Pump training

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 1

Pump training

KSB pump training at KSB Works

3rd April 2006

1. Hydraulic theory

2. “Ten ways to murder a pump”

3. Installation, commissioning, maintenance

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 2

Pump training

KSB pump training at KSB Works

3rd April 2006

1. Hydraulic theory

2. “Ten ways to murder a pump”

3. Installation, commissioning, maintenance

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 3

 Pump types

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 4

Pump hydraulics, impeller

outlet

rotation
inlet

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 5

Pump hydraulics, main parts

A centrifugal pump consists of 4 main elements:

1 Impeller which rotates
The impeller has vanes which transfer
kinetic energy into the liquid pumped

2 Pump casing to convert kinetic energy

into potential energy and also contain
the liquid

3 Shaft to support the impeller

4 Generally a seal around the shaft to

contain the liquid

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 6

Pump hydraulics, principles

A centrifugal pump:
1 Does not generate a vacuum, i.e. it cannot suck.
The impeller therefore has to be flooded in some way.

2 Centrifugal Pumps deliver volumetric flow and head. All

curves are therefore expressed in m3/h and m (or equivalent
units)
E.g.: pump design 100 m3/h 102 m
on water sg 1.0 100.000 kg/h 10 Bar
on liquid sg 0.8 80.000 kg/h 8 Bar

3 The flow and head developed are independent of the liquid

pumped, apart from effects of viscosity

4 Viscous liquids reduce the flow and head of the pump. More
later on this issue

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 7

Pump hydraulics, head curve

100
90
80 head
70
60
head

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 8

Pump hydraulics, head + efficiency

100

Q opt
90 head
80 efficiency
head / efficiency

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

Q opt is the point at which a pump has the highest efficiency, also
known as BEP (= best efficiency point)
St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 9
Pump hydraulics, head + efficiency

Q opt
100
90
80
head / efficiency

70
60
head
50
efficiency
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

Q min > 30% BEP Desirable operating range Q max < 110% BEP

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 10

 Curve from book

Operating limits

Impeller diameters

Efficiencies

NPSH R

Power absorbed on water

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 11

Pump hydraulics, system

Delivery head (pump system) consists of various parts Pd

Static head on discharge side Hd

+ Friction loss on the discharge side

+ Pressure in system, Hd
i.e. at the discharge vessel Pd

+ Friction loss on the suction side

Hs

- Static head on suction side Hs

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 12

 Pump interaction with system

100
90

80
70
head / efficiency

60
head
50 efficiency
40 system

30
20

10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

Pump operates where pump and system curve intersect

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 13

 Pump hydraulics, system change

100
head

90 efficiency

system
80
system, lower friction losses
70
head / efficiency

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

Note, with lower system curve, pump now delivers more flow

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 14

 Pump hydraulics, system change

100 head
90 efficiency
system
80
system, lower static
70
head / efficiency

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

Note, with lower static curve, pump now delivers more flow

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 15

Pump hydraulics, single operation

single outlet

single inlet

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 16

Pump hydraulics, parallel operation

common
outlet

Valves etc. excluded for

clarity

common
inlet

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 17

Pump hydraulics, pumps in parallel

60 60
50 50
40 40
head

head
30 30
20
+ 20
10 10
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
flow flow

60
50
40
head

30
20
= 10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

flow

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 18

 Pump hydraulics, single + dual pump

100
head 1 pump
90 efficiency Example
system
80 1 pump
head 2 pumps

70
running:
total flow =
head / efficiency

60 120 m3/h
50
2 pumps
40 running:
total flow =
30
160 m3/h
20 flow per pump
= 80 m3/h
10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240
flow

Note with 1 pump running, flow is more than 1/2 of 2 pumps running

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 19

Pump hydraulics, Parallel operation

Issues to be considered:

Flow per pump will always be lower than when operating on their
own.

Therefore check that:

power of motor is adequate
NPSH a is adequate for the larger flow
the pump flow does not exceed the design limits
typically Q < 125% Q opt 4pole
Q< 110% Q opt 2 pole

Both pumps need to have similar shaped curves

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 20

Pump hydraulics, series operation

single outlet

single inlet

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 21

Pump hydraulics, pumps in series

60
50 120
40
head

30
100
20
10
80
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
flow

head
60

+ =
40

60
50 20

40
head

30 0
20 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

10 flow

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
flow

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 22

Pump hydraulics, Cavitation

Cavitation is caused by vapour bubbles forming in the

pump.
A bubble is formed in the impeller at a point where the
‘local’ pressure is lower than the vapour pressure.
As the local pressure drops, more vapour bubbles
will form in the pump.
As the liquid flows further through the pump into a higher
pressure area the bubble collapses

It’s this bubble collapse that causes the pump damage. This often sounds like
the pump is handling gravel. Continued cavitation will eventually destroy the
pump.
To avoid cavitation, the npsh a > npsh r of the pump

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 23

 Cavitation on the vanes

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 24

 NPSH breakdown

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 25

Pump hydraulics, NPSH available

NPSH stands for : net positive suction head

NPSH available : npsh from the plant / system in which the pump operates

NPSH required : npsh that the pump needs to stop cavitation

NPSH available consists of various parts: Pe

Hs Static head on suction side

- Friction losses in the suction line

+ Pe Absolute pressure expressed in metres of

liquid
Hs

+ V2/2g Velocity head in the pipework

This is normally ignored

- Hvap
Vapour pressure expressed in metres of
liquid, at the pumped temperature

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 26

 What does this mean?

So in practice this means: in the following example, we’ve ignored the

losses in the suction line

Pump with static suction head of +5m (Hs)

Drawing from an open tank + 10 m (Pe) atmospheric pressure is
roughly 10m with water
Handling water at 10 °C - 0.125m (Hvap) this equates to the vapour
pressure of water at 10 °C
So NPSH available is 5 + 10 - 0.125 = 14.875 m

However, contrast this with the same system at 90 Deg C:

Pump with static suction head of +5m (Hs)
Drawing from an open tank + 10 m (Pe) atmospheric pressure is
roughly 10m with water
Handling water at 90 °C - 7.41m (Hvap) this equates to the vapour
pressure of water at 90 °C

So NPSH available is 5 + 10 - 7.41 = 7.59 m

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 27

 Suction head not the same as NPSH

Therefore you can see from the previous slide that suction head is not
the same as NPSH.
The vapour pressure of the pumped liquid must be taken into account.

All pumps have an NPSH required curve. This is largely independent of

the pumped liquid, so the NPSH available and NPSH required need to
be compared to ensure that the pump will run properly.

The NPSH r curve of the pump generally indicates the value at which
the pump will cavitate. Therefore it’s important to have a margin
between the NPSH available and the NPSH required to prevent
cavitation.

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 28

 NPSH required

0% head drop

3% head drop

Note, when NPSH test is made, head drop is measured (3%)

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 29

 NPSH required

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 30

 Pump hydraulics, NPSH required

100 A number of tests will be carried out to find

90 the NPSH r of a pump.
These are carried out by keeping the flow
80
constant and gradually reducing the NPSH
70 until the generated head drops.
60
25% Qopt
head

50 100% Qopt
125% Qopt
40

30

20

10

0
0 2 4
NPSH

NPSH r normally classed as the point when the head drops by 3% from the
‘non cavitating’ head

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 31

Pump hydraulics, minimum flow

100 Why min flow?

90 head
80 Kettle: 2kW
power absorbed
70 Capacity: 1.5 l
head / power

60 Time to boil: 4.5 min

50
Min flow

40
30
20
10
0
Pump
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Power at Q=0: 8kW
flow Pump volume: 2.5 l

Minimum permissible flow prevents pump from overheating

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 32

Pump hydraulics, minimum flow

Other considerations for minimum flow:

Heat Temperature rise in the pump as losses in
the pump heat up the pumped liquid.

Pump curve Flat or unstable curve. At low flow there is

a risk of ‘hunting’
Radial loads These increase at low flow, shortening
bearing and seal life through increased shaft
deflection

NPSH req Generally increases at very low flow

Power On side channel pumps, power increases
as the flow reduces

Guideline Qmin > 15% of Q opt

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 33
Pump hydraulics, speed changes

Affinity laws govern all centrifugal pumps:

Flow is proportional to Speed
Head is proportional to Speed 2
Power is proportional to Speed 3

This means for doubling the speed of a pump:

Pump speed 1450 rpm 2900 rpm
Flow 50 m3/h 100 m3/h
Head 50 m 200 m
Power 9 kW 72 kW

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 34

 Pump hydraulics,viscosity

140

120

100
head / efficiency

80 head
viscous head
efficiency
60
viscous efficiency

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
flow

viscosity correction factors fQ, fH, feta

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 35

Pump hydraulics, casings

BEP
Single Volute

Radial Load (F)

Circular Casing

Volute

Special Circular Volute

Double Volute
Diffuser + double volute

Flow Rate (Q)

Diffuser

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 36

Pump hydraulics, enquiry data

Factors for (hydraulic) pump selection:

Capacity (Flow) m3/h l/s gpm

Pump head or diff. pressure m (bar) ft (psi)
Liquid including specific gravity
Temperature °C °F
Suction head or pressure bar psi
Materials of construction
Sealing requirements
Environment / area of use
Electrical supply V/phase/cycles

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 37

Pump hydraulics, wear ring clearances

Flow between
wear rings

Increased wear ring clearance reduces efficiency

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 38

Pump hydraulics, specific speed
1/2

speed x (flow )
specific speed = 3/4

(head)

Radial Mixed flow Propeller

increasing specific speed

Note, units must be specified in quoting specific speed

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 39

Pump hydraulics, suction recirculation
1/2

speed x (flow )
suction specific speed = 3/4

(NPSH)

Suction recirculation
at low flow

higher nss = lower NPSH r

but suction recirculation
more likely

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 40

Pump hydraulics, Unstable curves

60
50
40
head

30 head
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
flow

The generated head does not fall continuously as the flow increases

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 41

Unstable curves, “flat” system

60
50
40
head

30
20 head
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
flow

For a flat system curve, the pump could operate at one of two
flows, or hunt between the two

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 42

Unstable pump curve, “steep” system

60
50
40
head
head

30
system
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
flow

For a steep system curve, the pump can still only operate at one flow

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 43

Pump hydraulics, Speed change

60

50

40
low speed
30 high speed
system
20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80

For a steep system curve, the pump flow will change with speed

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 44

Pump hydraulics, Speed change, flat curve

60

50

40
low speed
30 high speed
system
20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80

For a flatter system curve, at low speed the pump flow may be zero.

St Mkt, Irfan ul Haq Page 45