3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

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Pump System Curve and Pump Operating

Point
Last updated May 6, 2018

In this article, we will see the Centrifugal Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point. The system curve
is a very basic element to nalizing the pump operating point ie., ow and head requirement.

Contents [hide]

1 Pump System Curve

1.1 Static head
1.2 Friction head (hf)
2 Pump performance curve
3 Pump operating point
4 Important of system curve

Pump System Curve

Pump system curve represents the resistance offered by the system ie., the pressure developed by the
pump is high enough to overcome the resistance offered by the system. This pressure is also called as

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

“Total Head”. The total head is the sum of two components. They are

Static Head
Friction Head

Static head
Static head is the difference in height between the starting elevation of pumping liquid to the destination of
pumping liquid to be pumped. The Static head as two components. They are the Static suction head (Hs)
and Static discharge head (Hd)

Static suction head (Hs)

The Static suction head refers the lifting the liquid relative to the pump centre line. The Static suction head
is positive if the liquid level is above pump centerline, and negative if the liquid level is below pump
centerline.

Static discharge head (Hd)

The Static discharge head refers the vertical distance between the pump centre line and the surface of the
liquid in the destination tank or vessel. As we seen from the gure and curve, the Static Head is independent
of ow.

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

The static head is calculated by using the below formula

Friction head (hf)

The friction head is the frictional loss due to the pipes, valves and pipe ttings. Friction head is also called
“Dynamic head loss”.

Unlike static head, the friction head depends on ow rate and property of the liquid. Normally the friction
head is proportional to the square of the ow rate.

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

The total system head is a sum of static head and friction head as shown the nal curve.

Pump performance curve

The pump performance curve is represented the total head in the y-axis and the ow in the x-axis, which is
graphically shown in the below pump characteristic curve. As per the curve, the head gradually decreases
with increasing ow. To read about pump performance curve Click Here

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

Pump operating point

When we merge both the system curve and pump curve as shown in the below gure. The intersection of
system curve and pump curve is called as pump operating point. The corresponding head and ow are
called “Rated Head” and “Rated Flow”.

As the resistance of a system increases, the head will also increase. This, in turn, causes the ow rate to
decrease and will eventually reach zero. A zero ow rate is only acceptable for a short period without
causing to the pump to burn out. Refer below gure.

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

Important of system curve

An error in the system curve calculation is also likely to lead to a wrong selection of centrifugal pump. On
the other hand, if we adding more safety margins to the calculated system curve, then the pump selection
leads to an oversized pump. Hence more attention shall give to system curve calculation.

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Comments

CHAN Ming Sang says

December 4, 2018 at 5:45 am

I have just read your website about operating point in the following link for calculating pressure
outlet (say at re hydrant / water tap).

http://www.mechanicalengineeringsite.com/pump-system-curve-and-pump-operating-point/

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

As the pump curve shows pressure provided by pump at speci c ow and system curve shows
pressure drop due to friction at speci c ow.

If the operation point is at the overlapping point of the above two curves, does that means the
pressure provided by the pump is equal to system friction loss? Then the outlet pressure from tap
is 0?

How do I calculate the pressure outlet from tap?

Reply

admin says
December 14, 2018 at 8:09 pm

Dear Chan,

In order to address your query, I will split your query as two parts
Part 1: Pressure at the intersection point of the system curve and the Pump curve
Let us consider a pump is used to transfer the water from ground level to a tank, which is
placed at the top of 50m height building.
Now the total system head = 50m (ie., static head)+ frictional head (let us assume 2m)
The total system head = 52m

Also, assume the suction head available at pump inlet is = 1m

Hence for this application, we need a pump with a differential head of 51m (52-1)and in
terms of pressure is 5.1 bar.
If you install a pressure gauge at the pump discharge it read 5.1 bar on the other hand if you
install a pressure gauge at the tank inlet line (ie., pump discharge near tank) is around 0.1 bar.
(ie., when the water enters the tank it pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure).

Normally intersection point of the system curve and the pump curve is used to determine the
head required for the pump to transfer the uid.

Part 2: Pressure @ tap outlet

The tap you are referring in building/household application, then the pressure at the tap outlet
is the potential head from the storage tank.
Pressure = Fluid density x Sp. gravity x height(between tank and tap)
If you are referring the tap at the pump discharge line, the above formula will give
approximate values.

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3/23/2020 Pump System Curve and Pump Operating Point - Mechanical Engineering Site

Hope I’m addressed your query properly. If you require further explanation please provide
your comments.

Reply

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May 3, 2018 at 5:17 pm
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