Positive Displacement

A positive displacement fire pump moves water by trapping a fixed amount of it, then forcing that water out the discharge pipe. Positive displacement pumps can be further divided into two categories: reciprocating pumps like piston and diaphragm pumps, and rotary pumps like screw and gear pumps. Of these types, rotary pumps are most commonly used in firefighting systems as a primer pump to fill hoses, lines and the main pump.

Centrifugal

Centrifugal pumps are commonly used as main pumps in firefighting systems. A centrifugal pump uses a revolving device called an impeller to accelerate water radially outward from the center of the pump housing, imparting it with velocity. This velocity, when coupled with the resistance of the pump housing and discharge line, creates pressure, which propels water out of the pump. Additionally, a vacuum is created at the impeller input opening that continuously draws in more water.

Differences

The main difference between the two types of pumps is that a positive displacement pump has the ability to pump air, whereas the centrifugal pump cannot. This makes the positive displacement pump a necessary choice for filling empty water lines, which is why it is commonly used as a primer pump. The centrifugal pump is used as a main fire pump because of higher flow rate and efficiency.

Types of pumps

There are many pump classifications. One classification is according to the method energy is imparted to the liquid: kinetic energy, or positive displacement. A centrifugal pump is of kinetic energy type - it imparts energy to a liquid by means of centrifugal force produced by a rotating impeller. A positive displacement pump imparts energy by mechanical displacement. Piston, diaphragm, plunger, screw, vane, and gear pumps are some examples. Centrifugal pumps are widely-used because of its design simplicity, high efficiency, wide range of capacity and head, smooth flow rate, and ease of operation and maintenance. (Displacement pumps are of lower flow range and have pulsating flow rate).

Types of centrifugal pumps? Centrifugal pumps can be grouped into several types using different criteria such

as its design, construction, application, service, compliance with a national or industry standard, etc. Thus one specific pump can belong to different groups and oftentimes this becomes descriptive of the pump itself. Some of these groups are:

Based on compliance with industry standards: ANSI pump - ASME B73.1 specifications API pump - API 610 specifications DIN pump - DIN 24256 specifications ISO pump - ISO 2858, 5199 specifications Nuclear pump - ASME specifications UL/FM fire pump - NFPA 20 specifications

Based on number of impeller/s in the pump: Single stage - pump has one impeller only; for low head service Two-stage - pump has two impellers in series; for medium head service Multi-stage - pump has three or more impellers in series; for high head service The number of impellers, not the number of volutes, determines the number of stages. Thus a pump with 4 volutes but only 3 impellers is normally referred to as a 4-stage pump destaged to 3-stage, or 4/3-stage.

Based on impeller suction: Single suction - pump with single suction impeller (impeller has suction cavity on one side only); simple design but impeller is subjected to higher axial thrust imbalance due to flow coming in on one side of impeller only. Double suction - pump with double suction impeller (impeller has suction cavities on both sides); has lower NPSHR than single suction impeller. Pump is considered hydraulically balanced but is susceptible to uneven flow on both sides of impeller if suction piping is not done properly. In a pump with more than one impeller the design of the first stage impeller determines if the pump is considered single or double suction type.

Based on type of volute: Single volute - pump volute has single lip which is very easy to cast. Is usually used in small low capacity pumps where a double volute design is impractical due to relatively small size of volute passageway which make obtaining good quality commercial casting difficult. Pumps with single volute design have higher radial loads. Double volute - pump volute has dual lips located 180 degrees apart resulting in balanced radial loads; most centrifugal pumps are of double volute design.

Based on nozzle location: End suction/top discharge - the suction nozzle is located at the end of, and concentric to, the shaft while the discharge nozzle is located at the top of the case perpendicular to the shaft. Pump is always of an overhung type and typically has lower NPSHR because the liquid feeds directly into the impeller eye.

Top/top nozzles -the suction and discharge nozzles are located at the top of the case perpendicular to the shaft. Pump can either be overhung type or between-bearing type but is always a radially-split case pump. Side/side nozzles - the suction and discharge nozzles are located at the sides of the case perpendicular to the shaft. Pump can either be an axially or radially split case type.

Based on shaft orientation: Horizontal - pump with shaft in horizontal plane; popular due to ease of servicing and maintenance. Vertical - pump with shaft in vertical plane; ideal when space is limited or of a premium, or when pumping from a pit or underground barrel to increase the available NPSH.

Based on orientation of case-split: Axial split - pump case is split axially; the upper half is called the upper or top case, the lower half is called the lower or bottom case. The case cannot be supported at shaft centerline because of the case split; is usually limited to temperature up to 450 degrees F to avoid misalignment because of uneven thermal expansion from shaft centerline. The flat case gasket and irregular bolting pattern makes containing the bolt stress difficult hence it is limited in its hydrostatic test and allowable working pressure. Radial split - pump case is split radially; the split parts are usually referred to as case and cover; can be supported at shaft centerline for even thermal expansion and is the preferred construction for high temperature application. The confined case gasket and circular bolting pattern makes containing the bolt stress more manageable hence it can be designed for higher hydrostatic test and allowable working pressure.

Based on bearing support: Overhung - the impeller overhungs on one end of shaft which is unsupported by a bearing; usually has lower NPSHR because there is no shaft blockage at the impeller eye. The trade-off is that pump has higher shaft deflection. Between-bearing - the shaft has bearing support on both ends, thus impeller is located in between-bearings. Pump has lower shaft deflection than overhung pump but usually has higher NPSHR because shaft is blocking the impeller eye and shaft diameter at the impeller is usually of larger size.

Based on shaft connection to driver: Close-coupled - the impeller is mounted on the driver shaft which is of special design. This is also known as integral shaft design. Typically used for light service. The pump-driver assembly is very compact, lightweight, and inexpensive. Direct-coupled - the pump and driver have separate shafts connected by a flexible

coupling. Usually a spacer coupling is used to allow the removal of seals without disturbing the driver.