Performance Loss Investigation Using Thermal Imaging

Abstract

An axially split, opposed impeller, high speed water injection pump ran well for several months. Head, capacity and efficiency started to degrade markedly, but the pump turned freely and was relatively smooth. It was disassembled and inspected. All the wear parts, impellers, casing and other components were in like new condition. The impellers were underfiled and the pump returned to service - with the same unacceptable performance results. A thermal image camera was used to check for hot or cold spots and those images will be presented. The detected hotspot resulted in a bore scope inspection of the cross over passage, and uncovered the cause of the performance problem.