Remotely maintained waste transfer pump

Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) operates the Savannah River Site (SRS) for the Department of Energy (DOE). Waste from the processing of irradiated material is stored in large shielded tanks. Treated liquid wastes are to be transferred from these tanks to the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for incorporation in glass suitable for storage in a federal repository. Characteristics of the wastes range from water-like liquid to highly viscous wastes containing suspended solids. Pumping head requirements for various conditions ranged from 10 meters (35 feet) to 168 meters (550 feet). A specially designed, cantilever type, remotely operated and maintained pump was designed and built to transfer the wastes. To demonstrate the design, a prototype pump was built and testing thoroughly with simulated waste. Severe vibration problems were overcome by proper drive shaft selection and careful control of the space between the pump shaft and fixed running clearances (sometimes called seals). Eleven pumps are now installed and six pumps have been successfully run in water service