Diagnosis of Submersible Centrifugal Pumps: A Motor Current and Power Signature Approaches

Abstract Early detection of undesired conditions during the operation of a centrifugal pump has become very important in order to avoid consequential damages, thus outage time and repair costs can be reduced. Faults in centrifugal pumps can be caused through the changes in flow conditions such as cavitation, that lead to impeller degradation and ultimately to the deterioration and breakdown of pump material. In this project the diagnosis of a submersible centrifugal pump is performed, proving that it is possible to detect not only when cavitation is present but also when it starts using the current and power signature analyses of its motor drive as diagnostic tools. Experimental currents and voltages are measured for different operating points of the pump in order to study the correlation between the cavitation phenomena and the power of the motor.

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