Project challenge: Design a pump test rig with accuracy to 0.25%

The customer is a large South African parastatal organisation which wanted to determine the efficiency of their pump stations used for pumping oil/petrol and diesel up from the coast to Johannesburg.
They have a number of drive/motor/pump combinations and needed to categorise these systems with an eye on future expansion. JAD Systems was asked to supply a solution that would accurately categorise the pump system to within 0.25%.
HOW DO WE DETERMINE THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR PUMP STATIONS?

JAD solution

After collaboration and some research, the JAD Systems solutions comprised the following:  
  • Supply of a mobile test system with a quality power analyser (Newtons fourth PPA2530) and probes to measure the electrical supply (Voltage probes and Rogowski coils).
  • ​Supply of a torque transducer (Magtrol torque flange) to measure the mechanical energy between the motor and the pump already allowing for the measurement of efficiency of the motor.
  • With the implementation of the measurement of flow (using current infrastructure) as well as fluid temperature and pressure (we made use of Gems temp/pressure probes ) we could accurately deduce the efficiency of the pump system.
  • All this information was logged making use of JAD X-Tract software.
  • Efficiency performance charts were then created in MSExcel reports for a wide range of duty cycles, pump loads and pressure heads.

With this information in hand the customer could decide which hardware combinations are best suited to which pump site and the weather in order to either use a drive or go direct online for the feeds.