DESIGN

ASPECTS OF
CENTRIFUGAL
PUMPS

Centrifugal Pump

A centrifugal pump is one of the simplest pieces of equipment in any process plant.

Works on the principle of centrifugal force. This is the force that pushes the liquid away from the centre (in
tangential direction). Converting Prime Mover energy into Mechanical energy through shaft .Converting
Mechanical energy into fluid energy through impeller. Converting kinetic Energy into pressure energy through
the volute casing.

Main Parts Of Centrifugal Pump

Centrifugal Pump
Major Parts:
Shaft: It transmit the torque/Power. and supporting the
impeller and other rotating parts. Shaft is protected from
erosion ,corrosion and wear at the seal chamber through
renewable sleeve.
Impeller: An Impeller has vanes that pushes the liquid
through the impeller. Transmit energy into the fluid
(hydraulic energy).
Volute/Casing: Impeller are fitted inside the casing.
Volute casing is a curved shaped ,increasing in cross
sectional area. Volute reduces the velocity of the liquid
and increases the pressure.

shaft

Important Terms
Capacity
Capacity means the flow rate with which liquid is moved or pushed by the pump to the desired point in the process. It is
commonly measured in either gallons per minute (gpm) or cubic meters per hour (m 3/hr).

Head

Q=449*V*A

The pressure at any point in a liquid can be thought of as being caused by a vertical column of the
liquid due to its weight. The height of this column is called the static head and is expressed in terms
of
ofreason
liquid.
Thefeet
main
for using head instead of pressure to measure a centrifugal pump's energy is that the pressure from a
pump will change if the specific gravity (weight) of the liquid changes, but the head will not change.

Head=(pressure* 2.31)/specific gravity

Various types of head
The Subscripts s refers to suction conditions and d refers to discharge conditions.
o Static Suction Head, hS
o Static Discharge Head, hd
o Friction Head, hf
o Vapor pressure Head, hvp
o Pressure Head, hp
o Velocity Head, hv

o Total Suction Head HS

o Total Discharge Head Hd
o Total Differential Head HT
o Net Positive Suction Head Required NPSHr
o Net Positive Suction Head Available NPSHa

NPSH calculations
+hv -h

Significance of NPSHr and NPSHa

The NPSH available must always be greater than the NPSH required for the pump to operate properly. It is normal practice to
have at least 2 to 3 feet of extra NPSH available at the suction flange to avoid any problems at the duty point.

Power and Efficiency

Brake Horse Power (BHP)
The work performed by a pump is a function of the total head and the weight of the liquid pumped in a given time period.
Pump input or brake horsepower (BHP) is the actual horsepower delivered to the pump shaft.
Pump output or hydraulic or water horsepower (WHP) is the liquid horsepower delivered by the pump. These two terms are
defined by the following formulas.

 The pump efficiency is the ratio of these two values.

Best Efficiency Point (BEP) is the capacity at maximum impeller diameter at which the efficiency
is highest. All points to the right or left of BEP have a lower efficiency.

Presssure Rise Through Impeller

Minimum Speed For Starting A Centrifugal Pump

Maximum Suction Lift Or Suction Height

Above
equation is a maximum suction lift or height. If the suction height of pump is more than , there is possibility of
cavitation.

Understanding Centrifugal Pump Performance Curves

The capacity and pressure needs of any system can be defined with the help of a graph called a system curve. Similarly the
capacity vs. pressure variation graph for a particular pump defines its characteristic pump performance curve.

Priming:

The operation of filling the casing , impeller and suction pipe and the portion of delivery pump up to delivery valve is called
priming.
In case the priming of pump is not done and the pump is not done and the pump is not under the operation, the water
present in the pump and suction pipe will flow back to the sump. The space occupied by water will be filled by air.
If the pump is now started, the air pockets inside the impeller may give rise to vortices and cause the discontinuity of flow.
Under these condition, the flow of fluid does not commence and the pump runs dry. It causes the rubbing and seizing of the
wearing rings, increases noise level and vibrations and finally may cause the serious damage to pump.
Priming for small pumps is done by hand
A foot valve is essential at the bottom of suction pipe
A funnel or priming cup is provided to fill the water by hand. An air vent is provided in the casing of pump. When the water
is filled, the air escapes through the air vent. It is closed once the priming is completed

References:
1. Centrifugal pumps operation at off-design conditions, Chemical Processing April, May, June 1987, Igor J. Karassik
2. Understanding NPSH for Pumps, Technical Publishing Co. 1975, Travis F. Glover
3. Controlling Centrifugal Pumps, Hydrocarbon Processing, July 1995, Walter Driedger
4. Unit operations of chemical engineering , 7 th edition by maccbe, smith and harrenhall