CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

HANDBOOK

Effects of Oversizing
BY: IGOR J. KARASSIK

ne of the greatest sources intersection of its

O
FIGURE 1
of power waste is the prac- head-capacity curve
tice of oversizing a pump with the system-
by selecting design condi- head curve, as long H – Q Curve
tions with excessive margins in as the available System-
Head Curve
both capacity and total head. It is NPSH is equal to or
strange on occasion to encounter a exceeds the required
great deal of attention being paid NPSH (Figure 1).
to a one-point difference in effi- To change this op-

Head
ciency between two pumps while erating point in an
at the same time potential power existing installation
savings are ignored through an requires changing
overly conservative attitude in either the head-
selecting the required conditions capacity curve or
the system-head Capacity
of service.
curve, or both. The Pump H-Q curve superimposed on system-head
POWER CONSUMPTION first can be accom- curve
After all, we are not primarily plished by varying
interested in efficiency; we are the speed of the
more interested in power con- pump (Figure 2), or FIGURE 2
sumption. Pumps are designed to its impeller dia-
Head-Capacity
convert mechanical energy from a meter while the at Full Speed
(N1)
driver into energy within a liquid. second requires System-
Head Curve
This energy within the liquid is altering the friction Head-Capacity
at Full Speed H1
needed to overcome friction loss- losses by throttling (N2)
Head-Capac
es, static pressure differences and a valve in the pump ity at Full Sp
eed (N ) H2
3 H
discharge (Figure
Head

elevation differences at the desired 3

flow rate. Efficiency is nothing but 3). In the majority } Friction
Losses
Static
the ratio between the hydraulic of pump installa- Pressur e
energy utilized by the process and tions, the driver is or Head
the energy input to the pump dri- a constant speed
ver. And without changing the motor, and chang-
ratio itself, if we find that we are ing the system-head
assigning more energy to the curve is used to Capacity Q3 Q2 Q1max
process than is really necessary, change the pump
capacity. Thus, if Varying pump capacity by varying speed
we can reduce this to correspond
to the true requirement and there- we have provided
fore reduce the power consump- too much excess
tion of the pump. margin in the selec- FIGURE 3
It is true that some capacity tion of the pump
head-capacity curve, Head-Capacity
margin should always be includ- at Constant Sp
eed System-
ed, mainly to reduce the wear of the pump will have H3 Head Curve
internal clearances which will, to operate with con- H2 H1
SystemHead Curve
with time, reduce the effective siderable throttling by Throttling Valve
pump capacity. How much mar- to limit its delivery
gin to provide is a fairly complex to the desired value.
} Friction
Head

question because the wear that If, on the other Losses

Static
will take place varies with the hand, we permit Pressur e
type of pump in question, the liq- the pump to oper- or Head
uid handled, the severity of the ate unthrottled,
service and a number of other which is more like-
variables. ly, the flow into the Capacity Q3 Q2 Q1max
A centrifugal pump operating system will increase
in a given system will deliver a until that capacity Varying pump capacity by throttling
capacity corresponding to the is reached where

The Pump Handbook Series 17

 If we operate it throttled at the
FIGURE 4 required capacity of 2700 gpm,
operating at the intersection of its
head-capacity curve and curve B,
240
H-Q 1800 R.P.M. B the pump will require 165 bhp.
3
The pump has been selected
220 14 /4"Impeller
H-Q 1800 R.P.M.
C A
with too much margin. We can
safely select a pump with a small-
Feet Total Head

200 14"Impeller er impeller diameter, say 14 in.,

D with a head-capacity curve as
shown on Figure 4. It will inter-
180
sect curve A at 2820 gpm, giving

% Efficiency
us about 4% margin in capacity,
160 which is sufficient. To limit the
flow to 2700 gpm, we will still
140 have to throttle the pump slightly
90 and our system head curve will
become curve C. The power con-
Static Head
sumption at 2700 gpm will now be
200 80
only 145 bhp instead of the 165 bhp
required with our first overly con-
180 70 servative selection. This is a very
er

respectable 12% saving in power

r
ell

lle

r
mp

lle
pe

160 pe 60 consumption. Furthermore, we

"Im
4"I

3 / 4"
Im no longer need a 200 hp motor. A
Q1

4
4 3/

14
150 hp motor will do quite well.
η−

Q
η−
Q1

140 er 50
ell
η−
B.H.P.

p The saving in capital expenditure

4"Im is another bonus resulting from
Q1
120 η− 40 correct sizing.
Our savings may actually be
100 30 even greater. In many cases, the
pump may be operated unthrot-
80 20 tled, the capacity being permitted
to run out to the intersection of the
60
head-capacity curve and curve A.
10 If this were the case, a pump with
a 14-3/4 in. impeller would operate
at approximately 3150 gpm and
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 take 177 bhp. If a 14 in. impeller
Capacity in G.P.M.
were to be used, the pump would
Effect of oversizing a pump operate at 2820 gpm and take
148 bhp. We could be saving more
than 15% in power consumption.
the system-head and head-capaci- margin to the total head above the Tables 1 and 2 tabulate these
ty curves intersect. system-head curve at this rated flow, savings.
we end up by selecting a pump for And our real margin of safety
EXAMPLE
3000 gpm and 200 ft. total head. The is actually even greater than I have
Let’s use a concrete example, performance of such a pump, with a indicated. Remember that the fric-
for which the maximum required 14-3/4 in. impeller, is superimposed on tion losses we used to construct the
capacity is 2700 gpm, the static the system-head curve A in Figure 4. system-head curve A were based
head is 115 ft and the total friction The pump develops excess head on losses through 15-year old
losses, assuming 15-year old pipe, at the maximum required capacity of piping. The losses through new
are 60 ft. The total head required 2700 gpm, and if we wish to operate piping are only 0.613 times the
at 2700 gpm is therefore 175 ft. at that capacity, this excess head will losses we have assumed. The sys-
We can now construct a system- have to be throttled. Curve “B” is the tem-head curve for new piping is
head curve, which is shown on system-head curve that will have to that indicated as curve D in Figure
curve A, Figure 4. If we add a be created by throttling. 4. If the pump we had originally
margin of about 10% to the If we operate at 3000 gpm, the selected (with a 14-3/4 in. impeller)
required capacity and then, as is pump will take 175 bhp, and we will were to operate unthrottled, it
frequently done, we add some have to drive it with a 200 hp motor. would run at 3600 gpm and take

18 The Pump Handbook Series

TABLE 1. COMPARISON OF PUMPS WITH 143/4 IN. AND C l e a r l y , ufacturer. The original
14IN. IMPELLERS, WITH THE SYSTEM THROTTLED important energy impeller is then stored for fu-
savings can be ture use if friction losses are
Throttled to 2700 GPM achieved if, at the ultimately increased with time
Impeller 143/4" 14" time of the selec- or if greater capacities are
Curve “B” “C” tion of the condi- ever required.
BHP 165 145 tions of service,
Savings 20 hp or 12.1% r e a s o n a b l e 3. In certain cases, there may be
restraints are exer- two separate impeller designs
cised to avoid available for the same pump,
TABLE 2. COMPARISON OF PUMPS WITH THE incorporating one of which is of narrower
SYSTEM UNTHROTTLED excessive safety width than the one originally
margins into the furnished. A replacement nar-
Unthrottled, on Curve “A”
rated conditions of row impeller can then be
Impeller 143/4" 14" service. ordered from the manufactur-
GPM 3150 2820 er. Such a narrower impeller
BHP 177 148 EXISTING will have its best efficiency at
Savings 29 hp or 16.4% INSTALLATIONS a lower capacity than the nor-
But what of mal width impeller. It may or
TABLE 3. EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SIZE IMPELLERS IN existing installations may not need to be of a small-
SYSTEM WITH NEW PIPE AND RESULTING in which the pump er diameter than the original
SAVINGS NEW PIPE (UNTHROTTLED or pumps have impeller, depending on the
OPERATION, CURVE “D”) excessive margins? degree to which excessive
Is it too late to margin had originally been
Impeller 143/4" 14" 133/4" achieve these sav- provided. Again, the original
GPM 3600 3230 3100 ings? Far from it! As impeller is put away for possi-
BHP 187.5 156.5 147 a matter of fact, it is ble future use. ■
Savings 31 hp 40.5 hp possible to establish
16.5% 21.6% more accurately the Igor J. Karassik is Senior
true system-head Consulting Engineer for Ingersoll-
187.5 bhp. A pump with only a curve by running a performance test Dresser Pump Company. He has
14 in. impeller would intersect the once the pump has been installed and been involved with the pump industry
system-head curve D at 3230 gpm operated. A reasonable margin can
for more than 60 years. Mr.
and take 156.6 bhp, with a saving then be selected and several choices
Karassik is Contributing Editor -
of 16.5%. As a matter of fact, we become available to the user:
could even use a 13-3/4 in. impel- Centrifugal Pumps for Pumps and
1. The existing impeller can be cut Systems Magazine.
ler. The head-capacity curve would
down to meet the more realistic
intersect curve D at 3100 gpm, and
conditions of service.
the pump would take 147 bhp.
Now, the savings over using a 2. A replacement impeller with the
14-3/4 in. impeller becomes 21.6% necessary reduced diameter can
(See Table 3). be ordered from the pump man-

The Pump Handbook Series 19