Pump

Pump has been defined differently by different investigators; the different definitions are, however, all
similar and nearly equivalent.

 A device which raises or transfers liquids at the expense of power input.

 A machine designed to elevate, deliver and move various liquids
 A unit that transfers the mechanical energy of a motor or an engine into potential and kinetic
energy of a liquid.

(2) Pumps are used for rising liquid from lower level to higher level.

(3) create low pressure at suction side, high pressure at delivery side

Classification of pumps:

According to design and principle of operation, pumps may be divided into two general categories. The
choice is based on the liquid to be pumped and the desired head and capacity.

(a)     Positive displacement pump (PDP)

(1)     Reciprocating: piston and plunger
(2)     Rotating: gear, lobe
  (b)     Roto-Dynamic Pump (RDP)
(1)     Centrifugal pump
(2)     Axial pump
(3)     Mixed flow pump
Centrifugal Pump:
A centrifugal pump increases liquid pressure by increasing its velocity by means of a rotating impeller.
Liquid enters at the center of the impeller, is accelerated by the impeller vanes, and leaves through the
side of the pump casing.

Difference between PDP and RDP

RDP PDP
_________________________________________________________
High Flow rate Low
Much steady pressure rise High
Insufficient high viscous liquid OK
Generally needed Priming Self
_________________________________________________________

Classification of centrifugal pumps:

Based on their utility, design and constructional features, centrifugal pumps can be classified with
respect to follow characters:

1. Type of casing
a. Volute pump
b. Turbine pump or diffusion pump

2. Working head
a. Low lift centrifugal pump … they work against the heads up to 15 m
b. Medium lift centrifugal pumps …. Used to build up heads as high as 40 m
c. High lift centrifugal pump …employed to deliver liquids at heads above 40 m
3. Liquid handled
a. Closed impeller pump
b. Semi-open impeller pump
c. Open impeller pump

4. Number of impeller per shaft

a. Single stage centrifugal pump

has one impeller, usually a low lift pump.

b. Multistage centrifugal pump

 Has two or more impellers and pressure is built in steps, used usually for high working
head and the number of stages depends upon the head required.

5. Number of entrances to the impeller

a. Single entry or single suction pump : Water is admitted on one side of the impeller
b. Double entry or double suction pump: Water is admitted from both side of impeller;
axial thrust is neutralized. Employed for pumping large quantity of fluid.

6. Relative direction of flow through impeller

a. Radial flow pump: Normally radial flow impellers are used in all centrifugal pumps
b. Axial flow pump: Designed to deliver huge quantities of water at comparatively low
heads; ideally suited for irrigation purpose.
c. Mixed flow pump: mostly employed for irrigation purpose.

Centrifugal Pumps classification by flow

Centrifugal pumps can be classified bases on the manner in which fluid flows through the pump. The
manner in which fluid flows through the pump is determined by the design of the pump casing and the
impeller. Three types of flow through the centrifugal pumps are

1. Radial flow
2. Axial flow
3. Mixed flow

Radial Flow Pump:

Here head is developed principally by the action of centrifugal force. The liquid enters the impeller at
the hub and flows radially to the periphery.

The flow from the impeller is radial or pressure increase within its rotor is due to centrifugal action. It is
opposite to the Francis Turbine (radial flow turbine).

The impeller blades are usually backward- curved, but there are also radial and forward-curved blade
design, which slightly change the output pressure. The impeller blades may generally be open, i.e.
separated from the front casing only by a narrow clearance.
 Shaft

Axial Flow

In axial flow pump, the impeller pushes the liquid in the direction parallel to the pump shaft. Axial flow
pump are sometimes called propeller pumps because they operate essentially the same as the propeller
of the pump. The impeller of a typical axial flow pump and the flow through a radial flow pump are
shown in fig below.

Mixed Flow

A pump in which the head is developed partly by centrifugal force and partly by the lift of the vanes on
the liquid. This type of pump has a single inlet impeller with the flow entering axially and discharging in
an axial/radial direction.
OPERATING PRINCIPLES

A centrifugal pump has the following characteristics:

- it is made up of a set of rotating vanes that are enclosed within a housing. These vanes are
utilized to impart energy to a liquid through centrifugal force.
- it consists of two main parts: a rotating element including an impeller and a shaft; and a
stationary element made up of a casing, stuffing box, and bearings.
- it transfers the energy provided by a prime mover, such as an electric motor, steam turbine, or
gasoline engine to energy within the liquid being pumped. This energy within the liquid is
present as a velocity energy, pressure energy, or a combination of both.

The method by which this energy conversion is accomplished is unique. The rotating element of a
centrifugal pump, which is motivated by the prime mover, is the impeller. The liquid being pumped
surrounds the impeller, and as the impeller rotates, the rotating motion of the impeller imparts a
rotating motion to the liquid. There are two components to the motion imparted to the liquid by the
impeller: one motion is in the radial direction outward from the center of the impeller. This motion is
caused by the centrifugal force, due to the rotation of the liquid, which acts in a direction outward from
the centre of the rotating impeller. Also, as the liquid leaves the impeller, it tends to move in a direction
tangential to the outside diameter of the impeller.

The actual liquid direction is a result of the two flow directions (Figure 25).

The amount of energy being added to the liquid by the rotating impeller is related to the velocity with
which the liquid moves. The energy expressed as pressure energy will be proportional to the square of
the resultant exit velocity:

v2
H=
2g

H = energy (meter of liquid)

V = velocity (meter/sec)
g = acceleration due to gravity (meter/sec^2)

• From these facts, two things can be predicted

- any increase in the impeller tip velocity will increase the energy imparted to the liquid.
- any change in the vane tip velocity will result in a change in the energy imparted to the liquid
that is proportional to the square of the change in tip velocity.

• For example: Doubling the rotative speed of the impeller would double the tip speed, which in turn
would quadruple the energy imparted to the liquid.
 - doubling the impeller diameter would double the tip speed, which again would quadruple the
energy imparted to the liquid.

• Points to note about the liquid that is being discharged from the tip of the impeller art that
- the liquid is being discharged from all points around the impeller periphery.
- the liquid is moving in a direction that is generally outward from and around the impeller.
- the function of the casing is to gather and direct the liquid to the discharge nozzle of the pump.
The casing is designed so that, at one point, the wall of the casing is very close to the impeller
periphery. This point is called the tongue or shear water of the casing. Figure 26 illustrates
- a typical casing design.
• At a point just before the tongue, all the liquid discharged by the impeller has been collected and is
ready to be lead into the discharge pipe. In most cases, this liquid possesses a higher velocity than would
be feasible to handle because high velocity means a high frictional loss in the discharge piping. The
velocity in the discharge nozzle is decreased by increasing the area for flow (volute chamber).

• Note: As the area increases, the velocity decreases. This velocity can be converted into pressure
energy by either of the following: a volute (Figure 27), or a set of diffusion vanes surrounding the
impeller periphery (Figure 28).
Diffuser:

Some centrifugal pump contains diffusers. A diffuser is a set of stationary vanes that surround the
impeller. The purpose of diffuser is to increase the efficiency of the centrifugal pump by allowing a more
gradual expansion and less turbulent area for the liquid to reduce in velocity. The diffuser vanes are
designed in a manner that the liquid exiting the impeller will encounter an ever increasing flow area as it
passes through diffuser. This increase in flow area causes reduction in flow velocity, converting kinetic
energy into flow pressure.

Classification:
Centrifugal pumps are divided into two general classes

1. Volute pumps
2. Diffuser or turbine pumps

(1) Volute type:

Here impeller is surrounded by a spiral case. The outer boundary of which may be curve called volute.
The absolute velocity of fluid living the impeller is reduced in this casing.

(2) Vane type or diffuser type or turbine type pump:

In diffuser pump the impeller is surrounded by diffuser vanes which provide gradually enlarging
passages to effect a gradual reduction in velocity. Because of superficial resemblance to a reaction
turbine, this type is often called turbine pump. High efficiency is obtained by fitting a set of fixed /
moving diffuser vanes round the outside of the impeller. The vanes provide more opportunity for the
gradual reduction of the velocity of the fluid so that less energy is wasted in eddies.

Volute type and vane type

Pw = Power developed to the fluid = rgHQ

  _____________________________________
w = shaft angular velocity = 2pN/60
N = shaft Rev/min
t = shaft torque
bhp = power required to drive the pump = break horse power
bhp = wt
_________________________________________________
h = Pw / bhp = rgQH / wt
V1= absolute value of water at inlet
Vw1 = velocity of whirl at inlet
Vr1 = relative velocity of liquid at inlet
Vf1 = velocity of flow at inlet
α = angle made by absolute velocity (V1) at inlet with the direction of motion of vane
Θ = angle made by relative velocity( Vr1) at inlet with the direction of motion of vane.
V2, Vr2, Vf2, β, φ are the corresponding value of outlet.
Pump Head (head delivered)

The pump characteristics curve shows the relation between the head developed by the pump and its
rate of discharge when the pump is operating at a given rotating speed. If the pump is delivering fluid
through a piping system with the static lift Ñ z , the head that the pump must develop is equal to the
static lift plus the total head loss (proportional approx. to Q 2).

The system characteristics curve shows that the relation between the required pumping head and the
flow rate in the pipeline. The actual pump-operating head and the flow rate are determined by the
intersection of the two curves.

The head that the pump must develop = static lift + total head loss

The particular values of h and Q determined by this intersection may or may not be those for the
maximum efficiency of the particular pump. If they are not, this means that the pump is not exactly
suited to the specific conditions.

If the discharge and the suction side of the pumps are the same size, the velocity heads cancel out , but
frequently the intake pipe is larger than the discharge pipe.

The official test code provides that the head on a pump be the difference between the total energy
heads at the intake and discharge flanges. However, flow condition at the discharge side are usually too
irregular for accurate pressure measurement.
Shutoff head of pumps:
When a pump is filled with the fluid to be operated at normal speed with discharge closed, the head
developed 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.

Although there is no flow delivered, there is great deal of circulation within the impeller which cause
rotation of fluid in the eye of the impeller and for a distance of several pipe diameters in the intake pipe.
So actual shutoff head is approximately u 22 / 2g.

Shutoff head depends on impeller vane Ð at inlet and exit and nature of intake.

Deep well turbine pumps:

1. 2 or more impellers are arranged in series and vertical shaft

2. Q is same: H = n´H

3. Small dia of well casing Þ

small dia of impeller Þ

H developed in one stage is small Þ need no. of stages

1. Casing not concentric but volute Þ

Water discharge to from one impeller to eye of other and need Diffuser vanes
Specific speed of pumps
For pumps the commonly used definition of specific speed is

ns= [neÖQ] / h3/4

where ne is the rotative speed for maximum efficiency.

Basic output parameters

Assume: steady flow

Neglect viscous work and heat transfer
Velocity in inlet and outlet are uniform
Incompressible flow

Applying Bernoulli head,

H=(p/rg + v2/2g +z)2 - (p/rg + v2/2g +z)1 = hs - hf------------------------------(1.1)

  H = Head output generated by pump

hs = Head supplied
hf = Head loss
v1 = v2, and z1 = z2,
usually
H=(p2+p1)/rg

Characteristics at constant speed

Though some centrifugal pumps are driven by variable speed motors, the usual mode of operation of a
pump is at constant speed it’s typical characteristics for such operation is give in fig. 17.9

Head –versus-discharge curve may be transformed into that for some other speed(N) by means of
similarity laws (Q µ n and h µ n2); however efficiency of the pump drops of as the rotative speed is
moved away from the optimum speed.

The important feature shown if fig. 17.9 is that, if a pump is not operating near the optimum point, its
efficiency drops off, depending on how far the mode of operation is from optimum.
By different impeller and casing design it is possible to vary the characteristics as show in fig.17.11. Thus
a flat characteristic permits a considerable variation in the rate of discharge with but very little change in
head, while a steep characteristics gives only a small variation in the flow for a relatively large change in
head.

The axial-flow pump has much steeper head-capacity curve than does any centrifugal pump, and instead
of the break power at shutoff being a minimum, it is not only is a maximum but is very much larger than
the power required at the point of maximum efficiency. This is a disadvantage both in starting up and in
continued operation at low capacity.
Energy losses in pumps:
Hydraulic losses:

The head loss has several components. First of all, as water enters the vanes of the impeller,
there may be shock loss due to the turbulence because of an improper relative-velocity angle at
vane inlet. This loss is relatively large at low and high flow rates; it grows smaller as optimum
operating conditions are approached.

The second loss is that of fluid friction in the passages between the vanes. It varies
approximately as Q2

Third loss is due to circulatory flow at discharge from the impeller created by the difference in
the velocity along the working face of the vane and an increase in relative velocity on the back
face of the vane. The component of head loss changes very little with flow rate.

In addition to these hydraulic head losses the efficiency of a pump is reduced by bearing and
packing friction and by disk friction as well as by the effect of leakage. A typical relationship
among these various losses is show in fig.
Cavitation in pumps:

Cavitation occurs when pressure in the suction line falls below vapor pressure, vapor is formed and
moves along with the stream. These vapor bubbles or cavities collapse when they reach regions of
higher pressure on their way through the pump. The most obvious effects of cavitation are noise and
vibration.

An important factor in satisfactory operation of a pump is the avoidance of cavitation both for
the sake of good efficiency and for the prevention of impeller damage.

 Minimize this factor for satisfactory opt. of pump( good hand prevention of impeller damage).

 Cav. Increase is indicated by drastic change in h.

 It depends on operating condition and design of the pump.

 It changes as change in H and Q.

Effect of Viscosity in pumps:

It is seen from the graph that, as viscosity is increased head-capacity curve become steeper and power
required increases. The dash line indicates the max h for each viscosity curve. It is seen that both the
head and capacity at point of maximum efficiency decreases with increase in viscosity. As these are
accompanied by an increase in the brake power, there is a marked decrease in effieciency.

If hopt =0.85 for water then hopt =0.47 when pumping a liquid of viscosity 116 times that of water.

Efficiency of Pump:

Fig shows the approximate optimum efficiencies of modern water pumps of large capacity. It is seen
that a gradual merging of one type into another, and so that dashed line indicates the probable
maximum values. Generally, the larger the pump, the higher the attainable efficiency. h decreases as
pump size decreases.

The efficiency of pump is largely determined by the conditions at exit from the impeller and in the casing
and is practically unaffected by subdividing the inlet.
Calculation of Q and A for pumps:

The discharge from any type of impeller may be found by multiplying the outlet area by the velocity.

discharge = outlet area ´ av. Velocity

The area that is most readily computed is the circumferential area for radial-flow impellers and
corresponding areas for other type of impellers as how in fig.

The effective flow area is fpDB for radial and mixed-flow impellers and fpDe2/4 for axial flow impellers
where f is a factor ( typically about 0.95) to allow for the space taken up by vanes or hub respectively).

The effective flow area is to be multiplied by the component of velocity that is normal to it, which is
radial component for the pure centrifugal impeller, or the axial component for the propeller type, orin
general the meridional component.
System characteristics for pumps:
Pump should be chosen so that under normal working condition, the speed and capacity are such that
operation is occurring close to peak efficiency. If not energy will be wasted and operation will be
uneconomic.

Choice of pump for a particular situation is complicated by large number of alternatives that are
possible.

First of all, there are many different designs of pumps with variety of specific speeds. By changing the
speed of operation of a particular pump it’s operating characteristics can be changed.

Selecting from among different sized homologous pumps will provide variation in characteristics. In
addition different speeds of operation can be used with various sizes of homologous pumps.

Under certain conditions it may be advantageous to install pumps in series or in parallel.

When pumps are installed in series or parallel it is very important that they have reasonably similar
head-capacity characteristics throughout their range of operation, otherwise, one pump will carry most
of the load and, under certain conditions, all of the load, with other pump acting as hindrance rather
than a help.

In parallel, if the operating characteristics of the pump are quite different, a condition of backflow can
occur in one of the pumps.

Finally one must always be sure that selected pump will not encounter cavitation problems over the full
range of operating conditions.

The mode of operation is best determined by plotting the pumping characteristics and the pipe system
characteristics on the same diagram. The point at which two curves intersect gives an indication of what
will take place. Generally one can choose between changing the speed of a given pump or selecting a
particular size of homologous pump in order to obtain proper characteristics. The later is usually
preferable because pump efficiency tends to decrease rather rapidly as the speed is changed from the
optimum.