This section provides overview, applications, and principles of slurry pumps. Also, please take a look at the list of 10 slurry pump manufacturers and their company rankings.
Table of Contents
Slurry pump is used to transport slurry, a fluid that is a mixture of individual particles. Slurry is difficult to transport with ordinary types of pumps that transport fluids, because slurry is highly viscous and easily causes wear, corrosion, and other damage to the pump that transports it. There are two types of pumping methods for transporting slurry: the volumetric type, which changes the volume of the slurry and gives energy to the slurry to transport it, and the centrifugal type, which uses centrifugal force to transport the slurry.
Slurry pumps are used in chemical plants, construction sites, sewage treatment facilities, and other sites where slurry needs to be transported.
Depending on the type of slurry to be transported, the appropriate slurry pumps must be selected. For example, if the slurry is corrosive, the pump must have a corrosion-resistant finish on the parts that come in contact with the slurry. If the slurry is highly viscous, the pump must be strong enough to withstand the force applied to it. If the slurry is subject to heavy wear and needs to be replaced periodically, the pump must be easy to replace, etc.
The operating principles of slurry pumps are explained for each of the following typical slurry pumping methods: hose pumps (positive displacement type), uniaxial eccentric screw pumps (positive displacement type), and centrifugal pumps (centrifugal type).
A hose pump consists of an elastically resilient tube, a rotor, and a sliding shoe. The tube contains slurry, and the sliding shoe pushes the slurry out of the tube as the rotor rotates. High viscosity slurry can be conveyed.
The uniaxial eccentric screw pump consists of a stator that contacts the screw hole and a rotor that contacts the screw. Slurry is contained in the gap between the stator and rotor, and as the rotor moves through the stator, the slurry is transported axially. The pump is characterized by the absence of pulsation and the ability to convey a fixed amount of slurry.
A centrifugal pump consists of an impeller, a suction port in the axial direction of the impeller, and a discharge port in the centrifugal direction of the impeller. Slurry sucked in from the suction port is transported to the discharge port in the centrifugal direction by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the impeller. This pump is suitable for transporting low-viscosity slurry.
When selecting slurry pumps at the design stage, the pumping system is comprehensively selected based on various conditions such as the purpose of the transfer destination, shape and solidity of the object to be transferred, chemical corrosiveness, operating temperature, transfer volume, viscosity, and whether the transfer can be continuous or not. If the particles are hard and large, the decision will start with a positive displacement type or a centrifugal type, depending on the balance between the durability of the material and the required transfer capacity.
In selecting a method and manufacturer, not only should initial cost be a priority consideration, but running cost should also be considered in the same line. Many applications require maintenance due to the harsh operating conditions, and cost, including ease of inspection, disassembly, and assembly, as well as parts procurement, will always be an issue when operating the equipment. In fact, slurry pumps most frequently experience problems due to wear because of the semi-solid nature of the material being conveyed. Although it is ideal to replace with a new pump each time a problem occurs, in most cases, pumps are repaired and reused.
Although the most suitable pump is selected at the design stage, some problems are bound to occur once the equipment is in operation. Because slurry pumps are designed to be maintained, they are often designed with two systems in parallel, which allows for testing without having to shut down the entire facility when reconsidering a system or manufacturer to improve the facility. Manufacturers that were not selected at the design stage can re-enter the market, and users can expect to maintain the service they have come to enjoy because they are in a constant state of tension.
The reason why there are more than 10 slurry pumps manufacturers can be attributed to the compatibility of their products with the objects to be pumped, which is not limited to product specifications alone. The superiority of each manufacturer is not only based on the size of sales, but also on the accumulation of each company's unique knowledge, which is a weapon for survival in an industry with more than 10 competing companies.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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