EXTERNAL HEAD (ENERGY) REQUIRED FOR PUMP (OR FANS/ BLOWERS):

This external head is also called the TOTAL DYNAMIC HEAD (TDH) and is the necessary head or
necessary energy required to do work on the fluid (usually liquid) to raise it from one location (usually at
a lower elevation to a much higher elevation) into another by considering the three (3) forms of head/
energy prevailing in a flowing fluid.
This “TDH” has units of meter (m) or feet (ft) of the flowing fluid which is usually water and is
the main basis for the determination of the power rating of the prime mover (electric motor/ fuel
engine) of the pump (fans/ blowers).

Z2

Z1

TOTAL DYNAMIC HEAD, TDH:

(from Bernouilli’s Fluid Flow Equation)…

TDH = ( P2 - P1 ) + (  2 2 -  1 2) + ( Z2 - Z1 ) + HL12
γfluid 2 go

= Δ Hp + Δ Hk + Δ Hz + HL12

where:
Δ Hp -- change in pressure head, m or f
P1 -- atmospheric pressure value if suction/ source is open to the atmosphere,
kPa or psi
-- negative (-) if pressure mentioned is suction/ vacuum pressure, kPa or psi
P2 -- atmospheric pressure value if the discharge reservoir is open to the
atmosphere, kPa or psi
** At sea level, atmospheric pressure ranges from 14.7 psia or 101.325 kPaa or
0 psig or 0 kPagage

Δ HK -- change in kinetic or velocity head, m or f

1 -- speed or velocity of fluid from suction/ source, mps or fps
2 -- speed or velocity of fluid being discharged into the reservoir, mps or fps

Δ Hz -- change in potential or elevation head or maybe known as total static head,

m or f
-- distance between the water surface’s at the discharge and source
Z1 -- elevation between source to pump centerline/ datum line, m or f
** if Z1 is located below the pump centerline, it is called “static suction lift” and a
negative (-) sign is used to denote such value…
 ** if Z1 is located above the pump centerline, it is called “static suction head” and
a positive (+) sign is used to denote such value…
Z2 -- elevation of fluid/ water level in the reservoir from the pump centerline/
datum line, m or f
HL12 -- head losses in both the suction side and discharge sides either due to friction,
turbulence, etc…

Useful notes:
1. There are cases wherein not all types of heads would reflect upon a given problem statement…
2. In the actual computation of the TDH to determine the pump motor rating, the “velocity head”
could be neglected because they are usually too small.

VARIATIONS OF THE “Z1” IF THEY ARE EITHER A SUCTION LIFT/ SUCTION HEAD:

(-) SUCTION HEAD

(+) SUCTION HEAD

Useful notes:
 1. SUCTION LIFT is present when the water source is below the pump centerline or maybe termed
as negative (-) suction head…
2. SUCTION HEAD is present when the water source is above the pump centerline or maybe termed
as positive (+) suction head…

WATER POWER OF A PUMP:

WATER POWER is the necessary energy given-off by the moving element (impeller) of the pump to the
water (fluid) as it moves through the inside of the pump so as to move the water (fluid) from one point into
another (this is usually from low to high).
Its formula is derived from that of the WORK STEADY FLOW, -V (P2 – P1) where the negative (-) sign
convention is eventually disregarded since the work derived is coming-out of a system’s boundary. The equation
eventually becomes:

In SI Units: In English Units:

WP = γfluid ( V ) TDH WP = γfluid ( V ) TDH

550
where:
WP -- theoretical power of the pump (or water power), kW or HP
γfluid -- unit weight of fluid (usually water, refer to standard values), kN/ m3 or lbf/ f3
V -- volume flow rate or rate of discharge of the pump, m3/ min or f3/ sec
TDH -- external head (or energy) required to move the fluid from suction to discharge
plus losses, m or f

BRAKE POWER OF THE PUMP, BP (or BHP):

The brake power of the pump is the actual power that is derived from the motor/ engine which is then
transmitted into the pump to move the fluid (water).
Referring to the illustration below, losses are prevalent in any type of system (actual; consider KELVIN-
PLANK STATEMENT). The motor which is composed of internal mechanical/ electrical components encounters
losses (due to friction) which is also the same for the pump itself (as it is also composed of internal mechanical
components subjected to friction).
That the power (or mechanical energy) provided by the motor decreases as soon as it leaves the motor
and that such power (or mechanical energy) again is lessened within the pump itself
This “BHP”, is considered as the ratio between the theoretical power of a pump divided by the pump’s
own over-all efficiency, and is given by the equation:

BP = γfluid ( V ) TDH

Pipe fluid
friction

Pipe fluid friction

Frictional losses in the Transmission Frictional losses in the
motor/ engine losses motor/ engine
PUMP EFFICIENCY,  p:
 Pump efficiency is the ratio of the water power, WP with respect to the brake power input to the pump
provided by the motor/ engine and is given by the equation:
This shows the efficiency or capability of the pump to do its
p = WP x 100%
work while considering the losses. A pump with a greater efficiency is
said to be able to perform a lot of work with minimal losses which is BP
good to any type of system.

SAMPLE PROBLEMS:
1. The suction pressure of a pump reads 2 in. of mercury vacuum and discharge pressure reads
130 psi. This pump is used to deliver 100 gpm of water with a specific volume of 0.0163 ft 3/ lbm,
determine the pump work in kw.
A. 4, 600 watts C. 7, 400 watts
B. 5, 700 watts D. 8, 400 watts

2. A pump is to deliver 150 gpm of water at a head of 120m. If this pump has an efficiency of 70%,
what is the horsepower rating of the motor required to drive the pump?
A. 40.44 hp C. 38.44 hp
B. 25.66 hp D. 21.33 hp

3. What power is used to drive a boiler feedwater pump delivering a mass of 35 kg m/ sec at a head
of 500m?
A. 356.56 kW C. 456.64 kW
B. 354.54 kW D. 171.67 kW

4. A certain pump is used to deliver 150 gpm of water having a relative density of 0.9803. The
suction and discharge gage reads 4 in. Hg vacuum and 25 psi respectively. The discharge is 2 ft
from the pump centerline. What is the motor output, if the pump efficiency is 75%?
A. 3.24 hp C. 5.45 hp
B. 2.67 hp D. 6.89 hp

5. The discharge pipe of a pump is 400mm in diameter where water is discharged at the rate of 0.5
m3/ s. Discharge pressure is maintained at 100 kPa where the end of this discharge pipe is
located 32m above the pump centerline. What power is needed to drive the pump?
A. 211 kW C. 340 kW
B. 480 kW D. 240 kW

6. A pump driven by an electric motor moves 25 gpm of water from a reservoir requiring a total
head of 245 ft. The efficiency of the pump and motor are 64% and 84% respectively, what size of
motor is required?
A. 5 hp C. 4 hp
B. 3 hp D. 7.5 hp

7. Water from an open reservoir located 5m above the pump centerline is pumped into a tank 85m
above the pump centerline. Discharge is made through a 900mm diameter cast iron pipe at a
pressure of 1 kgf/ cm2. This pump has a positive suction head of 5m and pump rate of 1.5 m 3/
sec. If frictional losses amount to 3m, what is the power output of the pump?
A. 1,372 kW C. 1, 234 kW
B. 1,523 kW D. 1, 723 kW