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Viscositycorrectionstothepumpcurve1404
Viscositymeansresistancetopouring.Thehighertheviscositythethickerthefluid.Ifyouarenot
familiarwiththetermviscousfluidpleaserefertomypaperVolume7,Number8.Hereiswhatis
goingtochangewhenyoupumpviscousfluidswithacentrifugalpump:
Thebrakehorsepowerrequirementwillincrease.
Youwillnoticeareductionintheheadthepumpwillproduce.
Somereductionincapacitywilloccurwithmoderateandhighviscosities.
Thepump'sefficiencywilldecrease.
TheattachedchartistypicalofthechartssuppliedbythehydraulicInstituteandothersimilar
publications.Youcanuseitto:
Actasanaidinselectingthepumpyouneedforyourapplication.
Determinetheperformanceofaconventionalcentrifugalpumppumpingaviscousfluidwhen
itsperformancewithonlywaterisknown.
Inthissectionwewilladdressthefirstuseofthechartandletitassistusinselectingthecentrifugal
pumpforviscousfluids.Centrifugalpumpshavebeenusedwithviscositiesbelow3,000SSU(660
centistokes)andashighas15,000SSU(3,300centistokes)buttheyaresensitivetochanging
viscosity.
Highviscosityfluidsarebetterhandledwithpositivedisplacementpumpsthatareaffecteddifferently
thancentrifugalpumpsbyachangeinfluidviscosity:
Ataconstantspeed,changesinviscositywillhaveverylittleaffectoncapacity.
Thetotalheadwillprobablyincreasewithviscositybecauseofhighersystemresistance.
Thebrakehorsepower(kilowatts)willincreasewithcapacity.
Theefficiencyprobablywillnotbeaffectedbecauseoflessleakagethroughtheinternalpump
clearances.Insomecasestheefficiencywillincease
Viscousfluidsareverycommoninthepetroleumindustrysotheattachedchartwaspreparedusing
petroleumoilsasthetestfluid,andlikeallchartsofthistypetheinformationisgeneral.
Ifyouneedveryaccurateinformationyouwillusethischartonlyasaguideandthenconductyour
owntestwithyourspecificfluid.Thisinformationwillgetyouintothe"ballpark".Usethechartonly
for:
Conventionalcentrifugalpumphydraulicdesignsonly.
PumpsoperatingclosetotheirBEP,andnotatthefarendsofthepumpcurve.
Pumpsoperatingwithenoughnetpositivesuctionheadavailable(NPSHA)toprevent
cavitation.
Newtonianfluids.Thesearethetypethatdonotchangetheirviscositywithagitation.Non
Newtonianfluidscanincreaseordecreasetheirviscositywithagitation.Asanexampleifyou
agitatecreamitwillincreaseinviscosityandbecomebutter.
Theinformationinthechartandformulasisgenerallyvalidforbothopenandclosedimpellers.
Wewillbeusingthefollowingconventionalsymbolsinourformulaswiththeexceptionofthe"N"
forefficiency.TheefficiencysymbolusedinmostformulasisaGreekletterandlooksalittle
different,butthisisthebestIcandoatthistime,sobearwithme:

QvisViscouscapacityingpm.(m3/hr).Thecapacitywhenpumpingaviscousfluid
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HvisViscousheadinfeet(meters).Theheadwhenpumpingaviscousfluid.
NvisViscousefficiencyinpercent.Theefficiencywhenpumpingaviscousfluid
bhpvisViscousbrakehorsepower.Thehorsepower(Kilowatts)requiredbythepump
fortheviscousconditions.

QwWatercapacityingpm.(m3/hr)Thecapacitywhenpumpingwater.
HwWaterheadinfeet(meters).Theheadwhenpumpingwater.
NwWaterefficiencyinpercent.Theefficiencywhenpumpingwater.
SSpecificgravity.
CqCapacitycorrectionfactor.
ChHeadcorrectionfactor.
CnEfficiencycorrectionfactor.
QnwWatercapacityatwhichmaximumefficiencyisobtained
Thefollowingequationsareusedfordeterminingtheviscousperformancewhenthe
waterperformanceofthepumpisknown.Asyoucanseetheyarenotveryhardto
understandorcalculateonceyougetthetermsstraight.

Cq,ChandCnaredeterminedfromthecorrectionchartwhichisbasedonwaterperformance.On
thecharttheyareshownasCQ,CHandCN
Thefollowingequationsareusedforapproximatingthewaterperformancewhenthedesiredviscous
capacityandheadaregivenandthevaluesofCqandChmustbeestimatedfromthechartusing

QvisandHvisas:

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Ifyouarenotcomfortableworkingwithformulasallofthesenumberslookrealscary,butthe
formulasarereallyquitebasicandrequirenothingmorethantheabilitytomultiplyanddividesimple
numbers.
Almosteverycalculationinthepumpandsealbusinesscanbedonewithalowcosthandcalculator.
Sojumprightinandgetwet.
Withallofthatsaid,wewillusethisinformationtoselectapumpforagivenheadcapacityviscosity
condition.Thefirsttwoexampleswillbeininchunitsandthenwewillshowanexampleinmetric
units.
Wearelookingforapumptopump750gpmtoatotalhead(thisincludesthestatic,pressureand
frictionheadscombined)of100feetwithaliquidhavingaviscosityof1000SSUandaspecific
gravityof0.90atthepumpingtemperature.
Pleasetakealookatthefollowingchart:

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Atthebottomofthechartenterat750goupto100feet,overto1000SSUandthenuptothe
correctionfactorsshownbelow:

Cq=0.95
Ch=0.92(for1.0Qnwwatercapacity))
Cn=0.635
Qw=750/0.95=790gpm(seethelastformulasshownabove)
Hw=100/0.92=108.8or109feethead(seetheformulaabove)
S=0.90
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Thismeansthatyouneedapumpwithawatercapacityof790gpm.Ataheadof109feet.
Ifthepumpselectedhasanefficiencyof81%whenitispumpingwatertheefficiencypumpingthe
viscousfluidwilldroptoNvis=0.635x81%=51.5percentefficient.
Thebrakehorsepowerfortheviscousfluidwillbecome:

Thatwasn'ttoobadwasit?Hereisanotherexample.Seeifyoucomeupwithsimilarresults.This
timethepumpisgoingtohandle500gpm(114m3/hr)of3000SSU(660centistokes)liquidagainsta
headof150feet(46meters)Lookingatthechart:

Cq=0.80andCh=0.81
Thewatercapacitybecomes:
InUSCSunitsQw=500/0.80=625gpm
InSIunitsQw=114/0.80=142m3/hr
Thewaterheadis:
InUSCSQh=150/0.81=185ft.
InSIunitsQh=46/0.81=57meters
Goingtothegraphfor625gpm(142m3/hr),185feet(57meters),3000SSU(660cSt),thegraph
showsCq=0.83
Adjustingthewatercapacityweget

Qwx(0.80/0.83)=602gpmor137m3/hr.
Adjustingthewaterheadweget

Hwx(0.81/0.84)=178feet(55meters)
TheefficiencywilldroptoNvis=0.75x42%=31.5percent
InUSCSunitsthebrakehorsepowerfortheviscousfluidwillbecome:

InSIunitsthebrakekilowattsfortheviscousfluidwillbecome:

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ForinformationaboutmyCDwithover600Seal&PumpSubjectsexplained,click
here
LinktoMcNallyhomepagewww.mcnallyinstitute.com

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