10.5 million litres of water is circulated with the help of KBL’s 10 concrete volute pump sets every minute
Global fluid management company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. (KBL) has collaborated with Tata Power and installed the world’s largest circulating water pumping system for Tata Power’s Mundra UMPP (Ultra Modern Power Plant).
A mammoth 10.5 million litres of water is circulated with the help of KBL’s 10 concrete volute pump sets every minute. The Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd. (CGPL), Tata Power’s wholly-owned subsidiary, which has implemented the 4,000 MW (800 MW x 5 units) UMPP requires massive amounts of water to condense the heat generated in the production of power.
Ravindra Ulangwar, Associate Vice President and Head – Power Sector, KBL said, “The layout of the pumping system is designed in such a way that large fluctuations in the sea water level due to tidal variation are taken care of. The motors are installed above the high tide level whereas pumps are installed in such a way that enough submergence is available during low tide levels. To accommodate this, motors are connected to the pump shaft with a specially designed cardon shaft. The length of the cardon shaft with universal coupling is 12 metres, making it one of the longest pump shafts. The entire pumping system is so large that it has become the largest circulating water system in the world.”
In order to ensure the perfect flow pattern for smooth operation of the pumps, KBL also conducted a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis, followed by a physical model study for the fore-bay and sump at the Hydraulic Research Centre at Kirloskarvadi. A prototype physical model was built to 1:12 scale ratio. KBL also conducted a pump model study to establish the hydraulic performance of the concrete volute pumps.
The Mundra UMPP is India’s first and most energy efficient coal-based thermal power plant using supercritical technology to create lower greenhouse gas emissions and its main power generation equipment is sourced from Japan and Korea.