Slurry equipment solutions provider Weir Minerals’ Warman centrifugal pumps range illustrates the long-term cost benefit of buying durable equipment, the company says, noting that a focus on lowering total cost of ownership (TOC) is the driving force behind all its recent innovations.

One such innovation is the Warman MCR mill circuit pump, used in mill discharge, cyclone feed and wet crusher applications. The pump was designed with an easily adjustable throatbush that has helped reduce wear and downtime.

The full-face adjustment capability of the throatbush is designed to decrease wear. Meanwhile, the clamshell quick-change procedure can help reduce the total wet-end change-out time for the large MCR 550 or 650 pumps by 50%.

Weir Minerals engineering director Ron Bourgeois says that weekly adjustment of the preswirl throatbush has dramatically improved the wear life of the throatbush and impeller in severe duty applications.

As the mill circuit demands a longer wear life, the MCR pump is equipped with extra-thick interchangeable metal or rubber liners that allow customers to optimise different materials for their application.

Beyond the mill circuit, Warman pumps also include a number of other innovations that optimise performance for lowest TCO.
The Warman froth pump, featuring a continuous air removal system, is designed to provide problem-free pumping of the most tenacious froths in mineral circuits, while the Warman AHPP pumps, for tailings applications, are designed to achieve the highest possible pressure transfers.

Meanwhile, the Warman WBV pumps range features integrated impeller agitation vanes to prevent sump blockages.

The new Warman WBH pump is designed for heavy-duty process, feed and tailings applications. It features a one-point throatbush adjustment that can be easily operated while the pump is running. Since the throatbush can be kept close to the face of the impeller without shutting down the pump, wear and downtime are reduced.

The wear components of the WBH pump are designed and optimised using state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics methods. Wear life is also increased owing to the large-capacity bearings, commercial labyrinth-style bearing end cover seals, encapsulated high-pressure rubber seals and high-pressure metal and rubber liners.

Streamlined impeller and volute design flow paths improve efficiency and energy, and a large- diameter Warman Hi-Seal expeller seals effectively under high-pressure intakes.

The Warman WRT impeller-throatbush combination increases wear life by an average of 30% to 50%, compared with the standard Warman AH pump impeller-throatbush combination. The lower net positive suction head requirements also contribute to extending the wear life.

The WRT impeller-throatbush combination is also designed to reduce power consumption and cuts costs. Rubber and metal part combinations are available, and updated Warman WRT parts can be easily retrofitted to existing Warman pumps.

Bourgeois says the Warman AH pump is still the pre-eminent general to heavy-duty slurry pump. Applied in sand and gravel, mineral processing, tailings and mill circuit, he notes, using the same pump in multiple duties allows customers to use common spare parts and maintenance practices.

The ruggedness, durability and high-quality materials of the Warman pump are designed to provide trouble-free operation and elininate unplanned maintenance stoppages.

While Warman pumps are still built around Charles Warman’s basic design principles, innovation has improved the pump’s performance and kept it relevant in an evolving market. The hydraulic efficiency of the pump has been improved and new longer-wear materials are employed to ensure longer part life.

Much of Weir’s innovation is a result of direct customer feedback. Strategy, sales and marketing director Fred Bradner observes that“ . . . [customers] let us know what works and what does not and we use this information to continually improve the performance of our products”.

The solutions to customer problems are explored and developed by Weir Minerals’ extensive research and development (R&D) programme.

At their Pump Design Centre of Origin (DCO), in Sydney, Australia, Weir Minerals has dedicated teams of engineers and technicians focused on Warman pump R&D and the development of advanced alloys and elastomer materials.

The design centre in Wisconsin, in the US, has additional teams of engineers and designers working on the Warman MCR, MCU, HTP, XU, MDC and GSL pump product lines.

Weir Minerals has another 19 DCOs worldwide, where Warman products undergo extensive lab testing, as well as virtual testing using modern computation techniques such as computational fluid dynamics and modelling. This virtual testing means Weir Minerals can evaluate numerous variations of the Warman pump range before manufacturing starts.

Warman centrifugal slurry pumps have been renowned in the market for 77 years for their superior level of reliability. Pump inventor, Charles Warman, developed one of the first rubber-lined slurry pumps in 1938, and its simple design, robust build and easy serviceability have made it a popular choice of slurry pump ever since.