The sump and Suction Vessel Of The Vertical Turbine Pump

The sump you provide can influence both the mechanical and hydrau-lic performance of your vertical turbine pump. The intake configuration should bedesigned to deliver an evenly distributed flow of water to the vertical turbine pumpsuction as uneven flow patterns can create surface and sub-surfacevortices. Vortexing can be submerged and completely invisible, orit can appear on the surface. lt can introduce air into the vertical turbine pump, canincrease or decrease power consumption, can influence submergencerequirements and can produce objectionable noise and vibration.

It's easy to be misled by low calculated average velocities across anintake channel but keep in mind these figures can often mean abso.lutely nothing. it's the localized velocities that start the vortexing.Vortices are more easily sustained in flows of lower average velocitieswhere a calm slowly moving surface does nothing to interfere with agradual buildup in vortex size. A more turbulent surface can tend tobreak up these disturbances before they grow large enough to causeharm.

The Hydraullic institute Standard offers certain guidelines for goodpit design and we recommend these general principles. However, werecommend you put your sump design questions in the hands of anexperienced sump design engineer who can match intake configuration with vertical turbine pump requirements in the plant design phase and make itpossible for you to realize optimum performance from each.

Before starting the installation, inspect the completed sump care-fully, You’ll want to make sure it's dimensionally adequate to recelvethe vertical turbine pump. You'll also want to see that it has been cleared of all trashand debris. Your inspection should include any pipelines or conduitsfeeding into the pit. it's a good idea to have the basin screened toprevent future entrance of foreign material which can damage or clogthe vertical turbine pump, possibly even rendering it inoperative.

If a suction vessel is used, see additional instruction labeled the THE SUCTION VESSEL below.

THE SUCTION VESSEL

Not applicable for vertical turbine pumps installed in an open sump.

If your vertical turbine pump is a suction can, your suction vessel may have beenfurnished with the vertical turbine pump or you may have procured it from anothersource. In either event, the vessel should be lowered into the pit,leveled and grouted or otherwise secured in place, after which thenuts may be tightened firmly on the vessel anchor bolts. These boltsmay be similar to those discussed.

You must set the suction vessel so that the machined portion of thetop flange is level within a maximum of 0.007 inches per linear footacross the flange face. Bolt holes must be located so that the suctionand discharge nozzles are in proper orientatlon for your job site pip-ing.

In some installations, concrete is poured around the outside of thevessel after positioning. In other instances, the suction vessel maybe set in the ground with a higher water table surrounding. in theseor simllar situations, you must take proper measures to prevent thebarrel from floating out of position. You may use any suitable means,including firm anchoring and bracing or you may want to fill the vesselitself with water to eliminate it's buoyancy.

Velocities and flow patterns in the vessel can be critical to the opera-tion of the vertical turbine pump. lf the tank is designed and/or furnished by any source other than the factory, the configuration must be approvedby factory authorized engineers before the vertical turbine pump warranty will be validated.

After you've set the suction vessel, and during the installation of thevertical turbine pump, you must provide protective cover for the machined surface of the barrel flange.

Typical assemblies of this type are illustrated in FIGURE 6.