Specialist for Pumping Technology

Session 5 – NPSH Made

Simple (well, Simpler
Anyway!)
Simon Smith July 2021
 Presenter Profile – Simon Smith
Simon graduated with an honours degree in
Chemical Engineering from the University of
Surrey in 1978 and began a long career in
the engineered pump industry spanning 40
years (so far!) with Peerless Pump, BW/IP
International / Flowserve, SPP Pumps,
Ruhrpumpen and Ebara Cryodynamics.
Over his long career he has filled various
roles as Applications Engineer / Manager,
Project Manager, Key Account Specialist,
Vertical Pump Product Specialist,
International Sales Engineer / Manager /
Director and he has considerable experience
in Training & Mentoring young engineers.

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RUHRPUMPEN AT A GLANCE

SALES MANUFACTURING
VERTICAL OFFICES IN FACILITIES
INTEGRATION +35 COUNTRIES IN 10 COUNTRIES

+70 YEARS +2,000 15 SERVICE

OF EXPERIENCE
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+70,000 PUMPING SOLUTIONS INSTALLED WORLDWIDE

A GLOBAL COMPANY

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& Service center
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Service center
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MARKETS WE SERVE
Our commitment to create innovations
that offer reliable solutions to our
customers allow us to provide a
complete range of pump systems to
support core markets as:
OUR PUMP LINES
Ruhrpumpen offers a broad range of highly engineered
and standard pumping products that meet and exceed
the requirements of the most demanding quality
specifications and industry standards. Products include:
 Single Stage Overhung Pumps
Our pumps can handle head requirements as high as 13,000 ft
(4,000 m) and capacities up to 300,000 gpm (68,000 m3/hr).  Between Bearings Pumps
Moreover, our pump designs cover temperatures from cryogenic  Horizontal Multi-Stage Pumps
temperatures of -310 °F (-196 °C) up to 752 °F (400 °C).
 Vertical Multi-Stage Pumps
 Vertical Mixed Flow & Axial Flow Pumps
 Positive Displacement Pumps
 Full Range of Industrial Pumps
 Submersible Pumps
 Magnetic Drive Pumps
 Decoking Systems
 Packaged Systems
 Fire Systems
 Session 5 –
“NPSH Made Simple (well, Simpler Anyway!)”

Aimed at Process and Mechanical Engineers and Consultant Engineers

specifying pumping equipment as well as Applications & Sales Engineers
selecting and quoting them. Develop an understanding of the fundamentals
and practical aspects of NPSH – probably the most difficult and misunderstood
concept in pumping
Will cover such topics as Cavitation damage, Suction Specific Speed and the
“11,000 limitation”, understanding the NPSH Curve

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 NPSH Made Simple
Contents
1. NPSHA
2. NPSHR
1. What it is
2. How we measure and test for it
3. Cavitation
1. NPSH induced Cavitation
2. Low Flow Recirculation induced
Cavitation (suction & discharge)
4. Suction Specific Speed (NSS)
1. What it is
2. The 11,000 limitation

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 NPSHA
What it is.
At any given temperature, all liquids have a definite pressure at which
they boil. Every day we witness the fact that a liquid boils at atmospheric
pressure when it reaches a sufficiently high temperature. It is important to
remember also that a liquid will boil at any temperature if the pressure is
reduced sufficiently. While at sea level water boils at 1000C (2120F) at the
top of Mount Everest it boils at 680C (1540F)
It is the problem of the Process & Applications Engineers to make certain
that there is enough pressure on the fluid being fed to the pump so that
the liquid does not boil in the suction of the pump.

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 NPSHA
Definition
Net
Positive (means head over and above the vapour pressure)
Suction (at the suction flange / centreline of impeller)
Head
Available
“The net positive suction head available is the total suction head in
feet (meters) of liquid absolute determined at the suction flange
minus the vapour pressure of the liquid in feet (meters) absolute”
NPSHA = Suction Pressure (ft or m) – Vapour Pressure (ft or m)

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 NPSHA
Arithmetically:-
NPSHA = Ha - Hvpa +/- Hst – Hf

Where:-
Ha = the head from the absolute pressure acting on the surface of the liquid
(in an open suction system this will be atmospheric pressure, in a closed system it
will be the pressure in the suction vessel acting on the surface of the liquid)
Hvp = the head from vapour pressure (always a negative value)
Hst = Static head above the pump impeller centerline (suction flange)
(this value is negative in the case of a suction lift)
Hf = Friction head in pipework (always a negative value)

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 NPSHR (or 3 or 1)
Definition
Net
Positive (means head over and above the vapour pressure)
Suction (at the suction flange / centreline of impeller)
Head
Required (historically by convention the same as NPSH3)
NPSH3 is measured and defined as a 3% reduction of pump TDH
NPSH1 is measured and defined as a 1% reduction of pump TDH
“NPSHR is the total suction head in feet (meters) of liquid absolute
measured at the suction flange / centreline of the impeller that
corresponds to a 3% (sometimes 1%) reduction in discharge pressure.”
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 NPSHR Why a Pump Requires a Positive Suction Head

A pressure drop occurs between the pump suction flange and the
minimum pressure point within the pump impeller because of:
1- An increase in the velocity between the suction flange and entrance to
the impeller vanes.
2- Friction & turbulence between the suction flange and the entrance to
the impeller vanes
It is impossible to design a centrifugal pump in which there is no pressure
drop between the suction flange and the entrance to the impeller vanes.
All pump systems must have a positive suction head sufficiently high to
overcome this pressure drop within the pump and to keep the fluid from
boiling at the pumping temperature.
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NPSHR NPSH Margin = NPSHA – NPSH3.

Visually
GOLDEN RULE:-

Per ASME B73 & HI, the NPSHA must

always exceed the NPSH3, by 3Ft (1m) or
by 1.2 x (NPSHA/NPSH3).

AT THE PUMP SUCTION FLANGE

JUST ENTERING THE IMPELLER

AT PUMP DISCHARGE FLANGE

AT THE IMPELLER VANES
IN THE SUCTION PIPING
PRESSURE

NPSH Margin
NPSHA
Available NPSH3
Required

VAPOR PRESSURE AT SUCTION TEMPERATURE

A B C D E
LOCATION WITHIN THE PUMP
 NPSHR Typical Pump Test Loop

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 NPSHR NPSHR Testing Procedure

Sealed
Tank Suction valve- Used for “Throttled
suction” NPSHR testing

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 NPSHR NPSHR Testing Procedure
• The pump is set to the rated speed.
 At each flow point (typically 5 or 6 flows), while the Suction Pressure is reduced, the
Discharge Valve is opened slightly to maintain the constant set Flowrate.

 At each NPSHR Test point, Flow, Head, Suction pressure & Water Temperature
readings are taken at progressively lower and lower Suction pressures. Whether the
reduction in Suction pressure is due to a Vacuum Suppression Test or a Throttled
Suction valve Test.

 At some point, as the Suction Pressure is reduced more and more, the Pump
Differential Head will get closer to a 3% Head reduction. So now the Suction Pressure
Reduction values are taken closer together.

 After the Head drop has reached 3% at every Flowrate, the NPSH3 test is completed.

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 NPSH Curve

NPSHR NPSH Test Curve

25
20

NPSH3 (Ft)
15
10
5
0
0 100 200 300 400 500
Flow USGPM

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 NPSHR
Common Misconception
"Suction cavitation occurs when NPSHa (available) is less than NPSHr (required)."
This is completely wrong and a misunderstanding of the physics involved in a centrifugal
pump. Here is why:
• Consider that NPSHr is normally determined where the pump head has already degraded
by 3%. By that point there is already extensively developed cavitation in the impeller.
• Simply raising NPSHa slightly above NPSHr does not result in that cavitation magically
disappearing. You need to go to much higher suction pressures to completely eliminate
cavitation.
• For an "average" centrifugal pump, to completely eliminate cavitation, the NPSHa would
need to be >500% of the NPSHr (specifically the NPSHi point shown on the example below).

Source – Simon Bradshaw - Director Engineering, Pumps Americas at CIRCOR

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 NPSHR
Onset of Cavitation

All pumps operate with suction

cavitation. The only question is
whether it is damaging cavitation.

www.ruhrpumpen.com Source – Simon Bradshaw - Director Engineering, Pumps Americas at CIRCOR

 Cavitation
As the suction head value gets closer to the
NPSH3 value, vapour bubbles form on the
underside of the inlet vanes of the impeller.
The closer you get to the NPSH3 value the
more bubbles will form and over a larger area
of vane.
As these bubbles are swept into higher
pressure areas they collapse with a shock

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 Cavitation
The Cavitation Mechanism

When a Cavitation vapour bubble collapses, the instantaneous pressure of this small, high
energy shock-wave is many thousands of PSI over an extremely small area.
There are two progressive shock waves that impact the metal surface against the bubbles:-
The initial MICRO-JET formed when the top surface of the bubble starts to collapse.
Immediately after this micro-jet, the whole surface of the bubble then collapses & returns to
liquid form.
Shock waves are formed by collisions among the surrounding liquid molecules, that rush in to
fill the void caused by the collapsing bubble.
Research has shown that the life span of a Cavitation bubble from formation to collapse, is
about two milliseconds (two one-thousands of a second), so this event occurs very rapidly.
The more rapidly the surrounding Liquid collides, the greater is the energy of the damaging
shock-wave & micro-jet.
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 Cavitation
The Cavitation Mechanism

This illustration shows the progression of the vapor bubble collapse.

These ultra-high speed Laboratory photos below

show this progression:- Below is a photo showing the
micro-burst jet, just before the
final collapse:-

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 Cavitation
Extent of the Damage
The extent of the damage will depend on several factors:
 The size of the bubbles formed
 The Density of the fluid
 Thermodynamic effects (Enthalpy & Latent heat)
These combined effects comprise “Thermal Cavitation Criteria –B” (see next slide)
But simply put:
 Cold water forms big bubbles and has a high density, so the damage done when the
bubbles collapse is high
 Hydrocarbons form small bubbles and have a lower density, so the damage done
when the bubbles collapse is much less

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 Cavitation
Extent of the Damage – in More Detail
COMPARITIVE VALUES OF THE THERMAL CAVITATION CRITERIA-B:-
Below we show a list of the various THERMAL CAVITATION CRITERIA-B values for Water
which exhibits high cavitation damage, and Butane, a light hydrocarbon, which usually
exhibits a much lower cavitation damage rate.
Thermal Cavitation Water Water Water Water Butane
Criteria B 70F 180F 212F 300F 70F
Value of B 253 1.048 0.324 0.0223 0.0202
This shows why one of the worst liquids to produce damaging cavitation erosion is COLD
WATER. As this has a very high ratio of vapour to liquid and a high density (relative to
hydrocarbons which increases the kinetic energy of the cavitation micro-jet causing the
erosion damage.

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 Cavitation
Hydrocarbon Correction Factor
Allowed by HI
Not allowed by API since 6th
edition

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 Cavitation
NPSH Suggested Margins
ANSI / Hydraulic Institute Standard Para 9.6.1 addresses NPSH Margin
API Pumps in hydrocarbon service
NPSH Margin (NPSHA / NPSH3) = 1.1 or 1m (3.3ft)
in the allowable operating range (AOR)

Chemical Process Pumps

with Nss <11,000, NPSH Margin (NPSHA / NPSH3) = 1.1 or 0.6m (2ft)
with Nss >11,000, NPSH Margin (NPSHA / NPSH3) = 1.2 or 1.0m (3.3ft)
in the allowable operating range (AOR).

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 Suction & Discharge Recirculation
A Different kind of Cavitation
Occurs when pumps operate back on the
curve from BEP
When two flow paths within a fluid are moving
in opposing directions and in close proximity
to each other, vortices form.
These vortices result in low pressure areas
(where bubbles form) and high pressure
areas (where they collapse).

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Suction Recirculation
A Different kind of Cavitation Suction Recirculation
Cavitation Damage appears
on back side (pressure side)
of vane. You need a dentist’s
mirror to see it under here.
Suction Recirculation
Cavitation Damage
appears on back side
(pressure side) of vane

NPSH Cavitation
Damage appears on
front side (suction
side) of vane
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 Discharge Recirculation
A Different kind of Cavitation

The central core of the Discharge Recirculation Vortex,

is such a low pressure that the liquid starts to vapourise
& as the bubbles move to the outer area of the vortex,
where the pressure is much higher, they Cavitate
(implode) against the Impeller Shrouds, and cause the
www.ruhrpumpen.com hole damage shown.
 Cavitation – Which Type Have I Got?
The quickest and easiest way to identify the real cause of the noise, loss of performance,
reduced power & vibration, is merely to throttle the discharge valve…
This will cause the pump flow to reduce, so that one of three events will occur, which
allows the true cause to be found:-
Event 1:- If the rumbling & rattling sound reduces, or in fact may be eliminated entirely….
The pump is now running at a lower flow with lower NPSHR requirements. So this event
indicates that NPSH Cavitation was the real culprit.
Event 2:- If the rumbling & rattling sound, and the vibration increases…..
This tells us that the pump is moving into a lower flow condition causing the situation to get
worse. So this event indicates that Suction and/or Discharge recirculation was the real
culprit.
Event 3:- OR- If the result, is that there is no change in the sound or vibration……
This tells us the events are unaffected by flow. So this event indicates that Air or Gas
entrainment in the Liquid was the real culprit.
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 Cavitation Damage
How can I Minimise or Mitigate the Damage?

THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS ARE PROGRESSIVELY MORE RESISTANT TO EROSION &

CAVITATION DAMAGE. STARTING WITH CAST IRON AS THE LEAST RESISTANT:-
1. Cast Iron…………… Least Resistant.
2. Leaded Bronze.
3. Cast Carbon Steel.
4. Manganese Bronze.
5. Monel.
6. Chrome and Stainless Steels:-
CA15 & CA6NM (Martensitic) & CF8M (Austenitic).
7. Cast Duplex Stainless Steels.
8. Cast Nickel Aluminum Bronze.
9. Alloyed Titanium.
10. Cast Carburized 12% Chromium Stainless and Chrome Manganese
Austenitic Steels.....................Very Resistant.
11. Stellite coating………………..Most Resistant.

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 Suction Specific Speed (NSS)
Definition
You may think of it as a dimensionless number * that describes the NPSH capability of
an impeller
Defined as:-
NSS = N(RPM) x Q(BEP Full Dia) 0.5 / NPSH(BEP Full Dia) 0.75
NSS(Metric) = NSS(US) x 1.16 (m3/hr, m, rpm)
Almost universally expressed in USGPM, Ft, RPM units
The higher the number the lower the NPSHR
Most specifications limit the allowable value to 11,000 (US units) or 12,760 (m3/hr, m,
rpm)
WHY?

* Except that it isn’t actually dimensionless!

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 Suction Specific Speed (NSS)
The 11,000 Limit
In the 1950's to 1980's the impeller design methods available to pump designers were more
limited than they are today. Impeller designs from that era were notable for their
achievement of good suction performance through the deployment of large impeller inlet
diameters. It was not understood until later that the enlarging of the impeller inlet diameter
caused impairment of the impeller performance at flow rates lower than the best efficiency
point (BEP). This impairment exhibited itself as significantly increased vibration, Suction
Recirculation, and in some extreme cases an unstable NPSHr characteristic.

 Warren Fraser – “Flow Recirculation in Centrifugal Pumps” (1981)

https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/163728
In 1981 Warren Fraser published a paper which brought the consequences of relying on
large impeller inlet diameters into focus.
Pump users had already become increasingly concerned that while such designs minimized
plant 1st cost, it was at the price of reliability and overall life cycle cost.

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 Suction Specific Speed (NSS)
The 11,000 Limit
 Jerry Hallam – “Centrifugal Pumps: Which Suction Specific Speeds are Acceptable?”,
Hydrocarbon Processing, April 1982

In 1982 Jerry Hallam published the results of a large scale reliability study of 480 pumps
over a 5 year period at the Amoco Texas City refinery. He found that the reliability of a
pump was meaningfully related to its suction specific speed (Nss). Specifically pumps
with a Nss > 11,000 (S > 12760) failed twice as often compared to lower suction specific
speed pumps.

Hallam concluded: "This study indicates that caution should be exercised when
purchasing hydrocarbon or small water pumps with a Nss greater than 11,000 unless
operation is closely controlled near BEP."

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 Suction Specific Speed (NSS)
The 11,000 Limit
 Lobanoff & Ross, “Centrifugal Pumps: Design & Application 2nd Edition Fig 8-7”
Lobanoff & Ross carried out testing in 1985 which supported this limitation based on the
then current state of impeller design.
They tested a range of impellers with differing suction specific speeds from Nss = 7000
to Nss = 20,000. For each impeller the flow was varied until the pump vibration level
exceeded the API 610 allowable level of 0.3 inches/sec (7.6 mm/s) peak.
The testing showed a strong correlation of Nss & vibration.

The limit of 11,000 was widely adopted as a hard limit in the oil and gas industry and it is
still rare to see a specification that does not invoke it.

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 Suction Specific Speed (NSS)
The 11,000 Limit
Impeller design has improved by leaps and bounds since the 1980s and many authors have
published papers to this effect.
Central to their claim was the premise that modern impeller design techniques allowed the
attainment of higher suction specific speeds without relying solely on enlargement of the
impeller eye.

 Bradshaw, Simon; Cowan, David; Liebner, Thomas (2013). “Influence Of Impeller Suction
Specific Speed On Vibration Performance.”
https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/162554
In 2013 Bradshaw, Cowan & Liebner of ITT Goulds repeated the Lobanoff & Ross study from
1985 using modern impeller designs and pump construction standards. It is a very interesting
read and I would recommend it to you all. I provide a link at the end of this presentation.
It would certainly suggest a limit of 13,000 rather than 11,000 and probably as high as
14,776.

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 Sources & References
1- Simon Bradshaw - Director Engineering, Pumps Americas at CIRCOR, formerly
Sulzer Pumps & ITT Goulds Pumps
“No You Can’t Prevent Cavitation”
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-cant-prevent-cavitation-simon-bradshaw/?trackingId=T9h7yxZWQFmQiQJ3IISlPA%3D%3D

2- Ian James – Engineering Manager variously at David Brown Bingham, Dresser Rand,
HMD Pumps, RuhRPumpen, Best Pump Works, AMEC, and DXP & Pumpworks.

3- Warren Fraser – “Flow Recirculation in Centrifugal Pumps” (1981)

https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/163728

www.ruhrpumpen.com
 Sources & References
4- Jerry Hallam – “Centrifugal Pumps: Which Suction Specific Speeds are Acceptable?”,
Hydrocarbon Processing, April 1982

5- Lobanoff & Ross, “Centrifugal Pumps: Design & Application 2nd Edition Fig 8-7”

6- Bradshaw, Simon; Cowan, David; Liebner, Thomas (2013). “Influence Of Impeller

Suction Specific Speed On Vibration Performance.”
https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/162554

www.ruhrpumpen.com
 Coming Attractions 

There will be a break in these Short Courses during the summer holiday period of July
and early August. We will recommence at the end of August.

“Mechanical Seals & Seal Systems”

Thur 26th August – 08.00 (UK BST) (Eastern Hemisphere) & 17.00 (UK BST) (Western Hemisphere)
Aimed at Process and Mechanical Engineers and Consultant Engineers specifying pumping equipment as well as
Applications & Sales Engineers selecting and quoting them. Develop an understanding of the fundamentals of sealing
technology, the types of seals available and their associated sealing support systems (piping plans).

Future subjects in preparation include:

 Double Case Pumps (Barrel Pumps – BB5)
 Fire Pump Systems & Packages

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 Specialist for Pumping Technology

www.ruhrpumpen.com [email protected]
 OVERHUNG PUMPS
OUR PUMPS

CATEGORY RP MODEL DESIGN STANDARD

ISO 2858 & 15783
Sealless Magnetic CRP-M / CRP-M-CC HI design (OH11)
Drive Pumps
SCE-M API 685

IPP HI design (OH1)

HI design (OH1)
CPP / CPP-L ANSI B73.1
HI design (OH1)
CPO / CPO-L ANSI B73.1
Foot Mounted
OH1 and General HI design (OH1)
CRP
End Suction ISO 2858 & 5199
Pumps
GSD HI design (OH0)

SHD / ESK / SK / SKO

HI design (OH1)
SKV / ST / STV
SWP HI design (OH3A)

Centerline
SCE API 610 (OH2)
Mounted
SPI API 610 (OH3)

IVP / IVP-CC HI design (OH4 / OH5)

Vertical In-Line
Pumps IIL HI design (OH5)
Dimensionally compliant with ANSI B73.2

SPN API 610 (OH5)

 BETWEEN BEARING PUMPS
OUR PUMPS

DESIGN
CATEGORY RP MODEL
STANDARD
HSC / HSD / HSL
HI design (BB1)
HSR / ZW

Axially split HSM HI design (BB3)

ZM / ZMS
1 and 2 stage API design (BB1)
ZLM / ZME

HVN / J API design (BB2)

Radially split
RON / RON-D API design (BB2)

SM / SM-I API design (BB3)

Axially split
JTN API design (BB3)
Multi-stage
Radially split GP API design (BB4)
single casing

Radially split A LINE API design (BB5)

double casing
 VERTICAL PUMPS
OUR PUMPS

DESIGN
CATEGORY RP MODEL
STANDARD
VTP HI & API 610 (VS1)

VCT HI & API 610 (VS1)

Diffuser
HQ HI & API 610 (VS1)

VLT HI & API 610 (VS1)

Single
casing Volute DSV / DX HI & API 610 (VS2)

Discharge through
column – Axial flow
VAF HI & API 610 (VS3)

Separate discharge line VSP / VSP-Chem HI & API 610 (VS4)

Diffuser VLT / VMT HI & API 610 (VS6)

Double
casing
Volute DSV / DX HI & API 610 (VS7)

SMF HI design (OH8A)

Submersible pumps
VLT-Sub / VTP-Sub HI design (VS0)
 SPECIAL SERVICE PUMPS
OUR PUMPS

DESIGN
CATEGORY RP MODEL
STANDARD

Pitot tube pumps COMBITUBE HI design

API 674
Reciprocating pumps RDP ISO 13710

Vertical turbine
VTG HI design (VS6)
generator

Barge LS BARGE HI design

ZVZ HI design
Floating dock pumps
LVZ HI design

SVNV -

Cryogenic pumps VTG Cryogenic -

VLT Cryogenic
-
VLTV
Fire systems incorporate pumps,
drivers, control systems and
pipework in a single container. NFPA-20-850
Pre-packaged fire
They can be skid mounted, with UL and FM approved
pump systems or without enclosure and components
supplied with electric motor or
diesel engine.
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