CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

CHARACTERISTICS

CE 370
 Types of Pumps
There are different types of pumps which are used for
different purposes in water and wastewater
transportation:
Low-lift pumps are used to lift water and wastewater from
a source to the treatment plants,
high-service pumps are used to pump water and wastewater
under pressure,
Booster pump are used to increase pressure in water
distribution systems,
Well-pumps are used to lift water from wells,
Recirculation pumps are used to recirculate water within a
system, and
Pumps are also used to feed chemicals, sample water and
wastewater and fight fires.
 Centrifugal Pumps
Centrifugal pumps are commonly used in the field of water and
wastewater for a variety of applications:
Lift and transport water,
Move sludge,
Well pumping, and
Wastewater lift stations.
Centrifugal pumps are common ones due to:
Simplicity
Compactness
Low-cost
Ability to operate under wide conditions.
Centrifugal pumps are mainly composed of :
The impeller, which is a rotating member with vanes
Surrounding case, see figure.
 Centrifugal Pumps
The name "Centrifugal" is driven from the force, the
pump depends on, to transport water. That force is the
centrifugal force. The impeller can be:
Closed, which is used to transport water and
Open, which is used to transport wastewater containing
suspended solid.

How centrifugal pumps operate??

The impeller is driven at high rotational speed,
The impeller throws the water into the volute
The water channels through the nozzle to the discharge.
 Pump Head-Discharge Curve
Pump manufacturers establish head-discharge curves at
constant impeller speed and based on experiments. The
head given in those curves represent the head at a given
discharge when the inlet static water level is at the
elevation of the pump centerline and excluding the head
losses developed in the suction and discharge pipelines,
see figure. The figure shows the following:
Discharge is controlled by a valve,
Discharge pressure is measured by a pressure gauge, and
Discharge flow rate is measured by a flow meter.

In the mean time, power input and efficiency of the

pump are measured and determined.
 Pump Head-Discharge Curve
When valve is closed, the discharge pressure reaches a value
called "the shutoff pressure". As the valve is gradually opened,
the discharge flow will increase and the pump head will decrease,
see figure.

The figure shows the pump efficiency increases with the increase
in discharge flow, until it reaches an optimum value and starts to
decrease.

Centrifugal pumps are made to operate close to the optimum

efficiency. When pumps are operated beyond optimum
conditions, problems such as cavitation and water hammering
start to occur. When pumps are operated near to shutoff pressure,
problems such as vibration and hydraulic losses could happen.
Operating the pump at 60 to 120 percent of the efficiency was
considered to be a good practice.
 Pump Characteristics
Usually manufacturers produce characteristics curves
for pumps with different impeller diameter and
operating speeds. For a given impeller diameter running Q1 N1
at different speeds, the discharge is directly proportional
to to the speed, head is proportional to the square of
speed, and power input is proportional to the cube of the
Q2 N 2
speed as shown in the following equations: 2
H1 N
1
2
where:
H2 N 2
Q = discharge, gallons per minute (liters per second 3
Pi1 N
H = head, feet (meters)
Pi = power input, horsepower (kilowatts).
1
3
Pi 2 N 2
 Pump Characteristics
If the pump operates at constant speed
Q1 D1
but at different impeller diameter, the
effect of discharge, head and power Q2 D2
input becomes as follows: 2
H1 D
1
2
where D = impeller diameter, inches H2 D 2

(centimeters) 3
Pi1 D
1
3
Pi 2 D
2
 Power and Efficiency
The power input of a pump is equal to the work done per unit time in lifting
water to a higher point. Discharge and head can be related to power input by
the following equation:

wQH QH
Po
550 60 3960
where
Po = power output, horsepower
Q = discharge, gallons per minute
H = head, feet
w = unit weight of water = 8.34 lb/gal
550 = foot pounds / second per horsepower
60 = seconds per minute
3960 = 550 60 / 8.34
 Power and Efficiency
In metric units, the power output of a pump is:

Po wQH 0.0098 QH

where
Po = power output, kilowatts (kilonewton meter per second)
Q = discharge, liters per second
H = head, meters
w = unit weight of water = 0.0098 kN per liter
 Power and Efficiency
The efficiency of the pump is the ratio of the power
output to the power input and can be expressed in the
form of:

Po
Ep
Pi
where
Ep = pump efficiency, dimensionless
Pi = power input, horsepower (kilowatts)
Po = power output, horsepower (kilowatts).
System Characteristics
 System Characteristics
When a pump is put into service in a water distribution
system, its flow of discharge faces resistance due to:
Static head and
Friction head loss

Static head is the difference in elevation between

suction and discharge points. If a simple water system
was considered, see the following figure.
Water is pumped from an inlet point
Water is discharged either into
elevated storage (outlet 1)
load center (outlet 2)
both (outlets 1 and 2)
 System Characteristics
If water is discharged from outlet 1, then the
system will have the hydraulic grade line 1,
while if water is discharged from outlet 2 then
the system will be described by the hydraulic
grade line 2.

The head-discharge curves for the system are

shown in the following figure.
 Constant-Speed Pumps

A constant-speed pump operates at a head-

discharge point defined by the intersection of the
pump head-discharge curve and the system head-
discharge curve, see the following figure.
 Constant-Speed Pumps
When the entire water is pumped to the elevated tank, the constant-speed
pump will operate at point A, while when the water was entirely withdrawn
from outlet 2, the pump will operate at point B.

The curve shows that Q2 > Q1 why? Because the operating pressure (static
and friction head losses) at point B is less than that at point A.

In small water systems, pumping stations may consist of two constant-

speed pumps that operate intermittently. Water is pumped directly to an
elevated tank, which in turn supplies the distribution system. Pump
operation is controlled by the level of water in the elevated tank.

In larger systems installation of al least three pumps is desirable in order to

cover the extremes in water demand and to provide a standby pump. Water
is pumped directly to the distribution system and elevated tanks are
connected to the piping system.

Parallel operation of constant-speed pumps is shown in the following

figure.
 Constant-Speed Pumps

Pumps 1 and 2 are identical, while pump 3 has a

greater capacity and higher shutoff head. The
pumps are operated individually or in
combination based on the water demand. When
two or more pumps operate at one time, the
combined head-discharge curve can be obtained
by adding the rates of discharge at the same head
of the individual curve.
 Variable-Speed Pumps
In cases where variable discharge rates are required,
discharge of pumps running at constant-speed can be
controlled by using a valve at the pump outlet.
Restricting discharge causes the impeller to recirculate
water in the casing, reducing the efficiency and
damaging the pump bearings and impeller. In order to
maintain constant pump discharge head over a wide
rage of flow rates, variable-speed pumps are used.
Head-discharge curves for a pump operating at two
impeller speeds are shown in the following figure.
 Variable-Speed Pumps

The pump can operate on an infinite number of

curves between the minimum and maximum
speeds, the dashed lines are of equal efficiencies.
The demand-head curve is shown in the
following figure.
 Variable-Speed Pumps
The curve illustrates the required boost head by the
pump versus flow demand of the system. As water
demand increases, pump discharge pressure decreases,
so impeller speed increases. On the other hand, as
water demand decreases, pump discharge pressure
increases, so impeller speed decreases.

Combining the head-discharge and head-demand curves

will result in producing the following figure. Also the
speed and efficiency curves can be plotted.
 Variable-Speed Pumps
At low water demand rates, the variable-speed drive
should be prevented from running at very low speeds.
So, when water demand is less than the minimum rate,
pumps are designed to recirculate water through the
pump in order to prevent the pump from damage.

The recommended minimum discharge rate is between

25 and 35 per cent of the pumping rate at the best
operating efficiency. The recirculation techniques are
shown in the following figure.
 Variable-Speed Pumps
The first system uses a flow meter to operate a modulating valve
in a by-pass to maintain a nearly constant flow through the pump
when the demand is less than the minimum recommended rate of
discharge.

The second system employs a back-pressure regulating valve in

the by-pass. This system can be used if the discharge curve turns
downward. Variable-speed pumps operate in combination and
may function by either load sharing or staggered operation.

In load sharing, all pumps operate at the same speed and

discharge at equal rates. In staggered operation, one or more of
the pumps operate at optimum efficiency (constant speed) while
only one pump is varied to meet changing demand.

Variable-speed pumps can also be used in combination with

constant-speed pumps.