Development of a predictive maintenance system for a centrifugal pump

An approach is presented for the development of a predictive maintenance system for rotor‐dynamic pumps, which focuses on the diagnosis of abnormal events related to fluid‐dynamic operating conditions. This methodology is based on an experimental characterization of the dynamic response of the pump under different loads and operation anomalies. The procedure has been put into practice on a medium‐sized centrifugal pump. The results obtained show that a simple spectral analysis of the pressure signals captured at either the inlet or the outlet of the pump can provide sufficient decision criteria to constitute the basis for a diagnostic system. This was not true however when analyzing signals of acceleration at the pump casing.