A RANGE of high duty mechanical shaft seals have been designed by UK firm Flowserve to provide reliable operation at the high speeds and pressures now required of critical pumps operating in the oil and gas industries.
For many years its BW seals have been supplied globally for water injection and crude oil/hydrocarbon condensate shipping pumps for both onshore and offshore installations. Recent developments in new fields and technologies has resulted in the need for higher speed and pressure performance for these pumps. As a result, seals have been developed for pumps running at speeds of more than 12,000 rpm and operating pressures of more than 100 bar, with static pressure requirements of more than 400 bar.
The Flowserve UHTW range of seals have a proven successful record for difficult applications with the latest seal designs now used extensively on these high duty applications.
The UHTW can be supplied as a single, tandem or double seal arrangement and a wide variety of materials used in construction can be offered to suit the specific requirements of each application.
Flowserve Pump Division is, according to the company, able to service the needs of global industries with a broad but precisely honed expertise to provide specialised pumping solutions to improve productivity, profitability and reliability for individual customers.
Flowserve says it can supply a wide range of pump units, covering power outputs up to 70,000 hp (52,000 kW) with speeds up to 21,000 rpm. Flow rates up to 200,000 gpm (160,000 m3/hr) can also be accommodated, together with pressures up to 30,000 psi (27,000 kPa).
Centrifugal, reciprocating, screw and gear type pumps can be supplied, available in a wide range of metallic and non-metallic materials. These include light reactive alloys and high performance plastics and composites to cover even the most specialised or arduous operating conditions.
Sustained investment in leading edge technologies has ensured that the company maintains its leadership in dynamic creativity with the ability to solve unique pumping problems.
Pump designs available from a long list of heritage names include: single stage process pumps, both single and multistage between bearing pumps, together with vertical, submersible, rotary, reciprocating, nuclear and many speciality variations. These can be supplied with a number of optional configurations including sealed or sealess types, axially or radically split, volute and diffuser, close or long coupled and including single or double cased units. The company says it can also design and build special purpose pumps where standard products would not be appropriate.
