JOMOKENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

GROUP MEMBERS:
1. KARWITHA CAROLINE: ENC211-0239/2018
2. CHERONO SHARON: ENC211-0400/2018
3. RONO DERRICK : ENC211-0044/2018
4. ANTHONY NJIHIA: ENC211-0332/2019

UNIT: HYDRAULICS II

UNIT CODE: ECE 2312

COURSE: CIVIL ENGINEERING

GROUP: A

TITLE: EXPERIMENT ON CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

DATE: 2/12/2021
 OBJECTIVES
1. To understand how a centrifugal pump works. (Theory of a centrifugal pump)
2. To determine the characteristics of a centrifugal pump in relations to:
 The pressure head
 The discharge
 The input power
 The efficiency under varying revolution speeds

INTRODUCTION
In waterworks and wastewater systems, pumps are commonly installed at the source to raise the
water level and at intermediate points to boost the water pressure. The components and design of
a pumping station are vital to its effectiveness. Centrifugal pumps are most often used in water
and wastewater systems, making it important to learn how they work and how to design them.
Centrifugal pumps have several advantages over other types of pumps, including:

 Simplicity of construction – no valves, no piston rings.

 High efficiency.
 Ability to operate against a variable head.
 Suitable for being driven from high-speed prime movers such as turbines, electric motors,
internal combustion engines.
 Continuous discharge.

A centrifugal pump is also known as a Rotodynamic pump or dynamic pressure pump. It works
on the principle of centrifugal force. In this type of pump, the liquid is subjected to whirling
motion by the rotating impeller which is made of a number of backward curved vanes. The liquid
enters this impeller at its center or the eye and gets discharged into the casing enclosing the outer
edge of the impeller. The rise in the pressure head at any point/outlet of the impeller is
Proportional to the square of the tangential velocity of the liquid at that point. Hence at the outlet
of the impeller where the radius is more the rise in pressure head will be more and the liquid will
be discharged at the outlet with a high-pressure head. Due to this high-pressure head, the liquid
can be lifted to a higher level.

Generally centrifugal pumps are made of the radial flow type only. But there are also axial flow
or propeller pumps which are particularly adopted for low heads. It consists of a rotating shaft
that is connected to an impeller, which is usually comprised of curved blades. The impeller
rotates within its casing and sucks the fluid through the eye of the casing. The fluid’s kinetic
energy increases due to the energy added by the impeller and enters the discharge end of the
casing that has an expanding area. The pressure within the fluid increases accordingly. A
centrifugal pump works on the principal that when a certain mass of fluid is rotated by an
external source, it is thrown away from the central axis of rotation and a centrifugal head is
impressed which enables it to rise to a higher level. Working operation of a centrifugal pump is
explained in the following steps.
 Close the delivery valve and prime the pump.
 Start the motor connected to the pump shaft, this causes an increase in the impeller
pressure.
 Open the delivery valve gradually, so that the liquid starts flowing into the deliver pipe.
 A partial vacuum is created at the eye of the centrifugal action the liquid rushed from the
sump to the pump due to pressure difference at the two ends for the suction pipe.
 As the impeller continues to run, move & more liquid is made available to the pump at its
eye. Therefore, impeller increases the energy of the liquid and delivers it to the reservoir.
 While stopping the pump, the delivery valve should be closed first, otherwise there may
be back flow from the reservoir.

PROCEDURE

1. Record the temperature of water.

2. Measure the crest level of the v-notch using the hook gauge.
3. Ensure the gate valve is closed and then start the pump.
4. Slowly open the gate valve and set a small discharge.
5. When the flow becomes steady, measure the head above the v-notch using the hook
gauge.
6. Record reading on the: Pressure gauges
Voltmeter
Ammeter
The power factor meter
7. Open the gate valve some more thus increasing the discharge.
8. After achieving a steady flow repeat the recording procedure.

Properties of water Temperature 21 °C

Density 997.996Kg/m3
 Specific weight 9810 N/m3
Properties of Centrifugal pump Revolution speed 48.0 rev/s
Difference of elevation gauge 0.290 m
Properties of V-notch Half angle of notch 45°

Coefficient of discharge (Cdv) 0.6011

Coefficient (KV) 1.42
Crest level 0.235 m
Efficiency of motor η 80%
RESULTS AND DATA PRESENTATION
A) FUNDAMENTAL DATA
 B) OPERATION DATA
St V-notch Electric board Pressure gauges Gro Actua Efficien Speci
ag ss l cy fic
e hea power spee
d P( d
(H) ×10 3)
Read He Disch Volt Curr Pow Inpu Reading Pressure Head
ing ad arge age ent er t head differe
(m) (Hv (Q) (V) (A) fact pow nce
3
) m /s or er Ga Ga Gau Ga
m (Pt) (Ps) uge uge ge uge
×10 1(P 2(P 1(P1 2(P
3
wat1) 2) /w) 2/w
t cm Kg/ )
Hg cm2
Kg/
cm2
1 178. 0.0 0.001 420 4.5 0.5 1.30 0.3 2.2 22.2 0.240 18.3596 0.337
1 57 101 943 3 22 19 933 41 81 4
2 170. 0.0 0.001 420 4.5 0.55 1.44 0.2 2.1 21. 22.1 0.332 23.0805 0.398
0 65 53 037 5 9 2.5 9 19.4 999 45 21 43
3 168. 0.0 0.001 420 4.6 0.55 1.47 0.2 2.1 21. 22.1 0.357 24.2534 0.414
5 67 65 238 8 2 8 19.8 065 1 27 69
4 162. 0.0 0.002 420 4.6 0.56 1.49 0.2 2.1 21. 22.0 0.440 29.3829 0.462
0 73 045 915 7 2 7 19.7 063 49 2 66
5 157. 0.0 0.002 420 4.7 0.58 1.58 0.1 2.1 21. 21.4 0.505 31.8744 0.509
0 78 413 645 9 1 1.9 1 19.2 065 67 07 6
6 151. 0.0 0.002 420 4.7 0.59 1.61 0.1 2.0 20. 21.2 0.603 37.3757 0.561
0 84 904 38 2 9 1.2 9 19.7 156 17 76 57
7 145. 0.0 0.003 420 4.8 0.60 1.67 0.0 2.0 20. 20.4 0.671 40.0446 0.615
5 89 356 607 1 0 1 20.1 304 18 8 16
8 136. 0.0 0.004 420 5.0 0.61 1.77 0.0 1.9 19. 20.1 0.841 47.4012 0.699
7 98 269 501 8 0 8 19.8 298 38 91 03
9 131. 0.1 0.004 421 5.2 0.62 1.88 0.0 1.8 18. 19.1 0.927 49.3180 0.772
0 04 953 074 8 0 8 18.8 278 54 24 41
10 108. 0.1 0.008 421 5.7 0.68 2.26 0.0 1.4 14. 14.8 1.172 51.8583 1.120
5 265 082 108 5 0 5 14.5 191 56 02 95

The formulas below were employed in filling out the above data table. They have been adapted
from the JKUAT hydraulics lab manual

1. Discharge.

In this experiment, the discharge, (Q) is measured with the v-notch. It is calculated as follows:
Q=KVH52VQ=KVHV52
KV=1.42KV=1.42
2. Input power.

The motor in the hydraulics laboratory is a three-phase motor. The power supplied to the shaft of
the pump (Ps) is known as follows:

Ps=3–√AVPtηmo.Ps=3AVPt𝜂mo.
In this experiment is supposed to be 0.800 since the motor is stipulated that it is larger than 0.800
in the standards of the nation where it was manufactured.

3. Gross head.

Though the datum is defined as the elevation of the highest point of the suction inlet in the
British Standard BS 599. It is assumed that the centre line of the suction pipe to simplify the
consideration.

Applying Bernoulli’s equation at point 1 and point 1’ in the figure below:

H′1=P
′1ρg+V2S2g=H1−hL1=P1ρg+V2s2g−hL1H1′=P1′𝜌g+VS22g=H1−hL1=P1𝜌g+Vs22g−hL1
The difference between H’1 and H2’ gives the gross head (H) developed by the pump.

H=H′2−H′1H=H2′−H1′
=P2ρg−P1ρg+12g(V2d−V2S)+HG+hL2−hL1=P2𝜌g−P1𝜌g+12gVd2−VS2+HG+hL2−hL1
hL1 and hL2 are small enough to be neglected since the distances between point 1and point 1‘and
between point 2 and point 2’ are small. Vd2-Vs2 can also be neglected since the diameter of the
delivery pipe is not much different from that of the suction pipe. Hence, equation 13.6 can be
modified as:

H=P2ρg−P1ρg+HGH=P2𝜌g−P1𝜌g+HG
4. Conversion of the unit of pressure.

The pressure gauges in the laboratory have graduations in kg/cm2 and cm Hg. The units should
be converted into SI units, N/m2. A pressure of 1.00 kg/cm2 means that the weight of water
corresponding to a mass of 1.00 kg is exerted on an area of 1.00 cm2. The weight of the water is
1.0089x81N. Therefore:

1.00=1.00×9.81 (N)1.00×10−4(m2)1.00=1.00×9.81 (N)1.00×10−4(m2)

=9.81×104 N/m2=9.81×104 N/m2
When the pressure is measured as p’ in kg/cm2 the pressure head is expressed as follows:

Pρg=9.81×1049.81ρ=104P′ρP𝜌g=9.81×1049.81𝜌=104P′𝜌
5. Overall efficiency.

The overall efficiency is defined as the ratio of the actual power supplied to the water to the
power supplied to the shaft. The actual power supplied to the water (P) is given as:

P=ρQgHP=𝜌QgH
The above means the actual work done by a pump per unit time. Hence, the overall efficiency is
expressed as:

ηO=ρQgHPS𝜂O=𝜌QgHPS
Or taking as percentage:

ηO=ρQgHPS×100 (%)𝜂O=𝜌QgHPS×100 (%)

6. Specific speed.

The specific speed of a pump is defined as:

NS=NQ12H34NS=NQ12H34
Where N represents the revolution speed (in rev/s).

The proper specific speed of a pump is defined as the specific speed at maximum efficiency.

7. Performance curves.

The performance curves for the centrifugal pumps are shown in figure 13.4. the design point is
taken at the highest efficiency.
 DATA ANALYSIS

EFFICIENCY, GROSS HEAD AND INPUT POWER VS DISCHARGE

60

50
Efficiency, gross head, input power

40

30

20

10

0
0 0 0 0 0 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

Discharge

efficiency against discharge gross head against discharge power against discharge

A CURVE OF EFFICIENCY AGAINST SPECIFIC SPEED (Ns)

0.5
0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
Efficiency

0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55
Specific speed (Ns)
 DISCUSSION

Pump efficiency is function of flow through the pump although it is not strictly linear. At the
point of maximum efficiency on the pump characteristics curve gives the best efficiency point
(BEP). The best efficiency point is defined as flow at which pump operates at the highest or
optimum efficiency for a given impeller diameter. Apart from the above, impeller design is the
most significant factor for determining BEP of a pump because it dictates how efficiently power
is transmitted to the liquid being pumped. The pump’s efficiency varies throughout its operating
range. The total efficiency of the pump was not noticed because of mechanical and hydraulic
losses incurred in the pump such as flow friction and recirculation.

CONCLUSION

The objectives of the experiment have been met.

We now understand the working of the centrifugal pump and its different parts.

The efficiency of this graph was found to 51.858% at a discharge of 8.082*10-3 m3/s and power
input of 2.26Kw.

REFERENCES

Hydraulics lecture notes on pumps, by Dr. Cheruiyot (2021)

Laboratory instruction manual for hydraulics