A modeling of pump impeller shroud and wear-ring seal as a whole, and its application to the pump rotordynamics

A modeling methodology of pump impeller shroud and wear-ring seal as a whole has been developed to give its rotordynamic coefficients. In this work the governing equations are derived for the continuous flow path of the impeller shroud and wear-ring seal. Pressure loss at the discontinuity of the connecting point between the impeller shroud and the wear-ring seal is defined by utilizing a pressure loss coefficient obtained from experimental measurements. The governing equations are solved directly by using the known conditions at the inlet of the impeller shroud and outlet of the wear-ring seal. A detailed rotordynamic analysis has been carried out on a 750 m-head fourteen-stage centrifugal pump system with the effects of the hydrodynamic forces of such as impeller shroud and wear-ring seals, balance piston, and interstage seals. Results have shown that the first critical speed obtained with all the seal effects is much higher than that obtained without those effects, and moreover that the system under consideration is unstable. Large cross coupled stiffness(k) of the impeller shroud and wear-ring seal has been suspected as the source of the problem. Design modifications of the impeller shroud and wear-ring seal geometry have been performed to decrease k and increase the direct damping(C). Finally, the design modifications have yielded a stable and well damped system