Flow Magazine - Quarter 2, 2020: Power and Energy Sector Focus

Quarter 2 2020

Pump industry insight from

FOCUS ON: Power and energy

The role of pumps in renewable energy

Improve repair efficiency Pump Industry News

Innovations

Applications

Expert Opinion

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CONTENTS 3 Editor Chris Callander chris@flowmag.co.uk 01732 671123 Contributing Editor Suzanne Gill suzanne@flowmag.co.uk Publisher Andrew Castle andrew@flowmag.co.uk 07785 290034 Accounts Touchwave Media Ltd accounts@flowmag.co.uk Production G and C Media Ltd production@flowmag.co.uk

For over three-quarters of a century the British Pump Manufacturers’ Association (BPMA) has been serving the interests of UK and Irish suppliers of liquid pumps and pumping equipment.

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herever you find yourself reading this issue of flow magazine, I hope you are safe and well. Despite the challenging few months we have faced, our team have been adapting to the ‘new normals’ and working away to bring you this, our sixth issue.

In the following pages, we once again bring together a wide array of information relating to pumps and pumping systems, including a focus on the power and energy generation sector. Within this focus, we have two features exploring the roles pumps play in renewable energy generation. The first looks at concentrated solar power, a generation method not dissimilar to more traditional combined cycle gas turbine generation. But an area where the start-stop cycle requirements are believed to be among the most demanding in power generation.

Our second feature looks at a marine geothermal plant on the Mediterranean sea, which is converting the calorific energy in seawater into heated and cooled water for a 480 hectare eco-city.

Elsewhere, we look at maintenance from two perspectives. We learn how integrated and cloud-based software is enabling businesses focused on electro-mechanical repairs to become more efficient. , and we also explore several innovative techniques being employed to inspect and monitor pumps and their associated systems.

This issue also carries details of research carried out by the BPMA exploring how industry might attract more women into engineering roles, and the benefits this can bring. Plus, we have our usual mix of compliance, product and industry news.

I hope you enjoy this issue and we look forward to bringing you another in September. In the meantime, stay safe!

Richard Harden, President, BPMA

PUMP INDUSTRY NEWS

BPMA National Metalforming Centre 47 Birmingham Road West Bromwich B70 6PY www.bpma.org.uk

Twitter @bpmapumps

4

5

A drive to the future Warburg Pincus completes acquisition of Sundyne

BPMA NEWS 6 New members and digital platforms

flow is a controlled circulation journal published quarterly on behalf of the BPMA by Touchwave Media Ltd and G and C Media Ltd. For a copy of the magazine’s terms of control and to request a copy please email circulation@flowmag.co.uk The content of flow magazine does not necessarily reflect the views of the editor, publishers or the BPMA. The publishers accept no legal responsibility for loss arising from information in this publication and do not endorse any products or processes mentioned within it. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the publisher’s written consent. © BPMA. All rights reserved.

Cover image courtesy of KSB & ENGIE

www.bpma.org.uk

awards update 8 New date for Pump Industry Awards

PRODUCT NEWS

compliance 14 Maximising energy savings

through the Systems Approach 16 Compliance calendar

features 17 Improve repair efficiency 18 Adapting to keep industry moving

Focus on power & energy 20 The role of pumps in

renewable energy

10 IoT enabled pump control panel

22 Harnessing thermal energy

from seawater to heat and

cool a town

11 WEG expands gearbox torque range

24 Power and energy sector news and updates

skills 12 How do we attract more

women to engineering?

OPINION 30 Brexit: What next?

Quarter 2 2020

4 INDUSTRY NEWS

GLOBAL PUMP REPORT DELAYED TO ASSESS CORONAVIRUS IMPACT

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he coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy as lockdowns around the world stymie economic activity. To fully assess the impact of the pandemic on economic activity and the pump market, the publication of the Global Pump report has been delayed until the summer.

In mid-May, Oxford Economics, the report’s author, was forecasting a 4.8% contraction in world GDP, the steepest decline in living memory. This forecast entails a very weak H1 followed by a rebound in H2 and into 2021 as the spread of the virus slows, and isolation restrictions are eased, leading to the release of pent-up demand as business confidence increases.

The sharp contractions in economic

activity this year point to declines in pump consumption. Risks are nonetheless, skewed to the downside. Oxford Economics reports that the economic impact of the pandemic could be much worse than forecast, especially if a resurgence prompts further lockdowns.

The extent of the decline will vary across countries, pump type and end-use sector.

The Global Pump report, which is available free of charge to BPMA members, is an invaluable source of market intelligence which will help to identify the weakest markets and the worst-hit end-use sectors as well as those that will recover most strongly. It also highlights the main risks to the outlook for key markets, an important feature in these times of increased uncertainty.

A DRIVE TOWARDS THE FUTURE GRUNDFOS HAS ANNOUNCED THAT it plans to replace about 2,600 company vehicles with all-electric versions by the end of 2025. The initiative is part of the company’s ambition to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2025 and become ‘climate positive’ by 2030. Grundfos company cars emit 14,500 tons CO2e per year, while production in comparison in 2019 emitted 80,068 tons.

Although cars are a relatively small part of the overall footprint, Grundfos

believes it is important to make an environmental difference where possible.

This complete transition to all-electric vehicles will happen on a rolling basis.

By making the transition to electric vehicles, Grundfos also joins EV100, an initiative of the Climate Group, which brings together forward-looking companies committed to accelerating the transition to electric vehicles and making electric transport the new norm.

SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE FOR MAJOR PUMP PROJECT

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PP Pumps has announced that the first of six pumpsets for a large clean water project in the UK has passed the fixed speed test run and will be readied for a full string test with the contract inverter.

SPP Pumps has been involved with this major pump project from the very early stage of optioneering, through the feasibility stage, on to the detailed project design and finally producing the pumpsets.

The pumpsets are from SPP’s Low Life Cycle (LLC) range of split case pumps. On this particular project, there are four LLC split case 500/79L (BS20AL) pumps fitted with a 1.4mW motor and two LLC split case 350/66L (TT3AL) fitted with a 670kW motor.

The maximum design duty for the larger pumps is 1250l/sec @ 102m head with the two smaller pumps operating at 521l/sec @ 102m head. The pumps will operate in parallel in various configurations to ensure the network water demand is met.

Quarter 2 2020

www.bpma.org.uk

INDUSTRY NEWS 5

PROJECT TO TACKLE PUMP ENERGY USE ACROSS EUROPE’S WATERWAYS

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n Interreg NWE funded project, Green WIN, has been created to address the excess energy use and high carbon emissions caused when pumping water around rivers and canals.

One of the key project activities is laboratory trials which will be carried out in the University of Liège where a bespoke test tank is being constructed. The finished test rig will allow simulated pump operation to a maximum 24m depth and with a varying flow rate between 0.0524 and 0.5325m3/sec, allowing for different

configurations of equipment to be tested for various hydrological and operational scenarios.

The benchmarking of current pumping installations at selected pilot sites in the UK, France and Ireland, will be followed by site trials, testing solutions to check how they work in real operational conditions.

The pump industry, especially SME’s, are invited to support all Green WIN activities, by getting involved directly in the laboratory or site trials, participating in an Advisory Board or the Greener

Waterways Network (currently a team of other inland waterway organisations and environmental groups) or simply by helping to promote progress.

Green WIN will promote the project findings through its online Green Toolkit, encouraging more organisations across Europe to adopt identified solutions as good practice to achieve wider efficiencies and carbon reductions and make the waterways greener. bit.ly/GreenWIN

Pumps support the world’s largest underground oil storage facility AMARINTH, A COMPANY WHICH specialises in the design, application and manufacture of centrifugal pumps and associated equipment to the oil & gas, petrochemical, LNG, chemical, industrial, power and desalination markets, has supplied four API 610 VS4 pumps to ADNOC for the Al Mandous underground oil storage project.

ADNOC is building the world’s largest underground oil storage facility with a capacity of 42 million barrels of crude oil. The oil storage mega facility in the Emirate of Fujairah, UAE, will consist of three underground storage caverns each with a capacity of 14 million barrels, deep below ground level.

Amarinth was selected following the company’s successful delivery and continued support of pumps for previous demanding ADNOC projects.

The four API 610 11th edition VS4 vertical pumps are 4m long transfer pumps and are supplied with Plan 53B seal support systems.

The pumps are manufactured in D2 super duplex stainless steel to ADNOC specification, which includes Shell DEP standards. The available footprint for the pumps was limited, so Amarinth designed a bespoke baseplate on which to mount the Plan 53B seal support systems which reduced the overall space required.

WARBURG PINCUS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SUNDYNE

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undyne, a global leader in the design and manufacture of API compliant pumps and compressors, has announced that global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has completed the acquisition of Sundyne, from BC Partners Advisors L.P. and The Carlyle Group.

This acquisition was initially announced on January 6, 2020.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. As stated in January, Sundyne’s current management team, led by CEO Mark Sefcik, will continue under Warburg Pincus’ ownership.

www.bpma.org.uk

“Warburg Pincus’ and Sundyne’s interests align perfectly, and there is no better financial partner for Sundyne than Warburg Pincus,” said Sefcik.

“We are excited to continue to support our customers with our market-leading product offering of highly engineered pumps and compressors with the strong financial backing of Warburg Pincus.

We have already jointly-identified several

ways in which Sundyne can accelerate growth and enhance opportunities for our customers, channel partners and employees. We will be focused on executing on these opportunities over the coming months.”

Quarter 2 2020

6 BPMA News

NEW MEMBERS AND NEW DIGITAL PLATFORMS

DIARY

September 10

16-17

THREE NEW MEMBERS HAVE JOINED THE BRITISH PUMP Manufacturers’ Association (BPMA) since the last issue of flow.

The most recent company to recognise the features and benefits of membership is MJB ENGINEERING PRECISION LTD. This family-run subcontract engineering company offers machining services for manufacturers in the pump, food processing, packaging and aerospace industries.

Northumberland-based Eastern Seals UK Ltd has also joined the association. A leading supplier of sealing products across the globe, the company provides a wide range of O-rings and other sealing products.

Morgan Advanced Materials, a world leader in materials science, specialist manufacturing and applications engineering, has also recognised the benefits available to BPMA members.

The company’s expertise includes molten metal systems, seals and bearings, electrical carbon, and thermal and technical ceramics.

Behind the scenes, the BPMA has been working hard on updates to its E-Learning and Certified Pump Systems Auditors (CPSA) websites.

Bringing the two sites in line with the main BPMA website, the changes include easier access for users, a simpler, more intuitive online experience and greater synergy with the BPMA’s overall corporate identity.

The updates have now been completed, and the CPSA website is available at www.bpma-cpsa.co.uk with the E-learning website at www.bpma-elearning.co.uk.

Alongside its updated websites, the BPMA has also launched a new standalone pump engineering forum (forum.bpma.org.uk) aimed at manufacturers, suppliers and users of pumps and pumping systems around the world. The discussion forum aims to encourage information transfer, engineering discussion and collaboration, improved communication, and to help develop a highly informed group of pump users across the industry.

In recognition of the difficult situation many businesses find themselves in at this challenging time, BPMA President, Richard Harden, announced a freeze in the membership fees due in July this year. The association will not be increasing the fees for the second year in a row, and in addition, is deferring all membership fee invoices until October 2020.

The association has also announced a new date for its popular annual golf day, which has been moved to September 10th.

Commenting on the change of date the BPMA’s CEO Steve Schofield said: “It has not been an easy decision to move the golf day this year and I did wonder if it would still be required, but the overwhelming support for the event to be held this year was a welcome surprise. ” There are still a final few team places available, for more information and booking details; please contact s.smith@bpma.org.uk.

Quarter 2 2020

29

BPMA Golf Day

Belton Woods, Lincs bit.ly/bpmagolf

CHEMUK

Event City, Manchester www.chemicalukexpo.com

National Construction Expo

Arena MK, Milton Keynes www.nationalconstructionexpo. co.uk

november 10-11

Utility Week Live

NEC, Birmingham www.utilityweeklive.co.uk

December 7

pump industry awards

Kenilworth www.pumpindustryawards.com

2021 january 25-27

25-28

drives & Controls 2020 NEC, Birmingham www.drives-expo.com

MACH 2020

NEC, Birmingham www.machexhibition.com

june 23-25

Hillhead

Hillhead Quarry, Buxton www.hillhead.com

www.bpma.org.uk

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Pioneering for You

Wilo-Yonos MAXO Range, Now available with Wilo-Connect Module.

Wilo-Yonos MAXO D:

The Wilo-Connect Module Expanding the Wilo-Yonos MAXO Capabilities

Wilo-Yonos MAXO:

The Wilo-Connect module is a retrofittable plug-in module for Wilo-Yonos MAXO Range of pumps, that significantly expands the pumps functionality. The Connect Module is installed on the electronic module of the pump at the position of the Wilo plug.

With functions like EXT. OFF, SBM and dual pump management the Yonos-MAXO and its competitive pricing make this pump a stand-alone contender within the marketplace. Utilisation of the Wilo-Connect module dispenses with external contactors and other switchgears as well as the associated installation workload. The load of customer-side switchgears (relays) due to high starting currents is reduced to a minimum by the Connect module.

Features & Benefits:

Wilo-Connect Module:

NEW

ƒ

Run signal display

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SSM collective fault signal as potential-free NC contact

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Overriding Off control input (External Off)

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Integrated dual pump management with the functions:

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Main/standby operation with runtime-dependent (24 h) switchover from main to standby pump

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Fault-sensitive switchover to operational standby pump

*We understand a smart-pump as a new category of pumps, which goes far beyond our high-efficiency pumps or pumps with pump intelligence. Onlythe combination of the latest sensor technology and innovative control functions (e.g. Dynamic Adapt plus and Multi-Flow Adaptation), bidirectional connectivity (e.g. Bluetooth, integrated analogue inputs, binary inputs and outputs, Wilo Net For more information please contact interface), software updates and excellent usability (e.g. thanks to the Setup Guide, the preview principle for predictive navigation and the tried and tested Green Button Technology) make this pump a smart-pump.

T: 01283 523000 | E: sales.uk@wilo.com www.wilo.com/gb/en

our sales team.

8 awards update

NEW DATE FOR PUMP INDUSTRY AWARDS Following its postponement in line with Government guidance, the BPMA and its event organiser, Touchwave Media, have announced a new date for the 2020 Pump Industry Awards ceremony, originally scheduled for March this year.

T

he decision to postpone the awards was not reached lightly, given the complex nature of such an event and the amount of time, work and effort spent in its planning, promotion, and delivery. But given the Government’s social distancing measures amidst the unprecedented Coronavirus crisis, the organisers felt this was the correct, and only decision that could be made.

Commenting on the decision, Event Director, Andrew Castle said: ”The health and safety of our guests and attendees is of course paramount, although consideration must also be given to the credibility and presentation of the overall awards programme, as a significantly reduced event is in no one’s interest.”

He continued: “We would like to thank everyone for their continued support and understanding during these extremely challenging times and hope that we can all get through the coming months in good health and safe keeping.”

The event will now be staged on Monday 7th December at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, and on the exact same basis. All sponsorships, table bookings and overnight accommodation will be honoured for this new date and will be carried forward accordingly. The following nine awards will be presented:

• Distributor of the Year Sponsored by EMIR Software • Supplier of the Year Sponsored by Wilo • Contribution to Skills & Training Sponsored by Tomlinson Hall • Rising Star Award Sponsored by World Pumps • Lifetime Contribution Sponsored by BPMA From the many entries and nominations received, the judges shortlisted 37 finalists across all the categories to go through to the public vote. And with the online voting now closed, the winners will be announced during the charged atmosphere of the

awards ceremony in December. The full list of finalists can be found on the dedicated awards website.

This year’s awards programme will also celebrate its 20th Anniversary, and so despite the postponement, we can still look forward to a wonderful evening of reward and celebration at the end of the year, when hopefully the current health crisis will be over, or at least drawing to an end.

Should you have questions regarding any aspect of the Pump Industry Awards Dinner, or indeed its postponement, please do not hesitate to contact the organisers directly or via the website. www.pumpindustryawards.com

• Product of the Year Sponsored by Process Engineering • Project of the Year Sponsored by Stuart Turner • Environmental Contribution of the Year Sponsored by SPP Pumps • Manufacturer of the Year Sponsored by WEG UK

WE DON’T JUST SELL PUMPS, WE ENGINEER SOLUTIONS.

Find yours at tri-ark.com Quarter 4 2019

01621 781144 www.bpma.org.uk

WG20 Geared motor range available up to 18,000Nm with either IE3 or IE4 efficient motors Designed with standard mounting dimensions, the geared motor is easy to install and perfect for replacing existing units.

WG20 is compact, efficient and robust.

Isn’t it time you considered changing gear?

Visit WEG at our virtual exhibition stand www.wegvirtualstand.com

10 PRODUCT NEWS

ROUTER ENABLES CONTACTLESS CONDITION MONITORING PLANT RELIABILITY COMPANY AVT Reliability has enhanced its Machine Sentry suite of cloud-based condition monitoring tools with the launch of its long-range, low energy Bluetooth router, Gateway.

Machine Sentry Gateway removes the need for manual data collection from MSF-1 sensors, improving workforce safety and freeing up valuable time for operatives on the plant floor.

It can connect up to 100 vibration sensors to the internet via the Ethernet, Wi-Fi or 3G/4G cellular network, and extends Bluetooth connectivity up to

50m. An IP65 rating makes it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

Frederic Thomas, Managing Director at AVT Reliability, said: “Power over Ethernet means set-up is flexible and it can be easily deployed, and scaled up if required, anywhere on a plant.”

The Machine Sentry platform allows data to be stored securely in the cloud, where it can be managed by authorised personnel on one easy-to-use interface, from any location, using a standard web browser.

enabled reliability. The device has all the traditional and essential control panel functions. It is controlled by three floats, has auto switch over after each pump cycle, HAND, OFF, AUTO buttons and overcurrent protection.

In addition, the product includes single or dual displays, a pump cycle counter, 100dB sounder and battery backup.

The Rego1 is software controlled, which is said to allow for the implementation of smart functionality, superior install and diagnostic support options, internal logging and future proof customisation.

THE KSB GROUP’S UPA S 200 submersible borehole pump has been designed for water supply, irrigation and groundwater management as well as pressure boosting applications.

Thanks to its optimised hydraulic design, the submersible borehole pump is said to achieve very high levels of efficiency. The wear-resistant design with metal casing wear rings, and silicon carbide bearings, keeps energy consumption to a minimum for many years, even in the case of high grit contents in the fluid handled. When the pump is combined with high-efficiency motors of the UMA-S type series and variable speed control, energy costs can be further reduced.

For operation without a frequency inverter, the impeller diameter is trimmed to a very high level of precision. In this way, characteristic curves are individually adjusted to the demand and excessive power consumption is prevented in fixedspeed operating modes.

UPA S 200 was launched on the market as an 8-inch pump and is available in four different hydraulic sizes. Its optimum flow rates range between 40 and 160 cubic metres, and its maximum head is 400 metres. All cast components are made of highgrade stainless steel 1.4408, or optionally 1.4517.

www.ppspumps.com

www.ksb.com

www.avtreliability.com

REVOLUTIONISING SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS CONTROLS AND AUTOMATION comapny, Carlo Gavazzi has launched HDMS, a single-phase motor starter that uses an algorithm that can start a motor without a start capacitor; is able to reduce starting current by 70% when compared to (DOL) starters; and can automatically adjust internal parameters to match load requirements.

The starting current is limited to <1.4 (boost up to 1.8) HDMS nominal current, which reduces the starting volt/amp required. The significantly reduced startup current also leads to fewer alarms in applications with a weak power supply.

With typical applications including heat pumps and deep well pumps, the

HDMS is equipped with class 10 overload protection and has an operating voltage of 110VAC up to 230 VAC, 50/60 Hz. www.carlogavazzi.co.uk

IOT ENABLED PUMP CONTROL PANEL PACKAGED PUMP SYSTEMS (PPS) has launched Rego1, an intelligent and compact IoT pump control panel that can be Wi-Fi enabled and connected to the company’s SideWinder Tech remote monitoring system to offer predictive maintenance and total remote/wireless control of the connected pumps. This offers pump station owners assurance that their pump equipment is always working at its optimum.

Designed to be used as part of PPS’s ‘intelligent service ecosystem’ (Ise), Rego1 was developed to create a product that overcomes the common issues of traditional control panels, offering digitally Quarter 2 2020

HIGH-EFFICIENCY STAINLESS STEEL 8-INCH WELL PUMP

www.bpma.org.uk

PRODUCT NEWS 11

EXPANDED GEARBOX TORQUE RANGE ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT manufacturer, WEG, has expanded the torque range of its WG20 series of geared motors to cover torque between 50 and 18,000Nm. Comprising helical, parallel shaft and helical bevel gear units, the WG20 is the first geared motor range to be entirely developed in-house at WEG. Previously, the series featured a modest torque range of 50 to 1,550 Nm. Following development by gearbox experts at WEG, the company has boosted the range to allow more industries and applications to benefit from this readily available, cost-effective gearbox.

Designed to the standard industry footprint, the WG20

gearbox can easily be retrofitted without adjustment to peripheral equipment. The new launch is available in helical geared, parallel shaft geared and helical bevel geared versions, to alter the speed and torque of any motor. www.weg.net

METERING PUMPS OFFER FOUR TAKING CHILLER EFFICIENCY CONFIGURABLE OUTPUTS TO ANOTHER LEVEL QDOS CHEMICAL METERING pumps from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG) now feature four configurable outputs to help users cut down on the need for additional PLCs and to provide extra flexibility when communicating with SCADA or other external monitoring systems.

As a result, users of the pumps can access increased options for connectivity, enabling improved communication regarding pump performance and function status.

The company’s Qdos Universal + Relay pumps now feature four changeover relay outputs, with either 110VAC 4A or 24VDC 4A contact rating. These configurable outputs will sit alongside the current 4-20mA, providing a total of five outputs.

The upgrade has been facilitated by the addition of a newly designed relay PCB, while the software has been modified to allow for easy and intuitive configuration.

A NEW CONTROL SOLUTION, LAUNCHED BY Armstrong Fluid Technology, will enable operating efficiencies of chiller plants to be improved – delivering promises of energy savings of up to 45% and water savings of up to 12%.

TowerMax is add-on software for Armstrong’s Design Envelope 9521 Integrated Plant Control System.

It reduces energy and water usage by harnessing Armstrong’s relational control technology to optimise the operation of chiller plant. The set of performance algorithms resident in TowerMax use the flow data from the installed Armstrong Design Envelope (DE) pumps to reduce energy consumption and water usage through more effective heat balance optimisation, and intelligent best efficiency staging of individual items of plant, in line with changes in building load.

The Armstrong DE 9521 control system is said to integrate with all brands of chillers, pumps and automation systems, and is designed as an ‘out of the box’ solution for faster installation. It can operate independently or via a seamless connection with any central BMS.

www.wmftg.com

armstrongfluidtechnology.com

SHUT-OFF VALVE WITH INTEGRATED PRESS FIT ULTRAVALVE IS NOW ABLE TO OFFER ITS UK CUSTOMERS Vexve’s newly launched X range – a series of shut-off and balancing valves featuring integrated press-fit connections.

Designed by Finnish valve specialist Vexve for heating and cooling network applications in buildings, the new range is the result of long term, customer-focused development.

The range features shut-off and balancing valves in both carbon steel, (suitable for use with EN 10305 thin-walled pipes) and stainless steel (suitable for use with EN 10312 thinwalled stainless steel pipes) in diameters ranging from 18mm to 54mm and is compatible with both M and V profile jaws.

The carbon steel Vexve X range is designed for clean media such as oxygen-free water or water-glycol mixtures, while the stainless steel version is grey and also designed for

clean media in many industrial systems such as process waters, ethanol, methanol, water-glycol mixtures or Freezium.

Cost efficiency is achieved over the entire product life cycle since integrated press-fit connections significantly reduce the number of parts needed and work phases required, while also reducing the risk of leakage. www.ultravalve.co.uk Quarter 2 2020

SKILLS 12 FEATURE 12

How do we attract more women to engineering?

Research carried out by the BPMA set out to find out more about the important role women are playing in engineering. Suzanne Gill reports.

D

ata from the Office for National Statistics shows that women now make up 25.6% of the manufacturing sector.

This figure has grown over the years but, considering that women represent at least 50% of the total UK workforce, there is still some way to go before we achieve parity of the sexes in the sector.

According to Made Smarter, todays manufacturing industry is almost unrecognisable when compared to how it was in the 1990’s and it claims that many more women are now choosing to pursue a career in the sector. The growth of digital technologies has been credited with helping empower these changes through the introduction of a host of new solutions which have opened up opportunities, and which demand different skillsets to those traditionally required of engineers.

While Made Smarter sees a bright future for women in engineering, it warns that there will be no progress without action. To increase the number of females in the manufacturing sector over the next decade, it says there is a need to instil confidence in women and ensure they are not discouraged. We also need to improve knowledge around manufacturing work and the range of roles available, and must aim to get females on the STEM pathway sooner – sixth form can often be too late. Finally, it is vital to show that manufacturing can support a good work-life/family balance.

The BPMA is keen to work alongside other organisations and partners to help address the engineering skills and diversity challenges within the pump industry and associated trades.

The sector does already have a great pool of engineering talent, but to help the BPMA better understand how it can help and encourage member companies to attract and retain more women engineers, it conducted a survey. The results were insightful.

It would appear that the most important drivers for women entering a career in engineering is an interest in knowing how things work and a desire to solve problems and learn new things. Another key factor cited by the survey respondents was having a positive engineering role model and/or a desire to ‘follow in the family footsteps’. So, to some extent the onus is on existing engineers to pass on their excitement and enthusiasm about their job to those around them. A love of maths and science at school was another key indicator for many, which demonstrates that there is also a

Quarter 2 2020

requirement for teachers and schools to inform their pupils about the many different engineering careers that are available.

When asked about how they got involved in the pumping industry, one respondent, Dounia Bakira of AESSEAL, pointed out that one of the big advantages of engineering is that there is such a wide range of possible careers so the skillsets are highly transferable. She said: “I joined AESSEAL as an applications engineer with responsibility for designing, developing and implementing different solutions for each application. I was attracted by the job description and what it entails. Now, on a daily basis I deal with different customer enquiries, analysing the application details and providing a suitable solution to meet each customer’s needs.”

How did some of the survey respondents enter their engineering career? Nancy Ashburn of Watson Marlow started working in the pump industry in her gap year while looking for work experience, so she first gained an interest in engineering through the pump industry. Meanwhile, Mandy Bailey was the first female engineering apprentice at Mono Pumps (now NOV) leading the way within the company for other women engineers. She said: “I love my current role in engineering as customer care team leader as I get to help fix customers problems while learning something new every day.”

Many other survey respondents have attributed their love of engineering to the fact that they are continually learning and problem solving.

Stephanie Allchurch of Altecnic said: “Working in product development I find that no two days are www.bpma.org.uk

SKILLS 13 the same. Products or industry requirements are always evolving and being updated, new ideas or technology is being developed, so each day brings something new to investigate which triggers my interest and keeps me pretty busy.” Jane Delicata of TT Controls agreed. She said: “Every day is different – one day we could be designing a large wastewater system for a municipal project, or helping a client choose which monitoring system to invest in to help them diagnose early maintenance requirements.”

The BPMA survey asked why women already in the industry felt it was important to encourage more women to take up a career in engineering.

Everyone who participated in the survey agreed that engineering is still a male-dominated industry. Ablah Williams of Triark Pumps said: “It is important that mindsets are changed to show equality in the workplace.” Women have a lot to offer the sector, as Stephanie pointed out: “Women bring greater diversity. Take, for example, a working group allocated to a specific project, a more diverse group of engineers made up of different age ranges and genders will generally look at a wider scope as each person will bring their own values and attributes, which can only generate a better outcome.” Dounia agreed, saying that diversity is important in the engineering sector because it results in problems being looked at from different angles.

She said: “Having women in engineering helps

solve more problems and increases productivity, which is vital for economic growth and financial stability. Diversity within any business builds momentum, creates a positive culture and boosts development.”

So, what can women entering the sector expect?

Sinead Codd of Sulzer Pumps, said: “The attitude towards female engineers has changed dramatically in the last decade. And female engineers are having a big impact in the workplace. However, there is still a significant imbalance in the male/female ratio, so all existing female engineers need to seize every opportunity to promote engineering as a rewarding career to young girls.”

In conclusion, one of the respondents to the BPMA survey said that women need to be encouraged to do what they enjoy and they need to know that their opinion counts and that they won’t be treated differently to their male colleagues. It is important that the pump industry and engineering as a whole lets women know that they can make a difference. Although the sector is still very male dominated, women have much to offer and there is plenty of room for skilled, trained professionals, regardless of gender. chevron-circle-right

“It is important that mindsets are changed to show equality in the workplace.”

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14 FEATURE 14 Compliance

Maximising energy savings through the Systems Approach Europump’s energy flagship ECOPUMP is built around three key pillars, Product Approach, Extended Product Approach and Systems Approach. The potential energy savings within a pumping system will surprise many and the System Approach should be a main focus during any company’s energy reducing policy. Europump, which represents 17 national associations with 450 member companies, with a collective production value of more than €10 Billion, told flow why.

V

arious countries around the world have taken different approaches toward energy usage and possible energy reduction. The European Commission has concentrated on components within the Energy Related Products Directive (ErP).

The ErP focuses heavily on the efficiency of the products, and the Commission has already implemented legislation to ensure that products with low efficiency are gradually phased-out across Europe.

This is a significant step in the right direction; however, new ‘energy efficient’ components may still be required to operate within an inefficient system, impacting hugely on any possible efficiency gains.

Evaluating the energy efficiency of a pumping system takes time, knowledge, and the will by both the pump system energy auditor and the pump’s operator (customer) to make a determined change. But the rewards are worth the effort. The potential energy savings which could be secured throughout Europe are estimated at being between 40-50 TWh if the necessary changes to inefficient pumping systems are made.

THE SYSTEMS APPROACH A pumping system is defined as one or more pumps and those interacting or interrelating elements that together accomplish the desired task of moving a liquid. A pumping system generally includes a pump(s), driver, drives, distribution piping, valves, controls, instrumentation, and end-use equipment such as heat exchangers. Using the ‘systems approach’ involves comparing the need or demand to the supply.

It is important to understand how the different components in a system interact and influence each other as a change to one component might improve or negatively impact other components.

An example of this is replacing an old inefficient motor that is employed to drive a pump with a modern high-efficiency motor. The newer high-efficiency motor will have less slip and will run faster than the old motor.

When the pump is running more quickly, it will consume more energy, and this increase in energy usage can be larger than the savings produced by the more efficient motor.

To reap optimum savings from the change, the pump Quarter 2 2020

impeller might have to be trimmed.

A system approach starts with defining the ultimate goal of the system. This includes determining the flow rates that the system must be able to deliver, whether there are flow variations and what kind of control is necessary.

These requirements will influence the choice of piping size, control methods, pump size, motor size and so on.

Fig. 1 Pump system interaction curve.

Figure 1 uses the pump and system performance curves to determine pump operating conditions and to evaluate methods of flow control.

To determine the efficiency of a system, the minimum energy to fulfil the process demand is compared to the actual energy used. Figure 2 shows a simple system pumping a liquid from one tank to another and illustrates the difference between looking at components and looking at systems.

When looking at the component perspective, we compare the input power to the motor from the MCC to the liquid output from the motor and the pump (captured by the purple square). This analysis could, indeed yield an excellent result. If we broaden the view to the elements within the green outline, we can see a re-circulating line going back to the first tank. The flow rate coming out of the purple square in is essence greater than the green area. The power input is, however, the same.

Finally, we take a complete system view and include the losses in the recirculation line as well as the losses in the regulating valve on the line to the second tank (the red outline). What might have looked like a reasonably good system when measuring the components in the purple square can be viewed as an extremely lowwww.bpma.org.uk

compliance 15 efficiency system when looked at using the systems approach illustrated by the red outline.

To do this, we need to define the system demand, i.e. the minimum pressure, flow rate and subsequent energy for the pumping system to work. To understand the knowledge and tools required to assess the system, the industry has spent many years developing the international standard ISO 14414 – Pump System Energy Assessment.

CONCLUSION There are many exciting programs designed to improve energy use being developed around the world, but in Europe, we have the Energy Efficiency Directive which mandates energy audits in systems. For the electrical energy savings identified in pumping systems to be fully achieved, there needs to be a far stronger emphasis on the ‘systems approach’ and a commitment to make this happen from both the pump industry and its final end-users – those that will ultimately benefit from lower energy bills. chevron-circle-right Europump would like to thank Steve Schofield, CEO, British Pump Manufacturers’ Association for his help in compiling this article.

Fig. 2 Efficiency of a pump measured on a component basis (purple box) based on the ratio between the pump’s input and output. The system view includes a re-circulation line as shown by the green box. Looking at the complete pumping system using a total system approach is illustrated by the red box.

www.europump.org

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16 COMPLIANCE CALENDAR

O

ur compliance calendar outlines legislation that manufacturers and end users of pumps need to be aware of. Each piece of legislation includes far more detail than we are able to share here. If you would like further guidance on any of the information below, contact the author at s.schofield@bpma.org.uk.

August 2018

31 October 2019

1 July 2019

WEEE 2012/19/EU In the UK, since August 2018, pumps have been included in the scope of the WEEE regulations and companies that produce and sell pumps need to be registered with the Environment Agency and with a recognised collection scheme.

ATEX (EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES) 2014/34/EU IEC standards 80079-36 & 37 were published in 2016 and include major changes to the marking and documentation of non-electrical goods such as pumps. Pump manufacturers should all be working to these two new standards which became a legal requirement on 31 October 2019.

ECO Design requirements for electric motors – repealing of Commission Regulation (EC) No 640/2009 Motors • IE2 level applies to three-phase induction motors rated at 0.12kW to 0.75kW with 2, 4, 6 or 8 poles (Exception Ex eb).

• IE 3 level applies to three-phase induction motors rated at 0.75kW to 1,000kW with 2, 4, 6 or 8 poles, TEAO motors new in scope, (exception Ex eb and mining motors).

Variable speed drives (VSDs) • IE 2 level applies to variable speed drives rated for operating with motors with a rated output at or between 0.75kW to 1,000kW. • The following drive technologies are excluded: • Regenerative drives (AFE, active front end).

• Drives with sinusoidal input current (THD <10%).

1 July 2021

By 2023

1 July 2023

Quarter 2 2020

ECO Design requirements for electric motors – repealing of Commission Regulation (EC) No 640/2009 Motors • IE 2 level applies to the following products: • Three-phase induction motors rated at 0.12kW to 0.75kW • IE 3 level applies to the following products: • Three-phase induction motors rated at 0.75kW to 1,000kW with 8 poles • Three-phase induction motors rated at 375kW to 1,000kW with 2, 4 or 6 poles • ATEX (excl. Ex eb)/non-integrated brake motors rated at 0.75kW to 1,000kW

Revisions To Water Pumps regulation 547/2012 The following thresholds still require ratification and an impact assessment. This regulation is expected to be in force by 2023.

• EEIv (variable) for single stage pumps up to 45kW pump input power and booster sets up to 150kW pump input power.

• EEIv threshold value of EEIv <0.62 for single stage pumps.

• EEIv threshold value of EEIv <0.50 for booster sets.

• Two tier approach: 1st product information, 2nd threshold.

• EEIc (constant) or MEI for all other pumps in scope.

• EEIc threshold value EEIc <1.00.

• MEI threshold value MEI <0.40.

ECO Design requirements for electric motors – repealing of Commission Regulation (EC) No 640/2009 Motors • IE 2 level applies to the following products: • Single-phase induction motors rated at 0.12kW • Increased safety motors (Ex-eb) rated at 0.12kW to 1,000kW

www.bpma.org.uk

MAINTENANCE 17

Improve repair efficiency

For organisations today, efficiency is critical. It is fundamental to being cost-effective, it enables a business to be competitive, and it supports environmental objectives, be they mandated or otherwise. Despite this, many companies still work with surprisingly complex paper-based systems. But they don’t have to, as flow found out.

H

idrostal, a Swiss pump manufacturer and repair organisation, had recognised the benefits of streamlining and digitising its processes back in 2013 when it installed EMiR (Electro-Mechanical Information Resource), a business management software solution designed specifically for the electro-mechanical industry by Solutions in I.T. Since then the company has been continually reviewing and improving its business processes, and in 2016 it removed all paperwork from its finance operation using the functionality in EMiR. When Hidrostal wanted to improve the efficiency of its workshop activities, it added the Smart Site extension to its EMiR package.

Firstly, for each repair, the business was printing multiple documents to support the workshop activities. For example, a standard pump repair would include a damage report, a three-page job card, exploded diagrams of the item under repair and pages of parts lists that may or may not need replacing. This created a mountain of paperwork using valuable resources to create, distribute and manually update.

Secondly, and most importantly for its client’s, to be more efficient in the maintenance of their assets, a request for greater detail was becoming the norm. The parts required and labour involved was only a small part of the required inventory to make informed decisions and take action avoiding unnecessary damage and inefficiency.

Thirdly, while at capacity in the workshop, Hidrostal needed increased visibility of its operations, knowing the status of all repairs at every stage – production, stock availability and completed work – ready for invoicing.

Using Smart Site, Hidrostal’s engineers can access information from EMiR via an Android and iOS app on ruggedised tablets, both in the workshop and when on site. Full job details are in the app including the damage report approved by the client at quoting, all necessary diagrams, records of parts used in the repair and the ability to make the job available for invoicing all without paperwork.

Now, the site supervisor only has to print one piece of paper per job, which is for the repair component crate.

This holds visual and barcode identification of the job, client and current status while the item is waiting for approval.

Removing paperwork reduces the chance for human error. With Smart Site parts lists are all completed on the tablet and instantly available, meaning that no stock is ever missed or overordered. Customisable service checklists are also completed for a job, ensuring that every important repair procedure is actioned and recorded, meeting the requirements of any relevant quality standards.

Text-based reports can also be backed up by labelled www.bpma.org.uk

The photos feature in Smart Site allows visual records to be easily captured

photographic evidence so that they have greater visibility and all the information customers need to make informed decisions is right in front of them.

Another, somewhat unexpected, benefit of using Smart Site was the time saved in each job. Hidrostal’s engineers no longer needed to go to the office to collect and drop off paperwork because EMiR and Smart Site sync when connected to the internet. Since there are no more handwritten forms, the service coordinators don’t need to visit the workshop to clear up any handwriting issues, and terminology was now consistent thanks to the pre-created phrases and terminology that can be selected. Plus, detailed quotes can now be built quickly and easily using the information inputted to Smart Site, so the service coordinators no longer needed to write up the damage reports themselves.

Hidrostal’s workshop staff have embraced the move to tablets since they have not had to change the way they complete repairs; it’s just faster with less paperwork.

Hidrostal’s account managers have also benefitted.

Any questions they receive from customers can be answered easily by accessing the job details in EMiR where they can see everything recorded in one place, and customers are no longer asking for more information on a job because they have already received everything they could need.

Hidrostal’s move to a near-paperless workshop is almost complete three months after implementing Smart Site. With the help of EMiR and Smart Site, the pump specialist has saved time, eliminated human error, and improved customer satisfaction, all while reducing its carbon footprint. chevron-circle-right www.solutionsinit.com Quarter 2 2020

18 maintenance

Adapting to keep industry moving COVID-19 is forcing industries to think and react differently. From maintenance technology to witness testing of key assets, things are already starting to look very different. ABB’s David Hughes reflects on some of the changes that have happened since the pandemic restricted our normal ways of working.

I

ndustries are saturated with pumps, fans and compressors – many of which are driven by large synchronous motors and generators. Today many of these assets are being asked to perform at unprecedented levels, with some being re-defined as critical assets used for pumping large volumes of water or compressing high volumes of oxygen. With many of these assets installed in the 1990s and earlier, their reliability is without question. However, such is the criticality of their applications today that greater focus is being placed on ensuring a robust maintenance policy, so that these machines never fail.

The recommended maintenance program for ABB’s synchronous motors and generators, for example, consists of four levels, L1 - L4, each of which takes place throughout the life of a machine. For the classic motor/ generator installed around the 1990s, the most intense maintenance is L4 which is usually carried out after 80,000 hours or 12 years of operation. It is often at this stage where digital technologies are coming to the fore.

ROBOTIC AIR-GAP CRAWLERS Recently, ABB’s UK service engineers were asked to carry out a planned preventive maintenance inspection of a critical compressor, driven by a large synchronous motor. The team deployed the air-gap inspector – a miniature, video robot that crawls in the air gap between the stator and rotor of large synchronous motors and generators. The robot traverses the stator core laminations using modular, magnetic tracks.

The inspection revealed that the rotor winding’s V-block support mechanism had lost its pre-tension.

This required the rotor removal and replacement of critical components.

While the robotic crawler had clearly saved the day by identifying an imminent failure, the age of the motor and its critical application was about to test the flexibility and ingenuity of ABB’s engineers.

Planning and manufacturing the required materials for a synchronous motor of this vintage can typically take ten weeks. However, such was the urgency to put the process back into production that ABB managed to fast track manufacture and supply of the materials within one week. The feat is even more remarkable as the motor’s age meant that, while most components were in stock, the more critical rotor insulation plates needed to be purposely cut.

The challenge was further compounded by the fact that these project-specific insulating plates were not fully or accurately set up in the SAP ordering software, thereby missing critical drawing references. Experience of the engineers involved ensured that they rapidly determined the insulating plate data. With the correct information now entered in SAP, the motor factory’s production planning ensured that the right plates were cut in advance, thereby avoiding losing valuable time.

Quarter 2 2020

ABB Air Gap Inspector

ONLINE FACTORY ACCEPTANCE TESTING Meanwhile, other customers were facing a different dilemma. With the motors and generators they have ordered now built, it is normal for customers to visit the manufacturer’s facility to carry out an intensive factory acceptance test (FAT). The social distancing rules of many countries, however, made such an event impossible. To help overcome this, ABB’s factories in Finland, China and Estonia are now embracing the world of live video feeds to let their customers witness test machines before delivery.

A camera system provides a live video feed of the FAT, giving a complete overview of the testing floor arrangement and the machine’s running status.

Intermediate results from the testing software are shown on the video feed, including temperature graphs, voltage and current.

The online FAT application works within web browsers without any special IT requirements. To take part, the customer needs an internet connection and a link to the FAT web browser application. The necessary login address, username and password are sent by email, enabling customers to watch the FAT on either a computer or mobile device. This avoids the need to travel to the manufacturing sites, as the online FAT can be viewed remotely from virtually anywhere in the world. By eliminating travelling time and associated costs, online FAT offers extra flexibility in customer schedules.

Following successful completion of testing, final inspection of the completed machines is achieved by means of a client agreed checklist. Inspection photographs are also issued as evidence of quality so that customer release documents can be issued. www.bpma.org.uk

maintenance 19 SMART SENSORS COME OF AGE There is also a growing interest in the use of smart sensor technology for pumps. Keeping pumps running is vital to ensure that critical production continues uninterrupted. However, getting personnel on-site to monitor and maintain assets can be a challenge, and particularly so in the current climate.

In the past few years, the traditional industrial powertrain has undergone a transformation. A typical powertrain comprises variable speed drives (VSD), motors, bearings and a driven load, such as a pump.

Until recently the only truly digital component of the powertrain was the VSD. Acting as a virtual sensor, the VSD can track, monitor and feedback lots of data on the health of the powertrain, particularly relating to the performance of the motor and the energy consumption patterns.

However, digital technology has rapidly migrated throughout the powertrain by way of smart sensors.

Today, smart sensors can help facilities remotely monitor the condition of various assets such as motors, mounted bearings and pumps. The smart sensors are attached to these assets and track parameters like temperature, vibration, noise and energy consumption.

The data is harvested via Bluetooth before being transmitted to the cloud, where it is analysed. The results are then displayed via a portal, revealing the health and performance of the powertrain, enabling any potential issues to be spotted and fixed, long before they lead to faults.

REMOTE MONITORING This opens new possibilities for remote monitoring and predictive maintenance using in-house maintenance teams working from home or outsourced to the asset manufacturer.

Having the ability to track the status and condition of a company’s entire installed base of VSDs, motors, bearings and pumps in one place, as well as being able to access this information remotely, has many benefits. It means less time spent on visual inspection and manual measurements, as users no longer need to physically access equipment to determine its condition, reducing risk and keeping personnel safe. Remote monitoring ensures that maintenance is carried out precisely where and when it is needed, based on how hard assets are working. This lowers maintenance costs while allowing personnel to be deployed more efficiently.

Overall, the use of smart sensors generally offers up to 70% less unplanned maintenance, up to 30% extended motor lifetime, up to 30% reduction in operating costs and up to 10% higher system efficiency. chevron-circle-right

“Keeping pumps running is vital to ensure that critical production continues uninterrupted. ”

www.abb.co.uk/energy

DO YOU MAKE, SELL, INSTALL, REPAIR OR ASSEMBLE PUMPS AND SYSTEMS? BPMA membership offers a wealth of information, advice and opportunities designed to help your business thrive.

• • • • • • • • • •

Tender alerts Free commercial, health & Safety and legal advice Free and discounted technical and market insight guides Expert advice on standards, legislation and technical issues Discounted training Energy auditing Discounted insurance UK and EU representation at political and executive levels Exclusive promotional opportunities Valuable networking opportunities

Visit the BPMA website, call or email for more details

www.bpma.org.uk • +44(0)121 601 6692 • g.wilde@bpma.org.uk

20 power & energy

the role of pumps in renewable energy Renewable energy is increasingly displacing fossil fuels in the power sector, due to its lower carbon emissions and reduced pollution. flow takes a look at concentrated solar power – one renewable power generation solution where pump systems still have an important role to play.

MicroCSP collectors on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Image courtesy of Xklaim, licensed under Creative Commons

T

here are two major classifications of solar power generation – solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP). While in PV systems the sun’s energy is directly converted to an electric current, CSP involves the sun’s heat energy being concentrated and transferred to a fluid, which facilitates the use of a steam cycle for power generation.

An advantage of a CSP over a PV system is that there is inherently some stored thermal capacity in the system, which helps maintain generation capacity when sunlight is not available. The stored thermal capacity of the system is often further increased through the use of a heat transfer agent.

So, CSP is not dissimilar to more traditional combined cycle gas turbine plants, and consequently the use of reliable pumping systems are still a vital element of successful CSP projects.

Typically, CSP’s combine three major systems to produce electricity by collecting and concentrating

Quarter 2 2020

sunlight with mirrors and lenses in a heat transfer fluid (HTF) such as synthetic oil or molten salt.

Through a heat exchanger system, pumps move the HTF and heat water to generate steam. The power block then produces electricity using a steam turbine and a generator.

Pump technology is a vital feature for many elements of a CSP facility – boiler feed pumps, heat transfer pumps, tank pumps, vacuum pumps, condensate extraction pumps, and cooling water pumps, for example.

VARIABLE OPERATION The start-stop cycle requirements inherent in CSP plants are said to be among the most demanding in power generation. According to Ruhrpumpen, CSP plants are often subject to highly variable operation with daily stopping and starting, large temperature differentials and corrosive environments and this requires heavy-duty pumps that can manage www.bpma.org.uk

power & energy 21 temperatures as high as 600°C. With special materials and design considerations, its HVN and J Line pumps are said to offer a solution to handling heat transfer fluids. At the same time, its VLT model can pump molten salt in heat transfer and thermal storage systems.

HANDLING HIGH TEMPERATURES Flowserve boasts a range of pump solutions that is said to include pumps for every CSP application including those with the ability to handle hightemperature HTF, superheated feedwater, condensate and cooling water. Its Molten Salt VTP, for example, is a vertical pump designed for molten salt circulation.

A mixture of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate molten salt possesses high thermal conductivity, allowing temperatures to reach 600°C which can lead to heat distortion problems on vertical pumps.

Flowserve successfully overcame this issue through the use of thermal mapping software which ensures heat dissipation is adequate and distortion is mitigated.

Flowserve provided a variety of critical application pumps for the world’s first commercial CSP plant, which was built in 2011, near Seville in Spain. The 19.9MW plant employs molten salt as the HTF which

allows for the continuous generation of electricity 24 hours a day for many months throughout the year.

ClydeUnion Pumps (a brand of Celeros Flow Technology) provides boiler feed solutions for solar power projects from its range of multi-stage dual volute and double case diffuser pumps. These are designed with a high head per stage capability which means that fewer stages are needed, resulting in improved shaft deflection characteristics of the pump.

Cooling water pumps are needed to circulate cooling water from a source to condense steam in the condensers and to provide auxiliary water in many CSP applications. ClydeUnion Pumps can provide large capacity vertical turbine pumps or horizontal volute pumps, which are said to ensure optimum operational performance and longer times between overhauls which are an important consideration for CSP plants in remote locations. chevron-circle-right

“CSP is not dissimilar to more traditional combined cycle gas turbine plants.”

Energy-efficient pumping solutions for solar district heating DESMI’S ENERGY-EFFICIENT, IN-LINE, vertical NSL centrifugal pumps were specified for use in one of the world’s largest solar heating plants – The Dronninglund Solar Thermal (District Heating) Plant in Denmark. This solar district heating plant has a water thermal storage reservoir of 60,000m3 – 2,982 solar panels with a total surface area of 37,275m2.

DESMI pumps are used for circulation applications in primary as well as secondary areas, and it also provided shunt pumps.

Typically, these types of pumps have energy efficiency levels well above 80%. With proper use and maintenance, it is not unusual that they can perform over the entire lifespan of such a solar plant (25 years). Furthermore, its vertical pumps are said to save around 50% floor space compared to horizontal pump installations, which means that the plant can be more compact – which again helps to save costs.

District heating in Denmark involves the distribution of hot water below 100ºC. For such applications www.bpma.org.uk

DESMI developed the ‘Spacer Design’ which allows the motor to stay on the pump during service and the pump

can remain installed in the pipework, while it is being serviced, which helps simplify maintenance operations.

Quarter 2 2020

22 power & energy

Harnessing thermal energy from seawater to heat and cool a town The sea provides enormous potential as an energy source for populations living within 100km of the coast. This has not gone unnoticed by the ENGIE Group which has developed energy from tides and currents around the world. The company has also turned the calorific energy of the Mediterranean Sea into space heating and cooling, with the construction of a generation plant in Marseille harbour. As flow found out.

Thassalia’s seawater circuit utilising KSB’s Mega CPK 250400. Image courtesy of ENGIE Group

C

alled the Thassalia Marine geothermal project, the €35 million plant was the first of its type in Europe. The development of the plant commenced in 2010 and brought to together the expertise of ENGIE Group subsidiaries, ENGIE Coffley and Climespace. KSB France worked with ENGIE Group right from the very start supplying pumps, valves and the engineering resources from its service agency based in Aix-en-Provence. Operationally launched in 2014, the plant was inaugurated on 17 October 2016.

The basic premise of the project concerned the creation of a hot and cold water network throughout the perimeter of the Eco-Cité Euroméditerranée which occupies 480 hectares in the heart of the Marseille. It is innovative in several ways. Firstly, Thassalia is a thermorefrigeration plant that delivers heating and cooling, where most often the networks in France are separate.

Secondly, energy is drawn from seawater, and lastly, it was the first European project to circulate heating and cooling throughout the whole of an eco-city of this magnitude.

HOW IT WORKS Central to the operation of the plant and its distribution network are pumps, which is where KSB’s know-how and products were essential. The thermal

Quarter 2 2020

plant is supplied with seawater pumped from a depth of 7m by six corrosion-resistant Norstur KSB CPKN pumps, each equipped with a 160kW variable speed motor, for a total flow of 1,000 l/sec. The problem of corrosion from warm seawater is peculiar to this project, with the pumped water reaching up to 25°C in summer and its permitted discharge temperature being 30°C. The parts of the pump in contact with the fluid have therefore been made of special Noridur duplex steel (a KSB design with a Uranus equivalent of B6). Noridur is used for highly corrosive and slightly loaded products, such as warm seawater but also for concentrated acids and flue gases in desulphurisation processes.

For the same reasons, the discs of AMRI Isoria butterfly valves which perform the isolation or regulation functions of seawater intake are protected with a Halar corrosion coating. These valves – from DN 50 to 700 – provide both manual and pneumatic actuator operation. The seawater, which ranges in temperature from about 14°C in winter to 22°C in summer, supplies heat exchangers connected to thermo-refrigeration pumps (TFP), bringing calories to heat when the water is cold and frigories to refresh when it is hot. The TFPs and refrigeration units can then produce heat or cold as required. It should be www.bpma.org.uk

power & energy 23 noted that supplementary gas boilers complete the installation to guarantee continuity of service in all circumstances.

The energy is then transported to the Euroméditerranée buildings for heating or air-conditioning, via a hot water network (60°C) and a chilled water network (5°C). The length of the 3km network demanded powerful pumping solutions with strong HMT (total head) on both hot and chilled circuits.

These two circuits are each equipped with four KSB Mega-CPK pumps (8 in total) each displaying a nominal HMT of 110mCE or 120mCE depending on the motors, their power ratings ranging from 160kW to 355kW. This ‘secondary network’ requirement was a determining factor in the choice of pumping solutions. Indeed, the required specifications were very high not only in terms of height, but also in efficiency and speed. Thus, the Mega CPK retained yields up to 84% at speeds of 1500rpm and 1750rpm.

An alternative to this arrangement would have been to consider a more ‘light’ solution in terms of pump sizes, making them easier to install and less expensive.

However, in this case, there was no pump sufficiently powerful enough to provide the required HMT alone, so it would have been necessary to resort to pumps in series. Such a mode of operation would have been riskier in terms of reliability for the operator, so this option was finally discarded.

In addition to these pumping duties, the auxiliary circuits are equipped with Etanorm pumps operating

at 650m³/hr for 30mCE and with a power of 75kW and Etaline pumps for the heat exchangers and recycling duties. Furthermore, 150 AMRI Boax B valves, with manual or pneumatic control ranging from DN 100 to DN 600 were also installed.

SUMMARY The current and future residents and workers of Euroméditerranée Écocité will reap the benefits of a heating and airconditioning network that is energy efficient and environmentally friendly created by a thermal plant with an installed power 19 megawatts hot and 19 megawatts cold capability.

For KSB France, the problems which were overcome included providing pumps and valves that would have to resist higher than normal levels of corrosion. In addition, other key factors that had to be addressed included providing pumps with high yields for limiting power consumption, contributing to the award of the HQE label, and minimising the acoustic power of pumps to avoid neighbourhood noise nuisance. chevron-circle-right

“The specifications were very high, not only in terms of height, but also in efficiency and speed.”

www.ksb.com

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24 Power & Energy NEWS

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE TO SUPPORT THE UK POWER GENERATION SECTOR XYLEM HAS INVESTED IN WHAT IT is calling a European Centre of Excellence (CoE) serving the power generation sector.

Aimed at UK domestic power plants and UK customers building power plants outside the UK, but being designed here, the virtual CoE brings together a focussed team of experts with decades of experience in delivering complex powergen projects. The move aims to take the company’s customer support to the next level in terms of the customisation of customer solutions.

Expertise available through the CoE will cover core areas of a power plant such as the main pump packages and auxiliary pump packages, including cooling water pumps, condensate extraction pumps, and main heating

pumps for district heating plants.

Guy Fitzpatrick, General Manager, Industry & Infrastructure at Xylem Water Solutions explained: “We have expertise across the powergen sector from cogen (CHP), geothermal and district heating plants. Our custom pumps have one of the highest efficiencies in the market, and we are experts in customised and engineered to order pump packages, e.g. pumps with noise enclosures and surface protection. With this new CoE, our teams can now take on even larger projects – analyse, customise, engineer, and install a complete solution – helping our customers focus on core business, profitability and solving complex challenges.”

downtime was associated with the project.

So far, four of Sulzer’s MBN50 high-pressure 9-stage pumps have been installed, which are primarily designed for power generation applications and provide efficient and reliable service in this demanding environment. The performance of each pump has been tailored to the application to ensure optimum efficiency and reliability.

COVERING VARIOUS PLANT TYPES, including conventional steam power, concentrated solar power and combined cycle power, Flowserve has created VirtualPlant to help take the guesswork out of product selection.

Built on actual use cases from its global customer base, the tool aims to help the company’s customers identify the most appropriate solutions from its pump, valve and seal portfolio. With particular benefits for those just starting in the industry or others who may have recently undertaken a new role or responsibility at their plant.

Users of the tool start by selecting from one of the virtual plants, then using the aerial plant view, select the process area that they want to explore. From there, users can see a sector overview outlining vital information and challenges for that particular area and can click among the various Flowserve pumps, seals, valves and other solutions relevant to that specific process. Product literature, images, videos, manuals and training materials can then be accessed by selecting one of the products or services.

While VirtualPlant makes it easy to find relevant products and services by plant type or process area, the tool also delivers several benefits beyond product research.

It can simplify the RFP process and reduce the time required for the discovery phase; users can quickly confirm that Flowserve has expertise in the specific industry application and then identify products to focus on in the RFP. Customers that are already operating Flowserve pumps, valves, seals or support systems, can use the VirtualPlants to access a-growing library of information – including technical bulletins, safety data, instruction manuals, training materials and other supporting content – all in one convenient location.

VirtualPlant can also enhance the training of new employees. By exploring the 3D models and related information, they can learn more about the pumps, valves and seals they will encounter in a plant’s various application areas.

sulzer.com

virtualplant.flowserve.com

bit.ly/XylemCoE

BOILER FEED PUMPS REPLACED FOR THE COST OF REFURBISHMENT A MAJOR UK WASTE-TO-ENERGY plant was experiencing considerable reliability issues with its boiler feed pumps. Routine maintenance involved a complete refurbishment every two years and the costs for this work were increasing. However, Sulzer was able to replace the pumps and achieve an impressive return on investment of just over two years.

The plant has six boiler feed pumps that have been operating since the site was commissioned over 45 years ago. Over the years, the pumps have been regularly maintained, but more recently, they have required major refurbishments to keep them operational.

Sulzer delivered a turnkey solution that included the removal of the legacy equipment and the installation and commissioning of new pumps. Having established the specifications of the old pumps, it was possible to source new pumps that would exactly match the original performance characteristics of the old pumps but with improved efficiency.

The proposal was to replace two pumps each year, allowing the plant to spread the cost of the project and also appreciate the benefits of the new pumps before committing to the next stage of the installation. The financial benefits were obvious from the outset. The cost of each new pump was Quarter 2 2020

EXPLORE YOUR PLANT IN AN ENTIRELY NEW WAY

only marginally more than the refurbishment costs of the equipment it replaced, giving a return on investment of just over two years.

Sulzer’s site services team only needed ten days on site to remove the old pump, modify the pipework slightly and install the new equipment. This ensured that the plant always had sufficient capacity, and no

www.bpma.org.uk

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26 Opinion FEATURE 26

Brexit: A crucial month ahead While news of Brexit has fallen from many front pages due to recent events, the clock is still ticking towards the December 31 deadline for a deal being reached between the UK and EU. With negotiation talks having slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Steve Schofield, BPMA Director and Chief Executive, explains why June could be a crucial month.

W

hen the UK left the EU on January 31 and subsequently entered into a transition period, nobody knew what was around the corner. In March the UK went into lockdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. All face to face meetings with the EU were postponed, and for the first time in nearly two years Brexit news was off the TV and front page; replaced

by COVID-19. Behind the scenes, discussions and video meetings continued all be it at a slower pace and with less UK and European civil servants working on Brexit.

From day one Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he would not extend the negotiation period and if by the December 31 the UK had not agreed a deal then the UK would walk away without a deal. With the considerable disruption caused by COVID-19, the press and public thought that an extension to the negotiation period would be necessary, but the UK Government are still saying no.

In May the UK Government published their legal text for an agreement to show the UK public and other countries within Europe that the UK was prepared to compromise and that the stumbling factor was Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator.

The texts are available at bit.ly/3eLulwY The text identifies that the UK is seeking a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Europe but not to be part of the Single Market or Customs union. It advises that the proposed UK FTA is very close to the those the EU has already agreed with Canada, Japan and Norway. The UK is accusing the EU of seeking additional unbalanced and unprecedented provisions Quarter 2 2020

with a close economic partner. The UK also identifies that the EU is not willing to replicate provisions for mutual recognition of conformity assessment, something it has granted for Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The text also advises that the EU is requesting the UK to commit to unbalanced proposals which would bind the UK to EU laws and standards.

Overall, as I write, what the EU is offering does not constitute a fair free trade relationship between close economic partners.

By publishing the UK’s legal text and by sending a letter direct to Michel Barnier, it would suggest that the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, is identifying areas of concern that require resolution. Many civil servants in Westminster believe that June will be the crucial negotiation period and that if the UK does not feel any compromises are forthcoming from the EU in critical areas, then the UK will walk away from Europe on June 30 without a deal.

Economically to have the global disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and then a no-deal scenario with the EU could affect the mechanical and electrical sector for many years to come. It is therefore hoped that negotiations with the EU will continue until a suitable agreement is made. chevron-circle-right

“What the EU is offering does not constitute a fair free trade relationship between close economic partners.”

www.bpma.org.uk

PUMP INDUSTRY AWARDS 2020

th 0 2 Anniversa r y Eve nt

Will you be joining us at the pump industry’s biggest celebration?

It’s your chance to network and party with the industry’s best & brightest at this special 20th anniversary event.

The PI Awards Gala Dinner is the highlight of the pump industry’s social calendar, celebrating the achievements of both companies and individuals, as finalists and winners are awarded in the charged atmosphere of the presentation ceremony. 2020 heralds the 20th anniversary and two decades of recognising and rewarding excellence throughout the pump sector.

Whether it’s taking a table to host customers or booking a few seats for you, your team and partners, don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to enjoy a wonderful evening of great food, fantastic entertainment and networking until the early hours.

Just visit the website www.pumpindustryawards.com and complete the simple online booking form to secure your places at this must-attend event, taking place on Monday 7th December at the Chesford Grange Hotel, Warwickshire.

Date & Venue Monday 7th December 2020 Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth

tHe tiMinGs 7.00pm - Drinks Reception

7.45pm - Pump Industry Awards Banquet

9.30pm - Pump Industry Awards Ceremony 10.15pm - Entertainment and Charity Raffle held on behalf of Wateraid 11.00pm - Fun Money Casino and Networking 12.30am - The Survivor’s Breakfast

2020 Award Programme Partners

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