Chapter-4

Pump and Piping Design

Prof. Ramachandra L.
Department of Mechanical
Engineering.
BVBCET, Hubli
Contents:
Introduction
Physical Fundamentals
Fluid Properties
Reynolds Number
Hydraulic fundamentals, Viz. Pressure, friction losses .
Moody Chart
Colebrook equation
Type of fluid problems, Minor Losses
…… contents
Pipe network and Pump selection.
Technical Fundamentals, Installation, Connections, Pump performance
curves and matching a pump to a piping system.
Pump cavitation and NPSH,
Selection of Pump
Introduction :
Liquids are forced through pipes, valves,
heat exchangers, filters and other
components, and all of them cause an
increased resistance of flow and thus
pressure drops.

The choice of the right pump at the right

place is crucial and will be responsible for the
success or failure of the process.
The following factors should be taken into
consideration:
1. Installation of the pump
2. Suction and delivery pipes
3. The pump type chosen must correspond to
product viscosity, product density, temperature,
system pressure, material of the pump, shearing
tendency of the product etc.
4. The pump size must conform to the flow rate,
pressure, speed, suction conditions etc.
Generally spoken, the pump is a device that conveys a
certain volume of a specific liquid from point A to
point B within a unit of time.

For optimal pumping, it is essential before selecting

the pump to have examined the pipe system very
carefully as well as the liquid to be conveyed.
Each liquid possesses diverse
characteristics that may influence
 Viscosity (friction losses)

 Corrodibility (corrosion)

 Abrasion ( impeller life )

 Temperature (cavitation)

 Density ( static Pressure)

 Chemical reaction (gasket material)

Besides these fundamental criteria, some liquids
need special care during the transport.
The main reasons are:

The product is sensitive to shearing and could get damaged, such

as yoghurt or yoghurt with fruit pulp

The liquid must be processed under highest hygienic conditions

as practised in the pharmaceutical industry or food industry.

The product is very expensive or toxic and requires hermetically

closed transport paths as
used in the chemical or pharmaceutical industry.
The first step on the way to the optimal pump is the
selection between a centrifugal pump or a positive
displacement pump.
The difference lies on one hand in the principle of
transporting the liquid and on the other hand in the
pumping characteristic.

Centrifugal Pumps

Non-Self Priming Self Priming

Positive Displacement Pumps:

Gear pump
Positive Displacement Pumps:

Scroll Pump
Lobe pump

cavity pump/ conveyor

Positive Displacement Pumps:

Reciprocating pumps

360 Degree Peristaltic Pump

 Watermeter

Heart
Parts of centrifugal Pump.
Physical Fundamentals:
 Density : Density or Mass Density is the ratio of the
mass to its volume.
SI unit : kg/m3

• Weight Density: or Specific Weight is the ratio of the

weight to its volume.
SI unit : Newton/m3
Temperature : (°C) or Kelvin (K). The temperature of a fluid
at the pump inlet is of great importance, because it has a
strong effect on the suction characteristic of a pump.
Vapour Pressure:
The vapour pressure (pD) of a liquid is the absolute
pressure at a given temperature at which the liquid will
change to vapour. Each liquid has its own specific
point where it starts to evaporate. Vapour pressure is
expressed in bar (absolute).
Vapor pressure of a pure substance is defined as the
pressure exerted by its vapor in phase equilibrium with
its liquid at a given temperature.
Viscosity : Viscosity of a medium is a measure of its
tendency to resist shearing force. Media of high
viscosity require a greater force to shear at a given rate
than fluids of low viscosity.

(Centistokes) ν = μ ( centipoise) / ρ
The shear rate is calculated from the ratio between the difference in flow
velocity of two adjacent fluid layers and their distance to each other.

Examples:
1. Water, mineral oils,
syrup, resins.

2. Gels, Latex, lotions.

3. Pulp, sugar mixture

Thixotropic fluids:
Viscosity decreases with strong shear rate (I) and
increases again as the shear rate decreases (II).
The ascending curve is however not identical to the
descending curve. Typical fluids are soap, Ketchup,
glue, peanut butter
Hydraulic Fundamentals:
Pumps shall produce pressure. Fluids are conveyed
over a certain distance by kinetic energy produced
by the pump.

The basic definition of pressure (p) is the force per unit

area. It is expressed in Newton per square meter
( N/m2 = Pa).
1 bar = 105 N/m2 = 105 Pa
Atmospheric pressure:
Atmospheric pressure is the force exerted on a unit area by
the weight of the atmosphere. It depends on the height
above sea level . At sea level the absolute pressure is
approximately 1 bar = 105 N/m2.

Gage pressure uses atmospheric pressure as a zero reference

 Various pressure components of a pump and piping system

Static Pressure:
Hydraulic pressure at a point in a fluid at rest.
In a static liquid the pressure difference between any
two points is in direct proportion to the vertical
distance between the two points.

Friction loss :

Loss in pressure or energy due to friction losses in flow

Dynamic pressure :
Energy in a fluid that occurs due to the flow velocity.

α1 and α2 are assumed as unity for turbulent flow.

α = kinetic energy Correction factor

•Delivery pressure:
Sum of static and dynamic pressure increase.

•Delivery head :
Delivery pressure converted into meter (m) of liquid column
PUMP:
A pump
supplies
energy to a
fluid while a
turbine
extracts energy
from a fluid.
The purpose of a pump is to add energy to a fluid,
resulting in an increase in fluid pressure, not necessarily
an increase of fluid speed across the pump.

The mass flow rate of fluid through the pump, ṁ, is

an obvious primary pump performance parameter.
Volume flow rate is called capacity is simply mass flow
rate divided by fluid density.

The performance of a pump is characterized additionally

by its net head H, defined as the change in Bernoulli
head between the inlet and outlet of the pump,

Energy Gradient Line (EGL) out Energy Gradient Line (EGL) in

Net Head : H = (EGL) out - (EGL) in
H = (EGL)out - (EGL)in

Net Head is proportional to the useful

power actually delivered to the fluid.

It is traditional to call this power the

Water horse power.
All pumps suffer from irreversible losses due to
friction,
internal leakage,
flow separation on blade surfaces,
turbulent dissipation, etc.

Therefore, the mechanical energy supplied to the pump

must be larger than Ẇ water horsepower.
Pump performance curves and Matching a
pump to a piping System.
Typical pump
performance
curves for a
centrifugal pump
with backward
inclined blades.
 The operating point of a
piping system is
established as the
volume flow rate where
the system curve and the
pump performance curve
intersect.

The steady operating point of a piping system is established at

the volume flow rate where Hrequired = Havailable

Operating point is also know as duty point.

 This results in ‘hunt’ for
an operating point,
leading to an unsteady
flow situation .

Situations in which there can be more

than one unique operating point
should be avoided. In such cases a
different pump should be used.
 Useful Pump Head does the following four things.

1. Increases the static pressure of the fluid from point1 to point2

2. It increases the dynamic pressure (kinetic Energy) of the fluid

3. It raises the elevation (potential energy) of the fluid

4. It overcomes the irreversible head losses in the piping

system.

To match a pump to a system, and to determine the operating point, we equate

Hrequired of the above equation to Havailable,

which is the (typically known) net head of the pump as a function of volume
flow rate.
 Equation on Hrequired emphasizes
the role of a pump in a piping
system; namely, it increases (or
decreases) the static
pressure, dynamic pressure, and
elevation of the fluid, and it
overcomes irreversible losses.

The most common situation is that an

engineer selects a pump that is
somewhat heftier than actually
required.

The volume flow rate through the

piping system is then a bit larger than
needed, and a valve or damper is
installed in the line so that the flow rate
can be decreased as necessary
 Typical pump performance
curves for a family of
centrifugal pumps of the
same casing diameter but
different impeller diameters.

It is common practice in the pump industry to offer several

choices of impeller diameter for a single pump casing.

There are several reasons for this:

(1) to save manufacturing costs,
(2) to enable capacity increase by simple impeller replacement,
(3) to standardize installation mountings,
(4) to enable reuse of equipment for a different application
Example of a manufacturer’s performance plot for a family of centrifugal
pumps. Each pump has the same casing, but a different impeller diameter.
Pump Cavitation and Net Positive Suction
Head.

Cavitation bubbles forming and

collapsing on the suction side of an
impeller blade.
Cavitation damaged Pump Impeller
Vapour bubbles ( cavitation bubbles)
Typical pump performance
curve in which net head and
required net positive
suction head
are plotted versus volume
flow rate.
 NPSH Varies flow
rate and also
with liquid
temperature. Also
on the type of fluid
pump.

Since irreversible head losses through the piping

system upstream of the inlet increase with flow rate,
the pump inlet stagnation pressure head decreases
with flow rate.
Answer the following:
3. A water pump increases the pressure of the water passing through it
figure 1.0. The water is assumed to be incompressible. For each of the
three cases listed below, how does average water speed change across
the pump ? In particular, is Vout less than, equal to, or greater than Vin?
Show your equations and explain.
 Outlet diameter is less than inlet diameter ( Dout < Din )
 Outlet and inlet diameters are equal (Dout = Din )
 Outlet diameter is greater than inlet diameter ( Dout > Din )
5. Consider flow through a water pump. For each
statement, choose whether the statement is true or
flase and discuss your answer briefly
The faster the flow through the pump, the more likely
that cavitation will occur.
As water temperature increases, NPSHrequired also
increases.
As water temperature increases, the available NPSH
also increases.
As water temperature increases, cavitation is less likely
to occur.
Figure shows two possible locations for a water pump
in a piping system that pumps water from the lower
tank to the upper tank. Which location is better?
Why?
For each statement about centrifugal pumps, choose
whether the statement is true or false.
 (a) A centrifugal pump with radial blades has higher
efficiency than the same pump with backward-
inclined blades.

 (b) A centrifugal pump with radial blades produces a

larger pressure rise than the same pump with
backward- or forward inclined blades over a wide
range of V

 (c) A centrifugal pump with forward-inclined blades

is a good choice when one needs to provide a large
pressure rise over a wide range of volume flow
rates.

 (d) A centrifugal pump with forward-inclined blades

would most likely have less blades than a pump of
the same size with backward- inclined or radial
blades.
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Answer the following:
Consider a typical centrifugal liquid pump. For each
statement, choose whether the statement is true or false,
and discuss your answer briefly.
(a) Ṿ (volume flow rate) at the pump’s free delivery is greater
than Ṿ at its best efficiency point.
(b) At the pump’s shutoff head, the pump efficiency is zero.
(c) At the pump’s best efficiency point, its net head is at its
maximum value.
(d) At the pump’s free delivery, the pump efficiency is zero.
Pumps in
series and
parallel:
Consider steady, incompressible flow through two identical
pumps (pumps 1 and 2), either in series or in parallel. For
each statement, choose whether the statement is true or false,
and discuss your answer briefly.
 (a) The volume flow rate through the two pumps in series is
equal to V 1 + V2
 (b) The overall net head across the two pumps in series is
equal to H1 + H2.
 (c) The volume flow rate through the two pumps in parallel
is equal to V 1 + V 2.
 (d) The overall net head across the two pumps in parallel is
equal to H1 + H2.
 Minor Losses

Minor Losses > Major losses ?

Minor Losses:
Minor losses are
usually expressed in
terms of the loss
coefficient KL (also
called the resistance
coefficient), defined
as:

hL = ΔPL / ρ g
hL = KL ( V2/ 2 g )
Minor losses are also expressed in terms of the equivalent length
Equivalent length (Lequiv ), is defined as
KL = 1