Title: Improvement in motor performance during high-pressure pump starting at NDDP, Kalpakkam

Authors: R. Nagaraj, V. Murugan, A.Y. Dangore, K.L. Thalor, A.K. Saxena, S. Prabhakar, P.K. Tewari

Addresses: NDDP, BARC Facilities, Kalpakkam, Postal code: 603 102, India. ' NDDP, BARC Facilities, Kalpakkam, Postal code: 603 102, India. ' NDDP, BARC Facilities, Kalpakkam, Postal code: 603 102, India. ' Desalination Division, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai, India. ' Desalination Division, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai, India. ' Desalination Division, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai, India. ' Desalination Division, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai, India

Abstract: The major energy requirement required for a seawater reverse osmosis plant is in the form of electrical energy. The primary energy requirement in the process is the electrical energy fed to high-pressure pumps to pressurise the feed seawater to the membranes. This high-pressure pump, being a high inertia load, requires very high torque at the time of starting. This requirement results in increased acceleration time of the motor, which subsequently increases the strain on the upstream electrical system from motor feeder to transformer. Such starting characteristic necessitates provision of a special starting scheme for the high-pressure pump motors. The seawater reverse osmosis plant of the Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project (NDDP) was commissioned in October 2002 at Kalpakkam, India. This paper presents the experiences of problems faced owing to the typical starting characteristics of high-pressure pumps and provision of series reactor type motor starter for the same.

Keywords: seawater desalination; seawater reverse osmosis; SWRO; nuclear desalination demonstration project; NDDP; high pressure pumps; HPP; soft starters; harmonics free series reactor; HFSR; pump motors; motor performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJND.2008.018929

International Journal of Nuclear Desalination, 2008 Vol.3 No.1, pp.56 - 68

Published online: 23 Jun 2008 *

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