Worthington Ash Sluice
Application: Ash Handling
Pump Details: Worthington 8 UXDL21 2-Stage
Pump Type: Multi-Stage Horizontal Split Case
Following a catastrophic failure, a Worthington ash handling pump was pulled for emergency repair. During inspection, it was observed that the bearings had failed at both ends and the rotor had moved axially toward the non-drive end, causing the 2nd stage impeller to contact the pump casing.In discussion with plant maintenance personnel, they advised that these pumps had an average mean-time-between-repair of 18 months and that excess running clearances accompanied by axial rotor movement had resulted in similar failures on previous occasions.
Using the detailed inspection report supplemented by data from the plant on the pump’s history, Hydro engineers developed a repair plan to address the root cause of the failure and to extend the pump’s life.
Hydro’s focus was on increasing the useful life of wear components and better handling any unbalanced axial thrust of the rotor. With the design changes implemented, Hydro increased the mean-time-between-repair from 18 months to 4 years.