Thoughts and Comments from the Power Gen Show in Las Vegas
The Colfax Fluid Handling team was on display at the Power Gen show in Las Vegas. If you attended the show, hopefully you had a chance to come by and say hello. Overall, I thought the show attendance was greater than the 2009 Las Vegas show, but less than the 2010 show in Orlando.
The quality of leads generated at the show was, however, solid and the Colfax team was fortunate to talk with people who -
- Had problems with water in their lubrication Oil (recommend the ThermoJet or PurLube)
- Was interested in pumping sulfuric acid within the environmental system of his plant (recommended the Zenith metering pump)
- Was interested in using a progressing cavity pump in a vertical configuration to save space in his sump (recommended the Allweiler branded progressing cavity or Emtec pump)
- Needed to understand how to size three screw pumps for a fuel oil plant that they were building in the Middle East (recommended the IMO or Allweiler branded three screw pump)
These were only some of the applications that we discussed with show attendees. These leads also show the diversity and flexibility of the Colfax portfolio and the global coverage that we offer our customers.
Finally, we always welcome the opportunity to conduct a lunch and learn seminar for your associates. We offer topics such as the basics of centrifugal vs. positive displacement pumps, design and considerations for lubrication oil systems and three and two screw pumps benefits and design considerations. If you're interested, let me know.
Sean McCandless Industrial Market Manager Colfax Fluid Handling
An Introduction to Fuel Injection Pumps for Gas Turbines
Colfax has pumped a variety of 'burnable' fluids within the power generation market. These fuels can range from the easily handled Distillate Oil #2 and treated Crude Oil and Bunker Oil (#6) to the more lighter, unique fuels such as Naptha, Methanol, Water-white kerosene and Jet Fuel to name a few. These fuels can be used as the primary fuel or applied in reserve with natural gas in a dual fuel gas turbine system. In a dual fuel system, the fuel pumps come online if the gas supply is interrupted allowing the plant to continue to deliver power.
In addition to the changes in fuel, pressures and viscosity can also vary with each gas turbine system. Please review the two examples below that show the effects of varying viscosity and pressures. In these examples, the delivered flow required is 150gpm. (Here's a link to a metric/english standard conversion web-site.)
Example 1: Same discharge and inlet pressure with varying inlet viscosity.
Note that the heavier viscosity liquids delivers about 9% more gallons per minute and higher volumetric efficiency. The slight improvement can be attributed to reduced slip from the heavier fluid.
Example 2: Varying discharge and inlet pressure with same inlet viscosity:
Note the increases in hp required (43%) to pump the fluid; this is because of the linear relationship between pressure and hp (Equation: (gpm * psig)/1714 = oil horsepower)
Conclusion: In the two examples, I've tried to highlight a benefit to positive displacement pump technology, which is the minimal change in gpm output that a three screw pump provides over a wide pressure and viscosity range. You will see greater changes in horsepower and efficiency when you exceed 31cst. However, this example covers some of the power generation fuel injection pump applications that we see. Each application is unique. Please consult with your field representative or our application engineering department if you have questions.
My colleague, Larry Nowakowski Power Generation Market Manager for Colfax Americas, has worked with nearly all OEM turbine and engine suppliers over his career. He provides a complimentary lunch and learn presentation where he goes into further detail on power generation systems. Also, Jim Brennan (retired product engineer for Colfax Americas) has published an excellent article on combustion gas turbine fuel pumps that you can find on the Colfax Americas - Imo Pump website.