What you are asking is simply an immanent characteristic of centrifugal pumps - they

develop more head with less flow, and vice versa. This applies for almost every type of
centrifugal pump, except for some pumps which develop less head at shut-off condition
.than at a certain non-zero flow

Look at the attached image of a pump curve, and the system curve which depicts how
pressure drop changes with the flow. It starts at zero coordinates (if static pressure
difference is not shown) and it rises with flow. At the operating point, the pump curve and
.the system curve intersect each other

If pressure drop of your system in reality is higher than calculated, the system curve will
rotate towards the Y (head) axis. This means that the pump now has to develop more
head OR the system pressure drop needs to be reduced. How? By opening the control
valve more. But, if the hydraulic system is incorrectly calculated and you cannot achieve
the required flow at fully open control valve, the pump will back off on its curve to the
required head conditions, and the resultant flow will be less. In some cases, when the
pump curve is flat, it might not be even able to produce any discharge flow. This is what
in reality means system curve - the vendor cannot guarantee performance of the pump if
you have miscalculated the system curve and the available pressure drop across the
.control valve

Centrifugal Pump Protection Review

A centrifugal pump is deadheaded

when it is operated with no flow through it, for
example, with a closed discharge valve or against a seated check valve. If the discharge
valve is closed and there is no other flow path available to the pump, the impeller will
churn the same volume of water as it rotates in the pump casing. This will increase the
temperature of the liquid (due to friction) in the pump casing to the point that it will flash
to vapor. The vapor can interrupt the cooling flow to the pump's packing and bearings,
causing excessive wear and heat. If the pump is run in this condition for a significant
amount of time, it will become damaged.
When a centrifugal pump is installed in a system such that it may be subjected to
periodic shutoff head conditions, it is necessary to provide some means of pump
protection. One method for protecting the pump from running deadheaded
is to provide a recirculation line from the pump discharge line upstream of the discharge
valve, back to the pump's supply source. The recirculation line should be sized to allow
enough flow through the pump to prevent overheating and damage to the pump.
Protection may also be accomplished by use of an automatic flow control device.
Centrifugal pumps must also be protected from runout.
Runout can lead to cavitation and can also cause overheating of the pump's motor due to
excessive currents. One method
for ensuring that there is always adequate flow resistance at the pump discharge to
prevent excessive flow through the pump is to place an orifice or a throttle valve
immediately downstream of the pump discharge. Properly designed piping systems are
.very important to protect from runout
The recirculation line is usually installed to allow the pump to maintain a reasonably high
flow rate even when much of it isn't required at the pumping destination. Under these
conditions the line to the destination is closed (or severely throttled) and the recirculation
line is opened to permit the flow back to the suction source. This allows the pump to
continue to operate at a flow rate close to the best efficiency point, and thus operate
.efficiently and reliably
Please note that the recirculation should never be taken back to the suction inlet to the
.pump as it will cause excessive turbulence and the resultant air entrainment problems

Pump kickback line

Fallah : The role of a RO (restriction orifice) is to limit the flow. FO (flow orifice) is a RO
that has been sized to limit the flow a little bit just in order to flow measuring. Then it
might be said that all FOs could be ROs but not all ROs could be FOs...
Therefore the difference is deeper than to be due to the difference in nomenclature..
Building on what Fallah has said, Ristriction Orifice (RO) is a device, installed to deliver a
known flow for the prevailing pressure differential. For example, kickback flow from
discharge of a centrifugal pump, back to suction tank to ensure operation of the pump at
minimum flow at all times. Here the RO is sized based on pump required minimum flow
and the pressure differential between pump discharge and suction tank. Tapping are not
required for an RO
On the other hand, Flow Orifice (FO) is a device used for measurement of flow and
operates at a pressure differential much lower than that of an RO. Typical pressure drop
across a FO is in the range of 100-200 inches of H2O (4-7 psi). Here you need tappings
to measure pressure differential for onward calculations of flow rate. Choice of flange or
pipe taps is covered under orifice sizing subject