FEATURE PUMPS, VALVES & ACTUATORS PUMPS ARE PUSHING THE BOAT OUT
An abrasive cement/sand/water mixture proved too much for piston pumps, but was no problem for Bredel hose pumps from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group
B
redel hose pumps from Watson- Marlow Fluid Technology Group
(WMFTG) have replaced piston pumps on a series of €1.8 million concrete grouting projects performed in seas around the Chinese coastline. A total of 90 Bredel pumps have been ordered for drawing the abrasive cement/sand/water slurry from the mixing tanks into the holds of the seafaring vessels, and for metering the grouting accordingly. The pumps have overcome leakage and wear issues associated with the previous piston pumps, and subsequently reduced downtime, maintenance and spares costs. In China, the engineering boats are fitted with concrete-carrying silos or holds, and ferry between tidal, pile driving and quayside construction sites to deliver concrete grouting in line with project requirements. The orders were secured by WMFTG
China for a series of new grouting projects. Including 45 Bredel 65 and 45
Bredel 80 models, the pumps will be installed across six engineering boats (15 pumps aboard each vessel). Bredel hose pumps have been selected
in place of piston pumps, which on previous grouting projects created issues such as fluid leakage, component wear and unplanned maintenance. In order to comply with local environmental regulations and meet the requirements, WMFTG supplied a Bredel pump for trial. The success of the trial proved that Bredel technology could overcome the leakage and wear problems, thus reducing costs by improving uptime. In addition, a safer working environment would be created. The reason that the previous piston
pumps struggled was the abrasive nature of the cement, sand (8%) and water mix (0.7 water-to-cement ratio). Discharged into the pile driver at pressures of over 10 bar, conventional pumps are subjected to continual wear problems. Conversely, in Bredel pumps, nothing but the hose
A total of 90 Bredel pumps have been ordered for drawing the abrasive cement/sand/ water slurry from the mixing tanks into the folds of the seafaring vessels, and for metering the grouting accordingly
touches the fluid. This means that the only wear part is the hose, which can be quickly and easily replaced if required. The larger Bredel 80 models used on the grouting projects in China draw the slurry from the mixing tanks into the hold at 330l/min. These pumps run for approximately 2-hour periods at 29 rpm. The smaller Bredel 65 pumps, which meter the grouting, run for the same amount of time (at 30 rpm), at a flow rate of 200 l/min. The running time of the pumps is controlled via a PLC. WMFTG has already delivered 30 Bredel
pumps for the first two engineering boats, and another 60 pumps are in production.
WMFTG
www.wmftg.com
12 NOVEMBER 2016 | PROCESS & CONTROL
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