Vacuum System Analysis

Charles H. Wunner, A. Hardy Russell

Vooner Vacuum Pumps, Inc.
Charlotte, NC,United States of America
Summary
To meet ever-increasing production requirements, paper machines are
continuously evolving with advanced technology. Modern press fabrics and other
technology improvements place constantly increasing demands on peripheral
systems.
Vacuum systems are an integral part of the paper making process. Poor
performing or undersized vacuum systems can cause other support systems to
be stretched to the maximum to compensate. Vacuum pump performance
degrades slowly over time as pumps wear. Small, seemingly unrelated, system
adjustments are made over time to compensate as airflow to the process declines.
These process changes such as increased steam and chemical consumption, along
with wasted costs associated with poorly performing vacuum pumps, can gradually
add production costs that are not readily noticeable. By ensuring that proper
process flow requirements are known and then testing and trending vacuum pump
performance, production and maintenance teams can optimize system
performance while keeping production high and vacuum related production costs
at a minimum. Mill personnel should be aware of original paper machine
production to understand the original design, current production requirements and
any planned machine modifications when analyzing their vacuum system.
This document describes methods of determining airflow requirements for paper
machine press section vacuum boxes and piping, sizing vacuum pumps for Uhle box
applications, field test methods for determining actual pump airflow and formulas for
quantifying operational losses due to worn vacuum pumps. Mill personnel can
utilize the test data to calculate the cost savings and production gains achieved
by replacing poorly performing pumps with new, higher capacity vacuum pumps.
Content
Many paper machines have been in service for decades. The original vacuum system
design has not always kept pace with the demands currently being placed upon it
by modern press fabrics and increased machine speeds. In some cases, the
vacuum system can be the bottleneck preventing full utilization of recent modifications.
A thorough analysis of the press section vacuum system including the required flow
rates for felts, suction boxes, interconnecting piping, separators and vacuum pumps
can help the Machine Supervisor ensure the best performance is being returned
from available resources. It can also indicate areas in need of upgrades or
modifications to maximize production.
Vacuum pump airflow capacity test results will enable the Machine Supervisor to
determine which pumps need to be relocated, rebuilt or replaced. Test results will also
allow the Machine Supervisor to determine what the wasted costs or potential
increased earnings are associated with the vacuum pumps. In mills where
utilization of existing piping is of interest, a pump that has increased capacity than an
existing pump of the same physical size can be a great opportunity to improve earnings.
System Analysis and Design
Vacuum Pump Sizing
Vacuum pump sizing for Uhle box applications is critical. Undersized pumps will
leave moisture and contaminants in the felt. The excess moisture will cause
increased steam loads in the dryer section and the contaminants will cause
premature wear of the felts. The best source of flow rate information (m3/hr/cm2) to
size vacuum pumps for uhle box applications is available from the felt
manufacturer based on the specific felts in use. For other pump sizing
standards, please consult TAPPI technical paper TIP 0502-01, “Paper machine
vacuum selection factors (fourdrinier machines only).”
Process Configuration
Once airflow rates and vacuum levels have been determined for each application,
process piping must be sized based on the flow rates. Too small piping will cause
excessive line losses, erosive wear, and waste vacuum pump resources. Too large
piping will cause water to separate prior to the inlet separator and possibly cause
surging and fluctuating vacuum at the process. All diameters calculated in the following
sections reference nominal size and are based on normally accepted flow and velocity
limits for optimal performance.
Component Sizing
With the continued advances in manmade fibers, felt manufacturers have developed
felts that are able to remove more moisture from the sheet. Therefore, they require
more airflow for dewatering. Proper sizing of the Suction (Uhle) Boxes is crucial to
proper felt performance. The following steps define how to properly size
everything from the Uhle Box slot width at the process through the pump
discharge separator silencer.
Uhle Box Slot Width: Uhle box slot width should be sized for a dwell time of 2 to 4
milliseconds. This is the optimal time for dewatering of the felt to occur. If the
felt was to stay in the slot longer than 4 milliseconds, increased drag results and
premature felt wear can occur. Correct slot width (mm) can be calculated using
Equation 1.
Equation 1:
Slot Width = Dwell time (ms) x machine speed (m/s)
___________________________________
60
Slot widths should not be less than 13mm or more than 25 mm. If a slot width is
calculated at greater than 25mm, multiple slots should be used.
Uhle Box Diameter: Uhle boxes are sized to keep the saturated air velocity below 1067
meters/min. With a known pump flow rate (m3/hr), minimum box diameter can be
calculated using Equation 2.
Equation 2:
Minimum box diameter mm = sq.rt of Flow in m3/hr x 19.89
Process Piping from Uhle box to pre-separator: The air before the inlet separator is
carrying a large volume of water. The large amount of entrained water requires this
piping to be horizontal or downhill into the separator to promote adequate drainage.
Uphill runs will cause pooling and vacuum fluctuations at the process. Velocity in
this section of piping should remain below 1067 m/min to prevent separation of the
water and erosion of the piping from high velocities. Equation 3 will calculate
a recommended diameter.
Equation 3:
Minimum pipe diameter mm = sq.rt Flow in m3/hrx 19.89 (mm)
Pre-separators: Pre-separators are recommended to prevent process liquids and
chemicals from entering the pump. The carryover will cause the pump to surge and
can cause premature pump wear. Inlet separator air velocities should be kept below 228
m/min to reduce wear and obtain maximum fluid separation. Equation 4 will verify
proper pre-separator diameter.
Equation 4:
Minimum separator diameter mm = sq.rt Flow m3/hr x 92.83
An accepted method of determining separator height is: height > 2 x diameter.
These dimensions should be verified with your separator supplier to ensure that your
separator will adequately separate and drain the water volume removed from the
process.
Barometric drop-leg: Once the water has been removed from the process, it
must be removed from the separator with either a barometric drop-leg or a water
removal pump. The length of the drop-leg must be great enough to generate the
static head required to overcome the vacuum applied to the process. If static
head cannot overcome the vacuum, the separator will fill with water and the
water will surge into the vacuum pump. This will cause vacuum fluctuations to
the process. Barometric drop-leg length can be calculated using Equation 5.
Equation 5: Minimum barometric drop-leg length (meters) = (Vacuum x 0.0136 meters)
+ 0.9 meters where Vacuum = mm Hg vacuum.
The drop-leg length is the length from the bottom of the separator to the overflow drain
in the seal pit. The drop-leg diameter should be sized maintain a water velocity
below 2.44 m/sec. Equation 6 will calculate the proper drop-leg diameter.
Equation 6:
Minimum drop leg diameter = sq.rt Flow in LPM X8.7
Seal Pit Design: The seal pit holds water from the drop-leg and drains it to the sewer
through gravity. If there is insufficient seal pit volume, the vacuum pump will pull the
water into the separator on start-up, expose the drop-leg to atmosphere and
vacuum will be lost. Following are some standard guidelines to be used when
designing a seal pit.
1. Seal pit volume = 2.5 x drop-leg volume
2. Height used in volume calculation is bottom of drop-leg to overflow drain
3. Length from drop-leg to bottom of seal pit ≥ 152mm
Process Piping from pre-separator to vacuum pump: The air after the inlet separator is
saturated but does not have the entrained water that was present prior to separation.
Uphill runs are not as much of a concern but are still not recommended because
water can eventually collect in the low spots. Because of the nature of the air
stream, the velocity in this section of piping can increase to a maximum of 1676
m/min. Equation 7 will calculate a recommended diameter.
Equation 7:
Minimum pipe diameter mm = sq.rt Flow m3/hr x 19.89

Vacuum pump discharge piping: The discharge piping should be sized equal to
or greater than the discharge connection from the pump whether that is the pump
discharge flange or a manifold flange.
Piping should run in a horizontal or downhill direction to promote water drainage. Uphill
runs of piping will cause backpressure on the pump. Backpressure reduces pump
performance and causes unnecessary flex loading on the pump shaft.
Discharge separator/silencers: Discharge separator/silencers are necessary to
separate the water from the discharge air stream and to reduce pump discharge noise
by as much as 40dB. As with the pre-separators, air velocity should be kept below
228 m/min. Equation 8 will help verify proper separator diameter.
Equation 8
Minimum discharge separator diameter mm =
Sq.rt Flow inm3/hr x ((1000- vacuum)/1000)) x92.83
Vacuum = mm Hg
As before, the standard technique for determining separator/silencer height is: height >
2 x diameter
Discharge separator silencers are available in a variety of water/air separation efficiency
levels as well as noise suppression levels. Please contact your separator supplier for
more information about what fits your specific needs.
System Testing
This is intended to be an overview of the pump testing procedure. For more detail,
please see TAPPI Technical Information Paper TIP 0420-12, “Guidelines for
measurement of vacuum pump airflow.”
Liquid ring vacuum pumps lose airflow capacity due to wear of the critical rotor and
cone clearance at the seal segment of the cone. This wear is caused by many factors,
with process carryover and use of contaminated mill water as sealing liquid being the
major two. Vane-slip is defined as high-pressure air from the discharge segment
leaking under vanes and “slipping” back into the inlet segment. The
volume recirculated by Vaneslip prevents process air from entering the pump,
therefore decreasing the total useful capacity of the vacuum pump.
Because liquid ring vacuum pumps are such an integral part of a paper
machine a decrease in their useful capacity can seriously impact overall machine
productivity. There is no better way to monitor vacuum pump useful capacity
than testing. Orifice plate testing is an accepted method of verifying useful
capacity of cone ported, single stage, liquid ring vacuum pumps over the entire vacuum
range of the pump. Paper machines do not normally shut down often or for
very long, so a quick and accurate method of verifying pump useful capacity
without removing the pump from the process is necessary. Mill testing can usually
be performed in couple of hours per pump. This fits well with the normal one day or
less shutdowns that occur for felt changes and other periodic maintenance.
Mill orifice plate testing involves removing the inlet piping from the pump and placing a
precision drilled orifice plate over one or both inlets of the vacuum pump. The
number and size of holes in the test plate is based on pump flow rate with smaller
holes being used to test smaller size pumps. Vacuum gauges are placed in the test
ports on the inlet of the pump to measure vacuum level achieved by the pump. Once
seal water flow is established the pump is started and the liquid ring is allowed
to stabilize before data collection begins. Rubber stoppers are added to the
holes in the plate to increase vacuum and data is collected after each stopper is
added. Sometime during the data collection an RPM reading is taken on the
pump shaft to allow a comparison to an original pump curve. To complete the
data collection, the barometer level at the site and sealing liquid temperature
are also measured during the test. Once the data is collected, the information is
corrected to standard conditions (760mm Hg pressure,15.6 °C sealing liquid
temperature) and the airflow capacity calculated. This data can then be
compared to a manufacturers pump curve to get an idea of how the pump is performing
compared to when the pump was new. The data collected from this test cannot be used
as an absolute indication of pump performance because the data collection method
does not met HEI (Heat Exchanger Institute) standards. It gives a very strong
benchmark indication of airflow capacity and can be used to determine any trends in
pump capacity.
Vacuum Pump Operating Costs
This section will give guidance in calculating the operating costs of the vacuum
pump. Once pump useful capacity has been evaluated from testing you can
determine what amount of the operating costs are being wasted due to vaneslip.
The primary costs in operating a liquid ring vacuum pump are energy and seal water.
Vacuum pump power and water consumption remains constant even as pump capacity
declines, leading to a waste of horsepower and water. For more detail about how to
calculate these costs please consult “The Full Operating Costs of Liquid Ring
Vacuum Pumps” located in the 1995 TAPPI Engineering Conference
Proceedings.To calculate the annual energy costs for operating a liquid ring vacuum
pump, use Equation 9.
Conclusions
Liquid ring vacuum pumps are an integral part of any paper machine. If they are
have lost capacity or the technology has outpaced their capacity, they can be
causing hidden costs such as increased steam and chemical usage that can drive
product costs up. The paper mill personnel have to know how to analyze
and optimize the vacuum system to ensure it will provide adequate flow for
current as well as future needs. Please see the conceptual
diagram at the right. This optimization will bring other associated costs down as
well. To be able to complete this task of optimizing the system they have to have the
knowledge to determine what the actual airflow requirements are from
a system analysis and determine if the existing pumps can provide the flow. If the
pumps cannot provide the flow,