TEC H N IC A L ARTICLE

Design Status of High-Pressure

Water Injection Pumps

By J.T. McGuire, Director and Chief Engineer of

Custom Engineered Pumps, Flowserve Corporation
 Introduction
Water injection (aka waterflooding), a form of While many types of pumps have been used to extend
secondary enhanced oil recovery (EOR), was first the life of declining oilfields both onshore and offshore,
applied by oil producers in Pennsylvania in the early today most are process barrel-type pumps. Designed
1920s. In addition to restoring depleted pressure within and engineered to the latest issue of ISO 13709/
the reservoir, it also helped transport the remaining oil API 610 standard, API Type BB5 barrel pumps are
to the production wells, where it could be recovered. among the most technologically advanced industrial
By the early 1970s, injection pump discharge centrifugal pumps ever built (excluding aerospace),
pressures had already risen to 355 bar (5200 psig). with envisioned performance soon likely to reach 3600
Pumps in service today are rated for 520 bar (7500 m³/h (16 000 gpm), heads to 6000 m (20 000 ft) and
psig) discharge pressure with drivers rated for power to 27 000 kW (36 000 hp).
11 400 kW (15 300 hp) [Figure 1], while others
This review of current high-pressure water injection
currently in production are rated for 620 bar (9000
pump design status is set out in five sections:
psig) discharge pressure and absorb 11 500 kW
(15 400 hp) at rated flow. Drawing from projected 1. Rotor
hole bottom pressure requirements, pumps producing
2. Hydraulics
1030 bar (15 000 psig) injection pressure will be in the
3. Stator
field by 2020. To date, each advance in generating
higher injection pressure has presented significant 4. Pressure boundary
engineering and manufacturing challenges and 5. Materials
doubtless will continue to do so. The objective of this
paper is to review the status of contemporary water
injection pump design in order to provide a baseline
for the design of the generations to come.

Figure 1: Water injection pump, offshore, CGT drive

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 Rotor
Classes Classification criteria
There are two fundamental classes of rotor design: Two criteria are used to classify rotors as slender
slender or large shaft. The former has relatively low or large shaft. The first is static deflection, i.e., rotor
mechanical stiffness; the latter has significantly higher centered in the first-stage impeller front hub and
mechanical stiffness. This distinction and its influence balance drum or sleeve running clearances
on attainable shaft and rotor runout along with [Figure 2], relative to the minimum new running
assembled rotor balance are addressed in the Shaft clearance at rotor mid-span. A slender shaft rotor’s
Flexibility Factor, L /D , stated in Section 9.2 of API
4 2
static deflection is typically greater than 0.50 of the
610, 11 Edition (ISO 13709:E [2009]). The choice of
th
minimum new running clearance at rotor mid-span.
rotor class affects the hydraulics for a given application This results in the rotor resting on its running clearances
and the potential mean time between having to renew when the pump is stationary, thus precluding what is
running clearances (aka MTBR). Therefore, in most termed a rub-free build. In comparison, a large shaft
cases, the selection of rotor class is the first and most rotor’s static deflection when centered in its running
important decision the designer has to make. clearances as shown in Figure 2 is typically 0.25–0.30 of
the minimum new running clearance at rotor mid-span.

Figure 2: Rotor radial centering diagram

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 The second distinction is dynamic and based upon a first dry bending critical speed. Duncan and Hood’s
chart originally developed by Duncan and Hood that (1)
original chart [Figure 3] shows the slender and large
classified rotors by a factor, K = (WL /D ) 0.5, where 3 4
shaft rotor classes, but also includes rotor classes
W is rotor weight, L is bearing span and D is shaft too slender and dry running. Operating experience,
diameter at the impellers, all in consistent units. both intentional and unintentional, has verified the dry
This factor is mathematically related to the rotor’s running, large shaft and too slender characteristics.

Figure 3: Rotor dynamics factor,

K, vs. running speed after Duncan
and Hood (1)

(1) A. B. Duncan and J. F. Hood, The Application of Recent Pump Developments to the Needs of the Offshore Oil Industry, Proc.
of the Conference on Pumps and Compressors for Offshore Oil and Gas, London, UK, June 29-July 1, 1976, pp 7-24.

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 Rotor dynamics A second effect that becomes apparent as pump
power rises to 15 000 kW (20 000 hp) is a design
In rotor dynamic terms, the virtue of large shaft and conflict between the shaft diameter needed for
run-dry rotors is that the hydraulic stiffness and acceptable torsional stress and the maximum
damping produced by the Lomakin Effect has much (2)
allowable shaft diameter as a fraction of impeller
less influence on the dynamic behavior of those rotors (OD/D2). Resolution of this design conflict is central
than on a slender shaft rotor. The net result is greater to achieving acceptable hydraulic performance.
tolerance of the gradual increase in running clearances
during operation, thus longer mean time between Impeller arrangement and
repair (MTBR). mechanical design
Impeller arrangement on the rotor depends upon pump
The initial design of large shaft rotors usually has an
pressure rise, or differential pressure (∆P). In general,
operating speed above their first dry bending critical
tandem or in-line impellers (with a balance drum to
speed and no higher than 0.85 of their second dry
compensate for impeller axial thrust) are used for ∆P
bending critical speed. Rotor dynamics analyses are
up to 400 bar (6000 psig). For higher ∆P services, the
run as prescribed in Annex I of API 610, 11th Edition/
variation in rotor residual axial thrust reaches values
ISO 13709:E (2009), and the design must satisfy the
too high for practical thrust bearings, particularly as
separation and damping requirements of Appendix I.
pump speed rises. To accommodate these conditions,
Depending upon the starting frequency and the the impellers are opposed, with a center sleeve and
severity of the application, the running clearances of balance sleeve to compensate for axial thrust. Figure 4
slender shaft rotors must be renewed every 5000 to shows a section drawing of an opposed impeller rotor
50 000 hours. In comparison, those with large shaft in a radially split diffuser stator.
rotors typically log 100 000 hours of run time between
running clearance renewal. Run times of 150 000 hours
before running clearance renewal are now deemed
generally feasible. It should be further noted that run
times over 200 000 hours have been demonstrated in
a number of installations, albeit at lower pressure rise
and power than now necessary.

Shaft size affects hydraulic design. The generally

accepted rule is a shaft larger than that needed for
acceptable torsional stress has a deleterious effect on
NPSHR and efficiency, hence power. There is some
truth to that, but with the design tools available today it Figure 4: Section drawing of a seven-stage opposed
is practicable to reduce those effects so they effectively impeller diffuser pump

fall within the uncertainty of test efficiency.

(2) The Lomakin Effect is a product of hydrostatic (pressure) and hydrodynamic (velocity and viscosity) action as liquid passes through a pump’s internal running clearances
under the action of a differential pressure. As such, the magnitude of the Lomakin Effect depends on the pressure drop across the running clearances, the surface speed at
them, their geometry and the liquid viscosity. Given these dependencies, there is very little Lomakin Effect until the pump is running at say 75–80 percent of rated speed.
[McGuire & Karassik, Centrifugal Pumps, 2nd Edition, Chapman and Hall, 1996.]

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 With rated speed of high-pressure water injection Running clearances
pumps now at 8000 rpm, power per stage at 1500
The running clearance surfaces of the impellers,
kW (2000 hp), and a pressure rise to 74 bar (1070
balance drum and center sleeves are hard coated
psig) per stage, it is necessary to conduct a dynamics
to improve resistance to erosion and galling in the
analysis of each design of impeller used on a given
event of incidental contact during operation. Direct
rotor to verify that:
laser deposited tungsten carbide is the usual hard
a) Stator vane passing frequencies do not excite a coating material.
mode of the impeller shrouds’ natural frequencies
[Figure 5] Rotor assembly

b) Fatigue life at high stress points in the impellers is The means of installing and removing the rotor’s
acceptable [Figure 6] mounted components — impellers, sleeves, balance
drum, thrust collar and coupling hub — are interference
There have been instances of impeller failure that fits, each located on a different shaft diameter.
reinforce the need for impeller dynamic analysis. Components or assemblies that are replaced during
field maintenance, e.g., shaft seals and bearings, first
require removal of the pump’s coupling hub and thrust
collar, both of which are installed and removed using oil
injection shrink fits. Shaft seals are typically cartridge
type, mounted with a clearance fit on two diameters
to minimize the length of close-fit engagement during
installation and removal.

Figure 5: Impeller dynamics analysis: Figure 6: Stress distribution in impeller discharge

0 circle – 2 diameter (0.2) mode vane-shroud junction

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 Hydraulics The selection of double-suction, first-stage impellers to
lower pump NPSHR is generally counter-productive in
The typical seawater injection system today has a high-pressure water injection pumps for two reasons:
minimum of the following equipment/systems upstream
• The number of stages is effectively reduced to
of the injection pump:
n+(0.7)2 = n+0.5, where n is the number of single-
• Seawater lift pump(s) – raise water from the suction impellers. This is because the feasible
ocean for treatment before injection diameter of a double-suction first stage in a type
BB5 pump is nominally 0.7 of the series stages, a
• Deaerator – lowers the O2 content of the
consequence of the crossovers needed to conduct
injection water
water to the second-stage impeller.
• Water treatment (O2, S) – further removal of O2
• The inner side of the first-stage impeller has two
and removal of sulfur
obstructions (i.e., crossovers) in its inlet passage
Selection criteria for the booster pump must include when the pump has a radially split stator. There are
developing sufficient head to have NPSHA at the four obstructions (i.e., the crossovers plus the split
injection pump above incipient NPSH (NPSHi) over the joint flange) when the inner casing is axially split.
pump’s operating flow range.
Generated head per stage is currently on the order
Specific speed (Ns), number of stages (n) and rotative of 725 m (2400 ft) and has proven viable in operation
speed (N) are intrinsic to rotor design for bending in the Gulf of Mexico. A design for 760 m (2500 ft) of
stiffness and to develop the required pressure rise at head per stage is in production. Interestingly, a pump
rated flow. Given the interaction between rotor and with even higher operating ratings — a four-stage,
hydraulic design, the development of the final design 11 000 rpm pump developing 860 m (2800 ft) of head
is necessarily iterative. per stage — was installed on a platform in the North
Sea circa 1980. Data on the operating history of this
Inlet peripheral velocity, U1, is now typically ≥ 60 m/s
pump, however, are meager.
(200 ft/s). Therefore, the first-stage impeller has to be
designed for incipient NPSH below NPSHA throughout
the pump’s operating flow range in order to avoid
cavitation erosion. Achieving this often requires an
unconventional inlet design, potentially affecting both
the suction guide in the casing and the inlet geometry
of the first-stage impeller. The former provides close
to uniform flow distribution into the first-stage impeller;
the latter minimizes the pressure reduction on the
underside of the inlet region of the vanes. Flow analysis
by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has produced
significant gains in this aspect of hydraulic design and
in diffusion of the high-velocity flow leaving the impeller.

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 Stator Double volute stators are generally axially split, a
feature found in API type BB3 pumps. These pumps
Two stator designs are employed in the inner casing: were the first used in high-pressure injection service
diffuser [Figure 7] and twin volute [Figure 8]. In (often in series) and influenced subsequent water
almost all cases, diffuser stators are radially split. injection pump designs.
The complexity of producing zero-leakage axially split
The first aspect of stator design to be considered is
diffusers to allow installation of assembled rotors (as is
the accurate reproduction of the stator’s hydraulic
done in centrifugal compressors) has been resolutely
geometry and passage surface finish. Diffuser stators
determined impracticable in terms of cost vis-à-vis
typically have diffuser passages milled into the stage
benefit analyses.
piece casting when cantilever vanes are acceptable.
This results in highly accurate reproductions of
geometry and excellent surface finish. When cantilever
vanes are not acceptable, the diffuser is produced
as a separate precision casting, machined as
necessary and finally attached to the stage piece
on an interference centering fit. Pins are used to
accommodate the reaction torque produced between
the rotor and stator. Similar geometry reproduction and
surface finish are feasible in large axially split, double
volute stators. Achieving this, however, becomes more
difficult as the stator decreases in size, thereby limiting
Figure 7: Diffuser access to the long, small cross-section passages
stator design
inherent in that design.

A second critical issue to assess is the effect of

stator diameter on the pressure boundary design
as the rated flow and discharge pressure rise. This
consideration puts axially split, double volute stators at
a disadvantage because their outside diameters are
larger than equivalent diffuser stators, thus increasing
the diameter of the casing and casing cover and
therefore, the weight of the pump. With maximum
allowable working pressure (MAWP) already at 810 bar
(11 750 psig), every design feature contributing to
lower gross weight becomes very important.

Figure 8: Twin volute

stator design

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 Pressure boundary When MAWP of the high-pressure region is ≥ 700
bar (10 000 psig), the required design code is ASME
The pressure boundary includes the pump’s shaft Section VIII, Division 3. The analysis requirements
seals. When the casing is rated for a single MAWP of Division 3 are intended to model the behavior
that is based on discharge pressure, the shaft seals of the actual material at a local level, thus finite
must be capable of containing that pressure in a static element analysis (FEA) is mandatory. Given the better
state. The pressure rise across high-pressure water knowledge of the local stress, the hydrostatic test
injection pumps is already so high that rating the entire pressure ratio is reduced to 1.25 times MAWP.
casing for one pressure level is impractical. A number
of oil companies have come to this conclusion and
now allow the pressure boundary to be rated for two
Materials
pressures: one MAWP based on maximum discharge Most high-pressure water injection pumps built today
pressure; the second lower MAWP based on the are for offshore installations. As such, materials of
highest operating pressure in the low-pressure regions construction generally are Material Class D2, 25Cr
of the casing. duplex stainless steel, as stated in Annex H of API
610, 11th Edition/ISO 13709:E(2009), with the following
MAWP of the low-pressure regions is unlikely to be
comments (see Table 1):
greater than 140 bar (2000 psig) and is therefore
designed to ASME Section VIII, Division 1 or 2.

Table 1: Comments regarding Materials Class D2, per Annex H of API 610, 11th Edition/ISO 13709:E(2009)

MATERIALS
Forged and rough machined bar of A182, Gr 55, UNS S32750, has proven more stable than hot
Shaft
rolled bar, thus allowing manufacture of shafts whose runout stays within allowable limits.

Precision casting, A890, Gr 5A, radiographic quality. EDM was used by owner circa 1980 to
produce replacement impellers from forged Ferralium 255 for waterflood injection pumps.
Impellers EDM has not been used for production pump impeller manufacture to date, although it is
now common practice for centrifugal compressor impellers. Hubs are hard coated with DLD of
WC (typically 60WC/40Ni).

Balance Drum Forged A182, Gr 55, UNS 32750, OD hard coated as are impeller hubs

Diffusers As impellers if separate

Stage Pieces Inner

Sand cast, ASTM A890, Gr. 5A
Casing (twin volute)

Wear Rings Bar stock, UNS 32750, hard coated with DLD WC (typically 60WC/40Ni)

Forging. Risk of sigma phase formation limits allowable production thickness of super duplex
castings or forgings to a conservative 200 mm (8 in). As necessary, wall thickness for high-
Casing
pressure water injection pumps is usually > 200 mm (8 in), forged carbon steel with all wetted
surfaces weld overlaid with Inconel 625 are typically specified.

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 Conclusions
Much has been achieved in water injection pump
design since the early 1970s. But there are more
challenges to meet and pump hydraulics barriers
to break. With the design tools available today, an
eye to the practical and careful attention to detail,
the challenges now ahead of us can be confidently
confronted.

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 TEC H N IC A L A RT ICLE

About the author

James T. (Terry) McGuire
James T. McGuire is Director and Chief Engineer of Custom Engineered
Pumps at Flowserve Corporation. He has more than 51 years of experience
in the pump industry, starting with Worthington in 1965. He has dedicated
a considerable portion of his career to advancing the design of high-energy
pumps used in oil production and refining as well as electric power generation.
McGuire earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the
NSW Institute of Technology in Sydney, Australia. Over his career, he has
authored or co-authored scores of technical papers covering a variety of
pump types and topics.

Flowserve Corporation Flowserve Corporation has established industry leadership in the design and manufacture of its products.
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