# Software for Monitoring the In-Service Efficiency of Hydraulic Pumps
## 6 Conclusions and Perspectives
Therefore, the investigations conducted on the hydraulic pump installed in the laboratory have shown that the relative error of the volumetric flow rate estimated by the software module against the value measured by the flowmeter is up to \(-5.6\%\) for the operating points with a flow rate below \(25\%\) of the value of the BEP. In exchange, the limit of the relative error is between \(-4.192\%\) and \(+0.113\%\) for all operating points, except those with a volumetric flow rate below \(25\%\)\(Q_{BEP}\). The experimental data supports the conclusion that the software module allows estimating the flow rate of the operating point when there is no (or no possibility of installing) flowmeter installed. Estimating the volumetric flow rate using the software module is an additional gain on top of the assessment of the operating regime of the pump. The sensitivity analysis of the input variables and parameters used in the algorithm highlighted their impact on the deviation of the output quantity (pump efficiency) and the operating point. The most significant impact on the efficiency deviation is provided by the pressure (\(p_{d/s}\)) values acquired at the discharge and the suction of the pump. That is why the input data must be accurate enough to diminish the influence of the output value (e.g., the pump efficiency \(\eta_{P}\)). It is recommended that the data recorded by the pressure transducers are taken over directly to the software module to avoid any reading and data input errors. The impact of the discharge and suction pipe diameters (\(D_{d/s}\)) on the deviation efficiency is all the more significant when the selected values are smaller than the actual ones. Therefore, it is recommended that the outer diameters of the discharge and suction pipes be selected in the software module if it is not possible to measure the inner ones. In this case, the influence of the length (\(l_{s/d}\)) of the suction/discharge line between the pressure manometers (transducers) as well as the pump flanges and the longitudinal hydraulic losses coefficient (\(\lambda_{s/d}\)) along the suction/discharge line on the efficiency deviation are negligible. These input data can have a greater impact on the pump efficiency deviation if the measuring instruments are located at large distances from the pump and the pipelines have been in operation for a long time. The impact of the operating point on the pump efficiency deviation is all the greater the further we move away from the BEP. The implementation of the software within the regional water supply company AQUATIM S.A. for monitoring in situ operations of pumps highlighted the demand for software products that can monitor high-efficiency pump operating regimes, justifying electricity costs according to European Union requirements, and supporting the predictive maintenance. Note that the regional water supply company manages a fleet of hundreds of different hydraulic pumps, ranging from a few kilowatts to megawatts, that are distributed over a geographical area of hundreds of square kilometers. The development and implementation of software solutions to monitor the operation of the pump fleets are crucial in the management of the available resources in critical infrastructures. The last section of the paper contains the results obtained with the software module for the Worthington 500 LLN-775A double-suction pump of 1 MW, which supplies drinkable water to the Timisoara city. The Worthington pumps are the most powerful pumps in the AQUATIM fleet and have been in service for 23 years. The pump's duty point at speed of 993 rpm is identified at the boundary between the green and the yellow region (at a greater flow rate than that corresponding to the BEP flow rate value). The choice of the pump's duty point for the maximum speed of 993 rpm is justified by the maximum flow rate of drinkable water supplied from this water treatment plant to Timisoara city. In situ operation of the pumps with variable speed drive (VSD) is used to supply the variable flow rate needed by the consumers.