The Haltern Waterworks of GELSENWASSER AG were built in 1908. Today,they are among the largest of their kind in Europe, suppling drinking water to over one million residents in more than 20 communities and to the business and industry in the Ruhr and Münsterland regions of Germany.

The two water dams in Haltern and Hullern and the Haltener sand deposits with a thickness of up to 200 meters provide ideal conditions for water collection.

Figure 1: The vertical motor is flange-mounted directly above the centrifugal pump. Alignment corrections are made by shifting the electrical motor on the flange

A total of 16 centrifugal pumps feed the water into the pipe network. Haltern Waterworks have an annual capacity of 129 million cubic meters.

The 16 pumps consist of 13 verticalpumps with an electrical power rating of 1,100 KW at 1,486 rpm and 3 horizontal pumps with an electrical power rating of 1,600 KW at 742 rpm.

Figure 2: The structure of the vertical pump is graphically depicted in the report with details that allow it to be readily identified

The machines are overhauled every 5 years and are then remounted and realigned. Good alignment ensures smooth operation of the pumps throughout their service life. On account of the long service interval, it is important to optimize all of the parameters to keep the machines running properly until the next scheduled overhaul.

Figure 3: The entire pump aggregate is mounted on vibration dampers for smoother running

Incorrect alignment leads to a markedly higher level of vibration, which can cause premature damage to the bearings and floating ring seals.

Figure 4: Vertical pump after remounting but before alignment

Immediately after the overhaul and reinstallation of the motor, technicians check the alignment and, if necessary, correct it before the machinery goes back into operation.The vertical pump is measured using OPTALIGN smart RS

First, the procedure requires the machine dimensions and flange sizes such as the flange diameter, bolt circle diameter and number of bolts.The readings are taken at predefined locations.Ideally, up to 8 measurements can be taken at an interval of 45°. These measurements are then used to compute the results.

Figure 5: Installation of the laser and receiver with the mounted Bluetooth module

This is a time-consuming process as the cardan shaft first needs to be disassembled and the cardan shaft bracket must be carefully installed to ensure that it rests flatly against the shaft of the roller.

Figure 6: Adjusting bolts on all four sides of the motor are designed for adjusting the

After the motor has been aligned, final verification measurements are taken and stored electronically for quality assurance.

Figure 7: After correction and final measurement, the motor exhibits perfect alignment of the shafts.

The final report can be copied directly from OPTALIGN smart RS onto a flash drive in the form of a PDF file, or the data stored directly on the device and later archived and printed, if necessary, using the ALIGNMENT CENTER Windows PC software. This software can also be used to prepare the report, save and forward it in various formats.

Conclusion:

Mr. Jochen Schwenz, head of the service department, had positive things to say about the new measurement system.
“The alignment of our machines can now be accomplished in just a short period of time, with time savings of several hours for each pump. In addition, we can now be sure that there will be no unexpected damage due to alignment errors.
Not only that, but our work has been documented and can be used for internal quality assurance. That’s immensely important considering the strict regulations we need to comply with in the interest of maintaining excellent water quality.”

Contact us:

Anne-France Carter
Tel.: +4-89-99616-235
Email: [email protected]
PR‹FTECHNIK AG
Oskar-Messter-Str. 19-21
85737 Ismaning, Germany

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