Warning Sign No 2: Increased power consumption

Pumps can consume a lot of energy; large units often move thousands of tonnes of material per annum.

During the parts’ life-cycle, it is normal for the power consumption profile of the system to change. However, excessive or sudden increases or decreases of power consumption could be a sign that your process is not working efficiently and requires attention.

Monitoring the power consumption of pumps is a good way to identify issues early, and also help diagnose and tackle them with minimal interruption to your process.

Warning Sign No 3: Bearing condition

The bearing assembly is a critical component in any rotating equipment. Worn or damaged bearings can significantly impact the efficiency of a pump and cause increased vibration, which as well as creating high noise levels, can permanently damage the equipment.

Symptoms such as these are usually easy for on-site operatives to detect, even without using vibration monitoring equipment.
As any corrosion will rapidly accelerate the rate of wear, it is important to ensure that bearings are always well lubricated and not exposed to moisture. Following these simple rules will significantly increase the bearing lifespan.

Warning Sign No 4: Vibration

Vibration is expected in some process equipment, such as screens, but high levels can be a sign of inefficiency, especially when it comes to pumps.

Vibration can be caused by a wide range of factors, including worn bearings, turbulence in the flow of slurry and inadequate foundations. Poor installation, allowing play in the bearing assembly and misaligned belt drive systems, can also cause vibration.

Monitoring vibration and changes in patterns over time is one of the best ways of tracking the condition of process equipment.

Warning Sign No 5: Poor belt tension and alignment

When correctly set-up and maintained, a belt drive is one of the best ways to operate some types of pumps. However, pump performance can be compromised by poorly tensioned and misaligned belt drive systems.

Inadequately tensioned belts may create high levels of vibration in the equipment and emit excessive noise, caused by slippage. This, in turn, generates heat that eventually causes the belts to fail. Excessive tension, on the other hand, places additional strain on the bearing assembly, causing it to be less efficient and wear faster.

Warning Sign No 6: Gland leakage

Maintaining a healthy shaft seal is one of the most challenging aspects of a centrifugal pump, particularly when handling abrasive or corrosive products. Various types of gland seals can be used to suit a particular application.

The simplest forms of shaft sealing utilise gland packings, stored in a seal housing also known as a stuffing box. A secondary packing seal is necessary to prevent product leakage from the gland seal when the pump is idle.

Other forms of gland seals are also available including single or double mechanical seals, as well as various other sealing methods.

Warning Sign No 7: Wearing parts

Due to the nature of the products they handle, some components in pumps, cyclones and screens will naturally wear out. The wear rate depends on many factors, including the slurry and operating points.

Modern hydraulic designs improve the passage of the slurry through pumps and cyclones, and highly sophisticated wear-resistant materials are constantly being developed to increase the longevity of wear parts. However, by monitoring the energy consumption of your products you will be able to notice any changes in energy consumption, which can be a sign of worn parts.

A wide array of other proprietary materials can deliver significantly improved resistance to abrasion and extended wear life.

Warning sign No 8: Uneven wear on liners

The internal profiles of slurry handling equipment have a significant bearing on how evenly parts wear out. Even wear ensures that the maximum wear life can be extracted from the parts compared to rapid failure caused by localised wear. This is often a sign of a highly turbulent flow passage, that may be caused by poor hydraulic design, misapplication or sizing of equipment, incorrect operating points or unsuitable materials of construction.

By commissioning a regular service inspection, the local service technician will be able to measure and assess the level of wear of the part and advise if the part needs replacing in order to maintain efficient performance. Monitoring and recording the ongoing wear enables better service life projections. If regular servicing does not take place this may lead to a specific part of the liner becoming excessively worn causing breach of slurry which can lead to downtime and environmental issues.