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Centrifugal vs. Positive Displacement Slurry Pumps: Which is better?

2024-01-19T13:00:28-06:00January 12, 2024|AODD Pumps|

In the world of fluid handling, slurry pumps quietly powers countless industries by transporting abrasive and viscous materials. These robust machines play a pivotal role in industries ranging from mining and wastewater treatment to agriculture and construction. However, the selection of the right slurry pump can be a critical decision, often determining the efficiency, reliability and longevity of an entire operation. Let's understand two types of slurry pumps: centrifugal and positive displacement slurry pumps. By understanding their mechanisms, advantages and limitations, you'll be better equipped to answer the fundamental question: Which is the superior choice for your specific application? Explore the world of centrifugal and positive displacement slurry pumps and uncover the secrets to making the right choice. Centrifugal Slurry Pumps Centrifugal slurry pumps operate on a fascinating principle that enables them to efficiently handle various slurry materials. At their core, these pumps employ an impeller-driven mechanism, which is a key component of their operation. The impeller is a specially designed, high-speed rotating component within the pump housing. The key to the impeller's effectiveness lies in the application of the centrifugal force principle. As the impeller rapidly rotates, it imparts kinetic energy to the slurry particles present in the pump. The centrifugal force generated by this rotation causes the slurry to move outward from the center of the impeller towards the outer edges. As a result of this centrifugal force, the slurry gains momentum and is directed towards the pump's discharge outlet. This process effectively creates a flow of the slurry through the pump, allowing it to be transported from one point to another. Centrifugal slurry pumps rely on the combined action of the impeller's rotation and the centrifugal force it generates to propel the slurry, making them highly efficient at handling high-flow, low-viscosity slurries in a wide range of industrial applications. Limitations of Centrifugal Slurry Pumps Inefficiency with High-Viscosity and Abrasive Slurries: One of the primary limitations of centrifugal slurry pumps is their reduced efficiency when dealing with high-viscosity [...]

Reading and Understanding AODD Pump Curves – Part of the Prescription

2024-01-19T10:04:12-06:00July 9, 2023|News|

Reading and Understanding AODD Pump Curves – Part of the Prescription I have always used the work “prescribe” rather than suggest or recommend an AODD model for an application. Just as when you go to the doctor and they diagnose your ailments they ask a series of questions and take a series of measurements or readings (weight, height, temperature, blood pressure) and then diagnoses your situation. Not that I am comparing what we do to a doctor but the process is the same. We ask, “What’s problem are you trying to solve (pump a fluid from point A to point B)?” and “What are your symptoms (high flow, low head, variable pressure)?” and then we have lots of tools at our disposal to diagnose the application and prescribe a solution. I will talk about chemical resistance and materials of construction, among other topics, in coming articles but for today, I would like to help you understand AODD pump curves and what information is available and based on the duty point, how we prescribe the pump model for the application. A typical inquiry might include “I need to pump a runoff sump of rainwater (their problem we are going to solve) up 100 feet to a storage tank and would like to do it at about 25 Gallons Per Minute (the symptoms of their application)”. Notwithstanding the need to evaluate materials of construction based on chemical compatibility and the fluid characteristics, we would like to the pump curves to see what size or series of pump we would need to prescribe an appropriate solution. Based on the symptoms, a 3/4” metallic pump could be one of the options so I will use this curve based on where the duty point falls – most favorably in the middle or sweet spot of the curve (more to come on that later). Based on the input received we find the head pressure in feet (100’) and then the requested flow (25 GPM) and [...]

Demystifying Air Pressure Requirements for AODD Pumps

2024-01-19T10:04:59-06:00July 8, 2023|AODD Pumps|

Demystifying Air Pressure Requirements for AODD Pumps There is generally much confusion and misinformation about the differences between Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM), Standard Cubic Feet per Minute (SCFM) and Pounds per Square Inch (PSI), Pounds per Square Inch – Gauge (PSIG) when it applies to powering an AODD pump. Even I get a bit tripped up but hopefully the information below will help us all better understand the terminology. In a future article, I will provide an overview of how to read and understand the different aspects of an AODD performance curve and what air force (PSI) and air flow (SCFM) requirements are called out depending on your duty point which is where Total Dynamic Head (TDH) and Fluid Flow requirements (GPM) intersect. As you can see, we love our pump acronyms so I will start keeping a list and share later. PSI/PSIG is technically defined as the pressure or intensity of air applied on one square inch on the surface of an object. For example, when you are pumping up a bicycle tire with a hand pump, it seems like it takes forever since the force of the air going into the tire is very low. There is a lot of surface area on the inside of that tire so it takes a lot of pumps of air to fill. Theoretically, PSI is used to tell how full you can make that tire using the hand pump with no time limit. CFM/SCFM is used to measure the volume/quantity of air flowing and technically called out as the amount of air within one cubic foot of volume. Back to the bicycle tire example above, if you were to use your handy-dandy garage air compressor which would provide much more flow of air, the time to fill the tire is much faster because the volume of the air is much higher than you can produce with a handheld tire pump. Clear as mud, huh? Rules of Thumb for CFM: [...]

Why Choose AODD Pumps

2024-01-19T10:06:41-06:00July 6, 2023|AODD Pumps|

I have been asked many times over the past 12+ years why anyone would want or need to use an Air-Operated Double Diaphragm (AODD) pump and I reply, “Why wouldn’t anyone want to use one?” I usually go into my list of multiple reasons why and they look at me as if I just recited them the Declaration of Independence rather than answer their specific question (I often tend to overexplain lots of simple features and benefits). There are lots of great reasons to use AODD pumps and I want to point out and discuss them and give real-world examples that tend to get lost in the higher-level discussions. Throughout this series of mini-articles, I would like to dig deeper into the many reasons for why you should choose an AODD pump and how they apply to your everyday pump selection process. Do You Have a Compressor? First and foremost, you must have a compressor as AODD pumps are by definition Air-Operated or Air-Powered or Air-Driven depending on where you are in the world. That being said, in general, you will need an industrial sized compressor to create enough energy to get the pumps to shift or reciprocate in order to get the fluid moving through the pump. A small, garage-sized pump generally cannot create enough energy (rated in SCFM – Standard Cubic Feet per Minute) to cycle the pump as most AODD pumps require 20-30 SCFM to “crack” the pump or make it start shifting. More on the compressor output requirements to come in future mini-articles. The investment in an industrial compressor can be sometimes overwhelming for some smaller companies who want to use a very few AODD pumps so they tend to stick with motor-driven pump technologies. In companies that already have a compressor on-site, it makes sense to include AODD pumps for transferring all kinds of chemicals and fluids. Applications like powering air tools or spraying equipment or even using a pneumatic impact wrench to change [...]

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