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Messages for Manufacturing Personnel
http://www.aiche.org/CCPS/Publications/Beacon/index.aspx
Can a Water Pump Explode?
The answer must be yes, or we would not have a Beacon on this subject. The centrifugal pumps in the pictures are all water pumps that exploded. The explosions did not occur because of any contamination or chemical reaction with something that was not supposed to be in the pump. In fact, explosions like this have happened with very pure water in boiler feedwater pumps, condensate pumps, and deionized water pumps.
How did these explosions happen? The pumps were operated for some period of time with both the pump suction and discharge valves closed. Because water cannot flow through the pump, all of the energy that normally goes into pumping is instead converted to heat. When water is heated, it expands, generating hydrostatic pressure inside the pump. This may be enough pressure to cause the pump to fail -...