CENTRIFUGAL

PUMP

OBJECTIVE:
 To evaluate the actual unit/performance versus the theoretical
unit/performance.
INTRODUCTION:
The centrifugal pump was developed in Europe in the late 1600’s and was seen
in the United States in the early 1800’s. Its wide spread use, however, has occurred
only in the last seventy-five years. Prior to that time, the vast majority of pumping
applications involved positive displacement pumps. The increased popularity of
centrifugal pumps is due largely to the comparatively recent development of high speed
electric motors, steam turbines, and internal combustion engines. The centrifugal pump
is a relatively high speed machine and the development of high speed drivers has made
possible the development of compact, efficient pumps.2

By definition, a centrifugal pump is a machine. More specifically, it is a machine

that imparts energy to a fluid. This energy infusion can cause a liquid to flow, rise to a
higher level, or both. The centrifugal pump is an extremely simple machine. It is a
member of a family known as rotary machines and consists of two basic parts: 1) the
rotary element or impeller and 2) the stationary element or casing (volute). The figure
below is a cross section of a centrifugal pump and shows the two basic parts.

Figure 1

The centrifugal pump’s function is as simple as its design. It is filled with liquid
and the impeller is rotated. Rotation imparts energy to the liquid causing it to exit the
impeller’s vanes at a greater velocity than it possessed when it entered. This outward
flow reduces the pressure at the impeller eye, allowing more liquid to enter. The liquid
that exits the impeller is collected in the casing (volute) where its velocity is converted to
pressure before it leaves the pump’s discharge.
THEORY:

“CENTRIFUGAL PUMP WORKING PRINCIPLE | THEORY”

A Pump is generally used to induce flow or raise the pressure of a liquid.
Centrifugal pumps are a category of Dynamic pumps. The working principle of
centrifugal pumps involves imparting energy to the liquid by means of a centrifugal force
developed by the rotation of an impeller that has several blades or vanes. The basic
centrifugal pump theory of working comprises of the following working stages.

 Liquid enters the pump casing at the impeller eye.

Figure 2

 Velocity energy is imparted to the liquid by means of the centrifugal

force produced by rotation of the impeller and the liquid is radially
pushed out towards the impeller periphery.
Figure 3

Figure 4
 - The velocity energy of liquid is converted to pressure energy by directing it to an
expanding volute design casing in a volute type centrifugal pump or diffusers in a
turbine pump.

Pumps are primarily classified as dynamic pumps and positive displacement

pumps. As explained in theory above, dynamic pumps operate by developing a high
liquid velocity.

Positive displacement pumps operate by forcing a fixed volume of liquid. The

dynamic action in the centrifugal pump working principle makes it comparatively lesser
efficient than positive displacement pumps. However they operate at relatively higher
speeds thus permitting a high liquid flow rate in relation to the physical size of the pump.
They also usually require lesser installation and maintenance cost. Because of these
advantages centrifugal pumps are the most commonly used pumps in industries.
DESCRIPTION:

PIPE
RESERVOIR
GAUGE
PRESSURE

GATE VALVE

PUMP
DRUM

FOOT VALVE

FRAME

PARTS AND ITS FUNCTION:

 FRAME- used to support and hold the structure.

 PUMP- a device that delivers or compresses fluid (water) especially
by suction or pressure.
 DRUM- serves as the primary water storage.
 RESERVOIR- serves as the secondary water storage.
 PIPE- serves as the path of the fluid (water) on the system.
 GATE VALVE- a valve which opens by lifting a round or
rectangular gate.
 FOOT VALVE- a one way valve at the inlet of the pipe or base of
the suction pump.
 PRESSURE GAUGE – an instrument for measuring the condition
of the fluid that is specify by the force that the fluid would exert.
APPARATUS/DEVICES REQUIRED:
The following are the apparatus/devices that are used in Pump Performance
Test.

Clamp Multimeter- used to measure the volts and the ampere.

Stopwatch- to determine or use to determine the amount of time to fill the 1.5 litre
empty for volume flow rate (Q).

1.5 litre of empty bottle- used to measure volume the flow rate (Q).
TEST PERFORMANCES/COMPUTATION:
The table shows the Pump Performance Test of the actual performance of a
pump and the theoretical performance of a pump.

ACTUAL PUMP DATA

DATA 1 2 3 4 5
Q, m3/hr (full open valve) 1.12 1.14 1.1 1.11 1.125
Q, m3/hr (3/4 open valve) 1.15 1.125 1.09 1.13 1.13
Q, m3/hr (half open valve) 0.85714 0.98181 1.05263 1.02273 1.02662
SUCTION, kpa 42.32 41.49 38.95
(full open (3/4 (half …….. ……
valve) open open
valve) valve)
DISCHARGE, kpa 12.06 15.51 31.02
(full open (3/4 (half …….. ………
valve) open open
valve) valve)
DIFFERENTIAL HEAD, 1.07 1.07 1.07 ……. ………
meter
CURRENT RATING, 1.538 1.53 1.6 ….. ……
ampere

SUPPLIERS PUMP DATA

DATA 1 2 3 4 5
Q, m3/hr …….. …….. …….. ……..
SUCTION, kpa …….. …….. …….. ……..
DISCHARGE, kpa …….. …….. …….. ……..
DIFFERENTIAL HEAD, meter …….. …….. …….. ……..
CURRENT RATING, ampere …….. …….. …….. ……..
COMPUTATION:
SUMMARY:
A centrifugal pump is one of the simplest pieces of equipment in any process
plant. Its purpose is to convert energy of a prime mover (an electric motor or turbine)
first into velocity or kinetic energy and then into pressure energy of a fluid that is being
pumped. The energy changes occur by virtue of two main parts of the pump, the
impeller and the volute or diffuser. The impeller is the rotating part that converts driver
energy into the kinetic energy. The volute or diffuser is the stationary part that converts
the kinetic energy into pressure energy.

The process liquid enters the suction nozzle and then into eye (centre) of a
revolving device known as an impeller. When the impeller rotates, it spins the liquid
sitting in the cavities between the vanes outward and provides centrifugal acceleration.
As liquid leaves the eye of the impeller a low-pressure area is created causing more
liquid to flow toward the inlet. Because the impeller blades are curved, the fluid is
pushed in a tangential and radial direction by the centrifugal force. This force acting
inside the pump is the same one that keeps water inside a bucket that is rotating at the
end of a string.

The key idea is that the energy created by the centrifugal force is kinetic energy.
The amount of energy given to the liquid is proportional to the velocity at the edge or
vane tip of the impeller. The faster the impeller revolves or the bigger the impeller is,
then the higher will be the velocity of the liquid at the vane tip and the greater the
energy imparted to the liquid. This kinetic energy of a liquid coming out of an impeller is
harnessed by creating a resistance to the flow. The first resistance is created by the
pump volute (casing) that catches the liquid and slows it down. In the discharge nozzle,
the liquid further decelerates and its velocity is converted to pressure according to
Bernoulli’s principle.
REFFERENCES:
Centrifugal Pumps. (2006, February 10). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from
http://www.blowersindia.com/introduction
Types of Centrifugal Pumps. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from
http://www.thomasnet.com/articles
What is Centrifugal pumps. (2017, April 24). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from
http://www.quora.com/blowers