Engineering & Mining Journal

AUG 2013

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D E W AT E R I N G Weir said its engineers designed a new, double-volute casing that reduces radial load and is capable of maintaining internal pressures of up to 7,000 kPa, allowing the pumps to be configured in series to deliver even greater head heights. Steve Sedgwick, the Weir Minerals Europe product manager for mine dewatering, said, "The dewatering system is a crucial part of almost every mining operation around the globe, and we're committed to ensuring that our range of dewatering pumps is broad enough to deliver optimum efficiency, whatever the requirements. "We have used the latest computermodeling technology to achieve a hydraulic design that is optimized for the high-head, high-efficiency dewatering challenges most commonly encountered by our customers, while maintaining a proper robust mining type pump. The DWU is designed specifically with heavy lifting in mind, so it minimizes hydraulic loads on the internal parts, maximizing efficiency and increasing the longevity of wear parts. "Mechanically, the pump has been designed with heavy-duty mining applications in mind. A one-piece frame ensures it stays correctly aligned while ultra-heavyduty bearings maximize wear life and reduce the whole-life cost of ownership." Other notable features of the DWU include a thrust reduction impeller design to minimize axial thrust loads; external fans to keep bearings cool; and an impeller release collar on larger models. Smart Enough to Save Energy Sulzer Pump launched its next generation of dewatering pumps, designed for harsh conditions in mining and touted as a pump line "made for the real world." Available in two series, one for drainage (model XJ) and one for sludge (model XJS), Sulzer refers to this ABS submersible pump range as the Sulzer XJS sludge pump. www.e-mj.com "world's smartest," equipped with electronic technology that can potentially save energy, reduce wear, and allow pump condition to be checked without disassembly. According to Sulzer, the pump line's AquaTronic unit integrates electronic intelligence into the pump, while its AquaPlug control and monitoring module integrates it into the power supply. With AquaTronic in command, pumping starts immediately at full capacity and runs consistently. The direction of impeller rotation is always correct, because AquaTronic electronically compensates for incorrect phase order—a feature claimed to be a first among dewatering pumps. In addition, the unit eliminates unnecessary servicing. With the pump line's USB link and a connected PC, diagnostics can be performed without disassembly. AquaPlug provides a range of control and monitoring functions, including automatic stop/start, optional level control, alarms and service indication. Although the pump can run continuously, AquaPlug can also be set to stop it when it begins to snore. By stopping at dry running and starting automatically at a specified level, energy use can be optimized and wear can be reduced. Less Air, More Product California-based Wilden Pump & Engineering, a member of Dover Corp.'s Pump Solutions Group and major supplier of Wilden AODD model. AODD–type pumps, recently announced the launch and availability of the new ProFlo SHIFT Air Distribution System (ADS) for its Advanced Series bolted and Original Series clamped AODD pumps. The Pro-Flo SHIFT ADS, according to the company, represents a significant breakthrough in energy efficiency within the AODD pump category, claiming its innovative design will enable Wilden AODD pumps to achieve up to a 60% savings in air consumption over competitive AODD pump technologies, while providing more product yield per standard cubic foot per minute (SCFM). (See sidebar for additional details.) (Continued on p. 42) How Wilden's New ADS Works In a recently released white paper, Wilden pump engineer Carl Glauber pointed out that, since its introduction about six decades ago, AODD pump technology has gained a reputation for outperforming other positive-displacement pump styles in demanding liquid-transfer applications because the design characteristics of AODD pumps enable them to run dry, maintain a suction lift up to 30 ft (9 m), withstand deadhead conditions without damage, operate while completely submerged, and pass solids up to 1-3/8 in. (35 mm) in size, all while meeting most flow requirements and requiring little maintenance. While the basic operational characteristics of an AODD pump have remained constant for the past 60 years, suppliers have made improvements in the pump's air distribution system (ADS) that address its rate of air consumption in relation to the product flow rate and how much air can be wasted during the pumping cycle—with that wasted air resulting in an added cost for the site operator. While these savings are important for the operator, they are actually modest when looking at the total volume of air that is used for these pumps. According to Glauber, there remained an opportunity for more significant savings. Specifically, during the time period from the end of each stroke to the completed shift of the valve, air is allowed to "overfill" the air chamber without any corresponding displacement of fluid. The rate of this "overfilling," which is defined as wasted compressed air, should be more adequately controlled. A recent generation of ADS designs has attempted to eliminate overfilling in AODD pump operation by cutting off the air supply to the air chamber before the end of the pump stroke. Glauber said there are two shortcomings, however, in this approach. First, this ADS technology is electronically (Continued on p. 42) AUGUST 2013 • E&MJ; 39

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