Experiment on performance

Characteristics of centrifugal
pump

Presented by: Ram Krishna Singh

Roll No: 065-MSREE-509
Objective

Analyzing performance characteristics of

centrifugal pump(s) with respect to head
developed, discharge and Power Outcome,
when operating
•single
• arranged in series and
•Arranged in parallel
Drawing Conclusion from the Experiment
Pump

Pump is defined as a device that adds energy

to the working fluid itself so that Mechanical
Energy is converted into useful Fluid Energy.

Objectives of the pump

•Transfer of liquid from one place to another place (e.g. water

from an underground aquifer into a water storage tank)

•Circulate liquid around a system (e.g. cooling water or lubricants

through machines and equipment)
 Centrifugal pump
Centrifugal Pump is a special kind of rotodynamic pump in
which the fluid approaches the impeller axially, turns at the
machine’s inlet so that flow out through the impeller is in the
plane of impeller’s rotation.

How it works
The impeller spins & throws water out.

Like swinging a bucket of water above your head and staying dry
or
Throwing clay on a potter's wheel and wearing it.

Low pressure is formed in the inlet.

The lower the pressure, the higher the pump can "suck."

Atmospheric pressure pushes more water in.

It is this simple - this is the major part of pump theory !
PUMPS DON'T SUCK
Pumping System Characteristics
• Head destination

• Resistance of the system Static

head
• Two types: static and friction

• Static head source

• Difference in height between source and
destination of the pumped liquid
• Independent of flow
Static
head
• Friction head
• Loss needed to overcome that is caused by
resistance to flow in pipe and fittings
• Depends on size, pipes, pipe fittings, flow rate, Flow
nature of liquid
• Proportional to square of flow rate Friction
head
• Closed loop system only has friction head
(no static head)

Flow
Pumping System Characteristics
Pump performance curve Head
• Relationship between head and flow
• Flow increase
• System resistance increases
• Head increases Flow
• Flow decreases to zero
• Zero flow rate: risk of pump burnout

•The head and flow rate determine the performance of a pump, which is
graphically shown in the Figure as the performance curve or pump
characteristic curve.

•The figure shows a typical curve of a centrifugal pump where the head
gradually decreases with increasing flow.

•As the resistance of a system increases, the head will also increase. This
in turn causes the flow rate to decrease and will eventually reach zero. A
zero flow rate is only acceptable for a short period without causing to the
pump to burn out.
 Pumping System Characteristics
In most cases:
Total head = Static head + friction head

System
System
curve
Friction curve
head
System System
head head Friction
Static head head

Static head

Flow Flow

In most cases the total head of a system is a combination of static head and friction head
as shown in the figures
Left figure is system with a high static head (i.e. the destination reservoir is much higher
than the source)
Right figure is system with a low static head (i.e. the destination reservoir is not much
higher than the source)
Pump head - discharge curve
When a pump is filled with the fluid to be operated at
normal speed with discharge closed, the head developed
Head
is called shutoff head.

Ideally, this would appear to be a case of a force vortex

create with pressure head difference between eye and
impeller periphery is (u22 –u12)/2g. Flow

•The figure shows that the pump efficiency increases with the increase in
discharge flow, until it reaches optimum value and starts to decrease.
When pumps operate beyond this optimum condition, problems such as
cavitation and hammering starts to occur.
Pump characteristics
Usually manufacturers produces characteristics curves
for the pump with different impeller diameter and
operating speed.
•Discharge is directly proportional to the speed
•Head is proportional to square of speed
•Power input is proportional to the cube of the speed

Where,
Q= discharge liter/sec
H = head in meter
Pi = power input
Pump characteristics
If the pump operates at constant speed but at different
diameter, the effect of discharge, head and power input
becomes

Where D= diameter of impeller in meter

Characteristics of pump
A pump is characterized by Head and Flow Rate developed
for given Power supply and the given RMP of Impeller.
Power developed to fluid

Po = Power developed to
the fluid

EFFICIENCY OF PUMP

Pw = Power developed to the fluid / Electrical

Power consumed
PUMPS IN SERIES

When pumps are

arranged in series, the
flow rate is constant but
the head capacities of
each pump adds to give
total head.
 PUMPS IN PARALLEL

When pumps are

arranged in parallel, the
head is constant but the
flow rate of each pump
adds to give total flow
rate.
Procedures

Single pump was operated with control rate of flow taken for
0, 10, 15, 30, 30 liters per minute, observed in V notch.

 Exact flow rate was measured with the help of pipe

measurement and the stop watch.

Observations for pressures at suction and delivery sides were

done.

Corresponding electrical power drawn was observed.

 The process was repeated for the pumps in series as well as in

parallel.
PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

Observation for single centrifugal pump

Results

S.N Volume Inlet Outlet Electric Head( Pump

flow rate (Q pressure pressur power m) Hydraulic
liters/min) (bar) e(bar) input(wat power(W
t) h
watt)

1 0 0 0.6 90 6.11 0
2 8.05 0 0.5 110 5.09 8.313667
3 12.5 0 0.48 118 4.89 11.9805
4 21.42 0 0.38 142 3.87 12.642
5 28 0 0.3 155 3.05 15.94133
PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

Observation for centrifugal pumps in parallel

Results

S.N Volume flow Inlet Outlet power Head

rate (Q pressure(bar) pressure(bar input(watt
liters/min) ) )

1 0 0 0.6 190 6.11

2 8.57 0 0.53 225 5.4

3 15.65 0 0.51 232 5.19

4 21.17 0 0.50 250 5.09

5 36 0 0.49 295 4.99

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

Observation for centrifugal pumps in series

Results

S.N Volume flow Inlet Outlet power Head

rate (Q pressure(bar) pressure(bar input(watt
liters/min) ) )

1 0 0 0.6 210 6.11

2 8.57 0 0.55 235 5.6

3 15 0 0.50 250 5.09

4 18 0 0.49 300 4.99

5 32.72 0 0.2 390 2.03

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

Analysis
Discharge Vs Head
Discharge Vs Head (ideal case)

Head, H

Discharge, Q
Discharge Vs Efficiency
Electric power input vs Flow rate
Hydraulic power vs Flow rate
Single vs Parallel operation

Figure illustrates the characteristic of single vs. parallel

operation. Two identical pumps operating in parallel are
capable of producing twice the flow of a single pump at
any given TDH.

However, the actual flow rate realized in the system is dictated by the intersection of the
system curve with the pump curve. Unless the system curve is variable, the flow
increase may not be that significant.
Single vs Parallel operation (contd…)

For example, assume that there is a set of fixed spray

nozzles, where the system resistance is purely frictional,
and varies only as a result of flow change.

When a second pump is introduced, resistance in the system increases as the flow
increases. The flow will increase only to where the system curve intersects the two-pump
curve, as shown in figure.

The amount of flow increase is dictated not only by the system curve, but also by the
steepness of the pump curves. Pumps with flat curves will have less TDH separation than
pumps with steep curves and therefore will have less of a flow rate change.
Single vs Parallel operation (contd…)

A fire pump installation would be an example of a system

that has a variable system curve. Figure illustrates this.

Each time an additional fire nozzle is activated, the system resistance is decreased. This
causes the system curve to move to a higher flow on the pump curve, increasing the kW
load on the pump and decreasing the amount of TDH available.

Eventually, another fire pump may need to be activated to maintain the system pressure
as more nozzles come on line.
 Unstable Operation

The sketch shows a system curve crossing a pump curve twice. This is an example of
unstable operation. Note that if the first pump is operating at point 'C' when the second
pump is started, the second pump will operate at shut head, delivering no flow as it will
never be able to open the non return valve (required to prevent one pump discharging
through the other when only one pump is operating). If this was to occur, the pump could
eventually explode!

In some cases it may be possible to change the order of starting the pumps, and the
curves can be drawn to check this operation, however if there is any indication of unstable
operation or possibility of one pump being 'over powered' by another, contact us for
assistance.
Analysis

From the experiments, characteristics of pumps ran at different

conditions are observed and drawn in graphs. These
characteristics curves are essential in defining the properties of a
pump, since only size and shape cannot be sufficient to select a
pump for certain purpose. Standard test were done according to
the procedures defined by the lab manual and characteristics
curves are drawn.
Analysis

• Initially, we study the variation of head available

with change in flow rate. With pumps in parallel
we can increase the flow almost twice for the
same head delivered, while head delivered can
be increased twice by arranging pumps in series.
Hence, where a single pump is inappropriate for
large flow rate or high head, pumps can be
arranged in series and parallel or combination of
both to suite our requirement.
• we see that overall efficiency of the pumps
against flow rate. It should be efficiency of pumps
in combination is higher than a single pump.
Even, efficiency of pumps in series is higher than
that in parallel. More closely, we can also see that
efficiency of pumps in series is better in lower
flow rate ie at higher head delivered and pumps
in parallel is better for higher flow rates and low
 Analysis

• The hydraulic power produced by pumps against flow rate

are drawn. In case of series connection the hydraulic power
produced by a pump is higher than that of parallel
connection at lower flow rates. At higher flow rates we can
predict that curve of pumps in parallel will cross that of in
series.
• As the pumps are connected in series or parallel, the input
power to the pumps increases than that of a single pump.
• In case of field operation to select a particular type of pump
or a particular combination of the pump, first of all the
characteristics curves, provided by manufacturer, should be
studied carefully and then only it should be use in field.
Conclusion
• The main aim of the practical was to drawn up
the characteristics curve. With the help of
characteristics curve and the actual field
conditions (ie. Head available, input power
required, required flow rate). We should have to
compromise in efficiency for the fulfillment of the
actual field condition situations. So the
characteristics curve helps to optimize the field
conditions and to select a particular type of pump
or a combination of pump for a particular site.