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Blackmer Conquering Cavitation for Improved Lpg Pump Performance

Cavitation can have serious consequences for a pump’s performance in applications that involve the transfer of lp gas.

William Bohr, director of business development at pump manufacturer Blackmer, said: “Cavitation can harm pumps in many ways, among them excessive wear, breakdowns, product leakage and inefficient operation. Blackmer pumps deliver proven reliability, durability, high efficiency and performance under the most demanding conditions, including those that can lead to performance sapping cavitation.”

Blackmer says its cavitation suppression liners, for use on its sliding vane pumps for lpg applications, are the solution to these negative effects. The liners, combined with a pumping system, can reduce the potentially harmful effects of too numerous or large vapour bubble formation, and the resulting cavitation, when pumping lpg gas.

Cavitation is the formation of vapour bubbles in a fluid liquid when the pressure of the liquid falls below its vapour pressure. In pumping applications, hydrodynamic cavitation occurs, which is when vapour bubbles that are formed rapidly collapse, producing a shockwave that vibrates through the fluid. The shockwaves can be strong enough to damage pump parts and components, resulting in a loss of pumping efficiency and pump failure.

William said: “Blackmer’s major breakthrough in this area has come in the refinement of its patented cavitation suppression liner, which is now available on most of its sliding vane pump lines for use in lpg applications, most notably the LGL series. The cavitation suppression liners control the rate of collapsing vapour bubbles within the pump, sharply reducing the noise, vibration and wear that are caused by entrained vapours.

“The design of the cavitation suppression liner provides a controlled pressurisation of the fluid in the pump extension chamber as it progresses toward the discharge of the pump, allowing the vapour bubbles to collapse over a longer period of time. The net result is less noise, less vibration and less wear. This is combined with the highly efficient operation of Blackmer’s century old sliding vane pumping technology.”

In conjunction with lpg gas pumps that feature cavitation suppression liners, Blackmer has also developed its BV line of differential bypass valves to protect pumps and systems from excessive pressure damage, available in five different models up to 1,135 litres/minute at 8.27 bar.

William said: “In addition to choosing the right equipment, there are other ways to minimise the effects of cavitation. To reduce the amount of vapour bubbles produced, the length of pipe leading from the storage tank to the pump should be of proper size for the rate of flow and be kept to a minimum to reduce pressure loss caused by friction. Fittings, turns and other restrictions should also be avoided. Finally, as with all pumping applications, the pump selected should be the proper size and operate at the correct speed for the system.”

Contact Blackmer on +1 6162 489252 www.blackmer.com

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