Multistage Turbine Pumps: Improving Performance In High Head Application
Turbine pumps are a specific type of centrifugal pump that can produce high head and low flow in a relatively small, efficient footprint. Their unique design, together with flexibility in application, makes them essential to a great number of industrial, municipal and agricultural applications. This article offers a short guide to turbine pumps, their design construction and applications, and their role in a contemporary fluid management philosophy.
Turbine Pump – A brief description
A turbine pump is a pump that operates on turbine style impellers with peripheral teeth, arranged in a radial orientation, to move fluids effectively. Turbine pumps are often mounted vertically such that the impeller may be immersed in the fluid and the motor positioned above. This prevents the need for mechanical seals and allows conventional electric motors to be used, with both simplicity and maintenance cost being low.
Major Characteristics of Turbine Pumps
High Head, Low Flow: Turbine pumps suit applications that require fluid movement over large vertical distances (high head) but at low flow rates compared to other types of pumps.
Vertical Mounting: Most turbine pumps are vertically mounted, and they thus suit perfectly deep-well or sump applications where space is limited and the source of the fluid is underground.
Multistage Construction: Many turbine pumps are multistage pumps and have multiple impellers stacked upon one another to optimize pressure and efficiency, specifically in the case of deep well applications.
Handling Clean Liquid: Turbine pumps are designed to handle applications that involve clean liquid applications and handle liquids with low particulate levels.
Common Applications
Because of their flexible and efficient nature, turbine pumps can be found in almost every industry:
Water Supply and Irrigation: Turbine pumps are widely used in pulling water up from deep wells for a public water supply and irrigation water for agriculture.
Industrial applications: Turbine pumps can be utilized in any industrial process in which water is needed at a high head, including in cooling water recirculator applications, boiler feed pumps and moving water.
Municipal and commercial applications: Turbine pumps can also raise the pressure of water in a municipal system, and also be deployed in commercial systems, for example as part of a bakery, dry cleaner or brewery.
Electricity Generation: Sometimes considered to be a generation method if the turbine pump acts reversely as hydraulic turbine, the energy recovery situations are also given consideration.
There are many advantages of turbine pumps:
Performance Assurance: Turbine pumps are rather tried and tested in operation under conditions that are generally difficult or adverse. They can almost always be counted on to perform.
Versatile Installations: Turbine pumps have a vertical arrangement allowing several types of installation configurations when installing in a confined space especially in deep wells.
Low Maintenance: The motor is above the fluid with fewer submerged moving components compared to other pumps, meaning less overall maintenance is required.
Conclusion
Turbine pumps are an important technology for applications of high head, low flow and compactness. They have proven effective for using clean liquids from deep sources or wells and getting them to the surface such as raised column and gear pumps. They are dependable and require very little maintenance, making a compelling argument for their ongoing value in supplying water, irrigation for farming, and even various industrial processes. As the world continues to change with ongoing increases in demand for efficient and sustainable fluid management, turbine pumps likely will become an even more prominent force moving forward in helping to support global infrastructure and industry.
