106

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES

IN PUMP SUMPS
By D. F. Denny, B.Sc. (Eng.), Ph.D. (Associate Member)*
The factors affecting the formation of air-entraining vortices in sumps are enumerated,
and their relative importance assessed from experimentswith a number of different sumps.
It is established that vortices are caused by rotation of the mass of water within the sump
arising primarily from the entry conditions. Their severity, measured in terms of the
minimum safe submergence to avoid air entrainment was also found to depend greatly
on the velocity in the suction inlet; air entrainment rarely occurred below a velocity of
2 ft. per sec., and above 15 or 20 ft. per sec. the severity of the vortices did not increase
substantially.
The shape and disposition of the suction inlet only slightly affected the vortices,
but sump boundaries were found to reduce appreciably the tendency for vortex formation
when closer than 8 diameters to the suction pipe: with the walls very close to the pipe,
vortices did not occur. Small sumps may thus be more satisfactory than spacious ones.
Tests with scale models of existing or proposed pump installations are described, and
for one sump, where vortices formed within the working range, it is demonstrated that
suitably placed boundary walls would be considerablymore effective in preventing vortices
than modifications to the suction inlets.
Measurements of the quantity of air drawn into the pump through a vortex showed that
air entrainment of this type could seriously impair pump performance. Severe vortices
could lead to depriming of pumps operating with suction lift.

INTRODUCTION contradictory. It is well known that air-entraining vortices

IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED that the performance of a pump
can be greatly affected by the design of sump from which
it draws water. For instance Stepanoff (1948)t and Fraser
(1953) both quote instances in which pumps overloaded or
ran roughly because of faulty sump design.
There are two aspects to this problem. Firstly, swirl in
the sump leads to rotation of the water in the suction pipe,
which may impair the performance of the pump, and this is
particularly important with axial-flow pumps and high-
specific-speed centrifugal pumps. Secondly, severe swirl
sometimesleads to a fully-developed vortex having a hollow
core through which air is drawn into the suction-inlet.
Apart from the effect of the air itself, which tends to lower
the delivery of the pump, such vortices are unstable and give
rise to unsteady swirl flows in .the pipe, and to fluctuating
loads on the pump bearings. This paper is confined in scope
to consideration of the factors affecting air entrainment
through vortices, and its effect on pump performance.
Published information on the subject is somewhat
The M S . of this paper was received at the Institution on 18th M a y
1955. Far a report of the meeting, in Lona’on, on 4th November
1955, at which this paper was presented, seep. 126.
* Research Engineer, British Hydromechanics Research Association,
Harlow, Essex.
t A n alphabetical list of references is given in the Appendix.
can be avoided by allowing sufficient submergence of the
inlet below the water surface, but reliable means of esti-
mating minimum safe submergence do not yet exist.
Stepanoff (1948) claimed that a submergence of 5 feet on the
suction bell edge was sficient, but that with low velocities
in the inlet (2-3 ft. per sec.) a submergence of half a dia-
meter was safe. Richardson (1941) also recommended a
submergence based on inlet velocities.
More recently, Iversen (1953) has published results of
model experiments showing the effect of sump boundaries
and bottom clearances on minimum safe submergence of
the inlet, but these investigations did not include the in-
fluence of inlet velocities or of sump shape.
Regarding the cause of vortices, Addison (1948) men-
tions that swirl round comers or obstructions may set up
vortex-forming conditions. Stepanoff (1948), on the other
hand, states that all vortices originate in the impeller, which
is certainly not always true as pre-rotation does not travel
far upstream at normal pump deliveries. Iversen (1953)
seems nearer the truth when he says ‘while this effect (pre-
rotation of the fluid entering the suction-bell as a result of
impeller action) is undoubtedly present, the major influence
stems ...
from the sump design and the flow pattern in the
sump’.

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 AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES I N PUMP SUMPS
In 1950 a programme of research on this subject was
started at the British HydromechanicsResearch Association
(B.H.R.A.). This paper is based on the results of that work
which included a study both of experimental models and
of full-scale pump installations.
Notation
C Clearance between suction-inlet and sump floor.
d Internal diameter of suction pipe.
h Depth of water in sump.
1 Length of approach channel to sump.
Q Total flow through sump.
S Submergence of suction-inlet (depth of water covering
the inlet).
V Velocity of water in suction pipe.
W Width of approach channel to sump.
X Clearance between suction pipe and sump wall, mea-
sured from the centre-line of the pipe.
EXPERIMENTAL A P P A R A T U S
Several model sumps ranging in width from 3 to 8 feet were
used in these experiments. In each, the water was with-
drawn through the suction-inlet by a pump, the flow rate
being measured by weir or orifice plate, and then returned
to the sump through suitable straightening guides and
screens. In method of construction the models varied con-
siderably as shown in Fig. 21, Plate 1. The suction pipes
were usually flexible and of sufficient length (some were
4Q pipe-diameters) to exclude any effects of pre-rotation
due to the impeller; they ranged in diameter from 4 inch to
30 inches. Suitable bellmouths or conical inlets were fitted
as necessary. The quantity of air entering the suction
through the vortex was measured after separation from the
water and reduction to atmospheric volume.
Sumps in practice are more often designed from con-
siderations of site layout than of hydraulics, and thus tend
to take very diverse forms. For this reason a preliminary
study of very simple layouts seemed necessary, and, accord-
ingly, the first experiments were made with a vertical suc-
tion pipe mounted above the centre of a sump 8 feet square
(Fig. 21a).
EXPERIMENTAL R E S U L T S
Description of Air-entraining Vortices
When the suction-inlet was well covered with water the
vortex appeared first as a small dimple in the free surface,
Fig. 22a, which gradually deepened to form a cone-shaped
hole; air bubbles broke away from time to time and were
swept into the bellmouth (Fig. 224. With steady flows this
condition appeared to be quite stable and often persisted
for long periods. At high velocities the air-core lengthened
to reach the suction-inlet and allowed continuous passage
of air up the pipe (Fig. 22e). Such a vortex was located some
distance from the pipe, as shown in Fig. 23a, Plate 2; it was
very stable and soon reformed if disturbed; its core rotated
at great speed and the internal free surface was corrugated
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107
by small waves. Flow of air through the core was inaudible
except with very high water velocities.
When the mouth of the pipe was less deeply submerged
the vortex formed much closer to the pipe and tended to be
less stable (Fig. 23b). It rarelyremained in the same position
for long, usually revolving slowly round the pipe and then
disappearing; during this time another vortex would have
formed at the original point and that one would begin to
entrain air as soon as the previous one had disappeared.
Only rarely did two vortices entrain air simultaneously.
4'
Fig. 22. Stages in Development of an
Air-entraining Vortex
With very small submergences the vortex frequently
became concentric with the pipe as shown in Fig. 23c, when
the drawdown around the periphery of the pipe allowed
air to enter the inlet. Air entrainment of this type was
always accompanied by considerable noise.
It soon became apparent that there was no precise
boundary between vortex-forming and vortex-free con-
ditions. In the critical region, development of an air core
seemed to be largely a matter of time and chance. Instead,
therefore, of adjusting either water level or flow until it was
estimated that the vortex did or did not entrain air, the
method adopted was to plot on a graph, relating water-depth
to flow, a large number of both vortex-forming and vortex-
free conditions. The criterion used was whether under
steady conditions any air from the free surface of the water
in the sump entered the suction pipe, either continuously or
intermittently, through the agency of the vortex. This pro-
cedure resulted in a diagram such as that shown in Fig. 24.
Between these points a line enveloping the vortex region
could be drawn, and usually 30 or 40 points were sufficient
to locate such an envelope with reasonable accuracy. This
method of recording often disclosed small vortex-free
pockets within the main vortex region, but these generally
occurred haphazardly and did not appear to be important.
108 D. F. DENNY
10
the rate of air flow. It is thus possible for the pump delivery
to fluctuate slowly between wide limits, the vortex con-
tinually changing in severity as a result.
8 Examination of the flow in the suction pipe showed that
the water was spirallingowing to the swirl in the sump, even
k! in the absence of air entrainment, and that the angle of the
$6 spiral increased with increased severity of the vortex. In
I
Y
0. some instances the circumferential velocity of the water at
&

z the wall of the pipe exceeded the axial velocity. This aspect
s4 is of considerable importance, and will be dealt with at
9
Y greater length in a later paper.

2 Effect of Swirl in the Sump

With the suction pipe fixed in the centre of the sump,
I I In experiments were made with different amounts of swirl, this
0 1.5 50 75 - being produced by forcing the water to enter the sump
WATER DEPTH-INCHES
through only part of its width, Results for a 4-inch bell-
Fig. 24. Typical Plot of Vortex Data mouthed pipe are shown in Fig. 26 where the envelopes of
Variation of critical water depth with flow, for 8-inch bellmouthed
suction pipe in an 8-foot sump.
W-FEET 8
c/d = 0.9.
o Existence of air-entraining vortices.
0 Absence of vortices.

The proportion of air in the water entering the suction

pipe increased with decrease of submergence, from zero at
the critical depth to as much as 10 or 15 per cent (true
volume ratio) with very small submergences, .although in
the transition from the local vortex to the concentric vortex
the air flow temporarily diminished considerably. Typical
air-flow measurementsare given in Fig. 25. The significance
of these quantities can be judged from the fact that 1 per
cent of free air may reduce the efficiency of a centrifugal
pump by between 5 and 15 per cent (Denny 1953, Siebrecht
1930). Most low or medium specific-speed centrifugal
pumps operating under suction lift conditions will deprime
with less than 10 per cent of air entering the suction.
Appreciable decrease in pump delivery due to air in the
suction usually reduces the severity of the vortex and also

1
10 15 0
SUBMERGENCE s/d

Fig. 26. Effect of Swirl on the Relation between Critical

Submergence and Suction Velocity
cld=l.

air-entraining conditions are plotted; test points have been

omitted. The swirl resulting in most severe vortices oc-
curred when the water entered through approximately half
the width of the sump, and under these conditions a sub-
mergence exceeding 15 pipe-diameters was necessary to
2 3 4 prevent air entrainment at high flows. With water entering
SUBMERGENCE s/d over the whole width of the sump, however, a submergence
Fig. 25. Variatiun of Air-water Ratio with Submergence of 33 diameters was sufficient. Thus a fourfold change in
---- 5 ft. per sec.
critical submergence was effected by simple changes in
15 ft. per sec. width of the idowing stream of water.

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 AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES IN PUMP SUMPS Plate 1
[I.Mech.E., 19561
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Plate 2 D. F. DENNY

FQ. 23. Vortex Configurations with Different Submergences

[l.Mech.E., 19561

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 AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES IN PUMP SUMPS 109

Although there is no doubt that these vortices originated

in the swirl within the sump, the swirl merely initiated a
local free vortex of suffcient strength to form a deep depres-
sion in the water surface, and a strong downward flow
towards the suction inlet in the neighbourhood of the dimple
was also necessary before the vortex could develop fully and
entrain air. In other words, the swirl did not have to be
strong enough to form, of its own accord, a vortex depres-
sion extending to the depth of the inlet. Many dimples
often occurred simultaneouslyin the sump but only the one
near a strong downward current ever developed into a full
vortex.

Effect of Shape of Suction Inlet

With a I+-inch suction pipe in the centre of a 2-foot sump,
limiting air-entraining conditions were determined for
various shapes of inlet.

Bellmouths and Conical Inlets. Bellmouths having a bell-

radius of less than d/2 were found to have no effect on vortex
formation. This appeared to be due to a somewhat for- i
tuitous cancelling out of two effects, namely, the reduced 0
0 0.5 0
inlet velocity and the tendency of the bell-skirt to hold the WATER DEPTH-FEET.
vortices away from the pipe wall. At the other extreme,
slightly conical inlets with an included angle of less than Fk. 28. Effect of Radial Suction Inlet on Relation
30 deg. behaved similarly to a pipe of the same diameter as between Critical Depth and Flow
the base of the cone. Large-radius bellmouths and obtuse- Suction pipe located centrally in 2-foot square sump.
angled cones gave results as illustrated in Fig. 27. W=8 inches. c=2.25 inches.

Radial Inlets. Three radial inlets, two fitted with per-

forated plates around the periphery, and all having a real
flow area equivalent to a 3-inch diameter pipe were com-
pared in the same sump. The radial inlet C, gave almost the
same results as the straight pipe (Fig. 28), but the strainers
both produced less severe vortices, owing to the fact that
the holes around the periphery prevented the air-core of the

INLET DETAILS

SUBMERGENCE r / d
0 0.5 1.0
WATER DEPTH-FEET Fig.29. Effect of Horizontal and Inverted Suction Inlets on
Fig.27. Effect of Conical and Bellmouthed Suction Inlets Relation between Critical Submergence and Suction
on Relation between Critical Depth and Flow Velocity
Suction pipe located centrally in 2-foot square sump. Sump 2 feet square.
W=8 inches. c-2.9 inches. W=19 inches. d=1-2 inches.

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110
vortex from entering the pipe. Near the critical conditions
there often existed a strong vortex whose air-core ended
abruptly at the strainer perforations. In practice it would
be unwise to rely on this effect without knowing the maxi-
mum size of hole that can ‘filter out’ the air.
Horizontal and Inverted Inlets. A straight pipe 1.2 inches
in diameter was tested with its inlet in different planes and
facing in different directions. Fig. 29 shows that the differ-
ences in vortex-forming tendency were mostly slight. The
inverted inlet behaved differently only at low velocities,
where vortices formed rather more easily than with the
conventional pipe arrangement. With the upstream-facing
inlet the vortices were disturbed by the presence of the pipe
in the place where they usually formed and so tended to be
less severe. The downstream-facing inlet, on the other
hand, substantially facilitated vortex formation by in-
tensrfying the downward currents responsible for entraining
air from the free surface.
Subsequent experiments with other sump arrangements
suggested that the actual direction of the horizontal pipe
inlet was not so important as the direction relative to the
vortex zone in the sump, since vortices tended to form more
readily with the inlet facing the area where vortices were
prone to form and less easily when facing away from this
area.
Effect of Sump Boundaries
Bottom Clearance. Experiments were made in the 8-foot
sump with & of the inlet width obstructed and with the
4-inch pipe mounted centrally at different distances from
the sump floor. The envelopes of air-entraining conditions
for bottom clearances varying from 1.75 to 11.5 pipe dia-
meters are shown in Fig. 30a. It is clear that as the bell-
mouth is raised from the floor the critical submergence
decreases, although as Fig. 31 shows, the actual water depth
increases considerably. Further experiments were then
carried out with a $-inch pipe in a 2-foot sump of the same
shape, and precisely similar results were obtained (Fig. 30b).
Changes in bottom clearance seem to modify the value of s
in a given ratio which does not vary with velocity.
BOTTOM CLEARANCE c / d BOTTOM CLEARANCE c/d
SUBMERGENCE s/d SUBMERGENCE s/d
u 4-inch pipe in %foot square b Q-inch pipe in 2-foot
sump. sump.
W = 16 inches. W=4 inches.
Fig. 30. Eflect of Bottom Clearance on Relation between
Critical Submergeme and Suction Velocity
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D. F. DENNY
0 5 10
BOTTOM CLEARANCE c / d
Fig. 31. Relation between Bottom Clearance and (i) Critical
Water Depth, (ii) Critical Submergence, from Data
Given in Fig. 30
V=10 ft. per sec.
Wall Clearance. When the suction pipe was moved
about the sump it was found that the strength of the vortices
varied greatly from place to place. For several sump ar-
rangements the whole area was mapped by moving the
suction pipe into different positions, the critical depth of
water for a given velocity being recorded at each position.
From these results contours of equal critical depth were
drawn as in Figs. 32 and 33.
The vortices assumed various positions relative to the
suction pipe, but in each case they were strongest with the
pipe near the centre of the sump and weakest with the pipe
near the walls; the small sumps were better than the large
ones.
Another aspect of the same effect is to be found in the
relative improvement in vortex conditions as the suction
pipe in a particular sump is increased in size, and Fig. 34
shows the results for pipes ranging in diameter from 0-55
inch to 3.0 inches in a sump 12 inches square.
Results from all the experiments, using both different
pipes and different sumps, correlate as shown in Fig. 35.
With the sump wall close to the suction pipe the critical
submergence seems to be approximately proportional to the
distance separating them, but substantially independent of
wall clearance when this exceeds 8 or 10 pipe diameters.
This wall effect was found to take the same form at ali
velocities and to be common to all sump arrangements;
Fig. 36 shows that the effect of varying the swirl in the sump
is merely to multiply the submergence by a constant
value.
The above correlations all refer to sump arrangements in
which the suction pipe was equidistant from two adjacent
walls. A single wall in close proximity to the pipe usually,
 AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES IN PUMP SUMPS 111

U W= 19 inches. b W= 12 inches.
Fk. 32. Contours of Equal Critical Water Depth in Inches for a 11-inch Suction P+e in a 2-foot Square Sump
c/d= 1. V = 13.5 ft. per sec.

1b W = 12 inches.

U W=24 inches. C W=6 inchcs.

F*. 33. Contours of Equal Critical Water Depth in inches for a If-inch Suction Pipe in Di-erent Sumps
c/d=l.

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112 D. P. DENNY

but not always, had as much effect, as can be seen from 15,
I W-INCHES\
Figs. 32 and 33. When the suction inlet was merely a hole
in the wall, similar results to those for a vertical pipe close
to the wall were obtained.
3 10
z
Y
5
f
3
5 5
t
CL
u

OO 5 10
WALL CLEARANCE x / d

Fig.36. Effect of Swirl on Relation between Wall

Clearance and Critical Submergence
cld= 1.0. d=l+ inches. Y = 15 ft. per sec.

Scale Effects
It is apparent from the results already given that the
relation between critical submergence, expressed in terms
of pipe diameter, and inlet velocity is substantially the same
for different sizes of model, and that sumps exhibit similar
vortex characteristics when velocities are approximately the
same in each. This surprising result has no obvious theo-
retical justification, and for this reason great care is being
taken to establish the scale relationship for different sizes of
sump. In the laboratory large-scale ratios are difficult to
achieve, but within a range of 8 to 1 it has been verified that
sumps having equal flow velocities exhibit comparable con-
ditions so far as air-entraining vortices are concerned.
Results of a particular test in which flow measurements in
two similar sumps were made as accurately as possible are
given in Fig. 37. It can be seen that at high velocities the
same velocity corresponds to an equal critical submergence;
with small submergences the velocity ratio seems to be of
the order 1.1 to 1 and since this difference is much greater
than the error of measurement, some scale effect is
apparent.
Scale effects for higher scale ratios can be obtained only
from full-scale installations, and difficulties of accurate flow
measurement on site have prevented conclusive tests. Such
measurements as have been taken at least do not conflict
with the 'same velocity' hypothesis.
"0 5 10 I5
WALL CLEARANCE s / d
Experiments with Models of Large Pump
Fig. 35. Effect of Wall Clearance on Critical Submergence Installations
for Pipes of Various Sizes Situated Centrally Within Small-scale models of several existing or proposed pump in-
Similar Sumps stallations have been constructed and tested for air entrain-
c/d=l. Y=135 ft. per sec. ment. These have proved valuable for showing whether the
design of sump was satisfactory, and for indicating modifi-
Sumps 2 feet and 8 feet.
0 sump 1 foot. cations to improve flow conditions, although the scale was
+ Sump 6 inches. probably too small to provide completely accurate data

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 AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES IN PUMP SUMPS 113

SUCTION
SCREENS PIPE I I I
I n I

WATER DEPTH IN PROTOTYPE-INCHES

10 15 20 25 30 35

a Scale 1/20.

b I I I I
22: ' 3 4 5
WATER DEPTH fi IN MODEL-INCHES
6 7

FQ. 37. Determination of Scale Effect between 115 Scale c/d= I

Model Sump and Prototype 5 10
SUBMERGENCE s/d
Dimensions in inches. b Scale 1/20.
Prototype Model
d 9.0 1.8
x 14.5 2.9
C 12-3 2.45
W 48 9.6
1 250 49

about critical submergences. Some of these pump instal-

lations are illustrated together with the results of model
tests.

Pumps Arranged Perpendicular to the Flow. The simplest

form of multi-pump sump of this type is shown in Fig. 38a
where the sump is of equal width to the approach channel.
The critical submergence was found to be greatly dependent
on the actual size of sump, but did not exceed 2 pipe dia-
meters when the sump width was less than 10 diameters.
With the approach channel narrower than the sump, so that
the flow suffered sudden expansion on entry to the sump,
vortices formed much more readily. For instance, when the
channel was half the width of the sump, as in Fig. 38b,
critical submergence was doubled. Breakaway at the sudden
enlargement, leading to counter-swirls in the two dead areas,
was responsible for the increased severity of the vortices.
Another form of twin-pump sump, part of the cooling-
water system of a power station, is shown in Fig. 38c. In
spite of the large swirl caused by oblique entry of the water
to the sump, vortices were not severe, mainly because the
sump was very narrow. It is interesting that although vortices
formed first at pump B when both pumps were in operation,
pump A alone required a higher submergence to prevent
vortices.
Fig. 39a shows the layout of an existing triple-pump land-
drainage installation, of which an accurate 1/32-scale model
was made. A study of the vortex conditions showed that
0 I 2
SUBMERGENCE s/d
c Scale 1/30.
Fig. 38. Characteristics of Various Sumps Obtained from
Model Tests
Equal flow in each sump unless otherwise stated.
vortices occurred within the operating range when pump
No. 1 was running either alone or together with No. 3,
although not under other conditions (Fig. 39b, c). These
results were in accordance with observations of vortex con-
ditions made at the pumping station, and thus show that
full-scale conditions may be reproduced even in very small
models.
Regarding the characteristics of the sump, No. 3 pump
did not produce such strong vortices as No. 1 pump,

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114
owing, no doubt, to the raised platform close to the inlet
of No. 3, which served to fill in the dead water region at the
end of the sump. The positions in which the vortices
occurred are shown in Fig. 39a; each pump had its own
vortex region which was unaffected by whether or not other
pumps were in operation. Various schemes for improving
the flow in this sump were tried, including re-siting the
boundary walls and fitting different inlets to the pumps.
The most effective modification consisted of placing
boundary walls within 13 diameters of each suction pipe,
for with this arrangement the submergence of the pump
inlets could fall to half the operating minimum before
vortices occurred (Fig. 40). The side walls served to pre-
Ir L
RAISED
PLATFORM (2 VORTEX REGION
b C
Fig. 39. Dimensions and Characteristics of Tr@e-pump
Lad-drainage Sump, 1/32 Scale Model
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D. P. DENNY
vent vortices at the outer pumps, the rear wall being needed
to improve the performance of the centre pump.
A well-designed triple-pump sump for a chemical plant
is shown in Fig. 41. Model tests indicated that the ex-
pansion was not gradual enough to entirely avoid separation
and air entrainment, but the critical submergence was low
and did not under any conditions exceed twice the diameter
of the centre suction-inlet. There are unfortunately no full-
scale data available to compare with these model results.
Pumps Arranged in Line with the Flow. A frequent
form of in-line sump is illustrated in Fig. 42. Swirl
was very slight and vortices therefore not severe; for
DETAILS OF MODIFICATION
A B C D
----
E
I
WATER DEPTH-FEET
Fig. 40. Effect on Vortex Characteristics of Modifications
to Sump in Fig.39
Fig. 41. Characteristics of Another Design of Tr$le-pump
Sump, obtained from Tests with a 1/30 Scale Model
 AIR-ENTRAINING VORTICES IN PUMP SUMPS
instance with the arrangement shown, the critical sub-
mergence in the model did not exceed 14 pipe-diameters.
Vortices were less prone to occur near the upstream inlet
because flow past this inlet swept away any vortex dimples
in the vicinity.
f‘;
Mfl
I A
- #, -
6’
I other investigators. For instance Iversen (1953) showed
SUBMERGENCE f/d
Fig. 42. Characteristics of a Straight ‘In-line’ Sump
Obtained from a 1/32 Scale Model
The conditions in this type of sump became much more
severe when the water entered obliquely, as in Fig. 43,
because separation of the flow from the inner wall set up a
large swirl. In this particular sump the flow patterns were
such that no air-entrainment occurred when both pumps
were passing equal quantities of water.
2 4
SUBMERGENCE s/d
Fig. 43. Characteristics of an Angled ‘In-line’ Sump
Obtained from a 1/10 Scale Model
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I15
CONCLUSIONS
The importance of sump design is apparent from the fact
that air entering the suction-inlet through a vortex can
seriously reduce both output and efficiency of the pump,
and can even lead to depriming. Such vortices are the
direct result of unsatisfactory sump layout.
The experiments have shown that although the mechan-
isms of vortex formation and air entrainment are complex,
they do show regular and repeatable behaviour. The largest
single factor is the flow pattern within the sump, which is
in turn governed by the entry conditions. Vortices are most
severe when the swirl in the sump is considerable or when
the pipe is located at the centre of the swirl but, at the other
extreme, vortices can stiU form with imperceptible swirl in
the sump.
Although results from sumps of different sizes agree well
enough on a basis of equal velocities at scale distances, there
appears to be no theoretical confirmation of such a relation.
According to Froude’s laws, which generally apply to free
surface models when gravity forces are predominant,
similarity should occur when the velocity scale is propor-
tional to the square root of the linear scale; so it is clear that
in this case effects of other forces are by no means negligible.
The present results tend to accord with the experience of
that model velocities based on the Froude number were far
too low to give comparable conditions and concluded that
the velocity scale should be less than the square root of the
linear scale. Stepanoff (1953) has also advocated operating
models at speeds in excess of the Froude number, while
Fraser (1953) stated that ‘satisfactory results have been
obtained if the model is designed with the same flow
velocities as in the prototype’.
It may well be that, while the velocity required to form a
dimple in the water surface follows Froude’s laws, the local
velocity required to drag air from the tail of the vortex is
unaffected by the scale of the phenomenon within the range
of sizes investigated. This would follow if, as seems likely
from visual observations, there is a minimum stable dia-
meter of vortex filament, owing to the effects of surface
tension.
In many other ways the vortex flow and sink flow appear
to be separate effects, each making varying contributions to
the conveyance of air from the free surface to the suction
inlet. At low %owsthe strength of the swirl seems to be of
little importance, for under a wide range of conditions the
entrainment of air was determined only by the velocity of
water entering the pipe. At high flows, however, the
strength of the swirl played a much larger part in deter-
mining the critical submergence, and the inlet velocity
became of minor importance. It is therefore surprising that
6 under these conditions the submergence should be so
greatly affected by the diameter of the pipe for, except very
near to the suction-inlet, the flow patterns should be
identical for the same total flow. However, attempts to
correlate the results on a basis of quantity flow proved fiuit-
less, and there is no doubt that greater submergence of the
inlet is necessary when water at a low velocity enters a large
116
pipe than when the same quantity of water at high velocity
enters a small pipe. This is not easily explained.
The critical submergence of the inlet approaches a maxi-
mum when the velocity exceeds 15 ft. per sec. whilst
below approximately 2 ft. per sec. air entrainment rarely
occurred even with very small submergences. Provided
inlet velocities remain the same, the inlet itself seems to
have very little effect and can be regarded as one of the
minor factors in vortex formation. The direction in which
a horizontal inlet faces has appreciable effect, and vortices
form more easily with the inlet facing the potential vortex
region than away from it. As the inlet is raised from the
sump floor the critical submergence diminishes, although at
the same time the total depth of water continues to increase;
thus usually the most satisfactory arrangement will have the
pipe as close to the floor as is consistent with uniform flow
into the inlet. Iversen’s experiments on pump efficiency
suggest a clearance of 4 2 as optimum.
Boundary walls help to delay air entrainment when closer
than 8 diameters to the suction pipe, and within this distance
the submergence required is approximately proportional to
the separation of the wall from the pipe. There is ample
evidence that air entrainment is least likely when the sump
is as small as possible, and this rule apparently has no ex-
ceptions. If a sump has of necessity to be large, the suction
inlet should be close to the rear wall, or preferably in a corner
between adjacent walls. A minimum separation of d/2
between the wall and the outside of the pipe seems desirable,
to allow water to flow freely all round the inlet (Iversen
1953).
Asymmetrical layouts and sudden changes in the width
or direction of the flow channel cause large swirls in the
sump which increase the likelihood of vortices. The not
infrequent practice of constructing the sump to the dimen-
sions demanded by the machinery in the pump-house leads
to sumps that are larger than desirable, and frequently to
sudden enlargements in the flow channel which are a
potential source of vortices. Uniform flow into the sump
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D. P. DENNY
and towards the suction inlets should be the aim; enlarge-
ments, if necessary at all, should be carried out very
gradually. Only in this way can air entrainment be pre-
vented when the submergence over the inlet is small. Ex-
perience has shown, however, that without model tests it is
very difficult to predict with any certainty the behaviour of
a particular sump.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledgements are due to the many members of the
British Hydromechanics Research Association who have
shown interest in this work and offered valuable advice, to
colleagues for their practical assistance, and to the Council
of the Association for permission to publish the material
contained in this paper.
APPENDIX
REFERENCES
ADDISON, H. 1948 ‘Centrifugaland Other Rotodynamic Pumps’.
(Chapman and Hall, London.)
DENNY,D. F. 1953 British Hydromechanics Research Assoc.
Research Report R.R. 465, ‘Experiments with Air in Centri-
fugal Pumps’.
FRASER, W. H. 1953 Trans. A.S.M.E., vol. 75, No. 4, p. 643,
‘Hydraulic Problems Encountered in Intake Structures of
Vertical Wet-Pit Pumps and Methods Leading to Their
Solution’.
IVERSEN,H. W. 1953 Trans. A.S.M.E., vol. 75, No. 4, p. 635,
‘Studies of Submergence Requirements of High-Specific-
Speed Pumps’.
RICHARDSON, C. A. 1941 Water Works and Sewerage Reference
and Data, Part 1, Water Supply, p. 25, ‘Submergence and
Spacing of Suction Bells’.
SIEBRECHT, W. 1930 Z.V.D.I., vol. 74, No. 3, p. 87, ‘Beitrag zur
Regelung der KreiseIpumpen und Untersuchungen Ueber die
Theoretische und Wirkliche Foerderhoehe’.
STEPANOFF, A. J. 1948 ‘Centrifugal and Axial-flow Pumps,
Theory, Design and Application’. (Chapman and Hall,
London, p. 963.)
1953 Contribution to Discussion on Iversen (1953) Trans.
A.S.M.E., vol. 75, No. 4, p. 639.

Discussion
Professor C. M. WHITE(London), opening the discussion,
said that in both papers he had found much which was
difficult to reconcile with his own observation,
Dr. Denny had given the speed at which the water entered
the submerged pipe, and had shown how it depended on
the submergence; i.e. how the depth to which the vortex
extended depended on the speed in the pipe. Certainly the
curves thus obtained by comparing the submergence and
velocity were all much alike, but he himself wondered
whether that was good evidence that the depth to which
the vortex extended was dependent on the velocity.
That was no superficial question, but one which con-
cerned the very fundamentals of design. It concerned also
the methods used for scaling up results from models. For
such evidence it was unnecessaryto look beyond Dr. Denny’s
own experiments. For example, Fig. 32 presented a great
deal of valuable information concerning the good and the
bad places in a model of a sump, and incidentally did so
in a remarkably clear and simple manner. However, when
using the method of the paper, the values were scaled up to
represent an 18-inch suction pipe, drawing from a %foot
sump, Fig. 32 would predict a variation from place to place
of no less than 20 feet in the minimum cover required to
avoid a vortex at 13.5 ft. per sec., whereas Fig. 34 similarly
scaled up would require a variation of only 2 feet in the
minimum cover necessary to safeguard velocities from 5 to
25 ft. per sec., a range of speed surely wide enough to include
almost every practical case. That seemed good evidence for
the view that the depth required was nearly independent
of the speed in the suction pipe, and supported Dr.
Markland and Professor Pope’s cautious phrase about
regarding velocity as the criterion The inlet velocity was a
convenient measure of what was taking place, but was not
the variable in question, not the cause itself.
Also in regard to velocity, he himself had observed vortices
extending deeply downwards, possibly for several feet, in
slack water in the Thames Estuary, at a place where the
current was less than 2 ft. per sec. Those vortices were far
away from any solid boundaries. Again, in storage reservoirs
in which the water was drawn off well below the surface,
vortices would sometimes extend very far down from the
surface, despite a low velocity at the outlet.
In both papers the cause of vortices was said to be initial
swirl, but one of the quickest ways to stop a vortex was to
put an irregular swirl on the water; a stir with the hand
would stop the vortex, but it was very difficult to start one
in that way. Swirl was not always necessary for the initiation
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117
of a vortex. In the vortex itself the water was without rota-
tion, and the core contained nothing more than air.
To find how vortices originated and under what con-
ditions, possibly some sort of calculation in connexion with
what was going on at the intake at the bottom of the pipe
could be made. Presumablyin an inlet which was submerged
9 feet a velocity of 24 ft. per sec. would be generated in the
vortex itself, a velocity of 24 ft. per sec. of whirl against the
air core. That offered a tempting but an erroneous line of
thought, so also would be to reason from the size of
core, the maximum differences of speed which could be
tolerated in the sump.
He would agree with Dr. Denny that the flow pattern
within the sump was the chief factor, and had also observed
that unless the pump drew surface water, a vortex did not
form. That was very near to the real truth of the matter,
and he would add that a surface of discontinuity, a plane
cutting into the water, must also exist for generation of a
vortex, Therefore to cure vortices it was necessary first to
locate those surfaces of discontinuity and, having found
them, displace them to positions where they could do no
harm.
Mr. G . A. WAUCHOPE (Member) said that he would discuss
both papers together, because in many ways they were com-
plementary. The problems of what depth of sump and what
submergencemust be provided to ensure that pumps applied
to pipes or the suction pipe would work satisfactorily, and
what might be done with the shape of the sump were
frequently met.
Both papers would help to solve those problems, but
there were many variables which could not easily be
analysed and reduced to a common and easily resolved
formula. Therefore in many cases it would s t i l l be necessary
to make a model of the sump inro which the suction pipe
was going to be placed.
He had had experience of failure after thinking every-
thing was satisfactory. An example was a fairly large vertical-
spindle suspended pump which had been drawing from a
sump in which the tide had varied over the range usual in
Great Britain. When the trials of that pump had been carried
out the shape of the characteristic curve of the pump had
been found to be rather abnormal. The measurement of the
quantity had been carried out in two ways :with a weir, and
with Pitot tubes. The shape of the curve had seemed
reasonable from the Pitot tube readings, but checks from
the weir had thrown doubt on it. The answer had been that
118
at a certain period of the tide, and degree of submergence,
a Iarge proportion of air had been drawn into the pump,
which had given a high velocity by the Pitot tube reading,
whereas by the time the water had come to the weir the air
had been dissipated and was not recorded by the weir.
Another point was that when the tide had been high all
had been well, but as it had gone down, a point had been
reached at which vortices had formed, and air had been
drawn into the suction of the pump. As it had gone down
still farther, however, the irregularities had been such that
there had been a considerable degree of turbulence, so that
the vortices had been broken up as soon as they had formed.
The reason for that was that when the tide had been very
low the flow conditions had been very bad, and, being a
high-specific-speed pump, its performance had not been
very good. At the present time, with the limited knowledge
available, undoubtedly a model should be made, and from
the advice given in the two papers trouble might be avoided.
He had known instances where it would be perfectly
simple, to be on the safe side, to make the velocity in the
model suction pipe the same as that in the full-size suction
pipe, and other components to linear scale; but he had found
that the shape of the sump and the entrance to it was such
that the velocities under those conditions were too high,
and the Froude number should be used and the flow into
the sump arranged to be of the order of the square root of
the scale, instead of directly proportional. Thus in making a
model compromise was necessary, and that difficulty had
not been altogether solved, but he strongly advised the
use of a model.
Very often other things dictated the shape of the suction
sump, and also the position of the suction pipe. The authors
had suggested a fairing round the suction pipe. He would
like them to consider that further, and to advise on its merits
because such a procedure might prove inexpensive in con-
struction.
Vortices might accelerate corrosion. He knew of an
instance, working with rather warm and slightly corrosive
sea-water, where severe impingement corrosion had taken
place, that had been aggravated if not caused entirely by
the presence of air bubbles which had entered the suction
by way of vortices.
Air entrainment could be very awkward in high-specific-
speed pumps, and velocities might have a bad effect on
the performance, but there were many instances where a
suction sump was closed by a roof and filled with water, so
that there was no question of entrainment of air; neverthe-
less vortices might form and detract fiom the efficient work-
ing of the pump. He asked whether the authors would
comment on that. Reliability of these results depended on
repeated testing as there were borderline cases.
Mr. H.ADDISON,O.B.E., M.Sc. (Member), M.I.C.E.,
said that his first question concerned the sense of direction
of the vortices. Dr. Denny did not appear to have men-
tioned that sense, and in Dr. Markland and Professor Pope's
paper the sense had been random, but when there was a
swirl the eddies had had the same sense of rotation as the
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DISCUSSION
swirl. Dr. Denny had mentioned the direction of rotation
not being affected by the earth's rotation. Although that
was a minor matter, it must be remembered that the effect
of the earth's rotation depended on the latitude at which
observations were made. When a vortex was formed by
water escaping downwards from a reservoir through an
orifice, the direction of rotation in a high northerly latitude
was the reverse of what it would have been in a correspond-
ing southern latitude.
Regarding the size of the vortices in relation to the size
of the pipe, especially so far as scale effects were concerned,
he would like to ask the authors whether in any of the
experiments on pipes of different scales it had ever been
found that the physical shape of the vortices could be
brought to scale too; that is, whether the sump, suction
pipe, and vortex could all be completely to scale.
He had noticed a slight divergence between the two
papers regarding the effect of the eddies formed downstream
of the suction pipe. Some very interesting slides had been
shown of the eddies immediately behind the suction pipe,
which by Dr. Markland and Professor Pope had been given
the credit, or the blame, for the entrainment of air. On the
other hand, Dr. Denny had stated that if the velocity was
increased, improved results were obtained. In Fig. 42 the
author had shown two pumps, one behind the other, in a
sump, and the water first flowed past the first suction pipe
and then into the second, whereby the first was subjected
to bigger velocities in a horizontal direction than it would
have been if it were working alone. Dr. Denny pointed out
that the performance of that pump was improved, but he
himself suggested that improvement had been obtained
because the flow of water, as it were, washed the vortices
away so quickly that they could not penetrate into the first
suction pipe. He would like the author to clarify that.
Fig. 44. Suction Sump with Submerged Roof
In regard to practical applications, Dr. Markland and
Professor Pope had shown various kinds of fairings,
shrouds, and so on, and he would be very interested to hear
the authors' opinions on their practicability. A horizontal
attachment did not appear to have been experimented with.
Such an attachment might be in the form of a floating
platform surrounding the suction pipe, floating on the
surface of the water. Another modification which was used,
he believed, in Holland, was of the form shown in Fig. 44.
That ensured that there was no free water surface near the
 A SMALL PUMP SUCTION WELL AND VORTICES
suction pipe. Nevertheless, he had been told that, although
the air could not enter, there was a swirl in the pipe which
might impair the performance of the pump.
An interesting point in the paper by Dr. Markland and
Professor Pope concerned the effect of a screen put in front
of the suction pipe, which when removed, had made
the performance very much worse. In practice the equiva-
lent of that was the weed screen used with low-head
drainage pumps, and he would like to know whether the
weed screen would also have a stabilizing effect, first, when
it was clear and, secondly, when it was blocked with weeds.
If the weeds accumulated on the screen in an irregular way
there might be a swirl which would impair the pump
performance.
Professor White had spoken about vortices on the out-
lets from reservoirs where the vortex might be 100 feet
deep. He wondered whether those vortices would be worth
further study. In particular, in low-head turbines where the
water passed between piers with grooves, large vortices were
formed as the water passed the grooves. He questioned
whether they would be sufficiently serious to influence the
performance of the turbine; possibly the total flow would
be too large for that.
He inquired whether the scope of the papers could be
extended to cover any kind of outlet drawing water from a
sump, and whether rules could be proposed for minimum
submergence.
Mr. R. A. SMITH,M.A. (Associate Member), said that
the authors of both papers had given useful information on
how to design a sump and take-off pipe in such a way that
air-entraining vortices did not form, but the normal reaction
of anyone faced with the problem of stopping such a vortex
was to try to devise some sort of baffle, and fit it to the entry
of the suction pipe. The baf€le might have the form of a
cross inside the pipe, or a disk underneath or above the
pipe, or some sort of combination of b d e s , and often trial
and error was necessary before the vortex was stopped; but
some such method was a simple way of stopping the vortex
and did not involve any large modifications to the installa-
tion. In neither paper had there been any mention of baffles,
and he would like to ask the authors whether they intended
to do any work on that subject in the future, or whether they
considered that care in the design in the first place was
always to be preferred to some form of baffling.
He was interested in the finding of Dr. Markland and
Professor Pope that by deliberately putting swirl on to the
water in the sump they could stop the formation of a
vortex, although it might be thought at first sight that that
would have made it more likely to form. He wondered
whether it would be possible to do that with the same effect
in the case of a circular sump with a central uptake and the
water coming in through a form of tangential inlet.
Dr. Denny had recommended that a model should always
be made for a sump for any important installation, although
he did not appear to be certain whether the experiment
should be done with the same velocity, or the same Froude
number. Designers, however, were usually in a hurry and
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119
often could not wait while a model was being made, and it
was important that ultimately it should be possible to design
an installation without having recourse to making a model.
Mr. G. W. HESLETT (Associate Member) said that his
comments would relate in particular to Dr. Denny’s paper,
where he had stated that in the experimental apparatus
which had been employed, the suction pipes were of sufIi-
cient length to exclude any effects of prerotation due to the
impeller, but it would appear that on that account the use-
fulness of the experiments and the extent to which the
general conclusions could be applied to the practical design
of a pump sump, were somewhat limited. The effect of the
flow pattern created within the suction pipe and bellmouth
by the impeller, on the flow pattern external to the pipe,
including vortex formation, would vary considerably, with
the majority of pumping installations where that pheno-
menon created problems, it was necessary to treat the sump
and pump design characteristics as a whole if a satisfactory
solution was to be reached.
That point had already been covered by suggesting that
sump design could and would in fact sometimes affect the
efficiency of the pump, and other investigators had already
noted and recorded that.
His own first-hand observation of many types of installa-
tion had shown that the problem of avoiding vortex forma-
tion was intensified, and in some cases only existed, where
high specific-speed units were employed, and that with
similar design treatment of the sump alone for high and
low specific-speed units, quite different results could be
produced.
It was of particular interest that under the test conditions
it had been possible to establish a relationship between the
critical submergence, and suction velocity and bottom
clearance, whereas previous field experience with actual
installations had shown that there was very considerable
difficulty in doing that. On one installation, a land drainage
plant, with two vertical-spindle medium specific-speed units
with a specific speed of 7,000 and a rectangular sump, severe
vortex formation had occurred intermittently at maximum
depth of submergence, and had disappeared and reappeared
at various diminishing levels, finally disappearing com-
pletely when a minimum level with submergence level to
pipe diameter of 1-5 was reached. Under those conditions
the pump discharge, and the velocity within the suction
pipe and bellmouth varied with the levels in the total head.
Observations had subsequently been made on that
installation over a period of several hours on three occasions,
the suction pump and flow conditions each time being
controlled to cover the same range of levels and outputs. The
results had varied to the extent that throughout one test,
extending over approximately 6 hours, no vortices having an
air core had appeared, despite the apparent similarity of the
conditions. It had been considered that probably the
explanation lay in the variations of the small degree of
turbulence induced in the sump due to the interference of
solid matter on the screen, although the actual difference in
the head during the tests had been hardly noticeable.
120
That and similar experiences supported the conclusion
reached by the author that there was no precise boundary
between vortex-forming and vortex-free conditions, and
that over a wide zone the formation of an air core was largely
a matter of time and chance, in so far as the formation and
dispersionof vortices might result from minor and secondary
influences. He thought that that point had been sufficiently
emphasized.
He had recently been associated with aerodynamicexperi-
mental work to determinethe most favourable design of bell-
mouth and suction guide apparatus for a suction system of
extremely large pumping units dealing with 270 cusecs
each, which were being installed in an existing sump. The
combination of an internal and external guide, disposed at
various positions in the suction pipes relative to the main
stream flow, had been found to be necessary and had shown
the most favourable flow pattern. There was no uniformity
about it. The influence of each succeeding suction pipe on
the others was quite definite.
The point concerning the benefits associated with small
sumps confirmed the result of experimental work already
camed out to determine the probable flow conditions in
what, by generally accepted standards, were sumps of
extremely small dimensions when related to the pump and
suction-system sizes. That work had been undertaken with
particular reference to land drainage installations, and
covered the use of a cylindrical sump having a sump
diameterlinlet bellmouth ratio of 1.6 or less. The tests had
been full scale, and employed a vertical-spindle medium
specific-speed pump with a specific speed of about 7,000,
rated for a nominal output of 45 cusecs. The water had
been allowed to enter the main sump through a radial
approach having a diametric ratio with the sump of 0.8,
and in an extreme case was allowed to enter also over the
top of the sump, the pump performance and flow conditions
in the sump having been observed over a wide range of
levels.
Through the complete range the pump had run com-
pletely satisfactorily, and with only minor and very in-
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DISCUSSION
frequent vortex formation in the sump. A degree of
turbulence had existed in the sump and had increased as
the level diminished, but at all times was of an acceptable
order. It was probable that that was a major factor con-
tributing to what was, for all practical conditions, entirely
satisfactory operation. He thought that that supported the
view which had already been expressed, that an initial
disturbance or a purposely-created disturbance might be
extremely valuable in destroying, or even preventing, vortex
formation.
He was of the opinion that the relationship between sump
and pump sizes opened up a field of considerable possi-
bilities in the civil engineering design of a pumping station,
because a single- or multi-cell construction could be
adopted eliminating the need for a large suction sump, the
intake to each pump sump or cell from the main stream
being through a circular pipe. Where desired those intake
pipes could be brought out to a shallow fore-bed, where
screens could be accommodated. The ultimate development
of that principle was the elimination of the free-surface
area type of sump, which should substantially diminish, if
not entirely preclude, vortex formation.
Mr. J. R. D. FRANCIS, Assoc.1.C.E. (London), said that
all the authors were in agreement that models should be
tested at the same height and speed as the full-scale job,
but Dr. Denny had gone a stage beyond and had pointed
to the slight mystery of why scaling the Froude law seemed
to be inadequate. If, as it seemed from both papers, vortices
were caused by eddies being shed by something, surely the
criterion should theoretically be the Reynolds criterion. In
other words, the mystery was why should the scaling laws
not be the Reynolds law.
Mr. F. H. TOWLER (Member) (Chairman) said that he
hoped someone would contribute to this subject, using
oil and trying the effect of various viscosities on the forma-
tion of vortices, which was so easy with oil, because it was
only necessary to alter the temperature.

Communications
Mr. G. H. JONES, B.Sc. (Associate Member), A.M.I.E.E.,
wrote suggesting that air-entraining vortices in pump
sumps could normally be eliminated by using a rather large
bellmouth at entry, and fitting over the mouth a grid
similar to those used for open drains. Such an arrangement
was shown in Fig. 45.
. I
F9. 45. Bellmouth Entry with Grid
Mr.W. RIGBY( M d m ) wrote congratulating the authors
on their carefid study of the problem which had become
intense on the introduction of the vertical-spindle axial-flow
pump. With that type of pump it was often necessary to
increase the water velocity from zero to 15 or 20 ft. per sec.,
within the range of a relatively short bellmouth, con-
sequently, the acceleration was very great. To prevent the
formation of vortices, recommendationshad been made that
the water should cover the bellmouth by 5 or 6 feet, but
that increased the cost of the civil engineering work.
Ten years earlier his company had carried out a con-
siderablenumber of experiments to try to reduce that cover,
and to eliminate some of the trouble which they occasionally
experienced with vertical-spindle axial-flow pumps. They
had found that in the normal rectangular suction sump
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121
vortices were readily formed, even with considerable cover
over the bellmouth. They had moved the bellmouth close
to the back wall of the sump, and had found that vortices
were not so easily formed, nor were they so large. The back
of the sump had then been wrapped round the bellmouth,
and carried tangentially to the side walls as indicated in
Fig. 46.
.
- FLOW
.
Fig. 46. Suction Sump to Ensure Freedom from Vortices
As a result it had been found that vortices had not
formed, even with the bellmouth submerged to a very small
depth.
Mr. LESLIE YOUNG(East Kilbride) wrote that the problem
of efficient sump design had not hitherto received the
attention it deserved. Badly laid out sumps and intakes
were very common, and failure of the installations to per-
form satisfactorily was often blamed on the pumps,
although in fact they had not been given a chance to work
efficiently. The two papers were therefore very welcome, but
it should be pointed out that while air entrainment was an
extreme condition, easily recognized, and attributed to bad
sump design, serious effects on pump operation could and
did arise owing to unsatisfactory sumps, without air entrain-
ment having taken place.
Some experiments on the formation of air-entraining
vortices had been carried out by the Mechanical Engineer-
ing Research Laboratory in connexion with the design of a
large water sump for the new hydraulic machinery labora-
tory. A model to Q scale had been constructed, having a
length of 9 feet and a width of 1 ft. 104 in. A circulating
pump had taken water from one end through a pipe of
23 inches nominal bore mounted vertically, and returned
it to the other end. A distributor on the discharge pipe, and
a screen, had produced uniform flow conditions over the
greater part of the length of the sump.
122 COMMUNICATIONS

The arrangement had thus been very similar to that used

by Dr. Markland and Professor Pope for their experiments I2O
on rectangular sumps. Investigation had been confined to 100
determining the effect of the rear wall position relative to *
the intake pipe on the formation of air-entraining vortices. ‘0
The intake pipe had had no bellmouth, and had been X
d W
situated 5 inches above the floor of the sump. After some m
y1
z:
preliminary trials, it had been decided to use as the critical 3
Z
submergence the depth at which a stable vortex, as distinct
from an intermittent one, was formed. The scatter on results
z
obtained using any other criterion had been too great for Ld
practical use. ;40
Analysis of the results for various positions of the rear -t
wall had shown that they could be correlated to a reasonable 4
approximation by an empirical equation of the form 20
77 / L - \ + l

R, =-
(9’
A
(ac)’-
;t
xi04 . . (1)
0
D/d
where R, was the Reynolds number of the flow in the intake
pipe, D the distance from the rear wall to the centre-line Fig. 48. Effect of Rear Wall Position in a Rectangular
of the intake pipe, d the intake pipe diameter, and S, the Sump
critical depth of submergence. Z = l l + inches.
K had been found to be a constant whose value was 27.4;
n was not a constant but varied with D/d, its value being lower critical submergences than theirs, the agreement
given by seemed fairly good.
Fig. 48 showed the relation between R,, D/d, and S,/d
n = 0.39+045(:) given by the empirical equation (1). The curves for
S,/d = 2 and S,/d = 3 at D/d less than 2 should be regarded
Fig. 47 showed the M.E.R.L. results for D = 12 inches with caution, as they were outside the range of the experi-
compared with Dr. Markland and Professor Pope’s results mental results.
for an almost similar system given in Fig. 11. Bearing in Experience of the formation of air-entraining vortices
mind the fact that the ‘stable vortex’ criterion would give had been very similar to that of Dr. Markland and Professor
Pope. In the early stages of formation, two symmetrical
vortices had been observed, one subsequently developing
and the other dying away. A vortex had shown great per-
sistence once formed, and had readily reformed after being
broken up by hand.
He would like to have some points in Dr. Denny’s paper
I I Y-I~CHES 1 clarified. Firstly, it had been stated in the conclusions:‘there
is no doubt that a greater submergence of the inlet is neces-
sary when water at a low velocity enters a large pipe than
when the same quantity of water at a high velocity enters a
small pipe’. That did not appear to be borne out by the
results quoted. In Fig. 37, which presented results for two
geometrically similar systems with a 511 difference in scale,
the ‘water depth’ scales could be reduced to dimensionless
form by dividing by the appropriate pipe diameter, With
two pipes of diameter d and 2d respectively, such that
1-8<d, and 9>2d, it was fair to have assumed that results
for those hypothetical pipes would be covered by those
curves. If the larger of the two pipes had been running at a
I I
suction velocity of 3-5ft. per sec., and considering the worst
0 I 2 3
hy-FEET case as shown by the prototype curve in Fig. 37, the required
Fig. 47. Critical Submergence in a Rectangular Sump water depth would be 20/9 x 2d inches. The submergence
would be (20/9)-(12.3/9) x 2d, or 1-71dinches.
D = 12 inches. For equal discharge, the smaller pipe would run with a
2 = 12 inches (M. and P.).
2 = I l t inches (M.E.R.L.). suction velocity of 14 ft. per sec. From Fig. 37, the required

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 A SMALL PUMP SUCTION WELL AND VORTICES
water depth would be 31/9 x d inches and the submergence
(31/9)-(12*3/9)xd or 2.08d inches. Thus the smaller pipe
required a greater submergence than the larger for a similar
discharge.
The same result was obtained by considering Fig. 34, and
from it was found that a suction velocity of 20 fi. per sec.
in a pipe of 0.92 inch diameter gave a critical submergence
of 3.13 inches, while a velocity of 7.5 ft. per sec. in a pipe of
1.5 inches diameter (corresponding to the same discharge)
gave a critical submergenceof 2.4 inches. The systems were
not quite geometrically similar in that case.
Since it was unlikely in practice to use a velocity ratio
much greater than 4/1 for two pipes carrying equal quantities
of water, he considered that the author’s statement should
be qualified.
Secondly, there seemed to have been some discrepancy
between the results shown in Figs. 34 and 35. From Fig. 34
for a 3-inch pipe with a suction velocity of 13.5 ft. per sec.
S/d was 0.3. From Fig. 35 under the same conditions
(x/d = 2) S/d was 1.6. Similarly Fig. 34 gave S/d as 1.8 for
a 1.5-inch pipe under the same conditions for which Fig. 35
gave S/d as 4.
From the results quoted to illustrate the effect of wall
proximity on vortex formation it appeared that the distance
of the intakes from both sides and rear of the model sumps
had been varied in the same proportion for most of the
experiments. Dr. Markland and Professor Pope had found
that decreasing the width of their model, maintaining the
rear clearance constant, had given greater critical sub-
mergences, and he would be interested to know if Dr. Denny
had any results which showed the same effect. One very
interesting feature of his experiments was shown in the
Authors’ Replies
Dr. E. MARKLAND and Professor J. A. POPEwrote, in reply
to the discussion and communications, that Professor White
had raised many most interesting points in his discussion.
As to whether inlet velocity was the appropriate variable
against which to measure critical submergence, it might
only be said that, for a given arrangement of sump and
suction pipe, the critical submergence did not vary with
inlet velocity, or inlet velocity head, in a fairly systematic
way. Other than that, there was no justification for using it;
the critical submergence at a given inlet velocity could vary
very much as the geometry of the system was changed, as
was shown both by Dr. Denny’s results and their own.
They agreed that irregular swirl put on the water normally
stopped a vortex from forming. Air-entraining vortices took
some time in establishing themselves and, so long as the
flowpattern in the sump was broken up in a random fashion,
incipient vortices had not the steady conditions required for
their growth. But swirl occurring in the natural and steady
flow pattern in the sump, provided it was not centred on the
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123
contour lines of Figs. 32 and 33. It appeared that there was
one position in a rectangular sump which was worse than
any other for vortex formation. M.E.R.L. experiments
confirmed that finding (Fig. 48) and it was worth noting that
improvement in conditions for a rectangular sump might
result from moving the intake in the direction of flow. The
distance to be moved, however, might be greater than if the
movement were made towards the walls.
Those observations suggested that vorticity generated at
the boundary walls might be a factor in vortex formation,
as well as vorticity generated at the intake itself. In the
M.E.R.L. model it had been found that eddies tended to
form in the rear corners of the sump when the intake was
placed so as to touch the rear wall. Although those did not
seem to have resulted in vortex formation, it had been
decided to round offthe corners with a generous curve. That
had been completely successful in eliminating eddies.
It might be of interest to mention that the full-size sump
designed as a result of the experiments with the M.E.R.L.
model had been in operation and had proved very satis-
factory. Two service pumps were placed symmetricallywith
the lip of their intake bellmouths about 2 inches from the
rear wall. The submergencewas 6 feet, which was calculated
to have been considerably greater than that necessary to
avoid vortex formation. They were operating quite satis-
factorily in their design conditions. There was no tendency
for vortices to form with the pumps running together, or
singly. It was possible in that system to measure the flow
accurately, and they hoped to determine the critical sub-
mergences as soon as it was convenient. The pumps were
each rated to deliver 6,000 gal. per min. at a head of
80 feet.
suction pipe in a cylindrical sump, was conducive to the
formation of air-entraining vortices.
In view of Professor White’s comments on the effect of
erratic disturbances in the flow, it was interesting to learn
of Mr. Wauchope’s experience of a practical case in which
turbulence in the sump had been found to break up air-
entraining vortices when the water level fell very low, and
flow conditions were particularly bad. It was most valuable
to hear that his experience indicated scale velocities in
models to be roughly in accord with the Froude criterion.
Mr. Francis had asked why the Reynolds criterion was not
the important one. Their own view was that there was
unlikely to be any simple law which might be applied
infallibly to all cases. The overall flow pattern in the sump
was likely to depend principally on Reynolds number, but
the depression of the surface of a vortex depended on the
Froude number. Dynamic similarity could not then be
achieved for both the main ffow in the sump and for the
motion of the vortex, in a model using water, so that no
124 AUTHORS’ REPLIES
model could completely reproduce the behaviour of its
prototype, and only experience could decide the most
appropriate velocity to use The importance of reproducing
in the model the details of the sump, including the entry,
should be emphasized.
The effect of a fairinground the suction pipe was primarily
investigated to provide confirmation of the effect of the
suction pipe itself in a rectangular sump in which every
attempt had been made to remove swirl; it had not been
thought of at first as a practical means of preventing vortex
formation. The extremelybeneficialeffect which it had in the
model shouldbe emphasized; even when circulating flow was
engendered in the sump by placing a vane projecting from
one side, air-entraining vortices were not produced. If
Mr. Wauchope had the opportunity of trying the effect of
fairing the suction pipe of a larger installation, they would
be most interested to hear of it.
In reply to Mr. Addison’s question regarding the effect
of the earth’s rotation on the direction of rotation of the
vortices, it was considered that the direction of any swirl
which existed in a sump was fixed by irregularities at the
inlet or in the sump itself and, on that scale, the earth’s
rotation would have no appreciable effect. Only where a
large mass of more or less stationarywater was involved was
the sense of any vortex which might form likely to be
determined by the earth’s rotation. Mr. Addison quite
rightly remarked that many devices other than those men-
tioned in the paper might be effective in suppressing air-
entraining vortices. A floating platform or other device
which ensured that no free water surface occurred near the
suction pipe might be used, and their results with bell-
mouths of two different sizes supported Mr. Jones’s
suggestion that a large bellmouth could be helpful. But it
should be borne in mind that the swirl in the sump which
might occur, whether or not they were fitted, would pass
into the suction pipe, where large deviationsof the flow might
be produced. As mentioned in the paper, angles of deviation
as large as 35 deg. had been measured in a plain suction
pipe and as much as 19 deg. in the suction pipe fitted with a
coaxial boss of 1-10inches diameter; the effect of variations
as large as that would be noticed in the performance of a
pump, especially if it were of the axial-flow type. The
improvement in suction performance which the honey-
comb produced in the sump was put down to the removal
of the slight swirl which existed in the sump before it had
been fitted. When a portion of the width of the honeycomb
had been blanked off, a mosr pronounced circulation had
been set up. Non-uniform blockage of weed screens would
presumably produce a similar effect and set up undesirable
swirl, especially if the sump were large. Mr. Heslett’s
comments on the large variations in performance which he
had found under field conditions, and had put down to
slight differencesin the amount of solid matter on the screen,
were most valuable.
They would agree with Mr. Smith that instances would
occur where, despite care in the design, vortices might form
and resort would have to be made to some form of baffling
in the sump. Their experience with a cross extending from
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the floor of the sump up into the suction pipe had been
disappointing; it had produced no diminution in vortex
formation, vortex filaments merely passing through one of
the quadrants of the cross up into the suction pipe. Mr.
Smith had also referred to the possibility of a cylindrical
sump with a tangential inlet, and such a sump 12 inches in
diameter with an entrance 2 inches wide had been made.
An extremely strong swirl had been formed, which had
produced a differenceof water levels between the wall of the
sump and the suction pipe of as much as 8 inches at
maximum discharge, so that very severe deviation of the
flow from the axial direction would have been produced in
the suction pipe. Unfortunately, no systematic tests had
been made in which the degree of swirl had been controlled,
bur it would seem quite feasible to control the swirl,
possibly by having a combination of tangential slot and
radial inlet through an annular gap around the whole of
the bottom of the cylinder.
Mr. Rigby’s communication was extremely valuable, and
the design of a vortex-free sump which he showed repre-
sented perhaps the ultimate development of the concept of
having the rear wall as close as possible to the suction pipe.
The advantage of having a uniform entry condition aver the
whole of the suction pipe cross-section, which a bellmouth
ideally produced, might be sacrified to some extent if the
water were accelerated too much before it was turned
upwards into the pipe.
They were most gratified that Mr. Young had obtained
similar results to their own on similar apparatus, and that
he had ventured to put them in the form of an empirical
equation. That was a step that they had not taken because
of the wide difference in results which they had obtained
with a given sump layout between conditions of no swirl,
and swirl which was perceptible bur too small to
measure.
Dr. D. F, DENNY wrote, in reply to the discussion and
communications, that it was evident from the discussion
that, although much was known about the influence of the
relevant factors on the formation of vortices, the mechanism
by which energy was transferred to the vortex remained
imperfectly understood.
While it was quite true that velocity could not be regarded
as an independent variable, in practice that quantity was a
convenient measure of what was taking place in the sump,
He did not agree that continuous vortices could form with-
out swirl. Analysis of the two-dimensional flow around a
sink showed that rotation of the vortex could not continue
indefinitelyunless it extended hitially to an infinitedistance.
If the initial rotation was restricted to a finite zone around
the origin, the rotation disappeared as soon as the whole of
the liquid that was initially rotating had been absorbed by
the sink.
To avoid vortices it was always better to take care with the
design in the fist place, than to rely on baffles fitted after
trouble had been experienced. Remedies which merely
prevented the air from being drawn into the suction inlet
 A SMALL PUMP SUCTION WELL AND VORTICES 125

did not afTect the swirl that remained in the water. As an The use of models to study the flow in proposed sumps
example, enclosing the sump by a roof would prevent was usually justified economically, because uncertainties in
entrainment of air, but the swirl within the sump, which the design of safe sumps had necessitated a greater margin
persisted as the water flowed up the pipe, would remain of safety than could be afforded on large and expensive
unchanged. Several contributors had confirmed that installations.
swirling in the suction pipe might adversely affect the per-
formance of the pump.
Regarding the influence of the pump impeller on the
flow in the sump, it seemed unlikely that it would be of
significance in the majority of cases. Prerotation in the
suction pipe due to the impeller was only significant
if the pump was working well below its best efficiency
point.
Several contributors had mentioned the influence of
Reynolds number, or of viscosity on the formation of VISCOSITY-
vortices. It was quite clear that Reynolds number itself CENTISTOKES
was not a major factor, for if it were the velocity of flow in
a model would need to be greater than in the prototype to
obtain similar conditions. That was contrary to observed
500 ’
facts. Similarly, if Reynolds number had been the con-
trolling factor, then the velocity of flow would have to be
260 /
proportional to the viscosity of the liquid. That again had
not been confirmed by experiments. In Fig. 49 results of an
experiment were shown in which oils of Werent viscosity
had been used in the same sump. It could be seen that at
60 /
any given water depth higher velocities were needed with
more viscous oils to produce similar conditions, but those
variables were by no means proportional; a 500 to 1
change in viscosity corresponded to only a 10 to 1 change
in velocity.
The assumption of alternative sizes of pipe in the sumps
illustrated in Fig. 37 was not valid, for it involved altering
the relative size of the pipe and the sump, and thus an 0.5 I 2 5
additional factor was introduced which conflicted with the WATER DEPTH-INCHES
effects of the change of pipe size. The results given in Fk. 49. Effect of Viscosity on the Relation Between
Figs. 34 and 35 referred to sumps in which the amount Critical Depth and Flow (Logarithmic Scales)
of swirl had differed. Suction inlet in floor of sump.
Sump 20 inches wide. Pipe 1-inch bore.

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