PARALLEL OPERATION OF

CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
H
Pump A

Pump B
Combined
Pump Curve
System Curve

Q
Content
• Parallel Pump Operation
• Pump Curve For Pumps in Parallel
• A Case Study of Parallel Operation

• Common Issues of Parallel Pump Operation

• Improving Reliability During Parallel Pump Operation
• PumpSmart Benefits
• Video Examples

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
Parallel Pump Operation QA
Q
• Two or more pumps operating with
Q Pump A
common intel and common outlet is
called “Parallel” operation.
B Q
• Itis normal to have valves at the inlet
and / or outlet of the pumps for
isolation during maintenance. Pump B
• Due to common inlet & outlet, pumps in parallel operation have the same
suction and discharge pressure. Therefore, differential head remains the
same for both pump.
• Totalflow (Q) is distributed between Pump A (Flow QA) and Pump B (Flow
QB). Therefore,
Total Flow, Q = QA + QB
• But since, both pumps have common suction and discharge,
Total Differential Head, H = HA = HB
• Parallelpump operations are used when flow required is higher than capacity
of a single pump.
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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
Pump Curve For Pumps in Parallel QA
• Combined pump curve for parallel Q
operation can be derived by adding Q Pump A
flow of individual pumps at given
head. QB
• As shown here, individual curves for
Pump A & B are not able to meet the Pump B
requirements of system curve.
H
• Combined pump curve is derived by
Pump A
adding flow of both pumps at same
head which will intersect the system
curve at duty point.
• Itis recommended to use pumps with Pump B
similar (ideally the same) curves for Combined
parallel operation and bring QA and QB Pump Curve
to as close as possible (ideally QA=QB). System Curve
• Ifone pump has higher head than the
other, the second pump may
experience stalling or back flow. Q
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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
A Case Study of Parallel Operation
A nickel mine in Australia
• Site Arrangement:
• Two identical pumps (direct coupled, motor driven) running in parallel, pumping
water from a tank to common header.
• No instruments available for flow or pressure measurement

• Issues
• Low Reliability, high vibration & frequent failure

QA

Tank Common Header

Q
Pump A

QB

Pump B

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
A Case Study of Parallel Operation
A nickel mine in Australia
• Investigating Root Cause
• Measured current consumed by both motors  150A & 180A respectively.
• Calculated difference of power consumption based on motor current and
plotted on pump curve (i.e. ~ 17kW)
• Result shows a significant variation of duty points for each pump.

• Assuming one pump

is running at duty
point (Blue line),
second pump is
either running too left
near minimum flow
(Red line) or running
out too right (green
line)

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
Common Issues of Parallel Pump Operation
• Designers try to select a pump that has required flow near its best efficiency
point (BEP) as pumps offer maximum reliability at BEP.
• Ifpumps in parallel have different pump curves, flow distribution between
two pumps will be uneven and one pump will take higher flow than the other.
• Even if we use identical pumps for parallel operation, due to difference in
wear of individual pump, their performance will change over time and will no
longer be identical.
• It should be noted here that pump performance deteriorates as it wears.
• This will result in uneven flow distribution, leading to uneven pump loading.
• Pump flows will no longer be near BEP, one pump will run left of BEP while
other on the right of BEP which is not good for either pump.
• Such pumps end up as unreliable assets and their failures are unpredictable
and premature.

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
Improving Reliability During Parallel Pump Operation
• One of the common reason for unreliable parallel pumps is running out or uneven
flow distribution.
• Effective way to control this is to track flow from each pump and relate it with
duty requirements and pump curves.
• In case of variable system requirement, modulate pump speed to meet the
variable flow.
• Determining the flow of a centrifugal pump can be a challenging exercise without
a flow meter.
• Variablespeed drives such as ITT PumpSmart can help to achieve all these
functions.
• PumpSmart is able to capture real-time data such as speed, torque and power
and use this information to calculate the flow of the pump.
• With patented sensor less pump protection algorithms, PumpSmart is able to
determine the operating state of your pump at any operating speed
• Smart Flow requires only four pieces of standard price book performance curve
data. A self calibration function takes into account changes in mechanical losses
and volumetric efficiency, and separates the true hydraulic load to calculate the
actual pump flow.

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
PumpSmart Benefits
• Pump specific drive
• Developed to protect the pump and optimize pump
control
• Can be applied to any manufacturer’s centrifugal or
positive displacement pump
• Automatic pump control by integrating the pump
controller in the drive
• No external controller is required
• Simple and cost-effective solution for basic pumping
needs
• Optimizes pumping system for maximum uptime, reliability and energy savings
• Smart Flow - Sensor less flow measurement within +/- 5% of the pump’s rated
flow.
• Pump Protection - from process upset conditions, such as dry-run, dead-head,
shut-off, minimum flow and run-out
• Cavitation Control & Protection - improves overall pump reliability in low NPSH
services
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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
Video Examples
• Check out following links from ITT for some video examples:
• https://www.ittproservices.com/Our-Services/Aftermarket-Products/Control/
• https://www.ittproservices.com/Our-Services/Aftermarket-Products/Control/How-
PumpSmart-Works/

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
Questions??
• Feel free to comment on this post in case of any questions.

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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia
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Compiled By: Arjun Maradia