Land Drainage Pump REDU Contract

The Challenge:

A total of seven land drainage pumps, originally installed in the 1960s and 70s, were overdue major inspection and maintenance works. TSSE were awarded the contract to carry out the inspections and any necessary repairs on four identical 36" pumps and three smaller 24" units at two separate pumping stations.

It had been several years since the last intervention on any of the pumps and no record existed of the previous as found condition. Upon inspection of one of each set of pumps it was found that significant reworking and modernizing was required. This would require the manufacture of spare parts and redesigning of several components, including the shaft coupling arrangement & replacing a discontinued thrust bearing.

Added to these issues was the fact that headroom within the pumping stations was severely limited for the removal of the pumps each of which was connected to pipework below ground in a confined space area.

The Solution:

It was evident that a well planned engineering focused approach was required, and TSSE was awarded the contract based on their proposed technical solution and value based approach to pricing. As a local service provider TSSE also has the option to call on the engineering experience of Torishima Pump Mfg Co. a world renowned manufacturer of high flow land drainage pumps.

Torishima proven design of shaft coupling was used to upgrade the existing couplings, reducing weight and making the installation and dismantling of the pumps easier and safer. Our local engineering team adjusted the installation methodology and produced drawings for the new installation tools and ensured their suitability with the use of FEA software.

As for the obsolete thrust bearing, the first step was to contact the original manufacturer regarding a modern equivalent, who confirmed that there was no current direct replacement. The two closest equivalents where either physically larger or smaller. Both options were reviewed, as a larger bearing would mean extensive re-work to the motor support plate, while a smaller bearing would need to be thoroughly checked for its load carrying capacity. With input from Torishima Japan detailed engineering calculations and design reviews were conducted with the bearing manufacturer and by confirming that the smaller thrust bearing was suitable for the load conditions, the housing was modified to take up the differences between the new thrust bearing and the original.

In summary, by altering the coupling design to a more modern solution, the installation time was greatly reduced and the safety of the installation method was improved. New tooling and methodology ensured that the time required for installation and removal was greatly reduced, saving cost and increasing safety. Time & money were saved over a more expensive redesign of the unit, and spare parts obsolescence was eliminated. 

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