Chap 11.

1 Introduction and classification

• Turbomachines: Mechanical devices that either extract energy from a fluid
(turbines) or add energy to a fluid (pumps) as a result of dynamic
interactions between the device and fluid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Wind_power Mechanical_fan Turbomolecular_pump Turbomachinery Hooverdammen

• Turbomachines may be open or may encase the rotor to control the

working fluid.
2
• Turbomachines divide into two categories: ones that add energy
(pumps) and others that extract energy (turbines).
• There are two basic types of pumps:
(1) Positive displacement pumps (PDPs) force the fluid along by volume
changes, such as reciprocating piston (a), gear pump (b), screw pump
(c), and sliding vane (d).

.
(2) Dynamic pumps add momentum to the fluid by means of fast-
moving blades or vanes, such as centrifugal or axial pump
Chap 11.2 Centrifugal Pumps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_pump http://www.pumpfundamentals.com/

• Fluid is sucked into the eye and flows radially outward along impeller blades into
a casing.

• The impeller increases the fluid’s kinetic energy and pressure.

• Impeller blades are usually backward curved to prevent unstable flow conditions.

4
Basic Output Parameters
• Net head H (head added to fluid, We
used hp in Chapter 6)
⎛ p2 V22 ⎞ ⎛ p1 V12 ⎞
H =⎜ + + z2 ⎟ − ⎜ + + z1 ⎟ = hs − h f
⎝ γ 2g ⎠ ⎝ γ 2g ⎠

• hs—pump head supplied

• hf—losses in the pump
• Usually the pressure change dominates
in the above equation.
⎛ p2 p1 ⎞
H ≈⎜ − ⎟
⎝γ γ ⎠
 !
W to fluid

Pump Efficiency P
!
W from shaft

• Power delivered to fluid--Water horsepower

M
Pw = γ QH
• Power required to drive the pump—Brake horsepower (bhp)
bhp = ω T
• ω—shaft angular velocity, T—shaft torque

Sources of loss:
• Efficiency of the pump: • fluid-fluid friction and flow separation
Pw γ QH • friction in the bearings and shaft seal
η= = • impeller drag
bhp ω T
• internal leakage due to clearances
Pump Efficiency (Cont.)
• Volumetric efficiency Q
ηv =
Q + QL

• Hydraulic Efficiency hf
ηh = 1−
hs

• Mechanical Efficiency Pf
ηm = 1−
bhp

• Total Efficiency definition:

η ≡ ηvηhηm
 Chap 11.3 Pump
Performance Curves Shutoff head
(Q=0)
• The theory of prediction is rather
qualitative, the only solid indicator of a
pump’s performance lies in extensive
testing.
• Performance charts are always plotted
for constant speed n (rpm).
• When designing pump-pipe networks,
you should try to have the pump
operate near Best Efficiency Point
(BEP) since they often run continuously
Pump Performance Curves-Measured

• Actual performance data for a series of

commercial centrifugal pumps from a
manufacturer.

• Strictly applicable to a fluid of a certain density

and viscosity.

• Q: What is the efficiency of the water pump with

a 32"-diameter impeller operating at 1170 rpm
with a flowrate of 16000 gpm? Fig. 11.7 Measured-performance
• A: ~83% curves for two models of a
centrifugal water pump: (a) basic
casing with three impeller sizes; (b)
20 percent larger casing with three
larger impellers at slower speed.
Net Positive-Suction Head (NPSH)
• Net Positive-Suction Head (NPSH)—head required at the pump inlet
to keep the liquid from cavitation. The pressure is usually lowest at
the suction side of the impeller blades, where cavitation will first
occur. p V P 2
NPSH = i
+ i
− v
γ 2g γ
= stagnation pressure head at pump inlet – vapor pressure head
• Pv is vapor pressure of the liquid, usually is reported as an absolute pressure.
• If pump inlet is placed at a height Zi above a reservoir
whose free surface is at pa, then
pa P
NPSH = − Z i − h fi − v
γ γ
• NPSH needs to be greater than the NPSHreq from the curve, to avoid
cavitation.
• The pump performance curves are valid for only a
single ω.

• Sometimes a limited number of impeller

diameters are shown.

• We want to use this data for similar pumps with

different D and ω. (e.g., 20" impeller operating at
1500 rpm).

Fig. 11.7 Measured-performance

curves for two models of a
centrifugal water pump: (a) basic
casing with three impeller sizes; (b)
20 percent larger casing with three
larger impellers at slower speed.
Example 11.2
Dimensionless Pump Performance
• Pump output H: gH = f1 (Q, D,n, ρ , µ , ε )
• Brake horsepower: bhp = f2 (Q, D,n, ρ , µ , ε )

• Approximate dimensionless forms are (as discussed in Chap 5):

gH Q ρ nD 2 ε
= g1 ( 3 , , ) Three new pump parameters are:
2
n D 2
nD µ D Q
Capacity coefficient CQ =
nD 3
bhp Q ρ nD 2 ε gH
= g2 ( 3 , , ) Head coefficient CH =
ρn D
3 5
nD µ D n2 D 2

Power coefficient bhp

CP =
ρ n3 D 5
Dimensionless Pump Performance (Cont.)

!"#!
• It is common to assume that Reynolds Number (in this case )
$
and relative roughness have a constant effect, thus
approximately: C H CQ
C H ≈ C H (CQ ) C P ≈ C P (CQ ) η≡ = η (CQ )
CP
• Exp: From data of 11.7, the nondimensional plot of the pump
performance data are plotted into 11.8.
BEP: !max=0.88, CQ*=0.115, CH*=5.0, CP*=0.65,
These values can be used to estimate the BEP performance of
any size pump in this geometrically similar family. Shutoff head
CH(0)=6.0, shutoff power CP(0)=0.25, and the max discharge
CQmax=0.23 Fig. 11.8 Nondimensional plot of the
pump performance data from Fig.
11.7. These numbers are not
representative of other pump
design.
Example 11.3
Similarity Rules
• If pump 1 and pump 2 are from the same
geometric family and are operating at
homologous points (same dimensionless
position on a chart such as Fig. 11.8)
3
Q2 n2 ⎛ D2 ⎞
= ⎜ ⎟
Q1 n1 ⎝ D1 ⎠
2 2
H 2 ⎛ n2 ⎞ ⎛ D2 ⎞
=⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
H1 ⎝ n1 ⎠ ⎝ D1 ⎠ Similarity rules are used to estimate the effect of changing the
3 5 fluid, speed, or size on any turbomachine with geometrically
P2 ρ2 ⎛ n2 ⎞ ⎛ D2 ⎞ similar family.
= ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
P1 ρ1 ⎝ n1 ⎠ ⎝ D1 ⎠
Similarity Rules (Cont.)
• You can also write the previous three equations in this way:

!" !$
# = # = %%
"" #" "$ #$

&" &$
$ $ = $ $ = %&
"" #" "$ #$

'" '$
# ' = # ' = %(
(" "" #" ($ "$ #$
Similarity Rules (Cont.)
• Efficiency:
1/4
1− η2 ⎛ D1 ⎞
• Size changes: ≈⎜ ⎟
1− η1 ⎝ D2 ⎠

0.32
0.94 − η2 ⎛ Q1 ⎞
• Flow rate changes ≈⎜ ⎟
0.94 − η1 ⎝ Q2 ⎠
Be careful when using the pump scaling laws.

(1) The pump scaling laws require that ALL dimensions be scaled the same
(impeller, casing, etc.).

• In practice, often different diameter impellers are used in the same casing.

• General rule of thumb – If D does not change by more than ~20%, the
pump similarity laws still produce reasonable results.

(2) The effects of roughness and viscosity are neglected in the similarity laws,
but can become important for small pumps or very viscous fluids.
Problem 11.34
• Consider a pump geometrically
similar to the 9-in-diameter
pump of Fig. P11.34 to deliver
1200 gal/min of kerosene at
1500 rpm. Determine the
appropriate (a) impeller
diameter; (b) BEP horsepower;
(c) shut-off head; and (d)
maximum efficiency.
• For kerosene, take ρ ≈ 1.56 slug/ft3
Chap 11.4 Choose the right type of pumps
• Centrifugal pump is a high-head, low-flow machine. It is not
convenient for applications requiring low head and high discharge. In
that case, mixed-flow (part radial, part axial) and axial-flow (propeller-
type) families of dynamic pump are more suitable.

Centrifugal pump Mixed-flow pump Axial-flow Pump

Specific Speed
• Most pump applications involve a known head and discharge for the particular system.
The designer needs to select the best size and shape (centrifugal, mixed, and axial).

• The specific speed is used to help select an appropriate (most efficient) pump.

• Assuming your pump will operate at ω, Q, and H near peak efficiency. Ns is applied only
to BEP. Thus a single number characterizes an entire family of pumps.
n ( Q *) n ( Q *)
1/2 1/2
1/2
C Or, more commonly
N =
' Q*
= Ns =
s
C 3/4
H*
(gH*) 3/4
(H*)3/4
(BG or SI units) (n in rpm, Q in gpm, H in ft)
• Ns = 500-4000 radial flow pumps (low Q, high H)
• Ns = 4000-10000 mixed flow pumps
• Ns = 10000-20000 axial flow pumps (high Q, low H)
Example: Specific Speed
• A ME 3111 student needs a pump to provide 60 ft of head at a flowrate of 70 gpm. The only
motor lying around will make the pump shaft rotate at 1750 rpm.

• What type of pump should be selected?

&
+ , ' 1750 70
)% = ( = ( = 679
- ) 60 )

• Radial flow pump since 500 < Ns < 4000.

• Ideally, a pump with a Ns of 679 should be selected.

Suction Specific Speed
• The suction specific speed is used to help determine safe operating
conditions for a pump to prevent cavitation on the suction side.

• Assuming your pump will operate near peak efficiency,

n (Q ) n (Q )
1/2 1/2

N =
'
ss 3/4
Or N ss = 3/4
(gNPSH ) ⎡⎣ NPSH ( ft) ⎤⎦
(BG or SI units) (n in rpm, Q in gpm, NPSH in ft)

• As a rule of thumb, keep Nss < 8100 to avoid performance losses and
inlet cavitation.
• (http://www.pump-magazine.com/pump_magazine/pump_articles/article_03/article_03.htm)
Example: Suction Specific Speed
• If you select a pump to do the job in the
previous page, whose manufacture
performance data is shown in the figure
on the right.
• What is the suction specific speed?
n (Q )
1/2

N ss = 3/4
⎡⎣ NPSH ( ft) ⎤⎦
!
1750 70 "
= # = 3819 < 8100
(6)$

• Cavitation is unlikely to happen.