PARALLEL/SERIES PUMP (P1) LAB REPORT

NAME: TEOH SU-FERN, ELYSE KYMBERLY

STUDENT ID:

UNIMKL-007950

LAB GROUP NO.:

GROUP 15

GROUP MEMBERS:

LEE REN YIH SIEW QI YAN MUHAMMAD AZWAN BIN NOR MOHAMAD

EXPERIMENT TITLE:

PARALLEL/SERIES PUMP

EXPERIMENT NUMBER:

P1

DATE OF EXPERIMENT:

20 MARCH 2011

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

16 APRIL 2011

SUMMARY
The aim of this experiment is to investigate the effect of different pump configurations on the pressure head and flowrate of water. These configurations include single pump, two pumps in parallel and two pumps in series. For each configuration, the flowrate, pressure, voltage and current readings are recorded for four different valve positions- fully opened, opened, opened and opened. For single pump and two pumps in parallel configuration, only one pressure reading will be obtained. However, for two pumps in series, there will be two pressure readings. The total pressure of the system can be obtained by adding the two values together. The results are then processed to obtain the graph of pressure head vs. flowrate graph for each configuration. The graph will then be analysed. From the trends of the graphs obtained, it can be seen that the two pumps in parallel configuration will give a flowrate that is larger of that of the single pump at a given pressure head. On the other hand, the two pumps in series configuration will give a pressure head that is approximately twice of that of the single pump at a given flowrate. The reliability of the results from the two pumps in series is relatively reliable as the results obtained are almost the same as the results predicted by theory, i.e. the pressure head of the two pumps in series will be twice of that of the single pump configuration. However, the reliability of the results from the two pumps in parallel has to be reconsidered as the results obtained did not follow the theoretical values. Theoretically, the flowrate from the two pumps in parallel should be twice of that of the single pump configuration, but the results from the experiment show that it is almost 4 to 5 times larger than the flowrate of the single pump. This means that some modifications must be done to the experiment to improve the accuracy of the results.

DATA COLLECTION
TABLE OF RESULTS
Table 1: Single Pump Configuration Data Valve Opening Fully Open Open Open Open Flowrate (L/min) 86.50 78.13 51.71 17.98 Flowrate Pressure -3 m3/s) (x 10 (psi) 1.442 1.302 0.862 0.300 14 14 18 24 Pressure (Pa) 96527 96527 124106 165474 Pressure Head (m) 9.84 9.84 12.65 16.87 Voltage Ampere (V) (A) 230 230 230 230 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.4

Table 2: Two Pumps In Parallel Configuration Data Valve Opening Flowrate (L/min) Fully Open 113.66 Open 101.26 Open 69.05 Open 25.97 Flowrate (x 10-3 m3/s) 1.894 1.688 1.151 0.433 Pressure (psi) 22 24 28 32 Pressure (Pa) 151685 165474 193053 220632 Pressure Head (m) 15.46 16.87 19.68 22.49 Voltage (V) 230 230 230 230 Ampere (A) 9.4 9.4 9.0 8.6

Table 3: Two Pumps In Series Configuration Data Valve Opening Flowrate (L/min) Fully Open Open Open Open 95.92 87.82 73.59 32.55 Flowrate (x 10-3 m3/s) 1.599 1.464 1.227 0.543 Pressure 1 (psi) 16 16 20 30 Pressure 2 (psi) 10 10 12 18 Total Pressure (psi) 26 26 32 48 Total Pressure (Pa) 179264 179264 220632 330948 Total Pressure Head (m) 18.27 18.27 22.49 33.74 Voltage (V) 230 230 230 230 Ampere (A) 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.0

GRAPHS

Graph of Pressure Head vs. Flowrate

40.00 35.00 30.00 Pressure Head (m) 25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 0.000 Single Pump Two Pumps in Parallel Two Pumps In Series

0.500

1.000 Flowrate (x 10-3 m3/s)

1.500

2.000

DISCUSSION QUESTION 1
Based on the graph of pressure head vs. flowrate of the different pump configurations, it can be seen that different configurations will yield a different graph. Theoretically, the configuration of two pumps operating in parallel will have twice the flowrate of a single pump at a given pressure. On the other hand, the configuration of two pumps operating in series will have twice the pressure head of a single pump at a given flowrate. However, the results obtained from the experiment are not exactly the same as the theoretical value.

From the two graphs of pressure head vs. flowrate for the single pump configuration and two pumps in parallel configuration, we can compare the results with the theoretical value. At a constant pressure head of 16.00m, the flowrate of the single pump is found to be 0.400 x 10-3 m3/s, whereas the flowrate of the two pumps in parallel is 1.800 x 10-3 m3/s. As predicted by theory, the flowrate of the two pumps in parallel configuration is greater than that of the single pump configuration. However, the flowrate of the two pumps in parallel is almost 4 to 5 times higher than that of a single pump. This differs greatly from the theory which states that the flowrate of the two pumps in parallel should be double of that of the single pump at the same pressure head.

From the two graphs of pressure head vs. flowrate for the single pump configuration and two pumps in series configuration, it can be seen that the results obtained are linked closely to the theoretical values. Comparing at flowrate of 0.900 x 10-3 m3/s, the pressure head of the single pump is 12.50m and the pressure head of the two pumps operating in series is 27.50m. At flowrate of 1.400 x 10-3 m3/s, the pressure head of the single pump is 10.00m and the pressure head of the two pumps operating in series is 19.00m. Therefore, it can be said that the pressure head of the two pumps working in series is roughly twice the pressure head of the single pump at a given flowrate, as predicted by theory. The discrepancies in the values can be due to many factors such as human error in calculating the flowrate, low sensitivity of the pressure, voltage and current gauges, and etc.

QUESTION 2
The efficiencies of the pump at different configurations can be calculated by obtaining the ratio of input to output power. Flowrate (x 10-3 m3/s) 1.442 1.302 0.862 0.300 Pressure Head (m) 9.84 9.84 12.65 16.87 Voltage (V) 230 230 230 230 Ampere (A) 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.4 Input Power (W) 1242.0 1242.0 1219.0 1242.0 Output Power (W) 139.2 125.7 107.0 49.6 Efficiency (%) 11.2 10.1 8.8 4.0

Table 4: Efficiency Values for Single Pump Configuration

For the single pump configuration, the efficiency values range from 4.0% to 11.2%. The average efficiency value is 8.53%. Flowrate (x 10-3 m3/s) 1.894 1.688 1.151 0.433 Pressure Head (m) 15.46 16.87 19.68 22.49 Voltage (V) 230 230 230 230 Ampere (A) 9.4 9.4 9.0 8.6 Input Power (W) 2162 2162 2070 1978 Output power (W) 287.3 279.3 222.2 95.5 Efficiency (%) 13.3 12.9 10.7 4.8

Table 5: Efficiency Values for Two Pumps in Parallel Configuration

For the two pumps in parallel configuration, the efficiency values range from 4.8% to 13.3%. The average efficiency value is 10.43%.

Flowrate (x 10-3 m3/s) 1.599 1.464 1.227 0.543

Total Pressure Head (m) 18.27 18.27 22.49 33.74

Voltage (V) 230 230 230 230

Ampere (A) 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.0

Input Power (W) 2415.0 2415.0 2415.0 2300.0

Output Power (W) 286.6 262.4 270.6 179.5

Efficiency (%) 11.9 10.9 11.2 7.8

Table 6:Efficiency Values for Two Pumps in Series Configuration

For the two pumps in series configuration, the efficiency values range from 7.8% to 11.9%. The average efficiency value is 10.45%.

QUESTION 3
A few modifications can be done to the experimental procedure to obtain results of higher accuracy. Firstly, the experiment can be repeated several times for each valve opening. The average of the results can be obtained to take into account all the other random errors present in the experiment. In our experiment, the flowrate was obtained by recording the difference in volume reading in one minute. Therefore, a longer time interval can be used in calculating the flowrate to reduce errors in the flowrate calculation. Also, more readings at different valve positions can be taken to obtain more data. This will make the graph of pressure head vs. flowrate to be more accurate.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, different pump configurations will affect both pressure head and flowrate of the water. For a given pressure head, the two pumps in parallel configuration will yield a flowrate that is twice of that of the single pump configuration. The two pumps in series configuration will yield a pressure head that is twice of that of the single pump configuration, in a given flowrate. Therefore, it can be concluded that two pumps in parallel can be used when the flowrate of water is larger than the range of which a single pump can handle. On the other hand, two pumps in series will be used when the system suffers from a larger pressure head loss than the range of which a single pump can handle.

NOTATIONS

APPENDIX