ENES100_0702

Prof. R. Phaneuf
Fall 2002
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Water Pumps
Pumps are devices that cause the motion of a fluid, usually by eneratin a chane in
pressure! ("n e#ceptional case is the chain of pots described in section $!$ of your
te#tbook) %ost pumps use mechanical motion to produce this chane in pressure! &he
motion is usually repetitive, and can be either reciprocating or rotary!
Reciprocating Pumps
'eciprocatin pumps can be broken do(n into t(o main subcateories,
bellows/diaphragm type pumps and piston pumps! )oth of these types of pumps use a
chane in the volume of the pump chamber to produce a lo(er pressure than that of the
reservoir to dra( (ater in, and a larer pressure than that at the receptacle to force the
(ater out! )oth re*uire inlet and outlet valves to restrict fluid flo( to be in one direction
only!
Vales
&he most common type of valve used is a check valve, in (hich a movable element ,
shaped like a cone or ball is positioned opposite a cylindrical tube called a seat!
Normally the movable element held a(ay from the seat either by the force of ravity or
by a sprin! +o(ever, if the pressure force on the same side of the movable element
e#ceeds that on the opposite side by more than the (eiht of sprin force, the element is
pushed aainst the seat, closin the valve, and blockin the flo( of fluid throuh it! ,f the
pressure force is reater on the opposite side, the element is forced back, and fluid can
flo(! Sprin valves have the advantae that they can be used in any position, (hile
ravity valves must be oriented do(n(ards! So called flapper valves are also used in
some cases (for e#ample in toilet tanks), and have the advantae of bein very simple! "
disadvantae is that they tend to seal more slo(ly, and thus allo( more fluid to leak
throuh before sealin!
Provided that the minimum volume of the chamber durin the inlet stroke is e#tremely
small compared to its ma#imum volume, full retraction of the movable part (ill provide a
nearly complete vacuum so that the distance throuh (hich the (ater can be lifted from
the reservoir to the pump (ill be close to the ma#imum, h-P
atm
.()! Providin that the
heiht of the pump above the reservoir h
pr
is less than this ma#imum value the volume
(ill fill (ith (ater until the pressure at the inlet line, balances atmospheric pressure!
/hen a force is applied to the actuator to decrease the chamber volume it this imparts an
additional pressure to the (ater causin the inlet valve to close and the outlet valve to
open! &his pressure causes (ater to rise in the outlet line to a ma#imum heiht +-(P
app
0
P
atm
).()! /ater (ill flo( out of the outlet line provided the difference in heiht
bet(een the catch basin and pump h
cp
is less than this value! (Note that the overall
ma#imum heiht difference is the sum of the t(o or +-P
app
.() as it should be0
atmosphere acts both at the reservoir and at the catch basin!) /e1ll discuss the function
of piston pumps first! %uch of (hat (e say also applies to diaphram pumps!
Priming
Piston pumps need to be 2primed3 at startup! &he inlet line is immersed into the
reservoir, formin an effective seal, ho(ever initially it (ill be full of air! 'etractin the
piston (ill increase the volume of the pump chamber decreases the air pressure (ithin it,
causin air to flo( from the inlet line into the pump chamber to e*uilibrate the pressure
in the t(o! &his decreases the pressure at the air.(ater interface defined by the inlet line,
so that (ater (ill be forced up into the tube by the hiher pressure actin on the reservoir!
&his is spoken of as 2suction3, but remember that the (ater is pushed from the hih
pressure side, not pulled from the lo( pressure side! "t the end of the inlet stroke, the
(ater (ill rise to a point (here the combined (eiht of the (ater in the line and the air
pressure (ithin the chamber balance atmospheric pressure! Ne#t the outlet stroke beins,
(ith the applied force bein reversed! &his pushes closed the inlet valve and pushes
open the outlet valve, as air is pushed out of the pump chamber into the outlet line! 4n
the ne#t complete stroke the process is continued, (ith the level of the (ater in the inlet
line increasin, due to the smaller amount of air! "fter multiple strokes the inlet line and
pump housin are completely primed (i!e! pured of air), and the pump beins operatin
in steady state, dra(in only (ater from the inlet line to fill the volume defined by the
cylinder (all, head, and retracted piston on the inlet stroke, and forcin a volume of
(ater e*ual to the difference in chamber volumes out into the outlet line durin the outlet
stroke, independent of the stroke rate! &his property is referred to as 2positive
displacement3!
Re!uirements for a Piston Pump
Note that the discussion on primin assumes an air-tight seal between the inlet line and
the inlet valve! " leak here (ill result in air leakin in, allo(in the level of the (ater in
the inlet line to drop (hen this valve closes, durin the outlet stroke! A leak through the
valve will result in an even more rapid drop, as air is forced back throuh the valve into
the inlet line!
'e*uirements on the piston pump include a tight, sliding seal between the piston and the
cylinder! " leak here (ill result in air infiltratin into the pump housin durin the inlet
stroke, and (ater leakin past the cylinder durin the outlet stroke! ,n a sinle action
desin, this (ould cause (ater to collect behind the piston, impedin its motion on the
inlet stroke! " tiht seal re*uires that the inside of the cylinder be smooth, round and
uniform! (Pistons and housins are al(ays chosen to be cylindrical to avoid needin a
fi#ed relative a5imuthal0anle orientation0in addition it is possible to rind cylindrical
surfaces to be precisely round and uniform!) &he seal must be made of a resilient
material to allo( it to conform closely to the inside of the cylinder, and fill sliht
imperfections! ,t must also slide easily back and forth (ithin the cylinder to limit the loss
of input po(er due to frictional forces! 40rin seals are often used commercially!
Standard radial 40rin seals rely on an interference fit bet(een the outer diameter of the
40rin and the inner diameter of the cylinder! 6isadvantaes of a standard radial 40rin
seal are that it re*uires precise machinin, and that the amount of interference cannot be
ad7usted! Some level of ad7ustability can be added by trappin an 40rin into a roove
(hose lenth can be chaned by makin a piston consistin of a shouldered body and a
front plate, (hich can be dra(n back aainst the body, compressin the 40rin alon the
a#is of the piston, and causin push out more tihtly aainst the cylinder! &his results
e#tra comple#ity durin fabrication! "lternatively, a cup seal can be made usin a rubber
or leather asket (hich (raps around the ede of the piston and is held in place by a
backup plate!
&he materials for the pump housing and piston need to be sufficiently stiff to (ithstand
the differences in pressure they (ill be sub7ect to durin operation (ithout distortin
sinificantly! ,t must also be possible to 7oin the head to the cylinder, and the valves in
such a (ay that the 7oints are mechanically stron, and leak free! &he piston shaft must
also be *uite stiff to avoid deflectin appreciably under the forces that the operator (ill
be applyin! &his (ill also affect the choice of its dimensions!
"iaphragm Pumps
8or diaphram (or bello(s or bladder) pumps the deformation of a fle#ible element
results initially in an increase in a sealed volume defined by the diaphram and the pump
chamber, and thus a decrease in the as pressure from that of the surroundin
atmosphere! &his type of pump must be primed as is the case for a piston pump!
Some thins to note about diaphram pumps9
(1) &he diaphram must be sufficiently fle#ible so as to allo( it to stretch and conform to
the shape of the chamber (ithout crackin or tearin! ,t (ill be cycled back and forth
bet(een t(o e#treme positions many times, and so the material must allo( this (ithout
failin due to fatiue!
($) &he ma#imum pressure applicable (ith the diaphram (ill be limited by the strenth
of the diaphram! &he pressure (ill also cause the diphram to distort, limitin to (hat
e#tent movin the pluner to one or the other e#treme position (ill result in it bein
stretched tiht about the (alls of the container!
(:) 6iaphrams are typically made from an elastomer, usually a thick piece of rubber to
allo( deformability, and also to act as a seal bet(een the halves of the pump chamber!
(;) &he diaphram must be mounted securely to the pluner, either usin an adhesive, or
trappin it bet(een the pluner disk and a backup plate! " backup plate ho(ever can
increase the minimum volume attainable (ith the pluner completely advanced, reducin
the
(;) 8abricatin the chamber is difficult, compared to some other pump desins! ,t must
be made in t(o parts (hich bolt toether, around the edes of the diaphram, (hich
makes the seal!
"ifferences #et$een piston an% %iaphragm pumps
6iaphram pumps are less likely to leak than piston pumps as the seal is static rather than
slidin!
Piston pumps can enerally produce much larer differences in chamber volume bet(een
ma#imum and minimum for a iven applied force! &hat is because the chane in the
dimension of a diaphram is limited by the larest strain beyond (hich it yields and tears!
)y contrast, a piston can have a stroke lenth much larer than its diameter! &o et an
e*uivalent averae volumetric flo( from a diaphram pump at a iven area re*uires that
it be cycled at a hiher rate!
Rotar& Pumps
&he most commonly used rotary pump is the centrifual type! ,t consists of a collection
of curved vanes, called an impeller, (hich rotate at a hih anular velocity! /ater enters
at the center of the pump, and is directed around and out(ard by the vanes! &he force
applied by a movin vane to a (ater molecule imparts a momentum to it (hich after the
interaction has a radially out(ard component! &his is referred to as a 2centrifual force3,
it isn1t really an out(ard force of course, it1s simply that the force sets the (ater into
motion alon a (hich at the instant of interaction is alon the circumfrential direction,
but as the orientation of the vane continues to chane, there is a component of the
velocity (hich is not parallel to the applied force, and is thus unaffected by the
subse*uent interaction!
"lthouh it is possible to build an operational centrifual pump (ith vanes (hich e#tend
out(ard radially (the 2)oston Pump3 (as an e#ample), this confiuration tends to stir the
(ater more causin turbulence, and resultin in less efficiency! +avin vanes (hich are
2s(ept0back3 increases the efficiency (ith (hich the (ater is directed out(ards from the
center! &he out(ard motion of the (ater results in a decrease in the pressure at the
center, so that (ater is forced by atmosphere thouh the inlet line and into the pump!
&he impeller is enclosed (ithin a housin called the volute! /ater (hich is forced out of
the impeller continues around the space bet(een it and the volute (all! &he impeller
passes in close pro#imity to the volute at the point at (hich the outlet tube, called the
diffuser beins! &his forces the (ater into the diffuser, rather than reenterin the impeller
(here there is an e#tra dynamic pressure due to the (ater (hich is e#itin it!
&he space bet(een the impeller and volute (all flares out(ard, as does the diffuser!
8rom the incompressibility of (ater and the resultin constancy of the volumetric flo(,
the velocity must decrease inversely (ith the increasin cross sectional area! 8rom
)ernoulli1s e*uation, this results in an in crease in the pressure!
Since the motion of the pump is al(ays in the same sense, inlet and outlet valves are not
re*uired to control the (ater flo( direction! " valve is typically used at the base of the
inlet line to keep the (ater from flo(in do(n into the reservoir if the motion of the
impeller is halted ho(ever!
<nlike the reciprocatin pumps discussed above, the volume of (ater pumped per cycle
is not fi#ed! " throttle valve can be installed after the pump, decreasin the flo( (ithout
haltin the pump! &he e#cess (ater merely continues to move around the pump! ,t is
thus not a positive displacement pump!
&he efficiency of a centrifual pump increases (ith rotational rate! &he measured
efficiency is usually iven in terms of a combination of rotational rate, volumetric flo(
and head referred to as the 2specific speed3
=> ! 0 > ! 0
. ) ( h q N
v s
, (1)
(ith n e*ual to the impeller rotation rate (in rotations.minute), *v the volumetric flo(
rate (in allons.minute) and h the head (in feet)! ,t clearly does not have the dimensions
of velocity, and so the name speed is deceptive! ,ts manitude (ould be that of the
rotational rate (althouh in different units?) if the flo( rate (ere 1 allon.minute and the
head (ere 1 ft!
&he reason for usin this combination of *uantities comes from a dimensional analysis of
the po(er (hich could be supplied by an ideal, frictionless pump! E#perimentally, for a
iven desin (impeller vane shape, number of vanes, volute shape) the po(er is found to
be a function of the density of the fluid , the rotational rate of the impeller , and the
overall si5e, measured by the diameter of the impeller 6! ,f it is assumed that the po(er
can be (ritten as a product of these *uantities raised to different po(ers, dimensional
analysis allo(s the individual e#ponents to be determined!
c b a
D C = , ($)
(here C is a constant of proportionality! Po(er has units of force times velocity, (hile
density has units of mass.volume, rotational rate has units of 1.time and head has units of
lenth, thus9
( )
c
b a
length
time length
mass
time
length
time
length mass
@ A
@ A
1
@ A
@ A
@ A
@ A
@ A
@ @A A
: $

(:)
)y e*uatin the e#ponents for Amass@, a-1! )y e*uatin the e#ponents for Alenth@, $-c0
:a, so that c->! )y e*uatin the e#ponents for Atime@, 0:-0b, or b-:! So that
> :
D C = (;)
)ut the total po(er supplied by the pump is proportional to the volumetric flo( rate
times the head! &he flo( rate should clearly increase both (ith the impeller rotational
rate and the diameter of the impeller! "ain, based on dimensional aruments, and based
on an assumption of a po(er0la( dependence (e can (ork out the e#ponents9
:
D q
v
(>)
so that comparin these t(o e*uations, and usin the proportionality of the po(er and
the product of the flo( rate times the total head9
$ $
D h , (B)
and solvin both of these proportionalities for 6
:
9
. .
$ . : : :
v
q h D (=)
&herefore it is possible to define a constant ratio9
C
h
q
v
=

$ . :
$

(C)
and its s*uare root is also a constant, and independent of the si5e of the pump (but of
course not of the shape and number of vanes, shape of the volute,D)
s
v
N
h
q
=

; . :
$ . 1

(E)
Re!uirements for 'entrifugal Pumps
+ih efficiency re*uires hih rotational rates! &his means supportin the impeller (ith a
*uality bearin to minimi5e frictional po(er losses! ,t also means usin a step up
transmission to chane the relatively lo( rotational rates that a human operator can
enerate to rates of several hundred 'P%!
&he volute must have smooth inner (alls!
&he space bet(een the impeller and volute should flare out from the 2lip3 to the
2diffuser3, to decrease the (ater speed and increase the pressure!
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