Affinity Laws
Affinity Laws
Affinity Laws
The affinity laws (Also known as the "Fan Laws" or "Pump Laws") for pumps/fans are used in hydraulics,
hydronics and/or HVAC to express the relationship between variables involved in pump or fan performance
(such as head, volumetric flow rate, shaft speed) and power. They apply to pumps, fans, and hydraulic turbines.
In these rotary implements, the affinity laws apply both to centrifugal and axial flows.
The laws are derived using the Buckingham theorem. The affinity laws are useful as they allow prediction of
the head discharge characteristic of a pump or fan from a known characteristic measured at a different speed or
impeller diameter. The only requirement is that the two pumps or fans are dynamically similar, that is the ratios
of the fluid forced are the same.
Law 2b. Pressure or Head is proportional to the square of the impeller diameter:
Law 2c. Power is proportional to the cube of impeller diameter (assuming constant shaft speed):
where
References
1. "Basic Pump Parameters and the Affinity Laws" (http://www.pdhonline.org/courses/m125/m125content.
pdf) (PDF). PDH Online.
2. "Pump Affinity Laws" (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/affinity-laws-d_408.html). Retrieved
18 November 2014.
External links
Affinity Laws Calculator - Excel - Chemical Engineering Site