rocks

to fracture, whilst the sand ensures the fractures remain open for the process duration. The trapped

natural gas and oil in the rocks would flow out of these rocks through the cracks when the pressure in

the tube is decreased [4]. A temp plug is something that is used to separate the region and perforating

guns are put into use again to make as many pores as possible to increase oil or natural gas extraction

[11]. Figure 1 presents a diagram to demonstrate the process steps.

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Centrifugal pumps play the essential role of transferring elements such as cement and water

down the pipe in the hydrofracking process. As mentioned before, the cement is used in the

reinforcement of the steel pipe casing and the water is pumped at high pressure using the pump to

ensure it extends to the pores.

Description

The functionality and usefulness of pumps was understood when Franceso di Giorgio Martini

started using them in the 15th Century. The equipment experienced various changes over time and

between 17th and 20th Century, there were pumps invented with a variety of vanes [3]. In general, the

centrifugal pump comprises of three components: Impeller, Volute Casing and Diffuser. Figure 2

shows a cross section of the pump with its components.

Figure 2: Cross-sectional view of centrifugal pump [13]

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1. Impeller: The inducer and radial blades make up the impeller. When the fluid flows into the

impeller, it enters in an axial direction but when it leaves, the direction becomes radial [5].

This is due to the circular or radial structure of the impeller. It is understood that the fluid

basically gets rotated after leaving the impeller, which causes the energy to be transferred

from the motor of the pump to the fluid via the impeller [6]. The quality of any pump will

depend on a number of different factors such as the temperature and pressure of the inlet

and outlet of the pump. Temperature and pressure changes will affect the features of a fluid,

so the pump must be designed in a way that these changes do not affect it. Moreover, in

order to make the pump as efficient as possible, it is important to take into consideration the

characteristics of the pump components such as their resistance to corrosion, toughness and

tensile strength [14]. As the outlet of the pump is going to let out water at very high

pressure, it is important to consider the fact that the impeller needs be strong enough to

resist erosion. For such purposes, stainless steel impellers can be useful, as they can resist

corrosion. Figure 3 shows a typical pump impeller.

Figure 3: Impeller with curved vanes [15]

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2. Volute Casing: It comprises of a volute, ring and outlet diffuser as its parts [5]. The fluid

enters the volute by flowing through the ring diffuser first. The volute casing is structured in

such a way that its surface area increases from the inlet towards the outlet. The purpose of

this is to increase the pressure of the fluid by decreasing its velocity, which agrees with the

Bernoullis Equation. Also, it will lead to an increase in static pressure of the fluid because

more amount of fluid gets accumulated, which enables velocity diffusion to become

maximum from inlet towards the outlet. The way the volute casing is manufactured using

particular materials, will be determined based on the size and quality of the fluid transferred.

As the centrifugal pump will operate to transport large quantities of water and sad, it will be

ideal to use a chrome steel volute casing [16]. This is because chrome steel has the property

to resist high temperature and pressure conditions as well as prevent corrosion. This is an

important property to take into consideration, since we are transporting water. Moreover,

the shaft that causes the impeller to rotate can be manufactured using Nicrofer 5621 hMoW

alloy, because it highly resistant to oxidation/reduction conditions and show little or no

signs of corrosion [7]. The shaft can get weakened by constant friction making it very hot,

while it causes the impeller to spin.

Figure 4: Cross-sectional of the volute casing [17]

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3. Diffuser: Its function is usually needed in large centrifugal pumps to increase their

efficiency [8]. It has the appearance of stationary blades that appear from the volute and are

arranged towards the impeller, as shown in Figure. 5. It is made to cause the fluid to get

transferred over an increasing surface area, resulting in a decrease in flow velocity and

consequently, increase flow pressure.

Figure 5: Representation of diffuser [18]

Function

The inlet of the centrifugal pump takes in the fluid, leading it to the volute. As the motor rotates, it

causes the impeller to rotate, resulting in a drop in pressure. This causes the fluid from the pipes to

enter the impeller. Next, the fluid is thrown radially in the direction of the volute casing, followed by a

discharge through the outlet nozzle [6]. While this happens, there is a continuous decrease in pressure

due to the displaced fluid, which causes more fluid to be sucked inside the pump. The flow of the fluid

from the inlet to the outlet causes an increase in kinetic energy and thereby velocity, which is

represented in the equation: W= Q(U2V2 U1V1) [19]

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The tangential velocity is parallel to the radius for a centrifugal pump, so the equation can be further

simplified to:

U2 V2
H= [19]
g

Figure 5 shows the velocities, U2 and V2

Figure 6: Impeller velocities in the tangential direction [8]

As shown in Figure 5, the angle can be found using the following equation:

U2 V2
2 =
2

Furthermore, the volumetric flow rate is represented in the following equation:

Q=2r2b2Vr2

Finally, the head rise can be calculated using the following equation:
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U2 2 U2 cot2
=
g 2r2 b2 g

The design of the blade style will be determined based on 3 conditions of whether the angle < 90

degrees, = 90 degrees or > 90 degrees, also shown in Figure 7 [6].

Condition 1: Based on the condition of less than 90 degrees in the last equation, the impeller will be

curved backwards due to a decrease in pressure with increase in flow.

Condition 2: Based on the condition of equal to 90 degrees in the last equation, the impeller will have

radial blades as the flow rate and pressure rise are not related.

Condition 3: Based on the condition of greater than 90 degrees in the last equation, the impeller will be

curved forward due to an increase in pressure with increase in flow.

Figure 7: 3 types of blade styles [6]

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Table 1: Comparison of impeller blade styles [5]

Impeller style Advantages Disadvantages

Flat Blades Best option between the two Does not satisfy the

extreme choices of forward requirements of a situation

and backward curved blades where the forward or the

backward curved blades are

needed

Backward Curved Blades Kinetic energy is minimal at Kinetic Energy is maximum at

the outlet the outlet

Forward Curved Blades High energy transfer Low transfer of energy

Challenges and Solutions

A centrifugal pump usually functions in a situation where there the conditions are challenging

and damaging to the pump. If the problems that are bound to affect the pump are not taken into

consideration, then the process becomes inefficient. As an application engineer, it is important to make

sure the clients of GE Oil and Gas are supplied with centrifugal pumps that meet the requirements of

the process and have quality performance on site.

A major challenge in any pump is the issue of cavitation and flashing. If there is a constricted

inlet in the pump, it will lead to flashing by a reduction in pressure, which in turn will cause fluid to

flow at the maximum velocity. This in turn will lead to the formation of vapor bubbles because of the

reduction in pressure of the fluid below its vapor pressure. This means the fluid will pass in the pump

in the form of vapor, causing the surface of the impeller to be eroded. Cavitation begins with the

pressure of the fluid going below the vapor pressure and as there are multiple pressure changes, the
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vapor bubble bursts. This is followed by an impact wave throughout the pump, which is strong enough

to greatly impact the pump and its components. A possible solution to avoid flash and cavitation would

be to set a pressure gauge at the restriction point, where the velocity is maximum. Therefore, the inlet

velocity of the fluid entering the pump can be adjusted, which in effect would be controlling the

pressure, so that it can be ensured that the fluid does not turn to vapor.

There are times when it is important to inspect the noise the pump makes while functioning. If it

is not the normal sound of the pump, then there could be a lose impeller or any other component of the

pump leading to the sound. If the noise issue is unattended, it could lead to the ball bearing to be

affected due to overheating or it might simply impact the volute [9]. The underlying cause behind the

loosened impeller can be due to the type of material that flows through the pump. For instance, in

hydrofracking the centrifugal pumps have cement flowing through them. During the pumping process,

a solid fragment might force the misalignment of the impeller. A possible solution would be to ensure

there are enough bolts to prevent the impeller from moving away from its place.

There could be a situation where the pump may suddenly stop functioning and have no fluids

transferred. This is an indication of a leakage that has possibly happened in the pump or the pipes

associated with it. There could also be the possibility of a fracture in the volute casing. The leakage

could be letting in air and thereby causing the pump to malfunction. In order to solve this issue, it is

essential to have frequent inspection for leakages, fractures or gaps in the pump. The volute casing

should also be checked thoroughly.

Finally, like all machines the centrifugal pump has a lifespan. For any efficient process, it is

important that the machineries function at their optimum level and have the lowest maintenance and

repair costs. Surely, the pump components will tend to wear out due to the various problems mentioned

in the challenges. Therefore, in order to solve the issue of corrosion, the pump could be treated with
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cathode protection, where it will be covered with a higher reactive metal. Rusting is a very common

issue for pumps, so a cheap and effective method would be to paint the pumps on the outside.

Conclusion

Energy is a major need for the functioning of all our industries and for their development in the

future. The high demand for energy is being successfully met by the petrochemical sector of our global

economy. GE Oil and Gas exists to contribute to this enormous sector by providing quality machineries

that would increase the efficiency of our industrial processes. We have been a global leader in the

energy sector through our technological innovations and services. Hydraulic fracturing is a crucial

industrial method of extracting oil and natural gas, that is achieved by drilling deep down in the earth.

GE understands the importance of the need for efficient centrifugal pumps that can transport cement

and water at very high pressures, without failure. Therefore, the engineers in GE Oil and Gas, ensure

that the best product is supplied to its clients. The centrifugal pump is made of components such as the

impeller, volute casing and diffuser. Like any other machinery, the centrifugal pumps are prone to

damage due to their environment and so it is necessary to ensure that they can face challenges like

corrosion, erosion and leakages. Also, in order to avoid issues like flashing and cavitation, it is

important for centrifugal pumps to be made out of resistant materials that would increase their life

span.
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References

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base/drilling-process-kb/how-is-gas-extracted-from-the-ground [Accessed: March 21, 2016]

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The John Hopkins University Press.

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http://www.introtopumps.com/2012/11/13/volutes-and-impellers/ [Accessed: March 21, 2016]

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