20-03-2013

Flowserve expands pump testing facility capabilities

Flowserve Corporation, a leading provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, today announced it has completed an upgrade of its open loop test bench at its Coslada, Spain, manufacturing and testing facility. Responding to the market trend for both larger cooling water pumps and increased testing capabilities, the test bench now accommodates flows up to 90,000 m3/h (400,000 gpm) for a total differential head (TDH) of 10.5 m (34.4 ft), making it among the largest and most versatile of its type in the world.

Flowserve customers can now readily obtain actual site condition tests together with run-out flow verification at the point of manufacture, making the Coslada test facility well positioned and fully capable of meeting customer testing needs in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

"The expanded capabilities at the Coslada test facility further underscore our commitment to satisfy our customers' needs for high-quality pumps and technical services," said Jim Quain, president, Flowserve Engineered Pump Operations. "We recognize their investment in special purpose vertical pumps is significant, and we work hard every day to confirm our customers' confidence in us by providing world-class performance testing and verification support."

The upgraded test loop now covers an area of 1,800 m2 (19,400 ft2) at a depth of 8.5 m (27 ft), fitted with anti-vortex devices to handle the increased flow characteristics. It can accommodate motors up to 5 MW (6,700 hp) with variable frequency drive from 20 to 66 Hz. The addition of a multi-size discharge manifold provides the flexibility to test pumps with discharge ports to 2,750 mm (108.3 in).