Session 21 –Single Case, Multistage, Radially Split Case Pumps API Type BB4

Think your fire pumps are just like the rest of your fluid movers? Think again. Rigorous standards and certifications make sure these life-savers are up to snuff

The most numerous types of fluid machineries are of the pump family (machines which add energy to the fluid), other important types are turbines (which extract energy from fluid). Both types are usually connected to a rotating shaft, hence also called turbomachineries. The prefix turbo- is a Latin word meaning ―spin’’ or ―whirl,’’ appropriate for rotating devices. The pump is the oldest fluid-energy-transfer device known. At least two designs date before Christ: (i) the undershot-bucket waterwheels, or norias, used in Asia and Africa (1000 B.C.) and (ii) Archimedes’ screw pump (250 B.C.), still being manufactured today to handle solid-liquid mixtures or to raise water from the hold of a ship. Paddlewheel turbines were used by the Romans in 70 B.C., and Babylonian windmills date back to 700 B.C. Since that time, many variations and applications of pumps have been developed. The power generating turbomachines (turbines) decrease the head or energy level of the working fluids passing through them and they are coupled to machines, such as electric generators, pumps, compressors etc.

What Is a Pump? A pump is a machine or device for raising, transferring, or compressing fluids. Pumps represent the largest single use of power in the industry (31%) by motor-driven equipment. Process variables, including pressure and flow of gases and liquids, have long been regulated using mechanical clutches, throttles, and adjustable inlet guide vanes. Pumps often operate as a variable torque load, a load that increases as the speed increases. These mechanisms waste energy, require frequent maintenance, and provide inaccurate control.