Centrifugal Pumps

March 2009
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 Early Pumps
Archimedis Ctesibius
4th Century 200BC

Noria, 200-
300BC 2
 Pump History
One of earliest known pumps was the Noria, a
rotating ring of buckets to lift water.

In the late 1600’s, Denis Papin

(French physicist) came out
with the first true centrifugal pump.

Today pumps account for around 31% of all

energy consumption in industry worldwide.
(Ref : www.powerinmotion.eu)

Pumps are the second most common machine,

second only to the electric motor. 3
(Ref: Pump Handbook, Karassik)
 Pump Classification - Types
All Pumps can generally be classified as one of two types

Dynamic

Pumps

Displacement
 Pump Classification - Types

Dynamic

Centrifugal Single Self Priming Open Impeller

Suction
Non Priming Semi Open Impeller
Radial & Mixed Flow
Double Single Stage
Closed Impeller
Suction Multi Stage

Single Stage Closed Impeller Fixed Pitch

Axial Flow
Multi Stage Open Impeller Variable Pitch

Single Stage Self Priming

Peripheral
Multi Stage Non Priming

Jet (Ejector)
Special Effect Gas Lift
Hydraulic Ram
Electromagnetic
 Pump Classification - Types

Displacement
Simplex
Reciprocating
Single Acting Duplex
Piston & Plunger Double Acting Triplex

Multiplex
Simplex Fluid Operated
Diaphragm
Multiplex Mechanically Operated

Rotary Progressive Cavity

Piston
Single Rotor
Flexible Member
Screw

Lobe
Gear
Multiple Rotor
Circumferential Piston
Multiplex
 Centrifugal Pumps
A centrifugal pump is a kinetic device. Liquid entering the
pump receives kinetic energy from the rotating impeller.
The centrifugal action of the impeller accelerates the
liquid to a high velocity, transferring mechanical
(rotational) energy to the liquid.
Centrifugal Pump Coverage Chart

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 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements

Number of Impellers

Single Stage Multi Stage 9

 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements

Impeller Suction

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Single Suction Double Suction
 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements
Casing Split Arrangement

•Suction & Discharge nozzles are

integral parts of the lower half of the
casing
•Pump can be dismantled without
disconnecting the piping.
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 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements

Casing Mounting

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 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements

Volute Design

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 Radial Forces on Impeller
Forces generated away from BEP

Single Volute – Double Volute –

Radial Unbalance Radial forces
Exists away from balanced away
BEP from BEP

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 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements
Impeller Types
Open Semi-Open Closed

Clean Services
Non-abrasive. Lower Efficiency.
Low horsepower applications. More Easily Plugged
Low Cost / Light weight. More resistant to wear
High Efficiency More robust 15
Pass Solids easily
Centrifugal Pump Arrangements

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 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements

Wear Rings

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 Centrifugal Pump Arrangements
Wear Rings, Back Vanes and Balance Holes are also
useful to balance axial thrust.

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 Axial Thrust
 Results from internal pressures acting axially on the
exposed areas of the rotating element.
 Unbalanced axial thrust may create excessive load on
thrust bearing.

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 BASIC CENTIRF PUMP THEORY

H = V2 / 2G H = Total Developed Head, in Meters

V = Velocity at tip of impeller, in Meters/Sec
g = 9.81 m/s2 (gravity)
THIS IS WHY we talk of HEAD, rather than PRESSURE ! 20
 Pump Head Demonstration
Centrifugal Pump Discharge Suction Casing Impeller
(Fountain Pump)

Pump Data

Pump Demo : Salt Water Vs Fresh Water 21

BASIC CENTIRF PUMP THEORY

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 BASIC CENTIRF PUMP THEORY

Why did the static pressure change in the

previous slide? What changed?
Density!!

Static Pressure = r x g x H in Pa
r = density (kg/m3)
g = gravity = 9.81 m/s
H = Static Head, meters
Lets see for the water example on previous slide:
SG = 1.0 meaning r = 1000 kg/m3
H = 10 ft = 3.05m

So : Pressure = 1000 x 9.81 x 3.05 = 29900Pa = 29.9kPa = 4.3 psi23

 Head Definitions
Total Static Head (Not Flowing)
= Discharge (Pressure Head + Elevation)
- Suction (Pressure Head + Elevation)

P2 P2

P1

P1

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 Head Definitions
Total Dynamic Head (Flowing)
= Total Static Head
+ Discharge (Friction Loss + Velocity Head(Hvd) )
- Suction (Friction Loss + Velocity Head (Hvs) )

P2 P2

P1
Hvd Hvd
Hvs
Friction Losses
Hvs

P1

When we talk about pump head, we mean Total Dynamic Head.

It’s referenced from pump suction to discharge flange. 25
 Head from Velocity
How is the velocity converted to pressure?

IN VOLUTE CASING

Volute casing – Diffusion casing-

 Pumped liquid is decelerated  In large pumps instead of simple
in the volute casing. volute casing, stationary vanes are
 Flow area of the volute installed into the volute. These are
gradually increases. called diffusion casing.
 Liquid pressure increases as  More efficient conversion of velocity
the velocity decreases. head into pressure head.
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Casing slows the fluid down, the energy is converted into pressure (Bernoulli).
 Pump Characteristic Curve
The Pump curve shows the relationship
between:
Head & Flow, Power, Efficiency, NPSHr
Shut-Off Head / Dead Head is the
maximum pressure the pump can
deliver, piping should be rated above
this. In this case = 110m.
Rated Point is the duty point

Min Flow is low flow limit, from

max thermal or vibration.
Power is the shaft power =
hydraulic power / efficiency.
BEP is the pump best efficiency
point. In this case = 82% at 188m3/hr
NPSHr is the required suction head
to avoid cavitation at duty point
MAX and MIN impeller diameters
should be shown 27
 Curves – affect of Viscosity
Higher the viscosity - higher the losses.
Reduced head developed.
Increase in power input.
Reduction in pump efficiency.
The performance of a pump handling a viscous liquid is generally
estimated by applying correction factors to the water performance of the
pump.

Correction needed if variation in kinematic viscosity exceeds 20cSt.

Centrifugal pumps are not suitable for viscosity above 500cSt.

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 Pump Characteristic Curve
Curve Shapes

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 Pump Curve – Why a curve?

Note however, different impeller types can have different typical curve shapes
Shutoff Head &
Power are much
higher than at Rated
point

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Radial Mixed Axial
 Curve Evaluation
What is important when evaluating pump curves?

Head Rise to Shut Off (slope of curve)

Curve Stability (no droop)

Flow as % of BEP (always to the left)

Minimum Flow

End of Curve Power

NPSH
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 System Curve

All pumps operate against what is called a SYSTEM CURVE. The system curve is
made of three components:
 Static Head (Constant)
 Pressure Head (Constant)
 Friction Head (Varies with flow) 32
Control valves modify the friction head curve and thus the system curve.
 Pump / System Curve Interaction
Pump will always operate at the intersection of
pump and system curve.
(See three different system curves and the operating points)

A – Highest System Resistance

C – Lowest System Resistance

Note the wide variation in Head

and Flow Possible.

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 Parallel / Series Pump Operation
When 2 or more pumps run
2 identical HEAD together, a new curve is
pumps in doubles in established which accounts for
Total Dynamic Head (TDH)

SERIES new curve both pumps.

Pumps can be run in Series or

in Parallel.

2 identical FLOW
Curve for single pumps in doubles in
pump PARALLEL new curve

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Flowrate
 Parallel Pump Operation

What happens when two pumps

operate in parallel?

Is the flow twice that of a single

pump system?

Do the pumps share the load

equally?

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 Parallel Pump Operation
But what point is each pump actually
running at – load sharing?
The actual flow is
dictated by the
intersection of the
system curve with the
pump curve.

If the system curve is

steep (and/or if the
pump curve is steep),
the flow increase may
not be that significant.
 Parallel Pump Operation
Example : Fire pump installation.

Each time an additional fire nozzle is

activated, the system resistance is
decreased.

This causes the system curve to move

right (I.e. less resistance = more flow)

To maintain system pressure, another

fire pump may need to be started.
 Parallel Pump Operation

Possible Problems
Drooping Pump Curve
When the second pump starts, the
flowrate will increase only to the first point
where the TDH matches the pressure in
the system. This may be below min flow!

Non-Identical Pumps (one pump has lower TDH)

If the new pump’s intersection with the
system curve is above the shut-off
TDH of the worn pump, it will force the
worn pump into a shut-off condition.
 Minimum Flow
Pump Minimum flow is established considering
several limitations:
 Avoid High Radial Thrust (%BEP)
 Temperature Rise (Temp Rise = Shaft Power *(1-efficiency) / Spec. Heat *flowrate*density)

 Motor overload (of Axial pumps)

 Maintain velocity (if high dissolved gases)
 Avoid Recirculation (causes pulsation)
 Avoiding curve droop 39
 Motor Sizing – Speed / Torque Curve
Speed Torque Curve (Open Discharge Valve)
Pumps always operate at the
intersection of the Motor Motor
Torque Curve and the Pump Torque
Torque Curve.

Torque
But What happens if voltage
is reduced for some reason.

As the Motor torque curve Full Voltage

lowers, the intersection point

Reduced Voltage
changes and pump may not
generate full speed.
Pump
The motor may overheat. Torque

Speed
Unit 100%
Operates
Note : Valve position affects pump starting torque. Here
Low Ns pump – (eg Radial centrif) start with valve mostly closed
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High Ns pump (eg Axial) – start with valves open (careful water hammer)
 Pump Efficiency
Efficiency = Hydraulic Power / Shaft Power

Pump Efficiency (η) = Q.ρ.H / P

Where
Q = pump flow rate
ρ = liquid density at pump conditions
H = Total Dynamic Head at Q
P = power input to the pump

For a 3 phase electric motor P=√3 x VIcosφ*ηmotor

V = motor voltage
I = motor current
cosφ = motor power factor 41
 Affinity Laws
The affinity laws can be used to predict the performance of
the pump at different impeller diameters for the same
speed Or different speed for the same diameter.

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 Affinity Laws
Careful : The affinity laws assume different size impellers
have the same efficiency, no always true, so limit diameter
change to 10-20%.

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 Specific Speed
Specific speed is indicative of the shape and characteristics of an impeller. It can be used to select
the type of pump to be used, and optimise the type, size and cost.

NS = n.Q0.5/H0.75 where
NS = Pump specific speed;
n = Rotative speed in revolutions per minute;
Q = Rate of flow in m 3 /h (gpm) at optimum efficiency;
H = Total head in meters (feet) per stage

NS is used to identify three types: radial, mixed, and axial flow impellers.
In the specific speed range of approximately 1200 to 7000 (1000 to 6000), double suction impellers are used as
frequently as single suction impellers.

US Units

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 Specific Speed
Ns for Pump Type Selection Screening

US Units

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 Specific Speed
The specific speed provides a number which can help identify the type of pump (for
example radial or axial flow) that is best suited for your application.

Using NS, pump vendors optimise : speed, size, efficiency etc to generate the lowest
cost selection.

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 Suction Specific Speed
Suction Specific Speed (Nss) is a “dimensionless” number to
evaluate the cavitation characteristics of pumps.

A lower Nss number indicates a higher NPSHr value for a given pump.

The Specific Speed : Nss= n.Q0.5/NPSHr0.75

Suction Specific Speed (Ss) is based on Speed (rpm), Capacity

(gpm), and NPSH(R) at the point of maximum pump efficiency.

9000 is a reasonable value of suction specific speed. Pumps with a

minimum suction specific speed of 9000 are readily available.

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 Suction Specific Speed
The higher the Nss, the closer you must run to BEP to avoid vibration / cavitation

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 NPSH
Question for a Process Engineer :
What happens when the fluid vapour pressure exceeds the fluid pressure?
Answer:
Vapour Bubbles are formed
(Eg. Boiling water) Note:heating the water is just one way of forming vapour bubbles!
Another way is to keep the temperature constant and reduce the pressure.
Eg. Fill a vessel with water and start to pull a vacuum – it boils at room temp!!!

Likewise, inside a pump, inlet velocity head

and friction lower the liquid pressure at
certain locations. Bubbles form when the
pressure falls below vapour pressure.

Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) is the

pressure the pump inlet is above the
vapour pressure.

NPSH = Psuction – Vapour Pressure (in meters)

Insufficient NPSH leads to cavitation and

loss of pump pressure rise.
 NPSHa & NPSHr
NPSHa:
NPSH available - depends on Process System upstream of the pump.
This is the NPSH at the pump suction.

NPSHr:
NPSH required – defined by the pump manufacturer. This is how much
NPSH that particular pump needs to avoid cavitation in a particular duty.

To avoid cavitation:
NPSHa > NPSHr usually a minimum of 1m margin is required.

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 NPSH
Final Note on NPSH:
GET THE NPSHa ELEVATION DATUM RIGHT !

DON’T REFERENCE NPSHa CALCS TO DECK LEVEL

(During design : use 0.6m above deck for Horiz pump CL, unless better data available) 51
 Cavitation
Cavitation occurs when the pressure of the fluid decreases to the vapour
pressure of the fluid at the pumping temperature, this causes bubbles to
form.

The bubbles collapse rapidly and violently, resulting in noise, vibration,

erosion of material from the impeller surface, and most importantly, reduced
pump service life.
 Cavitation
Pressure reduction in the external suction system of the pump

A simple sketch of a pump ‘external suction system’ is shown below

Cavitation
 Cavitation

When a bubble collapses near

a solid boundary (vane or
shroud), the direction of the
micro jet will, almost always,
be towards that boundary.

In other words, the entire

energy of collapse is directed
at a microscopic area of the
impeller's surface and metal
erosion occurs.
 Cavitation
To cure vaporization problems you must either increase the suction
head, lower the fluid temperature, or decrease the N.P.S.H. Required.

Increase the suction head, by :

•Raise the liquid level in the tank
•Raise the tank
•Place the pump in a pit
•Pressurize the tank
•Reduce the piping losses, look at :
• Too many fittings
• Piping too small in diameter.
• Solids have built up on the inside of the pipe.
• suction strainer is clogged.
• Install a booster pump.
• Lower the pumping fluid temperature.
 Cavitation
•Reduce the N.P.S.H. Required
•Use a double suction pump. This can reduce the N.P.S.H.R. by
as much as 25%, or in some cases it will allow you to raise the
pump speed by 40%
•Use a slower speed pump.
•Use a pump with a larger, impeller eye opening.
•Install an Inducer
 Inducers
Inducers are a mechanical device sometime added to increase the
suction pressure to the impeller eye and reduce NPSHr.

Inducers can have the effect of raising NPSHr at lower flows, so their
use is to be carefully considered. 58
 Pump Vibration Sources
Mechanical Causes
Hydraulic Causes
Other Causes
Mechanical causes of vibration
Pump and driver misalignment.
Bent shaft.
Unbalanced rotating components.
Pipe strain. Either by design or as a result of thermal growth.
The mass of the pump base is too small.
Product attaching to a rotating component.
Thermal growth of various components, especially shafts.
Worn or loose bearings.
Rubbing parts.
Loose hold down bolts.
Damaged parts.
Loose parts.
Softfoot. 59
 Pump Vibration Sources
Hydraulic causes of vibration
Operating off BEP
Vaporization of the product (Cavitation)
Impeller vane running too close to cutwater (vane passing frequency).
Internal recirculation.
Air in the system
Turbulence in the system (non-laminar flow).
Water hammer.

Other causes of vibration.

Harmonic vibration from nearby equipment.
Operating the pump at a critical speed.
Seal "slip stick" at the seal faces.

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Flow & Vibration

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 Pump Standards
API610 - Centrifugal Pumps for Petroleum,
Petrochemical and Natural Gas Industries
API610 is the base standard for use in the O&G industry for handling hydrocarbons.
Highly Robust – lots of steel , Expensive
Centerline mounted and thermal expansion does not affect alignment.

ANSI B73.1 - covers the design of non heavy

duty pumps used in chemical industries.
Foot mounted and thermal expansion distorts alignment. Need hot alignment beyond
80oC.
Weak foundation and cannot tolerate piping strain.
Built in dimensional standard and allows interchangeability between different vendors.
Cheaper (around 30%) than API pumps.

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API610 Pump Classifications

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API Pump Classifications

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 Mechanical Seals
A mechanical seal is a sealing device which forms a running seal between rotating and
stationary parts. They were developed to overcome the disadvantages of compression
packing.

Single Seal Dual Seal – Can be

Non-Critical Pressurised or Unpressurised.
Non-Lethal Service More critical service
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Minimise Emissions
Mechanical Seal Systems

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 Cost of Pumps

Energy
Operation
Repair
Initial Cost
Installation

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Pump Installation - Piping

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Pump Installation - Piping

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END - QUESTIONS ?

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