ABSTRACT
The major components of the life cycle cost of ownership are initial cost, installation cost, operating cost, and maintenance cost. In process plants it has been found that under many circumstances the cost of unscheduled maintenance is the most significant cost of ownership. Other chapters of this book deal primarily with mechanical means of improving reliability, while this chapter addresses pump life improvements that can be achieved through proper pump hydraulic selection. Further improvement could be realized if more attention were paid to key hydraulic factors, such as those associated with pump hydraulic forces (dynamic and static), cavitation, and wear within the pump (Ref. 5-1).
