| Title | TE MIHI GEOTHERMAL POWER STATION – HOTWELL PUMPS – A TALE OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES |
|---|---|
| Authors | D. Morrison |
| Year | 2017 |
| Conference | New Zealand Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | Hot Well Pump, Vibration, Cavitation |
| Abstract | The Te Mihi geothermal power station hotwell pumps (HWP) are a special duty “closed can” design of pump used to extract condensate under vacuum from a direct contact condenser and return it to the cooling tower (CT). During procurement the Engineer Procure Construct (EPC) contractor pursued a variation with the pump Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for the closed can material selection. With the change in material, the can shape was modified from a typical Hydraulic Institute type of design and this affected the hydraulic performance of the can. This case study reviews a number of lessons learned for design impacts from an apparently small change. |