Progressing pump technology

Progressive engine room pump design delivers through-life benefits to shipowners.

One way in which Hamworthy KSE recently demonstrated its commitment to innovation is with the introduction of the spacer-coupled C2G engine room pump which, the company says, also enables it to deliver customer benefits and remain competitive. Now the C2G range, which has been designed to provide through-life cost savings to shipowners, has attracted a raft of orders for both replacement pumps and for newbuildings.

Newbuildings featuring C2G engine room pumps include Concordia Maritime?s six 54,500dwt products tankers being built to the innovative Stena P-MAX design at the Brodosplit Shipyard in Croatia; two 145,000m3 LNG carriers under construction at Mitsubishi Heavy industries; and a 74,000m3 LNG carrier under construction for Gaz de France at Chantiers de l’Atlantique. Orders for replacement pumps have come from the likes of Shell, AP Moller and Wallenius. During the development programme, C2G pumps were installed on P&O Cruises’ Oriana and the Color Lines ferry Skagen.

Hamworthy KSE specialises in the design and manufacture of, often highly customized, marine systems for gas handling and wastewater management, as well as pumping. The company?s solutions, which it says are both “reliable and environmentally sound”, address all types of merchant and naval vessels and offshore applications. Hamworthy KSE puts much of its success down to its “investment in innovation”, which it says has also been a key driver behind the development of the C2G series. “Until now, engine room pump technology had moved on little in 25 years,” says Bob Powell, Hamworthy KSE?s sales manager for engine room pumps.

“Applying CAD technology and using an advanced ?laminated object manufacturing? machine for pattern making, we based the C2G range on as many standard components as possible to reduce costs and to minimise spare parts inventories,” he explains. “For example, only five sizes of seal bearing assembly and eight sizes of pump couplings are used throughout the range, which includes 23 models.” These cover capacities from 30 to 2,200 m3/hr, and are designed in three pressure classes: ‘low pressure’ up to 35m head; ‘medium pressure’ up to 60m head; and ‘high pressure’ up to 140m head.

“And reduced production costs make the C2G pump cheaper to customers than its predecessor unit,” Powell adds. A close-coupled version is also available to suit particular engine room specs.

“We have used the fewest number of parts to facilitate ease of assembly and disassembly during maintenance,” says Powell. “One of the C2G pump’s main features is the patented seal bearing assembly incorporating a mechanical seal and an angular contact bearing. This stainless steel assembly can be replaced within about an hour, thus reducing pump downtime, even when compared to a conventional spacer coupled pump”.

“The seal bearing assembly is a significant step forward,” Powell says. “Conventionally pumps are either constructed with the bearings above or below the impeller ? but on this pump the bearing assembly is actually within the impeller, making not only a very compact arrangement but placing it in an optimum position to take the thrust generated by the impeller. To reduce lifetime costs, pump impellers for both seawater and freshwater applications are made from nickel aluminium bronze alloy, which has a high-corrosion resistance against seawater.”