FMEA
Centrifugal pump failure modes, and how to start an FMEA
Centrifugal pumps show up in almost every plant, which is why they are a reasonable first FMEA. A useful starting list is not a substitute for the modes on your machine, in your duty, with your fluid and your suction conditions. Treat every imported mode as a prompt: is this plausible here, or not?
A starting set, not a complete set
- Seal leakage or seal failure (mechanical seal or packing)
- Bearing wear, lubrication loss, or misalignment-driven bearing failure
- Impeller wear, plugging, or cavitation damage
- Coupling failure, or shaft breakage / fatigue
- Loss of prime, suction blockage, or gas ingestion
- Motor or driver faults that present as a pump stop
- Case or volute wear, gasket leaks, and relief or recycle path failures, where those functions exist
For each mode, write the local effect (what the operator sees), the wider effect (what the plant loses), and the existing controls. Then decide whether a task is justified. A free 28-mode sample from the Apex library is available as the centrifugal pump mini-library. The full Failure Mode Library covers pumps and five other equipment classes. A complete instructional RCM on a representative pump train is the BFP-2 worked analysis.