In the ancient period itself, the concept of good pump has discovered and moved on from that period, there were many progressions and changes that happened in the development of the pump’s design, construction, functioning, and others. The one kind of pump which we are going to discuss today is “Submersible Pump”. In the year 1916, Armais Sergeevich Arutunoff initially coined this pump, and the first usage was after the 1950’s only. Initially, these submersible pumps were designed to implement in the industries of mining, water wells, and shipping. Then, the modifications in the design of the pump allowed to use in oil wells too. With the additional improvements in the Arutunoff’s design, many kinds of submersible pumps were evolved and those were now in implementation in many industries. So, this article is all about a submersible pump, working, benefits, and many others.
What is a Submersible Pump?
A submersible pump which is also termed as an electric submersible pump and the name itself defines that it is completely submerged in the fluid. This device has an air-tight closed motor which is closely attached to the body of the motor. To be suitable for immersion, there are many kinds of submersible pumps such as to be submerged in tank, container, or in well and others. These devices are bounded within the compartments those are oil-filled having no contact with the pushing material. Submersible pump diagram is shown as below:
Submersible Pump
Submersible Pumps Working
These pumps are considered as multi-level centrifugal pumps operating in the vertical position. Fluids that are augmented by impeller will drop off their kinetic energy in the diffuser and here the conversion of kinetic energy to pressure happens. This is the fundamental principle of both mixed flow and radial pumps. Whereas in the hydraulic submersible pumps, the motor is of hydraulic type other than the electric ones and in the case of closed-cycle the power liquid is kept isolated from the generated liquid. And in the open cycle, there will be a mixing of the generated fluid and the power fluid with that of surface isolation.
The shaft of the pump is connected either to the protector or gas separator through mechanical coupling at the pump bottom side. The liquid moves into the pump via the ingesting screen and then elevated by the pump levels. The other components consist of bushings that are located all across the shaft length thus offering radial assistance to the shaft. In most of the cases, a thrust bearing handles a portion of the axial forces that arise in the pump, but these forces are maximumly captivated through the protector’s thrust bearing. There even exist various types of screw kind submersible pumps, where there will be a steel screw that operates as a functioning component. This screw permits the pump to operate water even in extreme impurity conditions.
Types
Few of the basic types of submersible pumps and are described below:
Bladder Pumps
Bladder pumps are considered a positive movement, pneumatically functioned, and non-interactive pumps that utilize compressed air. It has a casing that surrounds a supple bladder and this is constructed of polyethylene. Beneath the bladder, there will be a connection of screen and this is used to sieve any components those might combine with the check valves. These bladder pumps ae functioned either by compressed nitrogen tanks, air, and air compressors.
Bladder Pump
These kinds of submersible pumps are mostly suggested for ecological sampling having greater depths almost above of 28 ft and basically for wells. To implement bladder pumps for the sampling of groundwater, then a controller is necessary where this permits fo
r the flow rate handling.
Utility Pumps
Submersible utility pumps are of so unique and multi-usage pumps.
Utility Submersible Pump
There any many features available in this kind of pump. The characteristics are:
- Variable speed pumps function at certain speed rate chosen by the operator
- Continuous duty pumps keep delivering complete performance maintained at 100 percent duty cycles.
- Self-priming pumps are used for the creation and maintenance of exact vacuum levels adequate for the ingestion of fluid having no kind of outer support.
- Even utility pumps come up with the features of having a suction, battery management, grinding machine, and thermal excess load shielding.
Well Pumps
This submersible well pumps are constructed to function below the ground’s surface. Similar to the sump which is in most of the homes, this pump will not function properly if it is not completely immersed in the fluid. Again, these are classified as deep-well and shallow-well submersible pumps. In general, a submersible well pump has a cylinder which is of 3-5 inches in width. Sealing of the motor averts the flow of water to come inside and thus prevents short-circuiting for the motor.
Fountain Pumps
These are utilized for supplying water for fountains and for the machines that are utilized for aesthetic situations and for aeration in the engineering, and commercial applications. Fountain pumps are even constructed for the usage of either internally or externally and those are designed based on the pool size and many other factors. Even a few of the fountain pumps are energized by solar power and they operate along with the well pump to generate landscape scenarios like that of waterfalls.
Few of the other kinds of submersible pumps are:
- Borehole pumps
- Grinder pumps
- Stainless steel
- Bottom suction
- Oil-filled
Choosing of Submersible Pumps
The selection of a submersible pump is based on various specifications. Choosing the correct pump is the most essential factor in enhancing the performance of the system. Initially, pumps are to be selected depending on the application, purpose to be used and type of pump to be implemented.
The next factor that has to be considered is the greater discharge speed rate. The maximum speed rate corresponds to the greatest flow rate that pumps can manage. For the determination of flow rates, either pressure head or system is utilized. These pumps are even assessed based on horsepower, and amount of mechanical energy.
Horsepower means that the work generated at the rate of approximately 500-foot pounds per each second. After the finalization of discharge value, discharge size and outlet connections are considered.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages of the submersible pumps are
- No priming is necessary
- Greater efficiency
- Both solids and liquid are managed easily
- Internal pressure is enough for pumping of water inside and no additional components are required
- These pumps have no cavitation problems
Disadvantages of the submersible pumps are
- As submersible pumps are sealed, this sealing gets rusted with time. Because of this water enters the motor and damages the device.
- Repairing of the system is complicated
- Every usage requires different kinds of pumps, and one pump is not enough for all purposes.
- If not completely immersed, there will happen huge damage
- When water is not sufficient it may cause overheating too
Applications of Submersible Pumps
There are extensive applications of submersible pumps and those are:
- Single-stage pumps are utilized for slurry pumping, sewage, industrial and drainage purposes.
- Multi-stage pumps are implemented in municipal, engineering, and commercial applications.
- Sewage treatment, drilling rigs, irrigation, oil wells, and artificial lifts.
- Submersible pumps are even utilized in the production of oil to offer a comparatively effective type of “artificial lift”, which is able to function all among various ranges of depths and sped flow.
FAQs
1). Can submersible pumps run dry?
Submersible pumps will be dried when the fluid level crosses below the minimum level.
2). Why does a submersible motor fail?
The main cause of submersible motor fail is because of overheating and it damages the motor too.
3). Are submersible pumps better?
Submersible pumps are better because they have great efficiency and also need less energy for pushing water up.
4). What is the full form of the CRI pump?
In correspondence to the organization philosophy, CRI means Commitment, Reliability, and Innovation and it developed as a domestic term for pumping solutions.
5). How long will a submersible pump last?
Submersible pumps will have a life span of 8-10 years when these are utilized moderately, they can last up to 15 years.
Finally, this is a comprehensive overview of submersible pumps, how they operate, types involved in these pumps, how they are chosen based on the purpose and their applications. From the range of 20 Lpm to that of 28,000 LPm, there are various kinds of these pumps available. Know about the submersible pump efficiency also which is more helpful for the assessment of performance?
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