5.

7 Centrifugal Pumps

1. Centrifugal Pumps
The centrifugal pump is by far the most frequently used type of pump in HVAC systems. The
essential parts of a centrifugal pump are the rotating member, or impeller, and the surrounding
case. The impeller is usually driven by an electric motor, which may be close-coupled (on the same
shaft as the impeller) or flexible coupled. The fluid enters the center of the rotating impeller, is
thrown into the volute, and flows outward the diffuser (Fig. 10-13). The fluid leaving the impeller
has high kinetic energy that is converted to static pressure in the volute and diffuser as efficiency as
possible. Although there are various types of impellers and casing, the principle of operation is the
same. The pump shown in Fig. 10-10 is a single-suction pump because the fluid enters the impeller
from only one side. The double-suction type has fluid entering from both sides. A pump may be
staged with more than one impeller on the same shaft with one casing. The fluid leaves the first
stage and enters the impeller of the second stage before leaving the casing.

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 Pump performance is most commonly given in the forms of curves. Figure 10-11 is an example
of such data for a pump that may be operated at two different speeds with several different
impellers. For each speed a different curve is given for each impeller diameter. These curves give the
total dynamic head, efficiency, shaft power, and the net positive suction head as a function of
capacity.

2
 The total dynamic head furnished by a pump to the fluid entering and leaving the pump is:
wgc g c P1  P2  V12  V22
Hp     z1  z 2  (1)
g g 2g
The lost head is unavailable as useful energy and is omitted from the equation. Losses are
typically accounted for by the efficiency, defined as the ratio of the useful power actually imparted
to the fluid to the shaft power input:
W m  w Q w
F    (2.1)
W s W s W s
The shaft power may be obtained from Equation (2.1)
 w Q w Q Hpg
m
W s    (2.2)
p p  p gc
Therefore a definite relationship exists between the curves for total head, efficiency, and shaft
power in Fig. 10-11.
If the static pressure of the fluid entering a pump approaches the vapor pressure of the liquid
too closely, vapor bubbles will form in the impeller passages. This condition is detrimental to pump
performance, and the collapse of the bubbles is noisy and may damage to pump. This phenomenon
is known as cavitation. The amount of pressure in excess of the vapor pressure required to prevent
cavitation (expressed as head) is known as the required net positive suction head (NPSHR). This is a
characteristic of a given pump and varies considerable with speed and capacity. NPSHR is
determined by the actual testing of each model.
Whereas each pump has its own NPSHR, each system has its own available net positive suction
head (NPSHA).

3
 Ps gc Vs2 Pv gc
NPSHA    (3)
g 2g g
where:
gcPs/g = static head at the pump inlet, ft or m, absolute
Vs2/2g = velocity head at the pump inlet, ft or m
gcPv/g = static vapor pressure head of the liquid at the pumping temperature, ft or m, absolute

The net positive suction head available must always be greater than the NPSHR or noise and
cavitation will result.

Example No. 1
Suppose the pump of Fig. 10-11 is installed in a system as shown in Fig. 10-12. The pump is operated
at 3500 rpm with the 6 in. impeller and delivering 200 gpm. The suction line is standard 4 in. pipe
that has an inside diameter of 4.026 in. Compute the NPSHA, and compare it with the NPSHR. The
water temperature is 60 F.

Given:
Speed = 3500 rpm
Impeller diameter = 6 in
Flow rate = 200 gpm
Suction line = 4 in pipe, 4.026 in ID
Required:
NPSHA and compare to NPSHR.
Solution:
From Figure 10-11 the NPSHE is 10 ft of head. The available net positive suction head is computed
from Equation (3) with some changes.
PBgc Ps gc Vs2
   zs  l f
g g 2g
Ps gc Vs2 PBgc
or    zs  l f
g 2g g
Then Equation (3) becomes

4
 PBgc Pg
NPSHA   zs  l f  v c (4)
g g
Assuming standard barometric pressure.
PBgc 29.92
 13.55  33.78 ft of water
g 12
Pv gc 29.92 144
  0.59 ft of water
g 62.4
where Pv is read from steam tables. Then from Equation (4).
NPSHA  33.78 10  5  0.59  18.19 ft of water
which is almost twice as large as the NPSHR. If the water temperature is increased to 160 F and
other factors remain constant, the NPSHA becomes
 4.74 144 
NPSHA  33.78 10  5     7.6 ft of water
 61 
which is less than the NPSHR of 10 ft. Cavitation will undoubtedly result.
In an open system such as a cooling tower, the pump suction (inlet) should be flooded; that is,
the inlet must be lower than the free water surface to prevent entrainment of air from the vortex
formed at the pipe entrance. An inlet velocity of less than 3 ft/s (1 m/s) will minimize vortex
formation. Long runs of suction piping should be eliminated whenever possible, and care should be
taken to locate the pump in a space where freezing will not occur and where maintenance may be
easily performed.
The pump foundation, usually concrete, should be sufficiently rigid to support the pump base
plate. This is particularly important for flexible-coupled pumps to maintain alignment between the
pump and motor. The pump foundation should weight from 1 ½ to 3 times the total pump and
motor weight for vibration and sound control.
Expansion joints are required on both the action and discharge sides of the pump to isolate
expansion and contraction forces, and the piping must be supported independently of the pump
housing.
2. Combined System and Pump Characteristics
The combination of the system and pump characteristics (head versus capacity) is very useful in
the analysis and design of piping systems. Figure 10-13 is an example of how a system with parallel
circuit behaves with a pump installed. Recall that the total head Hp furnished by the pump is given
by Equation (1). Note that the combination operates at point t, where the characteristics cross. The
pump and system must both operate on their characteristics; therefore, the point where they cross
is the only possible operating condition. This concept is very important in understanding more
complex systems. The flow rate for each of the parallel circuits in Figure 10-13 is quite obvious
because the required change total head from 1 to 2 is the same for both circuits.

5
 Figure 10-14 illustrates a series-type circuit. When the valve is open, the operating point is at a
with flow rate Qa and total head Ha. Partial closing of the valve introduces additional flow resistance
(head loss) and is similar to adding series resistance in an electrical circuit. The new system
characteristic crosses the pump curves at point c and the flow rate is Qc with total head Hc. All piping
system should contain valves for control and adjustment purposes and to provide for isolation when
service is needed.
A typical design problem is one of pump selection.

Example No. 2
A water piping system has been designed to distribute 150 gpm, and the total head requirement is
36 ft. Select a pump, using the data of Figure 11, and specify the power rating for the electric motor.
Given:
Flow rate = 150 gpm
Total head = 36 ft
Required:
Power rating for the electric motor
Solution:

6
 Figure 10-15 shows the characteristic for the piping system as it was designed. Point 0 denotes the
operating capacity desired. Examination of Figure 10-11 indicates that the low-speed version of the
given pump covers the desired range. The desired operating point lies between the curves for the 6
½ and 7 in. impellers. The curves are sketched in Figure 10-15. Obviously, the pump with the 7 in.
impeller must be selected, but the flow rate will be about 160 gpm as indicated by point 1.
Therefore a valve must be adjusted (closed slightly) to modify the system characteristic as shown, to
obtain 150 gpm at point 2. Again referring to Figure 10-11a, we read the shaft power requirement as
about 2.3 hp. Note that this pump will operate near the maximum efficiency, which is desirable.
Electric motors usually have an efficiency of 85 to 90 percent, and a 3 hp motor should be specified.

3. Variable Pump Speed

It is common to vary the impeller rotational speed in controlling a water-distribution system.
The flow rate, head, and shaft power are related to the new and old speeds. The laws governing this
relationship are known as the affinity laws for pumps. They may be stated as
rpmn
Q n  Q o (5)
rpmo
2
 rpmn 
Hpn  Hpo   (6)
 rpmo 
3
 rpmn 
Wsn  Wso   (7)
 rpmo 

The affinity laws may be used in conjunction with the system characteristic to generate a new pump
head characteristic. The total system will operate where the new pump characteristic and old
system characteristic cross.

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Example No. 3
The 1750 rpm pump with 7 in. impeller of Figure 10-11 is operating in a system as shown as point 1
of Figure 10-16. It is desired to reduce the pump speed until the flow rate is 100 gpm. Find the new
pump head, shaft power, and efficiency.
Given:
rpmo = 1750 rpm
Impeller diameter = 7 in.
Qo = 100 gpm
Required:
New pump head, shaft power, and efficiency
Solution:
From the system characteristic it may be observed that the pump must produce 25 ft of head at a
flow rate of 100 gpm. This is one point on the new pump characteristic. The new pump speed can be
found from either Equation (5) or (6). Using Equation (5)
 Q 
rpmn  rpmo  n 

 Qo 
 100 
rpmn  1750   1346
 130 
The new shaft power is given by Equation (7) with Wso = 2.1 hp from Figure 10-11.
3
1346 
Wsn  2.1  0.96 hp
1750 
The pump efficiency could be recalculated using Equation 2.1. However, it may be deduced from
the affinity laws that the efficiency will remain constant at about 68.4 percent. Thus
 pn Q nHpn Wsn
 1

po oQ H W
po so

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