CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

Rotodynamic Pumps
A rotodynamic pump is a device in which mechanical
energy is transferred from the rotor to the fluid by the
dynamic action of fluid passing through it and this
mechanical energy is stored in the fluid as static pressure
head.

The energy of the fluid at the delivery end of the pump can
be sensed from the static pressure of the fluid.The
mechanical energy is stored as static pressure head in the
fluid through centrifugal/relative head.

Rotodynamic pumps is essentially a turbine in reverse and
are classified according to the main direction of fluid path
through them like (i) radial flow or centrifugal, (ii) axial flow
types.
Centrifugal Pumps
These pumps employ centrifugal effects for increasing
static pressure head of fluid at the delivery end. The
centrifugal pump, by its principle, is converse of the
Francis turbine. The flow is radially outward, and the
hence the fluid gains in centrifugal head while flowing
through it.

Because of certain inherent advantages,such as
compactness, smooth and uniform flow, low initial cost
and high efficiency even at low heads, centrifugal
pumps are used in almost all pumping systems.

Net Head Developed by General Pumping System
.
F
Z
A

Z
2
Z
1

Z
F
W
Figure 33.1 A general pumping system

Pumping is referred to a hydraulic system commonly implies to
convey liquid from a low to a high reservoir. At any point in the
system, the elevation or potential head is measured from a fixed
reference datum line. The total head at any point comprises
pressure head, velocity head and elevation head
H
A
= 0 + 0 + Z
A

H
B
= H
A
h
in

H
C
= H
B
- h
f1
= P
1
/g + V
1
2
/2g + Z
1

H
D
= P
2
/g + V
2
2
/2g + Z
2
= H
C
+W

H
E
= H
D
h
f2

H
F
= H
E
- h
exit
= 0 + 0 + Z
F


Where
h
in
= entry loss at B
h
exit
= exit loss at E


h
f1
= frictional head loss between B & C
h
f2
= frictional head loss between D & E
W = Power supplied to pump

H = H
D

H
C
= (P
2
/g P
1
/g) + (V
2
2
/2g V
1
2
/2g) + (Z
2

Z
1
)

Where H is the total fluid head developed by the pump due
to power supplied to the pump (W) or manometric head as
Z
2
=

Z
1
and V
1
=

V
2
for very small elevation difference and
same dimeter of suction and delivery pipe.


H
S
= H
F

H
A
= Static head/Static lift i.e. the vertical height
between the free surfaces of two
reservoirs
H = H
D

H
C
= (H
F
+ h
f2
+ h
exit
) (H
A
- h
f1
- h
in
)
= (H
F
- H
A
) +(h
f1
+

h
f2
+ h
in
+ h
exit
)
= H
S
+ (h
f1
+

h
f2
+ h
in
+ h
exit
)

H = H
S
+ Losses




Figure 33.2 Change of head in a pumping system

The centrifugal pump consists of three important parts: (i) the
rotor, usually called as impeller, (ii) the diffuser ring and (iii) the
volute casing . The impeller is a rotating solid disc with curved
blades standing out vertically from the face of the disc. The
impeller may be single sided or doublesided. A double sided
impeller has a relatively small flow capacity
Figure 33.3 A centrifugal pump

The tips of the blades are sometimes covered by another flat disc
to give shrouded blades otherwise the blade tips are left open and
the casing of the pump itself forms the solid outer wall of the blade
passages. The advantage of the shrouded blade is that flow is
prevented from leaking across the blade tips from one passage to
another.

(a) Single sided impeller (b) Double sided impeller (c) Shrouded impeller

Function of Centrifugal Pump
As the impeller rotates, the fluid is drawn into the blade passage
at the impeller eye through suction pipe due to creation of
negetive pressure at the centre of the impeller.

The inlet pipe is axial and therefore fluid enters the impeller with
very little whirl or tangential component of velocity and flows
outwards in the direction of the blades.

The fluid receives energy from the impeller while flowing
through it and is discharged with increased pressure and
velocity into the casing. To convert the kinetic energy of fluid at
the impeller outlet gradually into pressure energy, diffuser
blades mounted on a diffuser ring are used.

The stationary blade passages so formed have an increasing
cross-sectional area which reduces the flow velocity and hence
increases the static pressure of the fluid.
Finally, the fluid moves
from the diffuser
blades into the volute
casing which is a
passage of gradually
increasing cross-
section to
accommodate the
increasing mass flow
rate and also serves to
reduce the velocity of
fluid and to convert
some of the velocity
head into static head.
Sometimes pumps
have only volute
casing without any
diffuser.
The impeller of a centrifugal pump with the velocity triangles
drawn at inlet and outlet. The blades are curved between the inlet
and outlet radius. A particle of fluid moves along the broken curve.



A centrifugal pump rarely has any sort of guide vanes at inlet. The
fluid therefore approaches the impeller without appreciable whirl
and so the inlet angle of the blades is designed to produce a right-
angled velocity triangle at inlet. At conditions other than those for
which the impeller was designed, the direction of relative velocity
does not coincide with that of a blade.


The work done is independent of the inlet radius. The difference in
total head across the pump known as manometric head, is always
less than the quantity because of the energy
dissipated in eddies due to friction.
The ratio of manometric head H and the work head imparted by
the rotor on the fluid (usually known as Euler head) is termed as
manometric efficiency . It represents the effectiveness of the
pump in increasing the total energy of the fluid from the energy
given to it by the impeller.



The overall efficiency of a pump is defined as



where, Q is the volume flow rate of the fluid through the pump,
and P is the shaft power, i.e. the input power to the shaft. The
energy required at the shaft exceeds because of friction in the
bearings and other mechanical parts. Thus a mechanical
efficiency is defined as



(34.3)


(34.3)


(34.4)


(34.4)


(34.6)

Slip Factor
Under certain circumstances, the angle at which the fluid
leaves the impeller may not be the same as the actual
blade angle. This is due to a phenomenon known as fluid
slip, which finally results in a reduction in the tangential
component of fluid velocity at impeller outlet. The
explanation for slip is given as follows.

During flow of water through the impeller passage, due to
its inertia, the water trapped between the impeller vanes is
reluctant to move round the impeller and this result a
pressure difference and hence velocity difference across
the vanes with a higher static pressure and low velocity on
the leading face of a vane and low static pressure and
higher velocity on the trailing face. This difference of
pressure across the vanes is called vane loading which
increases with increase in the number of vanes.


This results in a circulation around the blade and a non-uniform
velocity distribution at any radius. On the high pressure side the
water leaves tangentially and on the low pressure side the water
does not leave tangentially. The mean direction of flow at outlet,
under this situation, changes from the blade angle at outlet to
a different angle .

Therefore the tangential velocity component at outlet is
reduced to , as shown in the velocity triangles, and the
difference is defined as the slip. The slip factor is
defined as


With the application of slip factor , the work head imparted to the
fluid (Euler head) becomes . The values of slip
factor lie in the region of 0.9.

Amount of slip =V
w
U
2
/g = (1-
s
) V
w
U
2
/g = (1-
s
)H
th






Trailing face
Leading face
Figure 34.2 Slip and velocity in the impeller blade passage of a centrifugal pump

Losses in a Centrifugal Pump
Mechanical friction power loss due to friction between the fixed
and rotating parts in the bearing.
Disc friction power loss due to friction between the rotating
faces of the impeller (or disc) and the liquid.
Leakage and recirculation power loss. This is due to loss of
liquid from the pump and recirculation of the liquid in the
impeller. The pressure difference between impeller tip and eye
can cause a recirculation of a small volume of liquid, thus
reducing the flow rate at outlet of the impeller .
Figure 34.3 Leakage and recirculation in a centrifugal pump

Characteristics of a Centrifugal Pump
Considering no whirl component of velocity of water at entry
to the impeller of a pump and considering the fluid to be
frictionless, the theoretical head developed by the water in
the pump is


From the outlet velocity triangle figure


where Q is rate of flow at impeller outlet and A is the flow
area at the periphery of the impeller.




(35.1)


(35.2)



As



(35.3)

Where
For a given impeller running at a constant rotational speed
and are constants, and therefore head and
discharge Q bears a linear relationship shown by the curve I .

If slip is taken into account, the theoretical head will be reduced
to . .Moreover the slip will increase with the increase
in flow rate Q . The effect of slip on head-discharge relationship is
shown by the curve II. The shock losses at entry to the blades,
and the friction losses in the flow passages have to be
considered. At the design point the shock losses are zero since
the fluid moves tangentially onto the blade, but on either side of
the design point the head loss due to shock increases according
to the relation

where is the off design flow rate and is a constant.
Where is a constant



(35.4)


(35.5)











curves III and IV
are the curves of
losses in a
centrifugal pump.
By subtracting the
sum of the losses
from the head
(curve-II), the
curve V is
obtained which
represents the
relationship of the
actual head with
the flow rate, and
is known as head-
discharge
characteristic
curve of the pump.

V
Effect of blade outlet angle

Figure 35.2 Outlet velocity triangles for different blade settings in a
centrifugal pump

The head-discharge characteristic of a centrifugal pump depends
(along with other parameters) on the outlet angle of the impeller
blades which in turn depends on blade settings.

Three types of blade settings are possible (i) the forward facing for
which the blade curvature is in the direction of rotation
(ii) radial, and (iii) backward facing for which the blade
curvature is in a direction opposite to that of the impeller rotation,


From the outlet velocity triangles for all the cases, the relationship
between and can be written as.



In case of forward facing blades and hence is
negative and is more than









In case of back ward facing blades and hence
is positive and

In case of radial blades and hence




For the forward facing blades with is negetive,
will be negative and will be more than

For the backward facing blades with is positive
and hence is positive and will be less than

For the radial blades with is zero and hence
is zero and =

















(35.3)






(35.3)






(35.3)






(35.3)



Figure 35.3 Theoretical head-discharge characteristic curves of a
centrifugal pump for different blade settings



Figure 35.4 Actual head-discharge and power-discharge
characteristic curves of a centrifugal pump



For both radial and forward facing blades, the power is rising
monotonically as the flow rate is increased.

In the case of backward facing blades, the maximum efficiency
occurs in the region of maximum power. If, for some reasons, Q
increases beyond there occurs a decrease in power. Therefore
the motor used to drive the pump at part load, but rated at the
design point, may be safely used at the maximum power. This
is known as self-limiting characteristic.

In case of radial and forward-facing blades, if the pump motor is
rated for maximum power, then it will be under utilized most of
the time, resulting in an increased cost for the extra rating.
Whereas, if a smaller motor is employed, rated at the design
point, then if Q increases above the motor will be overloaded
and may fail. It, therefore, becomes more difficult to decide on a
choice of motor in pumps (radial and forward-facing blades).

Flow through Volute Chambers
Apart from frictional effects, no torque is applied to a fluid particle
once it has left the impeller. The angular momentum of fluid is
therefore constant if friction is neglected. Thus the fluid particles
follow the path of a free vortex. In an ideal case, the radial velocity
at the impeller outlet remains constant round the circumference.
The combination of uniform radial velocity with the free vortex
( =constant) gives a pattern of spiral streamlines which
should be matched by the shape of the volute. This is the most
important feature of the design of a pump. At maximum efficiency,
about 10 percent of the head generated by the impeller is usually
lost in the volute.
Vanned Diffuser
A vanned diffuser converts the outlet kinetic energy from impeller
to pressure energy of the fluid in a shorter length and with a
higher efficiency. This is very advantageous where the size of the
pump is important.


A ring of diffuser vanes
surrounds the impeller
at the outlet. The fluid
leaving the impeller
enters the diffuser
vanes. The optimum
number of vanes are
fixed by a compromise
between the diffusion
and the frictional loss.
The greater the number
of vanes, the better is
the diffusion (rise in
static pressure by the
reduction in flow
velocity) but greater is
the frictional loss.
Figure 36.1 A vanned diffuser of a centrifugal pump

Cavitation in centrifugal pumps
Cavitation is likely to occur at the inlet to the pump, since the
pressure there is the minimum and is lower than the atmospheric
pressure by an amount that equals the vertical height above which
the pump is situated from the supply reservoir (known as sump)
plus the velocity head and frictional losses in the suction pipe.
Applying the Bernoulli's equation between the surface of the liquid
in the sump and the entry to the impeller,



where, is the absolute pressure at the impeller inlet and is
the pressure at the liquid surface in the sump which is usually the
atmospheric pressure, Z
i
is the vertical height of the impeller inlet
from the liquid surface in the sump, is the head loss in the
suction pipe. includes the losses occurring past these devices,
in addition to losses caused by pipe friction and by bends in the
pipe.

(36.1)

The net positive suction head 'NPSH' in case of a pump is defined
as the available suction head (inclusive of both static and dynamic
heads) at pump inlet above the head corresponding to vapor
pressure at the inlet.
Therefore,



Using




The Thomas cavitation parameter and critical cavitation
parameter are defined as



(36.2)


(36.1)




(36.3)

and

(36.4)

For cavitation not to occur,



PUMPS IN PARALLEL PUMPS IN SERIES
A
B
Q
A Q
B
Q
A
+ Q
B

H
A
= H
B
= H
A
B
Q

Q

H
A

Q

H
B

H = H
A
+ H
B

Minimum Starting Speed of the Pump to Deliver the Water
When the pump is started, there will be no flow of water until the
pressure difference in the impeller overcomes the manometric
head. When the impeller is rotating without flow , the water is
rotating in the impeller in forced vortex.




At the starting time , the velocities of fluid is zero and the pressure
head of the fluid is created due to centrifugal head.

The flow will commence if


At the starting time H = H
S

Putting U = DN/60 , the value of N is calculated









=1/2g[(V
2
2
-V
1
2
)+(U
2
2
-U
1
2
)+(V
r1
2
-V
r2
2
)]
1/2g(U
2
2
-U
1
2
) > H
Specific speed
Specific speed N
s
, is a non-dimensional number, used to
compare the performances of a number of different sized
geometrical similar pumps operating under corresponding
physical similarity conditions. It is defined as the speed in
revolutions per minute at which a geometrically similar pumps of
such size would operate under corresponding altered operating
conditions as to deliver one m
3
of liquid per second against a
manometric head of 1 meter.



where:
N
s
= specific speed
N is pump rotational speed
Q = flowrate (m/s) at the point of best efficiency
H = total head (m) per stage at the point of best efficiency
g = acceleration due to gravity (m/s)

where:
N
SIMILITUDE ANALYSIS OF PUMP
Variables involved in the analysis of pump are:
D = Impeller diameter
Q = volumetric flow rate through the pump
N = rotational speed of impeller(rev/min.)
H = Manometric / Total head of fluid created in the pump.
= mass density of fluid
= viscosity of fluid
g = acceleration due to gravity (gH is taken as one parameter )
P = power transferred to the rotor
By dimensional analysis four Pi-terms are obtained and these
Pi-terms are adjusted to produce new Pi-terms with
significance.



represents the condition for kinematic similarity, and is known
as capacity coefficient , flowcoefficient or discharge coeff.

2
= gH/N
2
D
2
= Dimensionless head(head coefficient)

3
= P/ N
3
D
5
= Dimensionless power/ Power Coeff.

4
=

5
= VD/ = Reynold Number













m
N
=Specific Speed
=


p
N
2
D
2
gH
m
=
N
2
D
2
gH
P
N
3
D
5
P
m
=
N
3
D
5
P
P
N
m
=
N
P


VD
m


VD
P
=