WEDA submersible pumps' hydraulic design for sustained performance
10 Mart 2022 Perşembe
Electric submersible pumps are often required to deliver in very different environments. They are moved around and have to operate under varying conditions, which can impact pump performance. Besides, solids suspended in water can cause an impeller to wear and prematurely fail.
Atlas Copco launched an innovative high-tech platform for its WEDA range of electric submersible pumps that protects the impeller, ensuring sustained performance for months. Alexey Flidlider is one of the engineers responsible for the design and development of the Wear Deflector Technology, which enables construction and industrial sites to remove sand-laden water more reliably and improve productivity.
What are the most significant features of the Wear Deflector Technology?
The unique diffuser geometry, made of polyurethane (PU) and integrated solids deflecting vanes. This combination of geometry and material is unique and offers the best sustainable performance and wear resistance in the market. The specially designed geometry of the closed-type high-chrome iron impeller minimizes cavitation, provides high erosion resistance and hydraulic efficiency (less power consumption per liter of pumped water). All these features together make up the innovative Wear Deflector technology, patented by Atlas Copco.
What are the main advantages of the new WEDA D70?
Besides its efficiency and resistance to wear, the main advantages of the new pump model are robustness and serviceability. The special water-cooled design of the electrical motor has a high allowance for dry running, something that is often important to our customers. The state-of-the-art stainless steel cartridge seal system increases robustness and is easy to service, which means less downtime for the end-user and for dealers, who rent out the pumps and must service them.
We designed a unique yellow canopy combining easily accessible built-in electrical configurations and interfaces for the global market, as well as various options of cable and discharge connections.
How was the WEDA D70 designed?
The project started back in 2018 as an investigation for a new hydraulic concept. We carried out Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and verified the results by building several functional prototypes using internal additive manufacturing capabilities (3D-printing). Then, in 2019, the project was officially approved, and with the large technical experience of the whole team, we started to build the pump around the hydraulic geometry.
In the final stage, before the official product launch, we carried out several different tests on the prototypes to ensure optimum robustness and performance.
How prepared is Atlas Copco to address the needs of this market segment compared to its competitors?
We have a great team of motivated professionals, with recognized expertise, and we have the products, technology, and a unique production line. It is a good opportunity to increase our market share.
What impact can this renewed WEDA range have in Atlas Copco Power and Flow?
Because of the technical challenge, the WEDA D70 was the most critical one, and it is the first model that offers the new platform. We started working on the design back in 2018 and released it in mid-2021.
We are looking forward to getting feedback from our customers so that we can learn from it and include their insights in future processes. The plan is to come up with a range of pumps with a similar design and external appearance in the coming years. I believe both our customers and Atlas Copco will benefit from this journey to improve our electric submersible pumps portfolio.
About Alexey Flidlider
With 13 years of experience in dewatering pumps. Alexey holds a Diploma of Engineering specialized in Hydraulic Machinery from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. He joined Atlas Copco in 2017, and his current position is Senior Hydraulic Design Engineer.
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