Chemical Processing - (01/03) Avoid the 'Fatal' Five -
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Published on: 1/15/2003
Last Visited: 1/17/2003
Problems also occur when pumps are selected and purchased early in the design phase, and the system design then is changed at some later point, notes Trey Walters, P.E., president of and director of software development for Woodland Park, Colo.-based Applied Flow Technology.If no one takes the time to evaluate how the pumps will operate in the modified system design, he says, "they don't find out there is a problem until everything is built."
Companies often will spend thousands of dollars trying to fix the resultant operating problem, maintains Walters.However, he says, "the fix does not work because the problem was not properly understood in the first place.On the other hand, for a few thousand dollars, a computer model will help an engineer properly identify the problem," he says."Then operational or hardware changes can be implemented with a higher degree of confidence that the real problem is being addressed."
An understanding of the system is key not only to pump selection, but also to pump operation.Often, says Mechanical Solutions' Marscher, chemical facilities will run a pump too far away from its BEP.