NI‐RESIST PUMPS SHOULD OUTLAST POWER STATION

Abstract

After six years' arduous service, it has been estimated that eight cooling‐water pumps at a U.K. power station are in such good condition that they will outlast the life of the station itself. This follows the introduction of Ni‐Resist Type 2 austenitic cast iron (containing 20% nickel) for the pump casings and covers, and Type 316 nickel stainless steel for the impellers. The pumps handle salty silt‐laden water and those first installed, made of non‐alloyed cast iron, had to be replaced after only ten years' service — during which time they frequently had to be repaired by welding. Since the changeover to Ni‐Resist and stainless steel, repairs to casings and impellers have become a thing of the past. The power station is situated at Uskmouth on the tidal estuary of the rivers Usk and Severn, just outside Newport, Wales, where the rise and fall of each tide — about 43ft (13m) — is one of the largest in the world. The pumps were made by Allen Gwynnes Pumps Limited, Bedford, and the Ni‐Resist casings and covers were cast by Glenfield and Kennedy Limited, Kilmarnock, Scotland.

Citation

(1974), "NI‐RESIST PUMPS SHOULD OUTLAST POWER STATION", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 21 No. 8, pp. 12-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb006956