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LECTURE 8

FLOW, PUMPS & PIPING DESIGN

Chapter 10
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Fluid flow basics

• The adiabatic, steady flow of a fluid in a pipe or conduit is governed
by the first law of thermodynamics, which leads to the equation

• The sign convention is such that work done on the fluid is negative.
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Mass flow rate and Continuity Equation

• Conservation of mass:
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Other forms of Bernoulli’s equation

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Total pressure
• Total pressure is the sum of the static pressure and velocity
pressure

• In terms of head,

• Energy equation is written in terms of total head as below:

• This form of the equation is much simpler to use with gases

because the term z1–z2 is negligible, and when no fan is in the
system, the lost head equals the loss in total pressure head.
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Lost head
• For incompressible flow in pipes and ducts, lost head is expressed as:
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Reynolds number

• Laminar flow occurs when Re < 2300;

• Turbulent flow occurs when Re > 10,000;
• In the interval between 2300 and 10,000, laminar and turbulent flows are
possible ('transition' flows), depending on factors such as pipe roughness
and flow uniformity).

• For conduits of non-circular cross-sections, hydraulic diameter Dh is:

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Absolute roughness e
• Moody’s friction factor is a function of the Reynolds number (Re) and
the relative roughness e/D of the conduit in the transition zone

• It is a function of only the Reynolds number for laminar flow, and

• It is a function of only relative roughness in full turbulence zone.

 Friction factors for pipe flow
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Correct this error:

It should read 0.0004
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Ex. 10-6
Compute the lost head for 250 gpm of 30% ethylene glycol
solution flowing through 300 ft of 4 in. schedule 40 commercial
steel pipe. The temperature of the solution is 60 F.
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System characteristics
, where

• The above equation can be manipulated to plot the behavior of a

piping system by plotting total head versus volume flow rate

• where HP represents the total head required to produce the change in

static, velocity, and elevation head and to offset the lost head.
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• If a pump is present in the system, Hp is the total head it

must produce for a given volume flow rate.

• Since the lost head and velocity head are proportional to

the square of the velocity, the plot of total head versus
flow rate is approximately parabolic. Note that the
elevation head is the same regardless of the flow rate.
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• 𝑄 in hydraulic circuit is equivalent to

current in electric circuit

• Hp in hydraulic circuit is equivalent to

voltage in electric circuit
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Centrifugal pumps
• Centrifugal pump is the most commonly 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 through the diffuser.

• The fluid leaving the impeller has high kinetic energy that is converted to
static pressure in the volute and diffuser.

• 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.

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Total dynamic head furnished by a pump

, where
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• The elevation head is zero or negligible.

• The lost head is unavailable as useful energy and is omitted from the equation.

• Losses are typically accounted for by the

efficiency = useful power actually imparted to fluid/ shaft power input
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Cavitation
• If static pressure of fluid entering a pump approaches vapor pressure
of liquid too closely, vapor bubbles will form in impeller passages.

• This condition is detrimental to pump performance, and the collapse

of the bubbles is noisy and may damage the 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 considerably 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).
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NPSHA

• The Net Positive Suction Head Available (NPSHA) must always be

greater than Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHR), or noise
and cavitation will result.
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Ex. 10-14
A system requires a flow rate of 225 gpm and a head of 149 ft.
(a) Select a pump from Fig. 10-11 that most closely matches the
required flow rate and head, and list its shaft power, impeller
diameter and efficiency.

(b) Suppose a 7 in. 3500 rpm pump was selected for the system
and adjusted to a flow rate of 225 gpm. What are the efficiency
and power?

(c) Show the pump and system characteristics of (a) and (b) on
the same graph.
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Sol (a)
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Sol (b)
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Sol (c)
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NPSHA problem
• 2 fps of 60 F water are pumped from an elevated feed tank to
an open reservoir through 6 in. of schedule 40 steel pipe as
shown. The friction loss for the piping and fittings in the suction
line is 2.6 ft. The friction loss for the piping and fitting in the
discharge line is 13 ft. The atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi.
What is the NPSHA?

• NPSHA =
0

= hatm – hvp + hz(s) – hf(s),

where s stands for suction side

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hz(s)
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Affinity laws for pumps

It is common to modify performance of a pump by changing rotational speed or impeller diameter.

The flow rate, head, and shaft power are related to the new and old speeds or impeller diameters.

• For a fixed impeller diameter • For constant rotating speed

Correct this in
the book

Pump efficiency
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Affinity laws question

• A pump operating at 1770 rpm delivers 500 gpm of water
against a total head of 200 ft. Changes in the piping
system have increased the total head to 375 ft. At what
speed must this pump be operated to achieve this new
head at the same efficiency?
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Basic Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Piping Systems

• An open-loop system will
have at least two points of
interface between the water
and the atmosphere.
• A closed-loop system will have no more
than one interface with a compressible
gas or flexible surface such as an open
or closed expansion tank.
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Resistance coefficient K
• Pipe fittings and valves also introduce losses in head. These losses
are usually allowed for by use of a resistance coefficient K, which is
the number of velocity heads lost because of the valve or fitting.

, where

The ratio LID is the equivalent length, in pipe diameters, of straight

pipe that will cause the same pressure loss as the valve or fitting
under the same flow conditions.
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Resistance coefficients K for various valves and fittings

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Resistance coefficients K for various valves and fittings

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Ex. 10-18
• Determine the lost head for each of the following fittings:
(a) 2 in. standard elbow with flow rate of 40 gpm
(b) 4 in. globe valve with flow rate of 200 gpm
(c) branch of 3 in. standard tee with 150 gpm
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lf for control valves, check valves,

strainers, etc.
• Lost head for control valves, check valves, strainers, and
other such devices is given in terms of a coefficient Cv

• Because the head loss is proportional to the square of

the velocity, the pressure loss or lost head may be
computed at other flow rates:
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• If 𝑄 and Cv are both in gpm and lf is in ft. of water, then

• If DP is in lbf/in2 and r is in lbf/ft3, then

• Cv is related to K as:
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Problem on volumetric flow rate with velocity coefficient

Calculate the volumetric flow rate in gpm if water flows in the branch of
3 in. standard tee with a pressure difference of 82.2 psf across the inlet
and the outlet. Calculate the lost head in feet of water.