On Some Common Centrifugal Pumps Natural Frequency Issues

Centrifugal pumps are unavoidable parts of hydraulic systems and they are used for transportation of different kinds of fluids from one place to another. Their condition could be monitored and determined by vibration measurements, where common faults are recognizable by standard vibrational characteristics. Natural frequencies of the pump–pedestal structure are unfairly neglected in the available literature. The finite element method is the common method for the pump impeller or the whole pump assembly natural frequency determination and it could be used the same for the pump–pedestal structure natural frequency determination. Two case studies of the natural frequency issues in the centrifugal pumps are shown in this paper. It is shown the importance of the modal analysis of the whole pump–pedestal structure during the design and assembly phase of pumping stations.