Tasked with designing and supplying the control system for a complex pump test rig, System Control Solutions, a leading specialist in automation and variable speed drive applications, faced an interesting challenge. The rig had to be suitable for use with pumps having to drive motors ranging from just a few kilowatts up to more than 300 kW, and it had to be capable of testing all sizes over a wide range of operating speeds. The company quickly discovered, however, that using a Vacon NXP variable speed drive would allow this challenge to be addressed efficiently and economically.
Amarinth is one of the UK’s fastest growing manufacturers of standard and custom-designed centrifugal process pumps for use in demanding applications. In order to ensure that its products always meet the highest standards of performance and reliability, Amarinth carries out extensive in-house testing of its products before despatch. Recently, the company decided to upgrade its test facilities with a new test rig capable of providing detailed performance information for electrically driven pumps of all sizes.
Subscribe to PII and receive:
Our long-established bi-monthly digital magazine *Process Industry Informer*, featuring exclusive articles, news and updates across the Process Industries, plus commentary from our three industry experts:
Sean Moran
Gavin Smith
Dave Green
PLUS:
- Process Industry Update — our weekly e-newsletter
- PII Podcast
- Special messages from our advertising partners
To supply the control system for the test rig, Amarinth approached System Control Solutions. On looking at the requirements for this project, the engineers at System Control Solutions immediately realised that designing a system that would achieve the required performance with a single size of motor, or with a small range of motor sizes, would be straightforward. Designing a system to work with motors anywhere between a few kilowatts and 300 kW was a considerably greater challenge.
The engineers knew, however, that a feature of Vacon drives is their exceptional versatility. Vacon achieves this by adopting a somewhat different approach from its competitors to adding functionality. Instead of trying to cram every function that might possibly be required into the standard software supplied with every drive, Vacon offers an application software library of special functions that can readily be installed, as required, to supplement the company’s already versatile standard software.
For the Amarinth pump test rig, a Vacon NXP series drive rated at 315 kW was selected. After installation of the Multi Motor software, this was programmed with eight different parameter sets, enabling this one drive to “impersonate” drives rated at 10 kW, 50 kW, 100 kW and any one of another five ratings up the maximum of 315 kW. The operator of the test rig selects the parameter set required to test a particular pump simply by pressing a pushbutton.
“With the Vacon Multi Motor software, this arrangement was very easy to implement,” said Bob Halls, UK Technical Sales Manager at System Control Solutions, “and it worked exactly as expected right from the word go. The drive system does precisely what Amarinth wants, it does it reliably and it does it without unnecessary complexity. This was an ideal solution to an interesting problem!
For further information on Vacon, please contact:
Stephen Takhar, Vacon, Hinckley, Leicestershire
Tel: 01455 611515 Fax: 01455 611517E-mail: stephen.takhar@vacon.co.uk Web: www.vacon.com
For further information on System Control Solutions, please contact:
Bob Halls, Lowestoft, Suffolk, Tel: 01502 516864 E-mail: bob@scslow.co.uk Web: www.scslow.co.uk
Amarinth Ltd
- 01394462120
- enquiries@amarinth.com
- http://www.amarinth.com
- Bentwaters Parks, Rendlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 2TW GB
About us
Amarinth is a world-leading company specialising in the design, application and manufacture of centrifugal pumps and associated equipment to the offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration, production and refining industry, petrochemical, chemical and industrial markets.
We provide engineered-to-order solutions on the shortest lead times in the industry, often manufactured in exotic materials, and customised to fit your exact requirements according to the highest international industry standards, including API 610 and ISO 5199. Combining our depth of experience in the manufacture and supply of pumps and spares with our dedication to customer-oriented solutions, our aim is to deliver innovative products and services that help you meet and exceed your business goals.
From our design and manufacturing headquarters in the United Kingdom, we provide support to our clients throughout Europe, the Middle-East and Asia and our engineering expertise is often deployed into the furthest corners of the world to assist with the installation and commissioning of our products. Furthermore, we have fostered strong relationships with specialist organisations within these regions to provide additional in-country services to best meet our customers’ needs.
Where we supply to
Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, North America
Industries we supply to
Automation, Chemicals, Consultants, Components Electronics, Energy and Power, Food and Beverage, Glass Ceramics Cement, Metals and Minerals, OEM, Paper and Pulp, Pharmaceutical Cosmetics Toiletries, Plastics and Rubber, Recycling, Textiles, Tobacco, Water and Wastewater
-
Amarinth Centrifugal Pump Design Engineer and Manufacturer - Company Overview
-
How to install and align a pump and motor coupling on an API 610 VS4 pump
-
How to correctly torque multiple fixings to ensure even gasket compression
