Turbine Pump

The turbine pumps are basically the dynamic pumps that utilize fluid momentum and velocity to generate the pump pressure. When it comes to generating the velocity using an impeller their working is similar to that of the centrifugal pumps, where the impellers are used to apply the centrifugal force to the moving liquid.

The design of the impeller is the only main difference between the turbine pump and a typical centrifugal pump. In comparison with the typical centrifugal pumps, the turbine pumps have impellers with smaller diameter and rows of numerous small vanes that circulates the fluid with its movement from suction end to the outlet.

The flow rate of the turbine pumps doesn’t vary extremely with changes in pressure like most of the centrifugal pumps. The turbine pumps are preferred in applications where compact design, high head, and low flow are required specifically like deep-well pumping.

The turbine pumps have a wide range of applications in different fields such as agriculture, mining, industrial etc., depending upon the needs and demands there are various turbine pumps available. A few of them are listed and explained below.

Horizontal Turbine Pump

The horizontal turbine pumps are the pumps with the shaft in a horizontal plane. These pumps are popular because of their ease of servicing and maintenance. The horizontal turbine pumps are relatively compact than other turbine pumps and can easily fit into smaller spaces. It doesn’t have any complex design and its primary internal mechanism is simple to understand. The horizontal turbine pumps also have several configurations to suit best for different situations.

The horizontal design with an overhang design is best for low suction pressure applications, on the other hand, an in-bearing shaft design is better for high suction. Similarly, different nozzle configurations allow discharge at top, end and sides.

However, the horizontal lag behind when it comes to overall pressure achieved. The overall power achieved with horizontal turbine pumps is lower than the pressure achieved with vertical turbine pumps. Thus, they are not suitable for the applications where the Net Positive Suction Head is required.

In the applications where NPSH isn’t required the crew often prefers a horizontal turbine pump, as they save a bit on maintenance cost and eases the work.

Vertical Turbine Pump

Found mostly in the industrial environments, the vertical turbine pump is a trusted and proven workhorse pump that has enhanced design. Earlier, the vertical turbine pumps were created only for the agricultural purpose with the field usage perspective but now the vertical turbine pumps are used and are considered as a strong solution to common challenges faced where low flow and high heat pumps are needed.

The vertical turbine pumps are designed to handle and overcome the challenging applications and have a long legacy that goes back to more than a hundred years ago invention in Los Angeles. The pump’s design is continually improving the key operations in different global industries such as oil, gas, petrochemical, power, mining and desalination.

Despite the complexity of the design, the plant managers and site operators find the vertical turbine pumps as an optimal solution when compared to the traditional horizontal pumps.

Hydraulic Turbine Pump

The Hydraulic turbine pumps can be defined as the prime movers, which transform the kinetic energy of falling water into the mechanical energy of rotation with the primary function of driving an electric generator.

The hydraulic turbines are strongly influenced by the water conduits that feed the turbine. Their similar characteristics include the effect of water inertia, pipe wall elasticity, and water compressibility. The hydraulic turbine pumps work well in pumping crudes as they are diluted by the lighter power fluid.

The hydraulic turbine pumps can handle up to 12,000 BPD production from shallow to deep depths of wells up to 5182 meters. When a hydraulic turbine pump is centrally located in the pump station, they serve a huge number of wells. The economics of the hydraulic pumps improve with the deeper depths and produced volume requirements.