Boiler feed pump monitoring

Boiler feed pumps

The boiler feed pump is among the hardest-working auxiliaries on a power unit. It holds boiler feed flow and head — any upset immediately limits turbine and generator output.

Unplanned unit downtime in Kazakhstan is measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. Cavitation, bearing wear and drive issues show weeks earlier if you trend ultrasound, vibration and motor current.

Monitoring points

• Suction / NPSH — cavitation noise and head instability
• Pump and motor bearings — SDT ultrasound, Bently/SCOUT vibration
• Axial position on large machines — proximity / 3500
• Drive — Artesis e-MCM motor current from the MCC
• Gearbox / fluid coupling if fitted

Recommended stack

Continuous Artesis on the motor + Bently protection on critical BFPs; SDT340 rounds; SCOUT route spectra. Trend ultrasound dB and vibration RMS before an emergency trip.

See steam turbines, cooling water pumps, condensate pumps.

Olympus — NDT and remote visual inspection

• Thickness gauging — casings, piping and vessels (39DL PLUS)
• Videoscopes — cavities and flow paths on outages (IPLEX One)

Catalogs: NDT · endoscopes · Olympus brand.