Abstract
Centrifugal pumps are used in a variety of engineering applications, such as power production, heating, cooling, and water distribution systems. Although centrifugal pumps are considered to be highly reliable hydraulic machines, they are susceptible to a wide range of damage due to several degradation mechanisms, which make them operate away from their best efficiency range. Therefore, evaluating the energy efficiency and performance degradation of pumps is an important consideration to the operation of these systems. In the present study, the hydraulic performance along with the vibration response of an industrial scale centrifugal pump (7.5KW) subjected to different levels of impeller unbalance were experimentally investigated. Extensive testing of pump performance along with vibration measurements were carried. Both time and frequency domain techniques coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) were used in this evaluation. The effect of unbalance on the pump performance was found to be mainly on the shaft power, while no change in the flow rate and the pump head were observed. As the level of unbalance increased, the power required to operate the pump at the designated speed increased by as much as 12%. The PCA found to be a useful tool in comparing the pump vibrations in the field in order to determine the presence of unbalance as well as the degree of damage. The results of this work can be used to evaluate and monitor pump performance under prescribed degradation in order to enhance preventative maintenance programs.
Rolling Bearing Reliability Assessment via Kernel Principal Component Analysis and Weibull Proportional Hazard Model
