Drives distributor joins ABB network

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a n d c o n t r o l l e d using t h e l a t e s t technology variable frequency regenerative drive systems w h i c h p e r m i t o p t i m i s a t i o n of t h e u n i t ' s efficiency. This p r o j e c t is t h e first occasion t h a t t h e c o m b i n a t i o n of v a r i a b l e freq u e n c y a n d s u b m e r s i b l e liquefied natural gas cooled generators, h a s been a p p l i e d to h y d r a u l i c r a d i a l flow turbines. Contact: Ebara HQ & Manufacturing, 350 Salomon Circle, Sparks, Nevada 89434, USA. Tel: +1 702 356 2796; Fax: + 1 702 356 2884; E-mail: sales~ebaraintl.com

£4m Algerian deal signed Weir E n g i n e e r i n g Services h a s signed an agreement, worth a r o u n d £ 4 m over t h e n e x t two years, to m a n a g e a n d m a i n t a i n a specialist workshop at the S k i k d a GL 1K LPG p l a n t on t h e n o r t h e r n c o a s t of Algeria. The contract has been a w a r d e d b y MW K e l l o g g of Houston, w h i c h is r e n o v a t i n g t h e p r o c e s s p l a n t on b e h a l f of S o n a t r a c h , t h e s t a t e - o w n e d oil a n d gas company. U n d e r t h e deal, WES will p r o v i d e a t e a m of 16 m u l t i - d i s c i p l i n e d engineers to m a n a g e a n d t r a i n local staff as well a s being r e s p o n s i b l e for electrical a n d m e c h a n i c a l p l a n t services d u r i n g r e n o v a t i o n w o r k a t t h e complex. WES says t h e l i n k - u p with S o n a t r a c h / K e l l o g g followed t h e s u c c e s s of a s i m i l a r v e n t u r e n e a r Oran City. The A l g e r i a n s a n d A m e r i c a n s chose WES b e c a u s e of its experience running a worldwide n e t w o r k of service c e n t r e s a n d its e x p e r t i s e in p r o v i d i n g specialist m a i n t e n a n c e , r e p a i r a n d t e c h n i c a l services. WES will act as the p r i n c i p a l m a i n t e n a n c e s u p p o r t group for the workshop, which will provide all off-site repairs. Its m a i n t a s k is to transfer its know-how to Algerian employees in such disciplines as q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e , rotating e q u i p m e n t repairs and o p e r a t i n g m a c h i n e tools, with special e m p h a s i s on pumps, turbines, m o t o r s and diesel-engines. Mr Gorrie believes t h e t i e - u p s h o u l d give WES a vital f o o t h o l d

WORLD PUMPS SEVI'EMBER 1997

in A l g e r i a a n d p r o v i d e spin-off benefits for o t h e r Weir G r o u p c o m p a n i e s . The WES t e a m h a s a l r e a d y s t a r t e d w o r k on site u n d e r p r o j e c t m a n a g e r Wilson Finnie, w h o was r e s p o n s i b l e for implementing the last Algerian contract, a n d r e c e n t l y set u p t h e c o m p a n y ' s new service c e n t r e in Northwich ( C h e s h i r e ) .

Rod Knight says t h e m a i n a p p l i c a t i o n s for t h e m o d u l a r are power generation, water treatment, petrochemical and pharmaceutical plants and marine a n d m a n u f a c t u r i n g installations. Contact: Grosvenor Pumps Ltd, 6 Shaftesbury Industrla! Centre, The Runnings, Cheltenham, Glos GL51 9NH, UK. Tel: +44 1242 227400; Fax: + 4 4 1242 227404.

Contact: The Weir Group PIc, 149 Newlands Road, Cathcart, Glasgow G44 4EX, UK. Tel: +44 141 m 637 7111; Fax: +44 141 637 2221. [ ]

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F a s t track d e s i g n service for modular dosing

Fristam Pumps c e l e b r a t e s 20 years

On A u g u s t 1, 1997, F r i s t a m Pumps, c e l e b r a t e d its 20th anG r o s v e n o r P u m p s h a s i n t r o - n i v e r s a r y with an o p e n house. d u c e d a m o d u l a r design service A m o n g t h o s e in a t t e n d a n c e for t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of c o m p l e t e w e r e F r i s t a m ' s C E O / O w n e r p a c k a g e d s y s t e m s for dosing, from Hamburg, Germany, Wolfgang Stamp; US a n d G e r m a n control a n d i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n . The service e n c o m p a s s e s a a s s o c i a t e s ; a s s o c i a t e f a m i l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e r a n g e of equip- m e m b e r s ; a n d vendors. F r o m its US i n c o r p o r a t i o n m e n t i n c l u d i n g p u m p s , tanks, m i x e r s , a n d f r a m e s a n d e n s u r e s in 1977, F r i s t a m h a s grown t h e s m o o t h p r o g r e s s of a p r o j e c t from reselling i m p o r t e d p u m p s from c o n c e p t t h r o u g h d e s i g n a n d p a r t s to dairies, to a leada n d m a n u f a c t u r e to full com- ing m a n u f a c t u r e r of over 70 missioning. E x p e r i e n c e d p r o j e c t s a n i t a r y centrifugal a n d positive e n g i n e e r s p r o v i d e a d e t a i l e d d i s p l a c e m e n t p u m p s sold to t h e systems e v a l u a t i o n a n d design food, dairy, beverage, a n d p h a r service. PLC c o n t r o l software is m a c e u t i c a l / b i o t e c h industries. F r i s t a m will h o s t a 2 0 t h d e s i g n e d in-house. F a b r i c a t i o n a n d a s s e m b l y is carefully mon- a n n i v e r s a r y c e l e b r a t i o n for its i t o r e d w i t h every system fully d i s t r i b u t o r s a n d OEMs d u r i n g t e s t e d before d e s p a t c h . Grosve- t h e Worldwide F o o d E x p o s i t i o n n o r also p r o v i d e s full d o c u m e n - in Chicago, IL, t h i s October. tation, systems training, on-site Contact: Fristam Pumps, 2410 Parc o m m i s s i o n i n g w o r l d w i d e a n d view Road, PO Box 620065, Mida n e x t e n s i v e a f t e r sales s u p p o r t dleton, Wl 53562-0065, USA. service. Tel: +1 608 831 5001; Fax: +1 G r o s v e n o r P u m p s says its 608 831 8467. m o d u l a r s t r a t e g y e n a b l e d it to m e e t an o r d e r from Mitsui Bab- [ ] Drives cock E n e r g y Services in j u s t distributor j oins seven w e e k s from r e c e i p t of ABB n e t w o r k o r d e r to delivery. The order, for four d o s i n g skids, was for a n u p g r a d e proj e c t on t h e a u x i l i a r y cooling A new d i s t r i b u t o r of AC drives w a t e r system a t Hwange Power for Leicestershire, UI~ h a s been S t a t i o n in Zimbabwe. Grosvenor a p p o i n t e d by ABB I n d u s t r i a l s u p p l i e d f o u r c o m p l e t e s k i d Systems. Blaby-based Sentridge systems for t h e project, incor- Ltd is now supplying a n d supp o r a t i n g its own p r e c i s i o n me- p o r t i n g ABB AC drives from t h e t e r i n g e q u i p m e n t a n d electric 0.37 k W A C S 100 micro drive u p d i a p h r a g m t y p e p u m p s . The to t h e l a r g e r ACS 600 range. The i n d e p e n d e n t e l e c t r i c a l m o d u l a r skids will d o s e a corrosion i n h i b i t o r -- h y d r a z i n e / d e - d i s t r i b u t o r p r o v i d e s a p p l i c a t i o n m i n e r a l i s e d w a t e r s o l u t i o n -- to s u p p o r t , t e c h n i c a l t e l e p h o n e seven s e p a r a t e cooling systems. back-up, on site t r o u b l e - s h o o t -

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ing, sizing a n d c o m m i s s i o n i n g for large e n d u s e r s such as w a t e r c o m p a n i e s , OEMs, syst e m s houses a n d p a n e l builders. In h o u s e t r a i n i n g courses on drive operation, p r o g r a m m i n g a n d i n s t a l l a t i o n d e s i g n e d for b e g i n n e r s t h r o u g h to e x p e r t s will be held in Sentridge's purp o s e - b u i l t t r a i n i n g room, or on site. Technical s e m i n a r s on subjects such as EMC a n d Low Voltage Directives a n d how to i n s t a l l drives so they are c o m p l i a n t will be held in conj u n c t i o n w i t h ABB t e c h n i c a l staff. Sentridge also p l a n s to set u p a website giving h a n d y tips on drive operation, programming, t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g a n d installation.

profile (exit d i a m e t e r D2, exit w i d t h B2, profile d e p t h a n d vane shape) based on the design r e q u i r e m e n t s . (Normal or suction impeller, low or high energy applications.) The impeller NPSH requirem e n t s are c a l c u l a t e d on the basis of p r e s s u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n on the v a n e s a n d p u m p inlet losses. Special low NPSH impellers can be designed. The code can be used for radial t h r o u g h axial p u m p designs. The PDC can be a p p l i e d to diffuser a n d volute p u m p s , single a n d d o u b l e suction impellers. A n o p t i o n a l mixed-flow bowl-type diffuser m o d u l e is also available ( m u s t be used with the PDC). The PDC allows the hydraulic i m p e l l e r design p a r a m e t e r s to Contact: ABB Industrial Systems Ltd, 9 The Towers, Wilmslow be q u a n t i f i e d a n d also displays Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 the i m p e l l e r design p r o p e r t i e s 8RB, UK. Tel: +44 161 445 5555; graphically. Graphic o u t p u t is Fax: +44 161 445 6066. g e n e r a t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y . The c a l c u l a t e d p u m p efficiency is b a s e d o n i n t e r n a l velocities, [ ] Quasi-3D c o d e for p u m p c o m p o n e n t d i m e n s i o n s d e s i g n audits and a n d surface roughness, leakage, i n v e r s e d e s i g n o f disk friction a n d m e c h a n i c a l losses. This can be done for centrifugal volute or diffuser p u m p s . The code p e r m i t s design pumps of diffusers a n d r e t u r n - v a n e systems. Hydraulic layouts for impelSoftware called the P u m p Des i g n Code c a n be u s e d for ler, diffuser a n d r e t u r n - v a n e design a u d i t s of existing p u m p s (also bowl-type diffuser) pator for the design of n e w p u m p s . t e r n drawings are d r a w n by the An Inverse Design m e t h o d de- PDC. The code works with any CAD t e r m i n e s the v a n e shape, including inlet a n d outlet angles system t h a t accepts DXF files. for a specified circulation. The The p u m p design o u t p u t can be code accepts Metric or US units, p r i n t e d on a p p r o x i m a t e l y 35 a n d can o u t p u t in Metric or US pages, i n c l u d i n g a one page s u m m a r y of all the i m p o r t a n t units. The P u m p Design Code re- d e s i g n p a r a m e t e r s . C o m p l e t e p u m p designs can be stored on presents the accumulated knowledge of hydraulic p u m p diskettes for future use. Estimated p u m p performance design. In the a u d i t mode, the PDC identifies poorly designed curves based u p o n the design p u m p c o m p o n e n t s . For new de- are generated automatically. signs t h e i m p e l l e r i n l e t diaH a r d w a r e r e q u i r e d : IBMm e t e r can be calculated based c o m p a t i b l e PC 486DX50 miniu p o n t h e e x i s t i n g flow-field mum, P e n t i u m 90 MHz or highw i t h o u t the use of design coeffi- er r e c o m m e n d e d , with DOS 5 or cients. The code suggests appro- higher. p r i a t e i m p e l l e r profiles. New vane shapes are developed with Contact: Hans Spring, Computathe inverse design method. Im- tional Fluid Mechanics and Hyp e l l e r s l i p c a l c u l a t i o n s a r e draulic Design for Centrifugal Pumps, 593 Kings Road, ¥ardley, eliminated. PA 19067, USA. Tel: +1 215 493 The code verifies the correct- 2310. ness of the selected i m p e l l e r

WORLD PUMPS SEPTEMBER 1997

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Database matches c h e m i c a l s to mechanical seals

A m u l t i l i n g u a l c o m p u t e r database t h a t links i n f o r m a t i o n on chemicals a n d m e c h a n i c a l seals h a s b e e n d e v e l o p e d by AES Engineering. Available on CDo ROM the software is claimed to be the most comprehensive selection aid available in the seal industry. Easy to use, the d a t a b a s e d r a w s t o g e t h e r a w e a l t h of practical experience pooled from the c o m b i n e d knowledge a n d expertise of AES's engineers a n d customers. At the h e a r t of the system is a chemicals d a t a b a s e t h a t identifies c o m p a t i b l e seals, metals, elastomers a n d seal face materials for a r o u n d 1200 fluids at different t e m p e r a t u r e s a n d concentrations. In addition, nearly 500 case histories can be accessed from the chemical database entries, providing practical e x a m p l e s of seal a p p l i c a t i o n s involving the chosen fluid. In addition, hazard warnings, physical characteristics a n d special h a n d l i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n s are p r o v i d e d in a m e m o section w i t h i n the chemical d a t a b a s e display. Use is m a d e of p h o t o g r a p h s a n d cross-sectional d i a g r a m s to illustrate the seal selections. A nice feature is the use of clear graphics to illustrate the differe n t API p i p i n g schemes, so t h a t the user can n o t j u s t select the a p p r o p r i a t e p l a n b u t also visualize the a p p r o p r i a t e arrangement. The c o m p a n y sets great store in providing i n f o r m a t i o n to cust o m e r s is t h e i r own language, which e x p l a i n s the e m p h a s i s MD Chris Rea places on language skills w i t h i n the c o m p a n y a n d the decision to make the d a t a b a s e interface available in French, German, S p a n i s h a n d Italian. Indeed, t h e interface can be tailored to a n y language provided a n a p p r o p r i a t e character set is available. In a d d i t i o n to the chemicals d a t a set, AES has e x p a n d e d the d a t a b a s e to cross reference a