A VERY HIGH HEAD PUMP

摘要

Preliminary process design in 1997 for a new grass rootspolymer unit in the Gulf Coast raised the possibility of using asingle centrifugal pump instead of two reciprocating compressorsto feed ethylene into the reactors. The objectives of this changewere lower capital cost, energy consumption, and maintenanceexpense. Discussion of the possible application led finally to thedesign, manufacture, and successful operation of two full-capacityhorizontal centrifugal pumps, one operating, the other on autostartstandby, each developing 22,500 ft (6860 m) in a single casing.This paper addresses the design philosophy chosen for thesepumps, critical steps in their detail design, manufacturing issues,additional testing on water to verify the design to the extentpossible before operation on ethylene, and the correction of fluctuating rotor instability evident in one of the pumps at startup in July 2000.