About the author: Bill Swichtenberg is Editorial Director of Pump Source.
A pump basically is a device that raises, transfers or
compresses fluids. In the water and wastewater industry, different pumps are
used in a variety of applications. For example, one type of pump is used for
transferring water from a well to a tower, another is suited for pumping sludge
containing byproducts and another can be used to feed chemicals into the water
for treatment.
This technology supplement contains technical articles
relating to key areas of pump operation and reliability. These topics include
* Performance,
* Suction,
* Sealing
Methods,
* Bearings
and Lubrication,
* Materials
of Construction, and
* Field
Application.
It is our hope to provide a better understanding of the
technical reasons behind the pump's operation and to address the key
components and the way they interact with each other and the system in which
the pump is installed. This knowledge may help you pinpoint and anticipate
problems and, therefore, improve the pump's reliability, the
plant's uptime and the utility's bottom line.
WWD was fortunate to work with Dr. Lev Nelik, Ph.D., P.E.,
on this project. Currently the president of Pumping Machinery, Dr. Nelik has
more than 20 years of engineering, manufacturing, management, sales and field
experience in the pump industry. He has worked for Liquiflo, Roper Pump,
Ingersoll-Rand and Goulds Pumps. He has published more than 50 documents on
pumps and is the author of the book Centrifugal and Rotary Pumps: Fundamentals
with Applications by CRC Press.
This supplement is only the starting point for our coverage on pumps. In addition, we will provide a Pumps: Topic Forum at our website, www.waterinfocenter.com. This ongoing forum will be updated as more information is gathered to form a comprehensive and technical source of information on pumps.