Curtin University of Technology

Department of Mechanical Engineering

FLUID MECHANICS 433

LABORATORY REPORT 1
Pump Characteristic Curves

Prepared by : Nang The Truong

Student ID No. : 14392665

Date performed : 27th July 2012

Date submitted : 10th August 2012

Table of Contents
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1

II. Objectives ........................................................................................................... 1

III. Nomenclature ...................................................................................................... 1

IV. Theory ................................................................................................................. 2

1. Pump Curves .................................................................................................... 2

2. Similarity ........................................................................................................... 2

V. Apparatus ............................................................................................................ 3

VI. Procedures .......................................................................................................... 3

VII. Results ............................................................................................................. 5

1. Single pump ..................................................................................................... 5

2. Parallel pumps ................................................................................................ 10

VIII. Discussions .................................................................................................... 11

IX. Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 13

Appendix A – Pump curves calculations at pump operating speed 1200 rpm and zero
flow rate.................................................................................................................... 14

Appendix B – Similarity laws .................................................................................... 15

List of tables
Table 1 : Records for single pump experiment ........................................................... 5
Table 2 : Efficiencies of a single pump at various pump speeds and input powers .... 6
Table 3 : Efficiencies of a single pump at speeds of 1400 and 1800 rpm ................... 7
Table 4 : Records for parallel pump experiment ....................................................... 10
Table 5 : Experimental Power input of pump #1 and pump #2 ................................. 10
Table 6 : Experimental Power output of pump #1 and pump #2............................... 10
Table 7 : Theoretical pump #1 and #2 flow rates and increased pressures ............. 11
List of Figures
Figure 1 : Laboratory apparatus ................................................................................. 3
Figure 2 : Pump curves at various pump operating speeds and flow rates ................ 8
Figure 3 : Efficiencies at various pump operating speeds and flow rates ................... 9
I. Introduction
It is very common in engineering processes where fluid such air, water or oil are
required to be delivered from one location to another. This can be typically
achieved by pressure difference between the points. However, in a more complex
system where fluid flows through various directions, pipes, junctions,etc. energy
losses occurs due to friction along the pipe, valves, entrance and exists. In such
cases, work needs to be added into the system to overcome these losses. For this
purpose, pumps are introduced to do the job. Due to economic and design
purposes, selecting the right pump is as significant as its role and also the
purpose of this lab. Eventually, process of constructing a pump curve, application
similarity laws and effects of pumps arranged in parrallel will be discussed.

II. Objectives
Construct and analyse pump characteristic curves for a rotary dynamic pump
operating at various speeds of 1200, 1600 and 2000 rpm.

Applying similarity law to determine the pump characteristic curves for operation
at various speeds of 1400 and 1800 rpm.

III. Nomenclature
µ efficiency
Pin Input power to the motor [W]
Pout Hydraulic power output of the pump [W]
Δp Pressure increased [Pa]
Q Flow rate [m/s] or [l/s]
m Mass of counterweight [kg]
T Applied Torque [Nm]
ω Angular velocity [rad/s]
g Gravity acceleration [m/s2]
N Rotational speed [rpm]
H Head [mm Hg]
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 IV. Theory

1. Pump Curves
Efficiency of the pump at each operating point can be determined by the
equation:

(1)

The hydraulic power output of the pump Pout and input power to the motor Pin can
be obtained as below :

(2)

(3)

,where r = 0.235 is the length of lever arm .

2. Similarity
To determine flow rate, head and efficiency for pump operating at other speeds,
three similarity laws can be applied :

For flow rate:

(4)

For head (pressure increase):

(5)

For efficiency

η1 = η2 (6)

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V. Apparatus

Figure 1 : Laboratory apparatus

VI. Procedures
Single Pump

1. Valves were set so that only pump #2 was operating. Valve at pipe discharge
to tank was fully close.
2. Motor started to drive pump #2 at operating speed of 1200 rpm.
3. Head losses Hs and Hd were recorded from manometer. Weights were added
to the lever arm until the motor is balanced. Balance mass was also recorded.
4. The discharge valve was now fully open. The flow rate could be read and
recorded from the rotameter.
5. The flow rate was increased to 4 intermediate values so that head loss and
balance mass were recorded in accordant with each set.
6. Steps 1 to 5 were repeated for pump speeds of 1600 and 2000 rpm.

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 Pumps in parallel

1. Valves were set so that pump #2 was operating at speed of 1600 rpm, and
isolated from pump #1.
2. Valve on the suction of pump #1 was open. Pump #1 started to operate at the
same speed as pump#2. Valve isolating pump #1 and pump $2 was open.
3. Discharge valve at the tank was fully open. Flow rate through pump #2 was
recorded using the rotameter. The total flow rate could be read from the
mercury manometer. Head loss Hs and Hd were recorded from the
manometer. The masses required to balance each motor were also noted
down.
4. Step 1 to 3 were repeated for 4 additional flow rates.

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 VII. Results

1. Single pump
Table 1 : Records for single pump experiment

Hs Hd
Pump speed, Flowrate, Pressure increase, Balance
[mmHg [mm
N [rpm] Q [l/s] ΔP [Pa] mass, m [g]
] Hg]
0 930 1183 33754 330
0.8 936 1177 32153 350
1200 1.2 941 1171 30686 375
2.5 976 1138 21613 440
2.65 982 1132 20012 440
0 848 1265 55634 450
1 852 1259 54300 580
1600 1.8 868 1243 50031 600
2.7 896 1216 42693 650
4 957 1155 26416 700
0 730 1376 86187 600
1 743 1368 83385 700
2000 1.9 766 1345 77248 865
3.6 827 1285 61105 975
5.2 942 1171 30552 1040

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Table 2 : Efficiencies of a single pump at various pump speeds and input powers

Pump speed, Hydraulic power output , Input Power,

Efficiency = Pout/Pin
N [rpm] Pout [W] Pin [W]
0 96 0
26 101 25
1200 37 109 34
54 127 42
53 127 42
0 130 0
54 168 32
1600 90 174 52
115 188 61
106 203 52
0 174 0
83 203 41
2000 147 251 59
220 282 78
159 301 53

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 Table 3 : Efficiencies of a single pump at speeds of 1400 and 1800 rpm

Pressure increase,
Pump speed, N [rpm] Flowrate, Q [l/s] Efficiency = Pout/Pin
ΔP [Pa]
0.00 45943 0
0.93 43764 25
1400 1.40 41767 34
2.92 29418 42
3.09 27239 42
0.00 75947 0
1.20 72345 25
1800 1.80 69043 34
3.75 48630 42
3.98 45028 42

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 100000

90000

80000

70000
Pressure increase, P [Pa]

60000

50000 1200rpm
1600rpm
40000
2000rpm

30000

20000

10000

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Flowrate , Q [l/s]

Figure 2 : Pump curves at various pump operating speeds and flow rates

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 90

80

70

60
Efficiency

50
1200rpm
40 1600rpm

30 2000rpm

20

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Flowrate, Q [l/s]

Figure 3 : Efficiencies at various pump operating speeds and flow rates

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 2. Parallel pumps
Nominating speed of pump #1 and pump #2: 1600 rpm

Table 4 : Records for parallel pump experiment

Total
Pump #1 Pump #2 Hs Hd Pump #1 Pump #2
Flow ΔP,
Flowrate, Flowrate, [mmH [mmHg Mass, Mass,
rate, [Pa]
Q [l/s] Q [l/s] g] ] m [g] m [g]
Q [l/s]
0 0 0 814 1400 500 400 78182
3 2.8 0.2 836 1279 650 430 59103
4 3.2 0.8 845 1265 750 500 56035
6 3.6 2.4 885 1230 790 630 46029
7.5 3.9 3.6 943 1173 850 680 30686

Table 5 : Experimental Power input of pump #1 and pump #2

Power input P#1, [W] Power input P#2, [W]

193 155
251 166
290 193
305 243
328 263

Table 6 : Experimental Power output of pump #1 and pump #2

Power output P#1, [W] Power output P#2, [W]

0 0
165 12
179 45
166 110
120 110

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Assuming total flow rate is evenly distributed between the pumps . Theoretical flow
rates for each pump are therefore half total flow rates. In addition, both pumps are
assumed to operate on the pump curve shown in figure 1. Applying flow rates from
table 7 in conjunction with figure 1 for operating speed at 1600 rpm, the pressure
increase ∆P, [Pa] can be obtained and tabulated as below

Table 7 : Theoretical pump #1 and #2 flow rates and increased pressures

Total Flowrate, Q Pump #1 & #2 Flowrate, Q Delta P, Power

[l/s] [l/s] [Pa] output
0 0 56000 0
3 1.5 52000 78
4 2 48300 97
6 3 38500 116
7.5 3.75 29500 111

VIII. Discussions
Figure 1 shows that, for a single pump at all operating speeds, the pressure
increase drops down non-linearly as the flow rate increases. At a particular flow
rate, the pressure increase at higher operating speed will also be larger than that
at lower operating speed. In fact, if not considering losses due to pipe roughness,
losses within the pump and valves, elbow, entrance and exist of pipe system, etc.
the theoretical curve can be shown as linear. These losses will cause the
difference between the two curves. The effects of these losses on pump
performance are clearer via operating efficiency as shown in figure 2. Rotary
dynamic pump performance is relatively low which is less than 80%, specifically
at low flow rate and operating speed. The efficiency reaches its maximum point at
some particular value of the flow rate and then falls with a continued increase in
the flow rate. These points are typically considered as normal or design flow rate
or capacity for the pump. The points on various curves corresponding to the
maximum efficiency are called as the best efficiency points (BEP). Apparently, in

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selecting a pump for a particular application, it is desirable to have the pump
operate near its maximum efficiency.

Operation of the pump at zero discharge should also be considered. From table
1, the head developed at zero discharge is called the shutoff head. It represents
the rise in pressure head across the pump with the discharge valve closed. Since
there is no flow with the valve closed, the related efficiency is zero as shown in
table 2. The input power to the pump is simply dissipated as heat. Although
centrifugal pumps can be operated for short periods of time with the discharge
valve closed, damage will occur due to overheating and large mechanical stress
with any extended operation with the valve closed.

Due to time and cost, pump characteristics are not always determined
experimentally. Performance of the same pump operating at different speeds can
be predicted by using similarity laws. Shown in table 3 are characteristics of the
pump at operating speed at 1400 and 1800 rpm. The behaviour and performance
are as per discussions above. However, assumptions should be considered
carefully when applying these laws. The similarity law shown as equations (4),
(5), and (6) are based on the condition that, as the impeller diameter is changed,
all other important geometric variables are properly scaled to maintain geometric
similarity. This is not normally the case in practice due to difficulties associated
with manufacturing the pumps. The effects of viscosity and surface roughness
have also been neglected. It has been found that the effect of these on efficiency
as pump size decreases due to smaller clearances and blade size. Lastly, it
should also be aware that the similarity laws will not be very accurate if tests on a
model pump with water are used to predict the performance of a prototype pump
with a highly viscous fluid, such as oil, because at much smaller Reynolds
number associated with the oil flow, the fluid physics involved is different from the
higher Reynolds number flow associated with water.

In practice,it is common to see a combination of pumps arranged in series or

parallel to provide addition head or flow. Theoretically, the pump flow rate is
assumed to be evenly distributed when the pumps are arranged in parallel.
However, at relatively low flow rate as at less than 4 [l/s], this is not the case.

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Pump #1 does a majority of work comparing with pump #2. Nonetheless, the total
flow rate had been increased as opposed to that from the operation of a single
pump at the same head. For a single pump system at operating speed of 1600
rpm and ∆P of 30 KPa, the total flow rate was about 3.6 l/s, whereas it was 7.5 l/s
for a parallel pump system.

IX. Conclusions
Pump curves had been constructed for a single pump operating at three different
speeds of 1200, 1600 and 2000 rpm. Similarity laws were introduced to
determine theoretical pump characteristics at other speeds of 1400 and 1600
rpm. Finally, effect of pumps arranged in parrallel were also analysised.

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Appendix A – Pump curves calculations at pump operating speed
1200 rpm and zero flow rate
Given Hg = 13600 [kg/m3]

For Hs = 930 [mmHg], Hd = 1183 [mmHg], pressure increase is obtained as:

[ ]

From equation (2), output power of the pump is determined as :

[ ]

From equation (3), input power to the motor is calculated as :

( )

[ ]

Pump efficiency can be obtained using equation (1) :

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Appendix B – Similarity laws
Given pump operating speed of 1400 rpm.

From equation (4), flow rate is calculated as :

( ) ( )

From equation (5), the pressure increase is :

( )

[ ]

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