Mining Institute, M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University (Yakutsk, Russia):

Ovchinnikov N. P., Director, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor, ovchinnlar1986@mail.ru

Low operational reliability is characteristic of the pumping equipment (domestic and foreign slurry pumps) at all processing plants, the bearing assembly being one of their least reliable elements. Bearing failure can account for up to half of all slurry pump downtime. Heavy loading is the main cause of premature bearing failure and is caused, in most cases, by an imbalance of the impeller developing due to abrasion by suspended solids, which may be evidenced by an increase in the centrifugal force of inertia. In practice, in addition to intensive hydroabrasive wear of the impeller, shock waves resulting from the collapse of cavitation cavities also contribute to higher centrifugal forces of inertia when pumping abrasive slurries. The development of cavitation in pumps at processing plants is explained by the throttling of the pump suction line in order to ensure the required performance. This article assesses the consequences of slurry pump operation in cavitation conditions for the vibration characteristics of its parts and assemblies. In respective experimental studies, certain regularities have been identified behind the variations of the rootmean-square value (RMS) of the vibration velocity of a pump (similar to a slurry pump) depending on the performance controlled by throttling the suction line. It has been established that suction line throttling can additionally increase the RMS of the vibration velocity for the bearings of pumping equipment at processing plants by 10–15 %. The results of this research will be useful to pumping equipment operators at mining enterprises.

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