Pump – Introduction

 Centrifugal pump types

Centrifugal pumps find the widest application in the industry. Centrifugal pumps can be
divided into 3 major types –

o Radial flow pumps - a centrifugal pump in which the pressure is developed wholly
by centrifugal force.
o Mixed flow pumps - a centrifugal pump in which the pressure is developed partly
by centrifugal force and partly by the lift of the vanes of the impeller on the liquid.
o Axial flow pumps - a centrifugal pump in which the pressure is developed by the
propelling or lifting action of the vanes of the impeller on the liquid. authoritarian

 Pump specific speed

The specific speed determines the general shape of a centrifugal pump impeller. As the
specific speed increases, the ratio of the impeller outlet diameter to the inlet of the eye
diameter decreases. This ration becomes 1.0 for an axial flow pump. Radial flow
impellers develop head through centrifugal force. Radial impellers are low flow high
head designs. Pump of higher specific speeds develop head partly by centrifugal force
and partly by axial force. A higher specific speed indicates a pump design with head
generation more by axial forces and less by centrifugal forces. An axial flow or propeller
pump with a specific speed of 10,000 or greater generates its head exclusively through
axial forces. Axial flow impellers are high flow low head designs.
Specific speed (Ns) identifies the approximate acceptable ration of the impeller eye
diameter (D1) to the impeller maximum diameter (D2) in designing an impeller:

o Ns 500 to 5000 D1/D2 > 1.5 - radial flow pump

o Ns 5000 to 10000 D1/D2 < 1.5 - mixed flow pump
o Ns 10000 to 15000 D1/D2 = 1 - axial flow pump

As a thumb rule it can be said that a lower specific speed values produce flat
characteristic curve for the pump, whereas a higher specific speed value produces a
steeper curve.

 Pump affinity laws

The affinity law for a centrifugal pump with the impeller diameter held constant and the
speed changed:

o Flow: Q1 / Q2 = N1 / N2
o Head: H1/H2 = (N1) x (N1) / (N2) x (N2)
o Horsepower(BHP): BHP1 / BHP2 = (N1) x (N1) x (N1) / (N2) x (N2) x (N2)

The affinity law for a centrifugal pump with the speed held constant and the impeller
diameter changed:
 o Flow: Q1 / Q2 = D1 / D2
o Head: H1/H2 = (D1) x (D1) / (D2) x (D2)
o Horsepower(BHP): BHP1 / BHP2 = (D1) x (D1) x (D1) / (D2) x (D2) x (D2)

 NPSH available

o For flooded suction –

Atmospheric Pressure (- ) Vapor Pressure (+) Liquid Height (-) Friction in the
Suction Line.

o For suction lift –

Atmospheric Pressure (-) Vapor Pressure (-) Liquid Ht. (-) Friction in the Suction
Line.

 NPSH required

The NPSHr curve for pumps may sometimes have a small region of head drop with flow
towards the left of the BEP. This region of the rise is a very unstable region. The pumps
are not to be operated in this region. Normally the curve is not plotted for this region.
The reason for this fall in NPSHr with flow is due to “Inlet eye recirculation”. This region is
to be interpreted as a rise in NPSHr with a fall in flow. Normally this is more likely to
occur in pumps with high specific speeds (i.e. more in mixed flow pumps and the most in
axial flow pumps).
Usually that’s the reason it is recommended that centrifugal pumps with specific speeds
more than 10,000 should not be accepted. In case, such high specific speed pumps are
accepted, it should be taken care that the pump operates very close to the BEP and not
towards the left of BEP (since suction cavitation will start usually at less than 70% of the
pump speed).

The determination of NPSHr curve – there are many methods followed…

o 3% reduction method (most widely used for centrifugal pumps – a sharp 3%
reduction in discharge flow will signify the loci of the NPSHr curve)
o 0% reduction method (used for CW pumps – since a 3% drop in flow will need
large suction requirements which may not be possible sometimes)
o Noise method (alt method used – the head at the start of cavitation noise)
o Incipient inspection (close inspection for formation of bubbles at its starting
stages – usually done for special pumps).
 Pump Characteristic curve

It is to be noted that a centrifugal pump develops head by virtue of the centrifugal force
imparted to the liquid. So irrespective of the liquid (not taking into account the effect of
viscosity) the head developed (in “m” of liquid column) and the flow (in m3/hr) is same
for all liquids. The head – flow curve therefore is the same for any liquid (irrespective of
its density).
If process parameters are available in terms of –
1. bar (or) m of water column (or) mm of Hg
2. kg/sec

The above should be suitably converted to m of liquid column (suitably compensating for
density and temp effects) and into (say) m3/hr to specify the pump parameters…

Shown below is a typical characteristic curves set for all the three types of centrifugal
pumps.
 Pump characteristic curve – (centrifugal pump)

It is to be noted that the when the speed changes the HQ curve (design) changes
parallely as the curve change for Impellor trim.

 Variable speed drives are useful in pumps whose flow rates vary constantly. However in
cases where the flow rate is lesser / higher but is constant, using an undersized /
oversized impellor may solve the problem.

While designing a VSD the following should be considered –

o Problems that might arise in gravity fed lubrication systems (like oiler cup, etc…)
due to operation at lower speeds.
o Problems that might arise due to resonance occurring in the operating speed zone
of the VSD.

The curves for a BFP operating with VSD are shown in Attachment-1.

 A back pressure regulator is provided after (in the downstream) the Auto min
recirculation valve. It is provided both in the case of a BFP and in the case of a CEP. This
 is provided to ensure that the discharge line after the Auto Min recirculation upto the
dearator / condenser are kept under some pressure (else flashing of water will occur
resulting in water hammer in the lines and in the equipment).
The back pressure regulator is usually provided very close to the equipment (dearator /
condenser).
 Pump curve for 2 pump in parallel operation

 CEP pump curve and design conditions…..

Normal operating point

Design point
Head H (mwc)

Flow Q (cum/hr)
 Note that the design point has a larger flow and a higher head. The design point shall fall
on the system curve.
The normal operating point has quite a lesser flow and also the head is lesser than the
design point. It is quite obvious that the point shall not fall on the pump curve. It is OK
and this operating point can be achieved by throttling. Throttling the discharge will bring
down the flow since the system curve shifts towards the left and further passing the flow
through a control valve (in the discharge side) will effect the head loss as well. Thus the
operating point can be achieved.
It is definitely a lot of loss of energy but is required since the pump should be capable to
evacuate the hotwell during a turbine trip when a lot of steam is dumped into the
condenser. Further the discharge side would also have to usually meet the extra flow for
the cooling spray during bypass operation.
This equipment is a very fine area where a VFD could be introduced and energy savings
could be effected.

CEP’s are also sometimes designed to operate in parallel (if 3 x 50% are planned). The
pump curves in such cases (along with the thumb rule to approximate the run out point)
is shown in the Attachment-2.

 Inducers to improve NPSHr for pumps

An Inducer is an axial flow impeller with blades that wrap in a helix around a central hub.
An Inducer serves as a small booster pump for the main impeller. Usually inducers have
between 2 and 4 vanes, although there may be more. The inducer imparts sufficient
head to the liquid so that the NPSH requirement of the adjacent main impeller is
satisfied. Although the inducer usually has a lower NPSH requirement than the main
impeller, it can, and often does, cavitate during normal operation. The key is that there is
so little horsepower involved with an inducer that there is virtually no noise, vibration, or
resulting mechanical problems. Meanwhile, the higher horsepower main impeller sees
sufficient head to operate without cavitation.
Inducers commonly have suction specific speeds of between 15,000 and 25,000. A pump
equipped with an inducer may operate at 1/2 to 1/3 the NPSHR levels of a non-inducer
version of the same pump.
 NPSHr Std Inducer

NPSHr No Inducer

However the use of inducers to solve NPSHr problems is not very advisable since the
operating band of the pump reduces with the inducer. Inducers are recommended only if
the pump is capable of operating in a very small band (at or close to the BEP).
 Pumps (parallel operating) with inter-stage bleed:
Often the BFP’s (operating in parallel) are designed with at least 2 numbers of inter-stage
bleed (tap-offs). The curves for such cases (with inter-stage bleed) are represented in the
Attachment-3. (The thumb rule to approximate the run out point is also shown)….
 Pump testing: (Refer ISO9906)

Head-Flow curve testing –

The flow is usually measured by turbine/electromagnetic flowmeters. In such cases an

upstream straight pipe length of minimum 5 pipe diameters is required. Ultrasonic
flowmeters are not preferred because they are very sensitive to the velocity distribution.
However if used they shall be calibrated at actual operating conditions.
The head is measured by pressure transmitters or bourdon gauges. The measuring
section should lie at least 2 pipe diameters away from the respective pump flange.
However any deviations as per ISO9906 are allowed.

Tolerances allowed are as follows –

o flow = ± 4.5% (for ISO9906 Grade 1)

= ± 8.0% (for ISO9906 Grade 2)
 o Head = ± 3.0% (for ISO9906 Grade 1)
= ± 5.0% (for ISO9906 Grade 2)

o Efficiency = - 3.0% (for ISO9906 Grade 1)

= - 5.0% (for ISO9906 Grade 2)

The design guarantee operating point is identified and then the flow and head tolerances
are marked about the operating point as shown in the curve below. At least 5 points are
plotted and the curve is drawn. Once the curve is obtained it needs to pass through the
tolerance margin axes. (Refer the dotted lines – they are possible curves passing through
the tolerance margins).

Tolerance margins for head

Tolerance margins for flow

Pump HQ curve
HEAD

Design Operating Point

FLOW

NPSHreq testing –

The NPSHreq is tested by various methods like 3% head drop criteria, 0% head drop
method, Incipient inspection, Increase in noise due to cavitation, etc…Usually the most
common method adopted (also as per Siemens standard) is 3% head drop in the first
stage criteria.
The test is conducted by throttling the flow steadily (step by step) in the suction side
until the head of the first stage drops by 3%. (Sometimes measurement of the first stage
head is not possible. In such cases the total discharge head can be divided by the
number of stages to approximate the first stage discharge head). The same procedure is
repeated for other flows of the pump and the NPSHreq curve is plotted.
The maximum permissible value of the difference between the measured and the
guaranteed NPSHr is as given below:

- for Grade 1: 3% or +0.15m (whichever is higher)

- for Grade 2: 6% or +3.00m (whichever is higher)

 Boiler Feed Pump warm-up line

The BFP warm up line is provided to ensure that the standby pump is kept in a warm
condition to facilitate immediate start during emergency. (If a warm–up line is not
provided, it may lead to thermal shock / warping / differential expansion in the pump).
 The best practice is to provide a small high pressure tap off from the upstream of the
discharge valve (automatic recirculation valve) of the pump and connect it inside the
pump (maybe near the discharge flange). This will facilitate flow throughout the pump
and the flow will continue through the suction valve and into the de-aerator. A small
orifice may be provided to limit the pressure of hot water entering the pump. (Care to be
taken to ensure that the hot water does not short circuit and enter the recirculation line
without warming the pump).
For combined cycle plants the boiler feed temperatures may be in the order of say 150 –
160 deg C. No warm up systems should be required for this.
However for conventional plants (coal fired plants) the feed temperature is usually higher
and will usually require a warm up line.

 Motor design

Motors are usually designed for upto 40 deg C and 1000 m altitude.

If ambient conditions are going to be higher than the above, the same shall be carefully
considered before motor design/ordering.
If pump + motor assembly is going to be placed in a noise enclosure there shall be a
10degK higher temperature inside the enclosure and this should be considered during
design.

 Salient points to take care of in the pump package

1. Pump related information –

a. Type of pump
b. Pump main parameters (like NPSH, TDH, Discharge pressure, etc.)
c. Pumping media and its properties like temp, viscosity, etc.
d. Inter-stage tappings
e. Motor type
f. Any special requirement (like material of construction, speed coupling,
variable speed drive, etc…) with scope
2. Valves (ARC, Back pressure regulator, Discharge valve, Suction valve, etc) – with
scope
3. Instrumentation requirement – with scope
4. Performance guarantee parameters
5. Terminal points –
a. Flanges (counter flange requirement & scope)
b. Foundation frame with the anchor bolts
c. Electrical terminals (clearly define scope & check compatibility with electrical)
d. Instrumentation terminals (clearly define scope & check compatibility with
I&C)
6. Insulation requirement – with scope
7. Erection / commissioning supervision (scope)
8. Guarantee period
9. Spares (amount & scope)
10. Special tools (amount & scope)
11. Erection & commissioning consumables, also lube oil etc (amount & scope)
12. Noise protection – requirement & scope
13. Weather protection – requirement & scope
14. Painting with color code
15. Documentation
16. Testing (including all the required tests to be performed)