The centrifugal pump suddenly has no flow
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Two centrifugal pumps for transporting liquefied hydrocarbons are used in parallel to supply the fluid; the head is 446 meters and the flow rate is 95 cubic meters per hour. One of the pumps has 80% backflow while the other has no backflow. Suddenly, one of the pumps stopped delivering fluid and started vibrating – what could be the reason?
The pump is cavitating; possibly the inlet filter is clogged
The filter was cleaned and no foreign objects were found. The three pumps operate in a two-in-one-backup configuration; after two years of switching between them, this issue occurred twice
Is it the hot weather and high temperatures that are causing cavitation? Check the cavitation margin.
Is there no data flow, or is there some amount? It could be cavitation, it could be a fault with the inlet or outlet valves, it could be foreign objects in the inlet, or it could be a detached impeller or a fault at the impeller’s key connection.
The question was not clear; eliminate the possibility of the impeller falling off: P
What happens to the inlet pressure when there is a sudden loss of flow?
My personal guess is that pump which causes backflow! Think of an extreme scenario: if it is in a fully recirculating state, the medium will be gradually heated, leading to cavitation!