SUBJECT: How to read a pump curve 2-3

In the above illustration the head of the pump has been plotted against its capacity. The head of a pump is read
in feet or meters. The capacity units will be either gallons per minute, liters per minute, or cubic meters per
hour. As per the curve this pump will pump a 40 capacity to about a 110 head, or a 70 capacity to
approximately a 85 head (you can substitute either metric or imperial units as you see fit). The maximum head
of this pump is 115 units. This is called the maximum shutoff head of the pump. Also note that the best
efficiency point (BEP) of this impeller is between 80% and 85% of the shutoff head. This 80% to 85% is typical
of centrifugal pumps, but for the exact best efficiency point the manufacturers pump curve must be referred.

Ideally a pump would run at its best efficiency point all of the time, but we seldom hit ideal conditions. As you
move away from the BEP the shaft will deflect and the pump will experience some vibration. You will have to
check with your pump manufacturer to see how far you can safely deviate from the BEP (a maximum of 10%
either side is typical)

Now look at the following illustration:

1
Note that some additional curves to the original illustration have been added. These curves show what
happens when you change the diameter of the impeller. Impeller diameter is measured in either inches
or millimeters. If we wanted to pump at the best efficiency point with a 11.5 impeller we would have
to pump a capacity of 50 to a 75 head.

The bottom half of the illustration shows the power consumption at various capacities and impeller diameters.
The power consumption is in horsepower, but in the metric system it would be called kilowatts

Each of the lines represents an impeller diameter. The top line would be for the 13 impeller the second for the
12.5 etc. For pumping a capacity of 70 with a 13 impeller it would take about 35 horsepower. A capacity of 60
with a 12 impeller would take about 20 horsepower.

Most pump curves would show you the percent of efficiency at the best efficiency point. The number varies
with impeller design and numbers from 60% to 80% are normal.

When you will look at an actual pump curve you should have no trouble reading the various heads and
corresponding capacities for the different size impellers. You will note however, that the curve will usually
show an additional piece of information and that is NPSHR which stands for net positive suction head required
to prevent the pump from cavitating.

Depending upon the pump curve you might find a 10 feet (3.0 meter) NPSH required head at a capacity of 480
Gallons per minute (110 cubic meters per hour) if you were using a 13 inch (330 mm.) diameter impeller.

You should keep in mind that the manufacture assumed you were pumping 20° C fresh water and the N.P.S.H.
Required was tested using this assumption. If you are pumping water at a different temperature or if you are
pumping a different fluid, you are going to have to add the vapor pressure of that product to the N.P.S.H.
Required. The rule is that Net Positive Suction Head Available minus the Vapor Pressure of the product you are
pumping (converted to head) must be equal to or greater than Net Positive Suction Head Required by the
manufacturer.

Suppose we wanted to pump some liquid Butane at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Centigrade) with this
pump. If we look at the curve for Butane on a vapor pressure chart similar to the one shown in the charts and
graphs section of this web site you will note that Butane at 32°F needs at least 15 psi (1,0 Bar) to stay in a liquid
state. To convert this pressure to head we use the standard formula:

In other words Butane at this temperature would not vaporize as long as I had the above absolute heads
available at the suction side of the pump.

SUBJECT: Understanding the system curve

Every pump manufacturer would like to recommend the perfect pump for your application. To do this he would
like you to provide him with an accurate system curve that would describe the capacity and head needed for
your various operating conditions. Once he has your system curve, he can plot his pump curves on top of the

2
system curve and hopefully select something that will come close to your needs. Without this system curve,
neither one of you has much of a chance of coming up with the right pump.

To create a system curve we plot the desired capacities against the required head over the total anticipated
operating range of the pump. The head will be measured in feet or meters and the capacity will be measured in
gallons per minute or cubic meters per hour.

Some of the confusion begins when we realize that there are three different kinds of head:

STATIC HEAD This is the vertical distance measured from the center line of the pump to the height of the
piping discharge inside the tank. Look at figure "A" and note that the piping discharge is below the maximum
elevation of the piping system. We do not use the maximum elevation in our calculations because the siphoning
action will carry the fluid over this point once the piping is full of liquid. This is the same action that lets you
siphon gasoline out of an automobile to a storage can.

The pump will have to develop enough head to fill the pipe and then the siphoning action will take over. The
pump operating point should move back towards the best efficiency point (B.E.P.) if the pump was selected
correctly.

FIGURE "A"

DYNAMIC OR SYSTEM HEAD As the liquid flows through the piping and fittings, it is subject to the friction
caused by the piping inside finish, restricted passages in the fittings and hardware that has been installed in the
system. The resulting "pressure drop" is described as a "loss of head" in the system, and can be calculated from
graphs and charts provided by the pump and piping manufacturers. These charts are not included with this
paper, you can find them in the Hydraulic Institute Manuals. This "head" loss is related to the condition of the
system and makes the calculations difficult when you realize that older systems may have "product build up" on
the piping walls, filters, strainers, valves, elbows, heat exchangers, etc., making the published numbers some
what inaccurate.

A general "rule of thumb" says that the friction loss in clean piping will vary approximately with 90% of the
square of the change in flow in the piping, and 100% of the square with the change of flow in the fittings and
accessories. You calculate the change in flow by dividing the new flow by the old flow and then square the
number. As an example:

3
In the original application system, loss was a combination of the loss through the piping and the loss through
the fittings for a total of 100 feet at 200 gallons per minute. When we increased the flow to 300 gallons per
minute our system head changed to a total of 208.13 feet. This change would have to be added to the static and
pressure heads to calculate the total head required for the new pump.

Please note that the pump is pumping the difference between the suction head and the discharge head, so if you
fail to consider that the suction head will be either added to or subtracted from the discharge head, you will
make an error in your calculations. The suction head will be negative if you are lifting liquid from below
ground or if you are pumping from a vacuum. It will be positive if you are pumping from a tank located above
ground. If the suction head is pressurized, this pressure must be converted to head and subtracted from the total
head required by the pump.

A centrifugal pump will create a head/capacity curve that will generally resemble one of the curves described in
figure "B" The shape of the curve is determined by the Specific Speed number of the impeller.

Centrifugal pumps always pump somewhere on their curve, but should be selected to pump as close to the best
efficiency point (B.E.P.) as possible. The B.E.P. will fall some where between 80% and 85% of the shut off
head (maximum head).

The manufacturer generated these curves at a specific R.P.M.. Unless you are using synchronous motors (you
probably are using induction motors on your pumps) you will have to adjust the curves to match your actual
pump speed. Put a tachometer on the running motor and record the rpm. difference between your pump and the
speed shown on the pump manufacturer's published curve. You can use the pump affinity laws to approximate
the change.

POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS have a different shaped curve. They look something like Figure "C".

4
In this system, the head remains a constant as the capacity varies. This is a typical application for:
A boiler feed pump that is supplying a constant pressure boiler with a varying steam demand. This is a very
common application in many process systems or aboard a ship that is frequently changing speeds (answering
bells).

Filling a tank from the top and varying the amount of liquid being pumped, is the normal routine in most
process plants. The curve will look like this if the majority of the head is either static or pressure head.

The second system is the ideal one, Figure "E" describes it:

5
In this system the entire head is system head so it will vary with the capacity. Look for this type of curve in the
following applications:

A circulating hot or cold water heating/ cooling system pumping to a non pressurized tank, a long distance from
the source with little to no elevation involved. Filling tank cars is a typical application.

System curve "G" is a common one. It is a combination of static, pressure and system heads.

Once the pump manufacturer has a clear idea as to the shape of your system curve, and the head and capacity
numbers needed he can then select the proper centrifugal pump. The shape of his curve will be pretty much
determined by the specific speed number of the impeller.

In addition to specific speed he can select impeller diameter, impeller width, pump rpm., and he also has the
option of series or parallel operation along with the possibility of using a multi-stage pump to satisfy your
needs.

The sad fact is that most pumps are selected poorly because of the desire to offer the customer the lowest
possible price. A robust pump, with a low L3/D4, is still your best protection against seal and bearing premature
failure when the pump is operating off of its best efficiency point. Keep the following in mind as you select
your pump:

A centrifugal pump will pump where the pump curve intersects the system curve. This may bear no relationship
to the best efficiency point (B.E.P.), or your desire for the pump to perform a specific task.

The further off the B.E.P. you go, the more robust the pump you will need. This is especially true if you have
replaced the packing with a mechanical seal and no longer have the packing to act as a support bearing when
the shaft deflects. Shaft deflection is always a major problem at start up.

When you connect pumps in parallel, you add the capacities together. The capacity of a pump is determined by
the impeller width and r.p.m.. The head of a centrifugal pump is determined by the impeller diameter and rpm.
If the heads are different, the stronger pump will throttle the weaker one, so the impeller diameters and rpm's
must be the same if you connect pumps in parallel. Check the rpm's on these pumps if you are experiencing any
difficulties.

6
If you connect the pumps in series, the heads will add together, so the capacities must be the same or one of
them will probably cavitate. You could also have a problem operating too far to the right of the best efficiency
point with a possible motor "burn out".

When you vary the speed of a centrifugal pump, the best efficiency point comes down at an angle. The affect is
almost the same as changing the diameter of the impeller. This means that the variable speed motor will work
best on a system curve that is exponential (Figure "F"). Unfortunately most process and boiler feed pump
system curves are not exponential.

Pump curves are based on a speed of 1750, 3500, 1450, or 2900 r.p.m.. Electric induction motors seldom run at
these speeds because of "slip". You can estimate that a 2% to a 5% slip is normal in these pumps with the "slip"
directly related to the price of the motor.

You should also keep in mind that if the motor is running at its best efficiency point that does not mean that the
pump is running at its B.E.P..

Since you will be using pumps that were supplied at the lowest cost, you can do the following to resist some of
the shaft displacement:

Use a solid shaft. Sleeves often raise the L3/D4 number to over 60 (2 in the metric system), and this is too high
a number for reliable seal performance.

Try to keep the mechanical seal as close to the bearings as possible. It is the mechanical seal that is the most
sensitive to shaft deflection and vibration.

Once the seal has been moved closer to the bearings, you can install a sleeve bearing in the packing space to
support the shaft when the pump is operated off of its B.E.P. This is especially important at start up, or any time
a pump discharge valve is operated.

Stop the cavitation if you are experiencing any.

Balance the rotating assembly.

Check that the shaft is not bent or the rotating assembly is not out of dynamic balance.

Use a "C" or "D" frame adapter to solve pump- motor alignment difficulties.

A center line design wet end can be used if pipe strain, due to temperature expansion, is causing an alignment
problem.

Do not trust the system prints to make your calculations. The actual system always differs from that shown on
the print, because people tap into the lines, using the pumped fluid for a variety of purposes and after having
done so forget to change or "mark up" the original system print. You are going to have to "walk down" the
system and note the pipe length, the number of fittings, etc., to make an accurate system head calculation. Do
not be surprised to find that the discharge of your pump is hooked up to the discharge of another pump further
down the line. In other words, the pumps are connected in parallel and no body knows it. Pressure recorders
(not gauges) installed at the pump suction and discharge is another technique you can use to get a better picture
of the system or dynamic head. They will show you how the head is varying with changes in flow.

SUBJECT: What do we mean by pump efficiency?

When we talk about automobiles and discuss efficiency, we mean how many miles per gallon, or liters
per 100 kilometers. When we discuss centrifugal pumps we are comparing the amount of work or
power we get out of the pump to the amount of power we are putting into the pump. As an example:

7
How do we measure the horsepower or kilowatts coming out of the pump? All we have to do is
multiply the pump head by the weight of the liquid being pumped, and then use a simple conversion
number. Let's take an example:

Flow = 300 gallons per minute of fresh water as measured coming from the pump discharge.

Head = 160 feet. We measured it at the discharge side of the pump and corrected it for the fact that the
gage was two feet above the pump center line. Look at the following diagram where we have
calculated the discharge head from the formula shown on the right hand side of the illustration. If there
were any positive head on the suction side of the pump that head would have to be subtracted. A
negative suction head would be added to the discharge head.

The centrifugal pump pumps the difference between the suction and the discharge heads. There are
three kinds of discharge head:

 Static head. The height we are pumping to, or the height to the discharge piping outlet that is
filling the tank from the top. Note: that if you are filling the tank from the bottom, the static
head will be constantly changing.
 Pressure head. If we are pumping to a pressurized vessel (like a boiler) we must convert the
pressure units (psi. or Kg.) to head units (feet or meters).
 System or dynamic head. Caused by friction in the pipes, fittings, and system components. We
get this number by making the calculations from published charts ( non included in this paper,
but available in the chart section of this web site).

Suction head is measured the same way.

 If the liquid level is above the pump center line, that level is a positive suction head. If the
pump is lifting a liquid level from below its center line, it is a negative suction head.
 If the pump is pumping liquid from a pressurized vessel, you must convert this pressure to a
positive suction head. A vacuum in the tank would be converted to a negative suction head.
 Friction in the pipes, fittings, and associated hardware is a negative suction head.
 Negative suction heads are added to the pump discharge head, positive suctions heads are
subtracted from the pump discharge head.

Here is the formula for measuring the horsepower out of the pump:

8
Remember that we are using the actual horsepower or kilowatts going into the pump and not the
horsepower or kilowatts required by the electric motor. Most motors run some where near 85%
efficient.

An 85% efficient motor turning a 76% efficient pump, gives you a real efficiency of 0 .85 x 0.76 =
0 .65 or 65% efficient.

A survey of popular pump brands demonstrates that pump efficiencies range from 15% to over 90%.
The question then arises, "Is this very wide range due to poor selection, poor design, or some other
variable which would interfere with good performance?" The best available evidence suggests that
pump efficiency is directly related to " the specific speed number " with efficiencies dropping
dramatically below a number of 1000 . Testing also shows that smaller capacity pumps exhibit lower
efficiencies than higher capacity designs.

Now that we have learned that pump efficiency is closely related to the shape of the impeller, and the
impeller shape is usually dictated by the operating conditions, you should be aware of various
conditions that decrease the efficiency of your pump. These would include:

 Packing generates approximately six times as much heat as a balanced mechanical seal.
 Wear rings and impeller clearances are critical. Anything that causes these tolerances to open
will cause internal recirculation that is wasting power as the fluid is returned to the suction of
the pump. If the wear ring is rubbing, the generated heat is consuming power.
 A bypass line installed from the discharge side of the pump to the suction piping. The heat
generated from this recirculation can, in some cases, cause pump cavitation as it heats the
incoming liquid.
 A double volute design pump restricts the discharge passage lowering the overall efficiency.
 Running the pump with a throttled discharge valve.
 Eroded or corroded internal pump passages will cause fluid turbulence.
9
  Any restrictions in the pump or piping passages such as product build up, a foreign object, or a
stuck check valve.
 Over lubricated or over loaded bearings.
 Rubbing is a major cause. It can be caused by:
o Misalignment between the pump and driver.
o Pipe strain.
o Impeller imbalance.
o A bent shaft.
o A close fitting bushing.
o Loose hardware.
o A protruding gasket rubbing against the mechanical seal.
o Cavitation. (5 kinds)
o Harmonic vibration.
o Improper assembly of the bearings, seal, wear rings, packing, lip seals etc..
o Thermal expansion of various components in high temperature applications. The
impeller can hit the volute, the wear rings can come into physical contact etc.
o Solids rubbing against the rotating components, especially the seal.
o Operating too far off of the best efficiency point of the pump.
o Water hammer and pressure surges.
o Operating at a critical speed.
o Dynamic, non O-ring elastomers that cannot flex and roll, but must slide, eventually
fretting the shaft or sleeve.
o A build up of product on the inside of the stuffing box rubbing against the mechanical
seal.
o Grease or lip seals rubbing the shaft next to the bearings.
o Over tightening packing or improper seal installation.
 Vortex pumps can lower efficiency by as much as 50%.

SUBJECT : Selecting the correct horsepower motor 6-4

Electric motors operate at their best power factor and efficiency when fully loaded so you do not want
to purchase a motor that is too big, and common sense dictates that one that is too small is even worse.
In the following paragraphs we are going to learn how to select the correct motor for your centrifugal
pump application.

Let's assume we will be selecting the motor for the pump described by the pump curve shown below.

10
The first thing we must do is decide what diameter impeller we will be using. The above curve shows
impeller diameters from "A " to "E". I have selected letters rather than numbers so that we can work
the examples in either metric or inch units.

For our example we will use impeller size "A". You will want to look to the right hand side of the
curve to select the last efficiency line. In this case it is the 50% line. This will give you the maximum
capacity for that size impeller. Note the capacity at this point (400) and then transfer this capacity and
impeller size to a second graph (many times this information is part of the pump curve or located very
close to the pump curve) that is supplied by the pump manufacturer. The second graph will look
something like the one illustrated below.

The numbers on the left side of the graph show either the brake horse power or the kilowatts being
consumed. You can select the appropriate units for your application. According to this graph we will
be using about 20 ( brake horse power or kilowatts) at the last efficiency line (400).

One assumption we made during this selection process was that the specific gravity of the fluid we
were pumping was one (1). If the fluid has a higher or lower specific gravity we must multiply the
number on the left hand side of the graph by the specific gravity number to get the correct horsepower
or kilowatts for your applicatioin.

If the pump was sized correctly for the application, it would run within ten percent of its best
efficiency point. For impeller size "A" that would be approximately 325 (as shown on the first graph)
so we are going to take advantage of the pump service factor (I'll explain that in a few minutes) to give
us the needed horse power if we should occasionally run at this higher capacity (400) or get into any
other temporary overload condition such as starting a pump that is rotating backwards.

The service factor rating is supplied by the motor manufacturer and is usually available in three
ranges:

 A service factor of: 1.00 / 1.10 - most of these are older motors and a majority of them have
undesirable aluminum windings.
 A service factor of 1.15 - this is the most common service factor used in modern motors.
 A service factor of 2.00/ 2.50 - These motors are seldom in stock and have to be built at a
premium price.

Motors are available in a variety of horsepower and kilowatt ratings. Typical horse power ratings
would be: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0, 10, 15, 20, 30, etc..

Our graph showed that we needed a 17 horse power motor, but a 15 horse power motor will work in
this application because of the service factor (15 x 1.15 = 17.25 horsepower available). Keep in mind
that any heat generation computations made by the motor manufacturer were made for the motor when

11
it was running at its rated horse power and not at the service factor rating. All this means is that the
motor will run hotter than anticipated, but still within acceptable limits.

Oil refinery applications use a second factor recommended by the American Petroleum Institute
(A.P.I.). This organization specifies that the factor should be used as an additional safety margin.
These factors are:

 To 25 horsepower (18,7 K.W.) = 1.25

 From 30 to 70 horsepower (22,4 to 52,2 K.W.) = 1.15
 A 100 horse power (74.6 K.W.) or more = 1.10

If we take the same example as noted above, and insert the A.P.I. additional requirement, we would
come up with :

 If 20 horse power is needed x 1.25 (A.P.I. specification) = 25 horsepower needed.

There are instances where you can combine the two service factors and come up with a compromise.
As an example, suppose that the horse power requirement was 8.7 instead of the 20

According to the A.P.I. (American Petroleum Institute) you would need 8.7 x 1.25 = 10.8 horsepower,
so you would have to go to a 15 horse power motor because there is nothing in between 10 and 15
horsepower. According to the above information a 10 horse power motor has a service factor rating of
1.15 so, 10 x 1.15 = 11.5 horsepower or more than enough to satisfy the A.P.I. (American Petroleum
Institute) recommendation.]

Electric motors are sized considering the specific gravity of the liquid being pumped. If a low specific
gravity pump is tested with water, or any higher specific gravity fluid, the increase in motor amperage
could burn out the motor.

SUBJECT : Calculating the total system head in USCS units 7-1:

USCS stands for "United States Customary System Units" as opposed to the SI (Le Syst`eme
International d`Units) or metric units that have been adopted by the International standards
Organization (ISO). In a future paper I will present another paper using the metric units, but for the
moment it is not convenient to present it in both systems.

It turn out that "head" is a very convenient term in the pumping business. Capacity is measured in
gallons per minute, and each gallon of liquid has weight, so we can easily calculate the pounds per
minute being pumped. Head or height is measure in feet, so if we multiply these two together we get
foot- pounds per minute which converts directly to work at the rate of 33,000 foot pounds per minute
equals one horsepower.

Pressure is not as convenient a term because the amount of pressure that the pump will deliver
depends upon the weight (specific gravity) of the liquid being pumped and the specific gravity
changes with temperature, fluid, and fluid concentration.

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If you will refer to FIG 1, you should get a clear picture of what is meant by static head. Note that we
always measure from the center line of the pump to the highest liquid level

To calculate head accurately we must calculate the total head on both the suction and discharge sides
of the pump. In addition to the static head we will learn that there is a head caused by resistance in the
piping, fittings and valves called friction head, and a head caused by any pressure that might be acting
on the liquid in the tanks including atmospheric pressure, called " surface pressure head".

Once we know these heads it gets simple, we will then subtract the suction head from the discharge
head and the amount remaining will be the amount of head that the pump must be able to generate at
the rated flow. Here is how it looks in a formula:

System head = total discharge head - total suction head

H = hd - hs

The total discharge head is made from three separate heads:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd

 hd = total discharge head

 hsd = discharge static head
 hpd = discharge surface pressure head
 hfd = discharge friction head

The total suction head also consists of three separate heads

hs = hss + hps - hfs

 hs = total suction head

 hss = suction static head
 hps = suction surface pressure head
 hfs = suction friction head

As we make these calculations, you must sure that all calculations are made in either "feet of liquid
gauge" or "feet of liquid absolute". In case you have forgotten "absolute means that you have added
atmospheric pressure (head) to the gauge reading.

13
Now we will make some actual calculations:

Figure #2 demonstrates that the discharge head is still measured to the liquid level, but you will note
that it is below the maximum height of the piping.

Although the pump must deliver enough head to get up to this maximum piping height, it will not have
to continue to deliver this head when the pump is running because of the "siphon effect". There is of
course a maximum siphon effect. It is derived from: 14.7 psi (atmospheric pressure) x 2.31 feet / psi =
33.4 feet maximum siphon effect.

We will begin with the total suction head calculation

1. The suction head is negative because the liquid level in the suction tank is below the centerline of
the pump:

hss = - 6 feet

2. The suction tank is open, so the suction surface pressure equals atmospheric pressure :

hps = 0 feet gauge

3. You will not have to calculate the suction friction head, I will tell you it is:

hfs = 4 feet at rated flow

4. The total suction head is a gauge value because atmosphere was given as 0,

hs = hss + hps - hfs = -6 +0 -4 = -10 feet of liquid gauge at rated flow

The total discharge head calculation

1. The static discharge head is:

hsd = 125 feet

2. The discharge tank is also open to atmospheric pressure, thus:

hpd = 0 feet, gauge

14
3. I will give you the discharge friction head as:

hfd = 25 feet at rated flow

4. The total discharge head is:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd = 125 + 0 + 25 = 150 feet of liquid gauge at rated flow

The total system head calculation:

H = hd - hs = 150 - (-10)= 160 feet of liquid at rated flow

Note: did you notice that when we subtracted a minus number (-10) from a positive number (150) we
ended up with a positive 160 because whenever you subtract minus numbers it is the same as adding
them? If you have trouble with this concept you can learn more about it from a mathematics book.

Our next example involves a few more calculations, but you should be able to handle them. In this
example we are going to learn how to handle a vacuum application. Pipe friction numbers are taken
from the Hydraulic Institute Engineering Data Book. You can get a copy of this publication from your
library if you want to see the actual charts. I have some of this information in the chart section of this
web site.

Specifications:

1. Transferring 1000 gpm. weak acid from the vacuum receiver to the storage tank

2. Specific Gravity - 0.98

3. Viscosity -equal to water

4. Piping - All 6" Schedule 40 steel pipe

5. Discharge piping rises 40 feet vertically above the pump centerline and then runs 400 feet
horizontally. There is one 90° flanged elbow in this line
15
6. Suction piping has a square edge inlet, four feet of pipe, one gate valve, and one 90° flanged elbow
all of which are 6" in diameter.

7. The minimum level in the vacuum receiver is 5 feet above the pump centerline.

8. The pressure on top of the liquid in the vacuum receiver is 20 inches of mercury, vacuum.

To calculate suction surface pressure use one of the following formulas:

 inches of mercury X 1.133specific gravity = feet of liquid

 pounds per square inch X 2.31specific gravity = feet of liquid
 Millimeters of mercury X 122.4 x specific gravity = feet of liquid

Now that you have all of the necessary information we will begin by dividing the system into two
different sections, using the pump as the dividing line.

Total suction head calculation

1. The suction side of the system shows a minimum static head of 5 feet above suction centerline.
Therefore, the static suction head is:

hss = 5 feet

2. Using the first conversion formula, the suction surface pressure is:

hps = -20 Hg X 1.133/ 0.98 = -23.12 feet gauge

3. The suction friction head, fs, equals the sum of all the friction losses in the suction line. Friction loss
in 6" pipe at 1000 gpm from table 15 of the Hydraulic Institute Engineering Data Book, is 6.17 feet
per 100 feet of pipe.

in 4 feet of pipe friction loss = 4/100 x 6.17 = 0.3 feet

Friction loss coefficients (K factors) for the inlet, elbow and valve can be added together and
multiplied by the velocity head:

FITTING K FROM TABLE

6" Square edge inlet 0.50 32 (a)

6" 90 flanged elbow 0.29 32 (a)

6" Gate valve 0.11 32 (b)

Total coefficient, K = 0.90

Total friction loss on the suction side is:

hfs = 0.3 + 1.7 = 2.0 feet at 1000 gpm.

4. The total suction head then becomes:

16
 hs = hss + hps - hfs = 5 + (-23.12) - 2.0 = -20.12 feet, gauge at 1000 gpm.

Total discharge head calculation

1. Static discharge head = hsd = 40 feet

2. Discharge surface pressure = hpd = 0 feet gauge

3. Discharge friction head = hfd = sum of the following losses :

Friction loss in 6" pipe at 1000 gpm. from table 15, is 6.17 feet per hundred feet of
pipe.

In 440 feet of pipe the friction loss = 440/100 x 6.17 = 27.2 feet

Friction loss in 6" elbow:

from table 32 (a), K = 0,29

from table 15, V2/2g = 1.92 at 1000 gpm.

Friction loss = K V2/2g = 0.29 x 1.92 = 0.6 feet

The friction loss in the sudden enlargement at the end of the discharge line is called the exit loss. In
systems of this type where the area of the discharge tank is very large in comparison to the area of the
discharge pipe, the loss equals V2/2g, as shown in table 32 (b).

Friction loss at exit = V2/2g = 1.9 feet

The discharge friction head is the sum of the above losses, that is:

hfd = 27.2 + 0.6 + 1.9 = 29.7 feet at 1000 gpm.

4. The total discharge head then becomes:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd = 40 + 0 + 29.7 = 69.7 feet, gauge at 1000 gpm.

c. Total system head calculation:

H = hd - hs = 69.7 - (-20.2) = 89.9 feet at 1000 gpm.

 Our next example will be the same as the one we just finished except. that there is an additional 10
feet of pipe and another 90° flanged elbow in the vertical leg. The total suction head will be the same
as in the previous example. Take a look at figure # 4

17
Nothing has changed on the suction side of the pump so the total suction head will remain the same:

hs = -20.12 feet, gauge at 100 gpm.

Total discharge head calculation

1. The static discharge head "hsd" will change from 40 feet to 30 feet, since the highest liquid surface
in the discharge is now only 30 feet above the pump centerline.(This value is based on the assumption
that the vertical leg in the discharge tank is full of liquid and that as this liquid falls it will tend to pull
the liquid up and over the loop in the pipe line. This arrangement is called a siphon leg).

2. The discharge surface pressure is unchanged:

hpd = 0 feet

3. The friction loss in the discharge pipe will be increased by the additional 10 feet of pipe and the
additional elbow.

In 10 feet of pipe the friction loss = 10/100 x 6.17 = 0.6 feet

The friction loss in the additional elbow = 0.6 feet

The friction head will then increase as follows:

hfd = 29.7 + 0.6 + 0.6 = 30.9 feet at 1000 gpm.

The total discharge head becomes:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd

= 30 + 0 + 30.9

= 60.9 feet, gauge at 1000 gpm.

5. Total system head calculation

18
H = hd - hs = 60.9 - (-20.12) = 81 feet at 1000 gpm.

For our last example we will look at gauges. Take a look at FIG 5:

Specifications:

 Capacity - 300 gpm.

 Specific gravity - 1.3
 Viscosity - Similar to water
 Piping - 3 inch suction, 2 inch discharge
 Atmospheric pressure - 14.7 psi.

Divide the heads into two sections again:

The discharge gauge head corrected to the centerline of the pump, in feet of liquid absolute is found by
adding the atmospheric pressure to the gauge reading to get absolute pressure, and then converting to
absolute head:

hdg = (130 + 14.7) x 2.31 / (1.3 Specific Gravity + 4 ) = 261.1 feet, absolute

Note the 4 foot head correction to the pump centerline.

The discharge velocity head at 300 gpm. is found in table 9 of the Hydraulic Institute Engineering
Data Book

hvd = 12.8 feet at 300 gpm.

The suction gauge reading is in absolute terms so it needs only to be converted to feet of liquid,
absolute.

hgs = 40 x 2.3 / 11.3 +2 = 73.08 feet absolute

Note the 2 foot head correction to the pump centerline.

The suction velocity head at 300 gpm. is found in table 11 of the Pipe Friction Manual:

hvs = 2.6 feet at 300 gpm.

The total head developed by the pump is:

19
 H = (hgd + hvd ) - ( hgs + hvs ) = (261.1 + 12.8) - (73.08 + 2.6)= 198.22 feet absolute
at 300 gpm.

SUBJECT : All about specific speed 7-3

Specific speed is a term used to describe the geometry (shape) of a pump impeller. People responsible
for the selection of the proper pump, for their application, can use this Specific Speed information to :

 Select the shape of the pump curve.

 Determine the efficiency of the pump.
 Anticipate motor overloading problems.
 Predict N.P.S.H. requirements.
 Select the lowest cost pump for their application.

Specific speed is defined as "the speed of an ideal pump geometrically similar to the actual pump,
which when running at this speed will raise a unit of volume, in a unit of time through a unit of head".

The performance of a centrifugal pump is expressed in terms of pump speed, total head, and required
flow. This information is available from the pump manufacturer's published curves. Specific speed is
calculated from the following formula, using data from these curves at the pump's best efficiency point
(B.E.P.):

N = The speed of the pump in revolutions per minute (rpm.)

Q = The flow rate in liters per minute ( for either single or double suction impellers)

H = The total dynamic head in meters

Please refer to the following chart:

Pumps are traditionally divided into three types: radial flow, mixed flow, and axial flow. When you
look at the above chart you can see there is a gradual change from the radial flow impeller, which
develops pressure principally by the action of centrifugal force, to the axial flow impeller, which
develops most of its head by the propelling or lifting action of the vanes on the liquid.

In the specific speed range of approximately 1000 to 6000 double suction impeller are used as
frequently as the single suction impellers.

20
If you substitute other units for flow and head the numerical value of Ns will vary. The speed is
always given in revolutions per minute (rpm.). Here is how to alter the Specific Speed number (Ns) if
you use other units for capacity and head :

 United States ....Q = G.P.M. and H = feet. Divide the Ns by 1.63

 British ............Q = Imp.G.P.M. and H = feet. Divide the Ns by 1.9
 Metric ............Q = M3/hour and H = meters. Divide the Ns by 1.5

As an example we will make a calculation of Ns in both metric and U.S. units :

 Q= 110 L/sec. or 396 M3/ hour or 1744 G.P.M.

 H = 95 meters or 312 feet
 Speed = 1450 rpm.

If the above results were describing an actual application, we would notice that it was a low specific
speed, radial flow pump, meaning It would be a large pump with a low efficiency. Going to 2900 rpm.
or higher would increase the Ns to 1000 or more, meaning a smaller pump with a much higher
efficiency, but this higher rpm. would have other possible consequences :

 The higher efficiency would allow you to use a less powerful driver that would reduce your
operating costs.
 A smaller pump makes associated hardware cheaper. For instance, a smaller diameter shaft
means a lower cost mechanical seal and lower cost bearings.
 Cavitation could become a problem as the increase in speed means an increase in the N.P.S.H.
required.
 If you are pumping an abrasive fluid, abrasive wear and erosion will increase with increasing
speed.
 Many single mechanical seals have problems passing fugitive emission standards at the higher
pump speeds.
 High heat is a major cause of bearing failure. The higher pump speeds contribute to the
problem.

The following diagram illustrates the relationship between specific speed and pump efficiency. In
general, the efficiency increases as Ns increases.

21
Specific speed also relates to the shape of the individual pump curve as it describes head, capacity,
power consumption and efficiency.

In the above diagram you will note that :

 The steepness of the head/ capacity curve increases as specific speed increases.
 At low specific speed, power consumption is lowest at shut off and rises as flow increases.
This means that the motor could be over loaded at the higher flow rates unless this was
considered at the time of purchase.
 At medium specific speed the power curve peaks at approximately the best efficiency point.
This is a non overloading feature meaning that the pump can work safely over most of the fluid
range with a motor speed to meet the B.E.P. requirement.
 High specific speed pumps have a falling power curve with maximum power occurring at
minimum flow. These pumps should never be started with the discharge valve shut. If
throttling is required a motor of greater power will be necessary.

Keep in mind that efficiency and power consumption were calculated at the best efficiency point
(B.E.P.). In practice most pumps operate in a throttled condition because the pump was oversized at
the time it was purchased. Lower specific speed pumps may have lower efficiency at the B.E.P., but at
the same time will have lower power consumption at reduced flow than many of the higher specific
speed designs.

The result is that it might prove to be more economical to select a lower specific speed design if the
pump had to operate over a broad range of capacity.
22
SUBJECT: The oversized pump 7-10

Do a survey of any process plant and you will find that a high percentage of the centrifugal pumps are
oversized. There must be a reason why this is such a common problem, so here are a few of them :

 Safety margins were added to the original calculations. Several people are involved in the
pump buying decision and each of them is afraid of recommending a pump that proves to be to
small for the job.
 It was anticipated that a larger pump would be needed in the future, so it was purchased now to
save buying the larger pump later on.
 It was the only pump the dealer had in stock and you needed one badly. He might have offered
you a "special deal" to take the larger size.
 You took the pump out of your spare parts inventory. Capital equipment money is scarce so the
larger pump appeared to be your only choice.
 You purchased the same size pump as the one that came out of the application and that one was
over sized also.

Obviously this larger pump and motor required a higher investment, but since we are not using the full
power are we really paying too much for the daily operation? The easiest way to find the answer to
this question is to look at a typical pump curve and make our calculations from the numbers we get.

You can use any of the following formulas to make your calculations:

Here is as typical pump curve. It can be used for both inch and metric examples.

Let us assume that the application requires a pump that moves the liquid at :

23
300 gpm. to a 156 foot head with an efficiency rating of 60%

156 x 300 / 5308 = 8.8 Kilowatts being produced, and 8.8 / 0.60 efficiency = 14.7
Kilowatts required

As shown in the above drawing, we should be using impeller "E" to do this, but we have an oversized
pump so we are using the larger impeller "A" with the pump discharge valve throttled back to 300
gpm. giving us an actual head of 250 feet and a 50% efficiency. Now our Kilowatts look like this:

250 x 300 / 5308 = 14.1 KW being produced, and 14.1 / 0.50 efficiency = 28.2 KW

required to do this. If 28.2 KW is being used and only 14.7 KW are required, it means that we are
paying for an extra 13.5 KW to pump against the throttled discharge valve.

If this pump runs 24 hours per day that would be 8760 hours this year, and at a power cost of $0.05
cents per Kilowatt hour it would cost your company an additional:

8760 hours. x .05 cents per Kilowatt hour x 13.5 Kilowatts = $5913.00 per year, extra
operating cost.

Now we will work the same problem in the metric system:

Assume that we need to pump 68 m3/hr. to a 47 meter head with a pump that is 60% efficient at that
point.

68 x 47360 = 8.9 Kilowatts being produce, and 8.9 / 0.60 efficient = 14.8 Kilowatts
required to do this.

As shown in the drawing, we should be using impeller "E" to do this, but we have an oversized pump
so we are using the larger impeller "A" with the pump discharge valve throttled back to 68 cubic
meters per hour, giving us an actual head of 76 meters. Now our Kilowatts look like this:

68 x 76360 = 14.3 Kilowatts being produced by the pump, and 14.3 / 0.50 efficient =
28.6 Kilowatts required to do this.

Subtracting the amount of kilowatts we should have been using gives us:

28.6 - 14.8 = 13.8 extra kilowatts being used to pump against the throttled discharge
valve. If the pump runs twenty four hours a day that would be 8760 hours per year,
times 13.8 extra kilowatts equals 120,880 kw. Multiply this number by how much you
spend for a kilowatt hour of electricity and you will see that the over sized pump is
costing you a lot of money. In this example the extra cost of the electricity could almost
equal the cost of purchasing the pump.

SUBJECT: CONVERSION TABLES

VELOCITY

m/s ft/s m/min ft/min km/h mile/h

1 3.281 60 196.85 3.6 2.2369

0.305 1 18.288 60 1.0973 0.6818

24
0.017 0.055 1 3.281 0.06 0.0373

0.005 0.017 0.305 1 0.0183 0.01136

0.278 0.911 16.667 54.68 1 0.6214

0.447 1.467 26.822 88 1.6093 1

MASS FLOW RATE

kg/s lb/s kg/h lb/h ton/h tonne/h

1 2.205 3600 7936.64 3.5431 3.6

0.454 1 1633 3600 1.607 1.633

2.78 x10-4 6.12 x10-4 1 2.205 9.84 x 10-4 0.001

1.026 x10-4 2.78 x10-4 0.454 1 4.46 x 10-4 4.54 x 10-4

0.282 0.622 1016 2240 1 1.016

0.278 0.612 1000 2204.6 0.9842 1

VOLUMETRIC RATE OF FLOW

U.S.
L/s L/min m3/h ft3/h ft3/m imperial g/min U.S. barrell/ day petroleum
gal/min

1 60 3.6 127.133 2.1189 13.2 15.85 543.439

0.017 1 0.06 2.1189 0.0353 0.22 0.264 9.057

0.278 16.667 1 35.3147 0.5886 3.666 4.403 150.955

0.008 0.472 0.0283 1 0.0167 0.104 0.125 4.275

0.472 28.317 1.6990 60 1 6.229 7.480 256.475

0.076 4.546 0.2728 9.6326 0.1605 1 1.201 41.175

0.063 3.785 0.2271 8.0209 0.1337 0.833 1 34.286

0.002 0.110 0.0066 0.2339 0.0039 0.024 0.029 1

25
FORCE

kilogram force
Newton N kilonewton kN pound force lbf
kgf (kilopond kp)

1 0.001 0.102 0.225

1000 1 101.97 224.81

9.807 0.0098 1 2.205

4.448 0.0044 0.454 1

PRESSURE AND LIQUID HEAD

Newton per
square
meter kilogram force pound
kilo - millimeter of inch of
per square force per
pascal mercury mercury
N/M2 or centi-meter square inch foot of meter of
bar
water water
kPa mm Hg in Mg
Pascal kgf/cm2 lbf/in2

(Pa)

1 0.001 1x105 1.02x105 1.045 x10-4 3.35x10-4 1.02x10-4 0.0075 2.95x10-4

1000 1 0.01 1.02x10-2 0.145 0.335 0.102 7.5 0.295

100000 100 1 1.02 14.5 33.52 10.2 750.1 29.53

98067 98.07 0.981 1 14.22 32.81 10 735.6 28.96

6895 6.895 0.069 0.0703 1 2.31 0.703 51.72 2.036

2984 2.984 0.03 0.0305 0.433 1 0.305 22.42 0.882

9789 9.789 0.0980. 0.1 1.42 3.28 1 73.42 2.891

133.3 0.133 0.0013 0.0014 0.019 0.045 0.014 1 0.039

3386 3.386 0.0338 0.0345 0.491 1.133 0.345 25.4 1

1 Pascal equals 1 newton per square meter (1Pa = 1N/M2)

1 mm Hg is also called 1 "torr"

26
The international standard atmosphere (1 atm) = 101325 pascals or 1.01325 bar. This is equal to
1.03323 kgf/cm2 or 14.6959 lbf/in2

1 millibar = 100 pascal (1mb = 100 Pa

ENERGY AND WORK

joule kilojoule megajoule foot pound force British thermal unit kilowatt hour
therm
J kJ MJ ft lbf B.t.u. kWh

1 0.001 1 X 10-6 0.737 9.48 x 10-4 9.48 x 10-9 2.78 x 10-7

1000 1 0.001 737.56 0.9478 9.48 x 10-6 2.78 x 10-4

1 x 106 1000 1 737562 947.82 9.48 x 10-3 0.2778

1.356 1.36 x 10-3 1.36 x 10-6 1 1.28 x 10-3 1.28 x 10-8 3.77 x 10-7

1055.1 1.0551 1.05 x 10-3 778.17 1 1 x 10-5 2.931 X 10-4

1.0551 x 108 105510 105.51 7.78 x 107 100000 1 29.307

3.6 x 106 3600 3.6 2.65 x 106 3412.1 0.03412 1

1 joule = 1 newton meter

POWER

Watt kilogram force meter per sec. foot pound force per second horsepower
metric horsepower
W kgf m/s ft lbf/s hp

1 0.102 0.00136 0.738 0.0013

9.806 1 0.133 7.233 0.0131

735.5 75 1 542.476 0.9863

1.356 0.138 1.84 x 10-3 1 1.82 x 10-3

745.70 76.04 1.0139 550.0 1

1 watt = 1 joule per sec = 1 newton meter per second

VOLUME

cubic millimeter cubic centimeter cubic meter cubic inch cubic foot cubic yard

27
 mm3 cm3 m3 in3 ft3 yd3

1 0.001 1 x 10-9 6.1 x 10-5 3.531 x 10-8 1.3068 x 10-9

1000 1 1 x 10-6 0.061 3.531 x 10-5 1.308 x 10-6

1 x 109 1 x 106 1 61024 35.31 1.308

16387 16.39 1.639 x 10-5 1 5.787 x 10-4 2.143 x 10-5

2.832 x 107 2.832 x 104 0.0283 1728 1 0.0370

7.646 X 108 7.646 x 105 0.7646 46656 27 1

SUBJECT: The concepts you need to understand centrifugal pumps 8-12

In my seminars I talk about the three magic formulas you need to know if you want to understand how
centrifugal pumps function.

Here they are:

1. As the velocity of a liquid increases, the pressure, ninety degrees to the flow, will
decrease, and as the velocity of a liquid decreases the pressure, ninety degrees to the
flow will increase.

2. Pressure acting on an area creates a force.

3. Velocity times area must remain a constant if liquid is to flow.

Let's will look at each of these formulas in detail:

Formula number one explains how airplanes fly. It all started when the Wright brothers discovered the
correct wing shape for an aircraft.

Look at the following diagram. You will note that the air is flowing under the wing at some velocity.
The air going over the top of the wing has a longer path to travel, so its velocity must increase if it is
to join with the air coming underneath the wing.

The air underneath the wing is at atmospheric pressure, but since the velocity is greater on the top of
the wing the pressure falls to some value below atmospheric pressure. This causes the atmospheric
pressure to push on the bottom of the wing lifting it, the airplane, and all the people inside up into the
28
air. It will continue to do so as long as the wing is moving forward and the configuration of the wing
does not change. Gravity offsets this lifting force and the aircraft flies between these two forces.

This same principle explains how an automobile carburetor works, why the shower curtain comes into
the bath tub when you take a shower, and how a sailboat can sail faster than the wind.

Formula number two explains why the wing lifted into the air:

Pressure x Area = Force

Pressure is measure in pounds per square inch (kilograms per square centimeter)

Area is measured in square inches (square centimeters)

The units for force then become pounds (kilograms) because the square inches (square centimeters)
cancel out.

lbs / in2 x in2 = pounds

It is important for us to know the forces being generated because force over distance, in a given time
period, is a measure of work, energy expended, or heat, depending upon which units we use.

Formula number three explains the action of a venturi. As the area inside a venturi decreases the
velocity of the fluid increases. This causes the pressure to decrease (formula #1) allowing atmospheric
pressure to push a fluid into the venturi. Look at the following diagram

We use the venturi principle to add chemicals to a lawn, remove air from a condenser, add chemical to
a boiler etc. It is the same principle we use to get fuel to the carburetor of your automobile.

Now we will look at the cross section of a centrifugal pump and these three formulas will explain why
mechanical seals have so much trouble with shaft deflection.

29
This picture describes a volute pump because the impeller is not in the center of the casing. You will
note that there is less clearance between the impeller and the cut water than there is between the
impeller and the rest of the casing. You will also note that this area is increasing as you move from the
cutwater, around the casing, to the discharge nozzle. Circular pumps have an equal area around the
impeller. They are used to pump larger quantities of liquid, without having to create a head. The volute
design is the most popular design because it will produce a head.

When we removed the packing from a centrifugal pump we lost a big part of the shaft support system.
It therefore becomes very important that we keep the forces equal around the impeller to prevent shaft
displacement. If the force increases on one side of the impeller it will deflect the attached shaft and
interfere with the performance of the mechanical seal and pump bearings .

Since the impeller is symmetrical in shape (the area is the same all around the impeller) It is important
that we do not let the pressure vary around the impeller or the resultant forces will not be equal.
(Formula #2).

To keep the pressure equal around the impeller, you have to keep the velocity of the liquid constant
around the impeller. (Formula #1).

Take another look at the cross section of the volute pump and you will note that the area (volume)
surrounding the impeller is increasing as you move, in the direction of shaft rotation, from the cut
water to the discharge nozzle. Formula #3 states that the velocity of the liquid times the area must
remain a constant, so that means that the velocity of the liquid is decreasing as the area is increasing.

If the velocity of the liquid decreases, the pressure increases (Formula #1.) Pressure times area creates
a force (Formula #2) and this force displaces the impeller and shaft in a direction towards 60° from the
cut water.

In other words there is a constant force displacing the shaft that will impact on the performance of the
mechanical seal.

If you design the impeller perfectly, and manufacture it just as it was designed, It is possible for the
rotating impeller to continually add just the right amount of liquid to this volute area and prevent the
velocity of the liquid from changing. When that occurs we say that the pump is operating at its best
efficiency point. (B.E.P.) and there is no shaft deflection.

Centrifugal pumps seldom run at their best efficiency point (BEP). Let's look at what happens when
we go off the BEP:

 If there is not enough head in the system (you are operating on the right hand side of the curve)
the velocity of the liquid will increase as it approaches the discharge nozzle, causing the

30
 pressure to decrease and a force will be generated that will displace the impeller at 60° towards
240° from the cutwater.
 Likewise if there is too much head on the system (you are on the left side of the pump curve),
some of the fluid will recirculate back through the cutwater causing the velocity of the liquid to
increase, making the pressure fall and a force will be generated pushing the impeller towards
60° from the cutwater.

Look at the diagram again and note those deflections:

In other papers on this web site I talk about methods of stabilizing the shaft for these "off design"
operations. But the fact remains that shaft deflection continues to be a major source of mechanical seal
problems, and will continue to be until the pump manufacturer accepts the responsibility of building a
sensible pump.

SUBJECT: A little bit more about Cavitation 9-10

Cavitation means different things to different people. It has been described as:

 A reduction in pump capacity.

 A reduction in the head of the pump.
 The formation of bubbles in a low pressure area of the pump volute.
 A noise that can be heard when the pump is running.
 Damaged that can be seen on the pump impeller and volute.

Just what then is this thing called cavitation? Actually it is all of the above. In another section of this
series I described the several types of cavitation, so in this paper I want to talk about another side of
cavitation and try to explain why the above happens.

Cavitation implies cavities or holes in the fluid we are pumping. These holes can also be described as
bubbles, so cavitation is really about the formation of bubbles and their collapse. Bubbles form when
ever liquid boils. Be careful not to associate boiling with hot to the touch. Liquid oxygen will boil and
no one would ever call that hot.

Fluids boil when the temperature of the fluid gets too hot or the pressure on the fluid gets too low. At
an ambient sea level pressure of 14.7 psia (one bar) water will boil at 212°F. (100°C) If you lower the
pressure on the water it will boil at a much lower temperature and conversely if you raise the pressure
the water will not boil until it gets to a higher temperature. There are charts available to give you the
exact vapor pressure for any temperature of water. If you fall below this vapor pressure the water will
boil. As an example:

Fahrenheit Centigrade Vapor pressure lb/in2 A Vapor pressure (Bar) A

31
40 4.4 0.1217 0.00839

100 37.8 0.9492 0.06546

180 82.2 7.510 0.5179

212 100 14.696 1.0135

300 148.9 67.01 4.62

Please note that I am using absolute not gauge pressure. It is common when discussing the suction side
of a pump to keep everything in absolute numbers to avoid the use of minus signs. So instead of
calling atmospheric pressure zero, we say one atmosphere is 14.7 psia at seal level and in the metric
system the term commonly used is one bar, or 100 kPa if you are more comfortable with those units.

Now we will go back to the first paragraph and see if we can clear up some of the confusion:

The capacity of the pump is reduced

 This happens because bubbles take up space and you cannot have bubbles and liquid in the
same place at the same time.
 If the bubble gets big enough at the eye of the impeller, the pump will lose its suction and will
require priming.

The head is often reduced

 Bubbles unlike liquid are compressible. It is this compression that can change the head.

The bubbles form in a lower pressure area because they cannot form in a high pressure area.

 You should keep in mind that as the velocity of a fluid increase, the pressure of the fluid
decreases. This means that high velocity liquid is by definition a lower pressure area. This can
be a problem any time a liquid flows through a restriction in the piping, volute, or changes
direction suddenly. The fluid will accelerate as it changes direction. The same acceleration
takes place as the fluid flows in the small area between the tip of the impeller and the volute
cut water.

A noise is heard

 Any time a fluid moves faster than the speed of sound, in the medium you are pumping, a
sonic boom will be heard. The speed of sound in water is 4800 feet per second (1480
meters/sec) or 3,273 miles per hour (5,267 kilometers per hour).

Pump parts show damage

 The bubble tries to collapse on its self. This is called imploding, the opposite of exploding. The
bubble is trying to collapse from all sides, but if the bubble is laying against a piece of metal
such as the impeller or volute it cannot collapse from that side, so the fluid comes in from the
opposite side at this high velocity proceeded by a shock wave that can cause all kinds of
damage. There is a very characteristic round shape to the liquid as it bangs against the metal
creating the impression that the metal was hit with a "ball peen hammer".
32
  This damage would normally occur at right angles to the metal, but experience shows that the
high velocity liquid seems to come at the metal from a variety of angles. This can be explained
by the fact that dirt particles get stuck on the surface of the bubble and are held there by the
surface tension of the fluid. Since the dirt particle has weakened the surface tension of the
bubble it becomes the weakest part and the section where the collapse will probably take place.

The higher the capacity of the pump the more likely cavitation will occur. Some plants inject air into
the suction of the pump to reduce this capacity and lower the possibility of cavitation. They choose
this solution because they fear that throttling the discharge of a high temperature application will heat
the fluid in the pump and almost guarantee the cavitation. In this case air injection is the better choice
of two evils.

High specific speed pumps have a different impeller shape that allows them to run at high capacity
with less power and less chance of cavitating. You normally find this impeller in a pipe shaped casing
rather than the volute type of casing that you commonly see.

SUBJECT: The difference between specific speed and suction specific speed 9-12

The best way to describe the shape of an impeller is to use its specific speed number. This is a
dimensionless number that was generated by the formula :

Ns = Specific speed

N = Pump shaft speed

Q = Capacity in GPM.

H = Total head in feet

The following chart gives you a graphic picture of the impeller shape represented by this number:

The major use of the specific speed number is to help you specify pumps that are more efficient.

 The maximum pump efficiency is obtained in the specific speed range of 2000 to 3000.
 Pumps for high head low capacity occupy the range 500 to 1000. While low head high capacity
pumps may have a specific speed of 15,000 or larger.
 For a given head and capacity the good news is that the pump having the highest specific
speed, that will meet the requirements, probably will be the smallest size and the least
33
 expensive. The bad news it that it will run at the highest speed where abrasive wear and
cavitation damage become a problem.
 Efficiencies start dropping drastically at specific speeds below 1000. Also smaller capacities
exhibit lower efficiencies than higher capacities at all specific speeds.
 In propeller and other high specific speed impellers (axial flow) it is not practical to use a
volute casing. Instead, the impeller is enclosed in a pipe like casing.
 The lower the specific speed number, the higher the power loss you get with wear ring
clearance.

The clearance between the impeller and the tongue of the volute has a bearing on efficiency, pressure
pulsations and cavitation. For high efficiency you would want a small clearance, but this produces
larger pressure pulsations and the increased flow in this area can reduce the fluid pressure enough to
cause flashing of the product and a type of cavitation known as " The vane passing syndrome".

For impellers up to fourteen inches in diameter (355 mm) this clearance should be a minimum of four
percent of the impeller diameter. If you are using greater than fourteen inch diameter impellers the
clearance should be at least six percent of the impeller diameter. Also remember that as this clearance
increases the impeller experiences some slippage. That is the major reason that we do not like to
remove more than ten percent of the impeller diameter when trimming is called for.

If you work in both metric and imperial units as I do, the subject of specific speed becomes very
confusing because both systems use the same specific speed numbers to describe the impeller shape.
They do this even though they use a different set of units to arrive at the same number.

In the metric system the capacity is calculated in liters/ minute and the head in meters. Knowledgeable
people in this area feel that if the calculations are done in imperial or other metric units the final
number should be reduced by the following amount:

U.S. Gallons/ minute and feet divide the result by 1.63

U.K. Imperial gallons and feet divide the result by 1.93

M3/hour and meters divide the result by 1.50

SUCTION SPECIFIC SPEED is another number that we use in pump selection. The formula looks the
same as the regular specific speed formula, but in this formula we use the NPSH required number
rather than the total head produced by the pump.

Ns = Specific speed

N = Pump shaft speed

Q = Capacity in GPM.

NPSH = Net positive suction head required to prevent cavitation. Remember that this number is for
sixty eight degree F. (20°C) fresh water. You are going to have to add the vapor pressure of you
product to this number to get the real number that you will be using.

We use this number to predict cavitation problems with your impeller selection.

 The flow angle of the inlet vanes and the number of vanes affect this number.

34
  A desired value would be below 8500 with impellers having a flow angle of about seventeen
degrees and five to seven vanes. The higher the flow angle number, the faster the liquid will
travel and the lower suction head (pressure) we will get.
 Boiler feed and condensate pumps often require suction specific speed numbers as high as
12,000 to 18,000 because of the temperature and pressure of the water. To get to these values
the impeller inlet flow angle is reduced to a low as ten degrees and the number of vanes
reduced to as little as four . Fewer and thinner vanes help to reduce the blockage in the
impeller inlet. A disadvantage to these low flow angles is that the pump will probably run very
rough at below fifty percent of capacity.
 Water applications can run at these higher numbers because the amount of fluid expansion is
very low for hot water. Mixed hydro-carbons have this same advantage because unlike a single
product, the flashing of the mixed hydro-carbons does not take place all at the same time.
 The higher the suction specific speed number the narrower the stable window of operation.
 Inducers have been used successfully with suction specific speed numbers of approximately
24, 000
 Should the available NPSH be so low that a suction specific speed number of more than 18,000
is required, then a separate axial flow impeller (an inducer) can be used ahead of the
centrifugal impeller to prevent cavitation. Its flow angle is some where between five and ten
degrees with typically two vanes and no more than four. In other instances a booster pump can
be installed between the pump and the source.
 In their desire to quote a low NPSH required some manufacturers will cut away the impeller
inlet vanes to reduce fluid drag and thereby lower the NPSH required. If this has been done
with your application, you must insure that the impeller to volute clearance is adjusted
correctly with open impeller designs and the wear ring clearance meets the manufacturers
specifications with closed impeller designs, or you will experience internal recirculation
problems and cavitation at the impeller outlet vane tips. Keep the suction specific speed
number below 8500 and this problem should never comes up.

A pump's suction specific speed (SSS) number is a constant. You can re-arrange the formula to
calculate a new NPSHR:

In the metric system we calculate the capacity in liters/sec and the NPSH in meters. You should try to
keep the final SSS number below 5200. Above 7800 you are going to have trouble with internal
recirculation and cavitation.

SUBJECT: The pump is not producing enough head to satisfy the application 10-9

This is the first paper in a four part series about pump troubleshooting. Let me begin by pointing out
that there are a couple of things you must keep in mind when troubleshooting centrifugal pump
problems:

 The centrifugal pump always pumps the difference between the suction and discharge heads. If
the suction head increases, the pump head will decrease to meet the system requirements. If the
suction head decreases the pump head will increase to meet the system requirements.
 A centrifugal pump always pumps a combination of head and capacity. These two numbers
multiplied together must remain a constant. In other words, if the head increases the capacity
must decrease. Likewise if the head decreases, the capacity must increase.
 The pump will pump where the pump curve intersects the system curve.
 If the pump is not meeting the system curve requirements the problem could be in the pump,
the suction side including the piping and source tank, or somewhere in the discharge system.

35
  Most pumps are oversized because of safety factors that were added at the time the pump was
sized. This means that throttling is a normal condition in most plants, causing the pump to run
on the left hand side of its curve.

THE PROBLEM COULD BE IN THE PUMP ITS SELF

 The impeller diameter is too small.

o The impeller is running at too slow a speed
o You are running an induction motor. Their speed is different than synchronous motors.
It's always slower. The pump curve was created using a variable frequency motor that
ran at a constant speed. Put a tachometer on your motor to see its actual speed.
o Your pulley driven pump is running on the wrong pulley diameter.
o A variable frequency motor is running at the wrong speed.
o Check the speed of the driver if the pump is driven by something other than an electric
motor.
 There is something physically wrong with the motor. Check the bearings etc.
 Check the voltage of the electric motor. It may be too low.
 The impeller is damaged. The damage could be caused by excessive wear, erosion, corrosion
or some type of physical damage.
o Physical damage often occurs during the assembly process when the impeller is driven
on or off the shaft with a wooden block and a mallet. Many impeller designs do not
have a nut cast into the impeller hub to ease removal.
o Erosion occurs when solids enter the eye of the impeller. The solids can chip off pieces
of the ceramic that are passivating the impeller, causing localized corrosion.
o Damage can occur if the impeller to volute, or back plate clearance is too small and the
shaft experiences some type of deflection. The original clearance could have
diminished with thermal growth of the shaft. Keep in mind that some open impellers
adjust to the volute (Goulds) while other designs adjust to the back plate (Duriron).
 In an ANSI and similar design centrifugal pumps, the normal thrust towards the volute has
bent the snap ring designed for bearing retention. This can allow the rotating impeller to hit the
stationary volute.
 Here are some examples of shaft displacement:
o Operating the pump too far off the BEP.
o Pulley driven applications.
o Pipe strain.
o Misalignment between the pump and driver.
o The shaft could be bent.
o The rotating assembly was probably not dynamically balanced.
 The impeller is clogged. This is a major problem with closed impellers. With the exception of
finished product, most of what you will be pumping contains entrained solids. Remember also
that some products can solidify, or they can crystallize with a change in fluid temperature or
pressure.
 Impeller balance holes have been drilled between the eye and the wear rings of a closed
impeller. The reverse flow is interfering with the product entering the impeller eye. A
discharge recirculation line should have been used in place of the balance holes to reduce the
axial thrust.
 The double volute casting is clogged with solids or solids have built up on the surface of the
casting.
 The open impeller to volute clearance is too large. 0.017" (0,5 mm) is typical. This excessive
clearance will cause internal recirculation problems. A bad installation, thermal growth, or
normal impeller wear could be the cause.
o A large impeller to cutwater clearance can cause a problem called discharge
recirculation. Wear is a common symptom of this condition.

36
 If the impeller is positioned too close to the cutwater you could have cavitation problems that
will interfere with the head.
 The impeller specific speed number is too high. Lower specific speed numbered impellers are
used to build higher heads.
 An impeller inducer was left off at the time of assembly. Inducers are almost always needed
with high specific speed impellers. Leaving off the inducer can cause cavitation problems that
will interfere with the head.
 The impeller is loose on the shaft.
 The impeller is running backwards
 The shaft is running backwards because of a wiring problem.
 The pump is running backwards because the discharge check valve is not holding and system
pressure is causing the reverse rotation. This is a common problem with pumps installed in a
parallel configuration. Check valves are notoriously unreliable.
 The impeller has been installed backwards. This can happen with closed impellers on double
ended pumps
 The second stage of a two stage pump is wired backwards. The pump reverses when the
second stage kicks in. You should have heard a loud noise when this happened.
 The wear ring clearance is too large.
o This is a common problem if the shaft L3/D4 number is greater than 60 (2 in the metric
system).
o You should replace the rings when the original clearance doubles. Needless to say this
can only be determined by inspection.
 If you are pumping a product at 200°F (100°C) or more you should use a centerline design
volute to prevent excessive wear ring wear as the volute grows from the base straight up,
engaging the wear rings.
 A wear ring is missing. It was probably left off during the installation process.
 A high suction tank level is reducing the differential pressure across the pump increasing its
capacity. The pump pumps the difference between the suction and discharge heads.
 A bubble is trapped in the eye of the impeller. The eye is the lowest pressure area. When this
bubble forms it shuts off all liquid coming into the pump suction. This could cause the pump to
lose its prime.
 You cannot vent a running pump because centrifugal force will throw the liquid out the vent
leaving the air trapped inside.
 Air is coming directly into the pump. This happens with a negative pressure at the suction side.
Negative suction happens when the pump is lifting liquid, pumping from a condenser hot well
etc.
o Air is coming into the stuffing box through the pump packing.
o Air is coming into the stuffing box through an unbalanced mechanical seal. As the
carbon face wears the spring load holding the faces together diminishes.
o If you are using mechanical seals in vacuum service, they should be of the O-ring
design. Unlike other designs, O-rings are the only shape that seals both pressure and
vacuum.
o The pump was not primed prior to start up. With the exception of the self priming
version, centrifugal pumps must be full of liquid at start up.
o Air can enter the stuffing box if the gasket between the two halves of a double ended
pump is defective or does not extend to the stuffing box face. Any small gaps between
the face of the stuffing box and the split at the side of the stuffing box will allow either
air in, or product out.
o Air is coming into the suction side of the pump through a pin hole in the casing.
o Air is entering the stuffing box between the sleeve and the shaft. This happens if you
convert a double ended pump from packing to a mechanical seal and fail to install a
gasket or o-ring between the impeller hub and the sleeve.
 The open impeller was adjusted backwards and now the close fitting "pump out vanes" are
creating a vacuum in the stuffing box.
37
  You need a volute casing instead of a concentric casing. Volute casings are much better for
producing head.
 You have the wrong size pump. It cannot meet the system curve requirements:
 The pump was not selected to meet the system curve requirements because no system curve
was given to the pump supplier.
 At replacement time the same size pump was purchased because no one had calculated losses
in the system.
 The pump was sized from a piping diagram that was thirty five years old. There have been
numerous piping changes and additions since the original layout. In many instances additional
pumps have been installed and this pump is running in parallel with them, but nobody knows
it.

THE PROBLEM IS ON THE SUCTION SIDE OF THE PUMP. THE PUMP COULD BE
CAVITATING.

 Air is entering the suction piping at some point.

o Air is being pumped into the suction piping to reduce cavitation problems
o Fluid returning to the sump is being aerated by too far a free fall. The return line should
terminate below the liquid level.
o The fluid is vortexing at the pump inlet because the sump level is too low and the pump
capacity is too high.
o Air is coming into the system through valves above the water line or gaskets in the
piping flanges.
o The liquid source is being pumped dry. If this is a problem in your application you
might want to consider a self priming pump in the future.
 The vapor pressure of the fluid is too close to atmospheric pressure. When it rains the drop in
atmospheric pressure causes the inlet fluid to vaporize.
 There is a problem with the piping layout. It is reducing the head on the suction side of the
pump.
o There is too much piping between the pump suction and the source tank. You may need
a booster pump or an inducer. The higher the pump speed the bigger the problem.
o There is an elbow too close to the pump suction. There should be at least ten diameters
of pipe between the elbow and the pump suction. Suction piping should never run
parallel with the pump shaft in a double ended pump installation. This can cause
unnecessary shaft thrusting.
o A piece of pipe of reduced diameter has been installed in the suction piping.
o Piping was added on the inlet side of the pump to by-pass a piece of equipment that
was installed on the floor.
o A piping to pump reducer has been installed upside down causing an air pocket.
Concentric reducers can cause the same problem..
o Multiple pump inlets are too close together.
 The pump inlet is too close to the tank floor.
 The suction lift is too high.
 A gasket with too small an inside diameter has been installed in the suction piping restricting
the liquid flow.
 A gasket in the suction piping is not centered and is protruding into the product stream.
 A globe valve has been substituted for a gate valve in the suction piping. The loss of head in a
globe valve is many times that of a gate valve.
 Two pumps are connected in series. The first pump is not sending enough capacity to the
second pump.
 The piping inlet is clogged.
 A filter or strainer is clogged or covered with something.
 Intermittent plugging of the suction inlet.
o Loose rags can do this.

38
 o If the suction is from a pond, river, or the sea, grass can be pulled into the suction inlet.
 A foot valve is stuck.
 A check valve is stuck partially closed
 The foot valve is too small.
 A small clam or marine animal cleared the suction screen, but has now grown large on the
pump side of the screen.
 The suction piping diameter has been reduced.
o The suction piping collapsed when a heavy object either hit or ran over the piping.
o Solids have built up on the piping walls. Hard water is a good example of this problem
o A liner has broken away from the piping wall and has collapsed in the piping. Look for
corrosion in the piping caused by a hole in the liner.
o A foreign object is stuck in the piping It was left there when the piping was repaired.
o The suction is being throttled to prevent the heating of the process fluid. This is a
common operating procedure with fuel pumps where discharge throttling could cause a
fire or explosion.
 The pump inlet temperature is too high.
o The tank is being heated to deaerate the fluid, but it is heating the fluid up too much.
Look for this problem in boiler feed pump applications.
o The sun is heating the inlet piping. The piping should be insulated to prevent this
problem.
o The operating temperature of the pumped fluid has been increased to accommodate the
process requirements.
o A discharge recirculation line is heating the incoming fluid. You should direct this line
to a reservoir rather than the pump suction.
o Steam or some other hot cleaner is being circulated through the lines.
 The problem is in the tank connected to the suction of the pump.
o The pump capacity is too high for the tank volume.
o The tank float is stuck, showing a higher tank level that does not exist.
o The tank vent is partially shut or frozen, lowering the suction pressure.
o There is not enough NPSH available for the fluid you are pumping. Maybe you can use
an inducer or booster pump to increase the suction pressure.
o A high suction tank level is reducing the differential pressure across the pump,
increasing its capacity and lowering the head.

PROBLEMS ON THE DISCHARGE SIDE OF THE PUMP INCLUDING THE PIPING

 Two pumps are in connected in series. The first pump does not have enough capacity for the
second pump. They should be running at the same speed with the same width impeller.
 The pump discharge is connected to the bottom of the tank. The head is low until the level in
the tank increases.
 Units in the discharge piping should not normally be shut off, they should be by-passed to
prevent too much of a change in the pump's capacity.
 If too many units are being by-passed in the discharge system the head will decrease as the
capacity increases. This can happen if an extra storage tank farm is being by-passed because
the storage capacity is no longer needed.
 A bypass line has been installed in the pump discharge increasing the capacity and lowering
the head.
 Piping or fittings have been removed from the discharge side of the pump reducing piping
resistance.
 Connections have been installed in the discharge piping that have increased the demand that
increases capacity.
 The pump is acting as an accumulator, coming on when the tank level drops. The head will be
low until the accumulator is recharged.

39
  Consider the possibility of a siphon affect in the discharge piping. This will occur if the pump
discharge piping is entering into the top of a tank and discharging at a lower level The pump
must build enough head initially to take advantage of the siphoning action.
 A discharge valve (manual or automatic) is opened too much.

SUBJECT: The pump is not producing enough capacity to satisfy the application 10-10

This is the second paper in a four part series about pump troubleshooting. Let me begin by pointing
out that there are a couple of things you must keep in mind when troubleshooting centrifugal pump
problems:

 The centrifugal pump always pumps the difference between the suction and discharge heads. If
the suction head increases, the pump head will decrease to meet the system requirements. If the
suction head decreases the pump head will increase to meet the system requirements.
 A centrifugal pump always pumps a combination of head and capacity. These two numbers
multiplied together must remain a constant. In other words, if the head increases the capacity
must decrease. Likewise if the head decreases, the capacity must increase.
 The pump will pump where the pump curve intersects the system curve.
 If the pump is not meeting the system curve requirements the problem could be in the pump,
the suction side including the piping and source tank, or somewhere in the discharge system.
 Most pumps are oversized because of safety factors that were added at the time the pump was
sized. This means that throttling is a normal condition in most plants, causing the pump to run
on the left hand side of its curve.

THE PROBLEM IS IN THE PUMP ITS SELF:

 The impeller diameter is too small

 The impeller width is too narrow
 The impeller speed is too slow. Check the voltage and frequency
 The impeller is damaged.
 The impeller is clogged.
 The open impeller clearance is too large.
 The impeller to cutwater clearance is too large.
 The impeller specific speed number is too low.
 The impeller has been installed backwards
 The shaft is running backwards.
 The wear ring clearance is too large.
 A wear ring is missing.
 The second stage of a two stage pump is wired backwards.
 A bubble is trapped in the eye of the impeller.
 A low suction tank level is increasing the differential pressure across the pump decreasing its
capacity.
 Air is coming into the pump suction through the packing.
 Air is coming into the pump suction through an unbalanced mechanical seal.
 The pump was not primed prior to star up.
 You may need a concentric casing rather than the volute design.
 You are using a variable speed motor trying to produce a flat curve. Remember that both the
head and capacity change with speed.
 The pump is the wrong size. Someone gave the pump distributor a wrong system curve

40
THE PROBLEM IS ON THE SUCTION SIDE OF THE PUMP

 There is too much piping between the pump suction and the source tank.
 There is an elbow too close to the pump suction.
 A filter or strainer is clogged.
 Intermittent plugging of the suction inlet. Loose rags can do this.
 A foot valve is stuck
 The tank float is stuck. Showing a higher tank level that does not exist.
 The tank vent is partially shut or frozen.
 A globe valve has been substituted for a gate valve.
 A check valve is stuck partially closed
 Solids have built up on the piping walls.
 A liner has broken away from the piping wall and has collapsed in the piping.
 The piping was collapsed by a heavy object that hit the outside of the piping.
 A foreign object is stuck in the piping It was left there when the piping was repaired.
 A small clam cleared the suction screen, but has now grown large on the pump side of the
screen.
 The sun is heating the inlet piping. It should be insulated to prevent this problem.
 Piping was added on the inlet side of the pump to compensate for a piece of equipment that
was installed in the shop.
 A reducer has been installed upside down.
 A discharge recirculation line is heating the incoming fluid.
 The pump capacity is too high for the tank volume.
 Multiple pump inlets are too close together.
 The suction lift is too high.
 There is not enough NPSH available for the fluid you are pumping. Maybe you can use an
inducer to increase the suction pressure.
 Air is coming into the system through valves above the water line or gaskets in the piping.
 Air is being pumped into the suction piping to reduce cavitation problems
 Fluid returning to the sump is being aerated by too far a free fall.
 The fluid is vortexing at the pump inlet because the sump level is too low.
 The tank is being heated to deaerate the fluid, but it is heating the fluid up too much.
 Two pumps are connected in series. The first pump is not sending enough capacity to the
second pump.
 The operating temperature of the pumped fluid has increased.
 The vapor pressure of the fluid is too close to atmospheric pressure. When it rains the drop in
atmospheric pressure causes the inlet fluid to vaporize.
 The suction is being throttled to prevent the heating of the process fluid.

PROBLEMS ON THE DISCHARGE SIDE OF THE PUMP INCLUDING THE PIPING

 Extra piping has been added to the system to accommodate extra storage capacity.
 A bypass line has been installed in the pump discharge.
 Piping or fittings have been added to the discharge side of the pump.
 An orifice has been installed in the discharge piping to reduce the capacity or produce a false
head.
 A gate valve has been substituted for a globe valve in the discharge piping.
 A check valve is stuck partially closed.
 An orifice has been installed into the piping to restrict flow.
 The piping was collapsed by a heavy object that hit the outside of the piping.
 The discharge valve is throttled too much.
 There is a restriction in the discharge piping.
 Extra pumps have been installed into the existing piping They are connected in parallel, but are
not producing the same head.

41
  Two pumps are in parallel. The larger one is shutting the check valve of the smaller pump.
 Two pumps are in connected in series. The first pump does not have enough capacity for the
second pump. They should be running at the same speed with the same width impeller
 The pump discharge is connected to the bottom of the tank. The head is increasing and the
capacity is decreasing as the tank fills.
 The pump is acting as an accumulator&emdash;coming on when the tank level drops. The
head is too high when the tank fills.

SUBJECT: The centrifugal pump is drawing too much amperage. 10-11

This is the third paper in a four part series about pump troubleshooting. As mentioned in paper number
ten, volume number ten, there are a couple of things you must keep in mind when troubleshooting
centrifugal pump problems:

 The centrifugal pump always pumps the difference between the suction and discharge heads. If
the suction head increases, the pump head will decrease to meet the system requirements. If the
suction head decreases the pump head will increase to meet the system requirements.
 A centrifugal pump always pumps a combination of head and capacity. These two numbers
multiplied together must remain a constant. In other words, if the head increases the capacity
must decrease. Likewise if the head decreases, the capacity must increase.
 The pump will pump where the pump curve intersects the system curve.
 If the pump is not meeting the system curve requirements the problem could be in the pump,
the suction side including the piping and source tank, or somewhere in the discharge system.
 Most pumps are oversized because of safety factors that were added at the time the pump was
selected. This means that throttling is a normal condition in most plants, causing the pump to
run on the left hand side of its curve.

The increased amperage can be caused by a pump that is too large for the application.

 A large pump was specified in anticipation of future needs.

 The pump was sized for the maximum operating condition, but does not run anywhere near
that point most of the time.
 The capacity requirement has been lowered and the pump is being throttled rather than cut
back the impeller diameter.
 The pump was oversized because of safety factors that were added at the time the pump was
sized.
 Increasing the speed of the pump causes a dramatic change in the amperage required. The
amperage changes by the cube of the change in speed or impeller diameter. If you double the
speed of a pump you will need eight times the amperage.

The increased amperage can be caused by a change in the product.

 The motor was sized for a low specific gravity fluid, but the lines are being flushed or tested
with water.
 The specific gravity of the fluid has increased for some reason.
 The viscosity of the liquid is increasing with a change in temperature. Some viscosities
increase with a lower temperature, some with a higher temperature.
 The viscosity of a liquid can increase with agitation. That is how cream becomes butter.

The increased amperage is caused by two part rubbing together as a result of shaft displacement. Here
are some common causes of shaft displacement:

42
  Pipe strain
 Misalignment between the pump and driver.
 A bent shaft.
 The rotating assembly is not dynamically balanced.
 Cavitation.
 Water hammer.
 Operating off the BEP.
 Thermal growth.
 Pulley driven pumps.
 Different types of vibration including harmonic, slipstick, induced, etc...

There are many parts that can come into contact when the shaft displaces.

 The impeller can contact the pump volute or back plate. This can also happen with an improper
impeller adjustment or thermal growth.
 The end of the stuffing box can be hit by the shaft or sleeve. There is often a close fitting
bushing installed in this location.
 The outside diameter of the rotating mechanical seal and the inside of the stuffing box.
 A gasket or fitting protruding into the stuffing box that rubs against the mechanical seal.
 The rotating shaft and the stationary seal face.
 The shaft and the API gland disaster bushing.
 The closed impeller wear rings are a common source of rubbing.

The increased amperage can be caused by an increase in bearing loading.

 Check the shaft and housing tolerances along with the installation method.
 Cooling a bearing outside diameter causes it to shrink and over compress.
 The wrong lubrication level. There is too much lubricant in the bearing

The starting procedure could be the problem.

 The radial flow pump is being started with the discharge valve open. Radial flow pumps use
the most horsepower at high capacity.
 The axial flow pump is being started with the discharge valve shut. Axial flow pumps use the
most horsepower at high head.

Check to see if there is too much axial thrust.

 See if the impeller balance holes are clogged.

 If there is an elbow too close to the suction of a double ended pump, and the piping is running
parallel with the shaft, The change in velocity of the incoming fluid will cause axial thrust.
 Converting packing to a mechanical seal can increase the axial loading on the bearing

Here are a few more reasons why you might be using too much amperage.

 The stuffing box packing has been tightened too much.

 An unbalanced mechanical seal is being used in a high pressure application. There is too much
face load
 The impeller has been installed backwards.
 The shaft is running in the wrong direction.
 The open impeller needs adjusting. You have too much clearance between the impeller and the
volute, or back plate, depending upon the pump design.

SUBJECT: The pump works for a while and then loses suction 10-12
43
This is the fourth paper in a four part series about pump troubleshooting. As mentioned in paper
number eleven, volume number ten, there are a couple of things you must keep in mind when
troubleshooting centrifugal pump problems:

 The centrifugal pump always pumps the difference between the suction and discharge heads. If
the suction head increases, the pump head will decrease to meet the system requirements. If the
suction head decreases the pump head will increase to meet the system requirements.
 A centrifugal pump always pumps a combination of head and capacity. These two numbers
multiplied together must remain a constant. In other words, if the head increases the capacity
must decrease. Likewise if the head decreases, the capacity must increase.
 The pump will pump where the pump curve intersects the system curve.
 If the pump is not meeting the system curve requirements the problem could be in the pump,
the suction side including the piping and source tank, or somewhere in the discharge system.
 Most pumps are oversized because of safety factors that were added at the time the pump was
sized. This means that throttling is a normal condition in most plants, causing the pump to run
on the left hand side of its curve.

Cavitation is a main cause of losing pump suction, but remember that there are several different types
of cavitation:

 Vaporization of the liquid within the pump caused by a loss of suction head or an increase in
suction temperature.
 The "vane passing syndrome" caused by too small an impeller to cutwater clearance.
 Too high a suction specific speed number will cause internal recirculation problems resulting
in cavitation. The suction specific speed number is obtained from a formula that can be found
in paper 9-12 of this series.
 Air ingestion on the suction side of the pump allows air and bubbles into the suction of the
pump.
 Turbulence of the fluid that releases entrained gases into the suction piping.

Each of these cavitations has been addressed in other papers in this Technical Series. In this paper we
will be looking at only the intermittent loss of suction fluid. You will be looking at several
possibilities:

 A recurring restriction in the suction piping that may or may not be causing a cavitation
problem within the pump.
 Intermittent cavitation problems as opposed to a design or operation problem that causes a
constant cavitation condition.
 A repetitive need for an increase in the pump's capacity.

Now we will take a look at each of these possibilities in detail:

A re-occurring restriction in the suction piping that may or may not be causing a cavitation problem
within the pump.

 A foot valve or any valve in the suction piping is sticking.

 Something is occasionally plugging up the suction piping. If the pump suction is coming from
a river, pond or the ocean, grass is a strong possibility.
 A loose rag is another common cause.
 A collapsed pipe liner will restrict the piping at higher velocities.
 The suction is being throttled to prevent heating of the process fluid. This can happen with
some volatile fuel applications.
 A filter or strainer is gradually clogging up.

44
  Air is being introduced into the suction side of the pump to reduce the capacity. This is
sometimes done with low specific gravity fluids to avoid throttling the discharge that might
overheat and flash the product.

Intermittent incidents that cause cavitation problems

 The tank vent partially freezes in cold weather.

 The sun is heating the suction piping, raising the product temperature close to its vapor point.
 The level in the suction tank increases, decreasing the differential head across the pump. This
will increase the pump capacity until the level in the tank drops.
 The level in the open suction tank decreases causing vortex problems that allow air into the
pump suction.
 Several pumps in the same sump are running, decreasing the level too much.
 The suction tank float is stuck. It will sometimes show a higher level than you really have.
 A discharge recirculation line, piped to the pump suction, opens and heats the incoming liquid.
 Sometimes the suction lift is too high. The increase in pipe friction will reduce the suction
head.
 The vapor pressure of the product is very close to atmospheric pressure. The pump cavitates
every time it rains because of a drop in atmospheric pressure.
 The tank is being heated to de-aerate the fluid. Sometimes it is being heated too much.
 The process fluid specific gravity is changing. This can happen with a change in product
operating temperature, or if a cleaner or solvent is being flushed through the lines.
 A booster pump is malfunctioning or leaking excessively.
 The source tank is changing from a positive pressure to a vacuum due to the process.
 A packed valve in the suction piping is at a negative pressure and air is leaking in through the
packing.
 The tank is being pumped dry.

A repetitive need for an increase in the pumps capacity.

 A bypass line, or relief valve opens, decreasing the discharge resistance, increasing the
capacity.
 A break or leak in the line down stream of the pump will increase the capacity of the pump as
the head drops.
 The pump is supplying many sources and too many valves are open at one time.
 The pump discharge is being directed to several different tank farm locations. The changing
piping resistance is changing the pump's head and capacity.

SUBJECT: How pipe friction, liquid capacity and pump head are affected by the amount of
liquid flowing through a pipe. 11-8

You can use the following formulas to supplement the Affinity Laws you learned all about when you
read paper 2-1.

Please use these keys when you read the following ratios:

hf1 The friction loss in the piping, valves and fittings before the change in flow.

hf2 The friction loss in the piping, valves and fittings after the change in flow.

Q1 The pump capacity before the change in flow.

Q2 The pump capacity after the change in flow.

45
 H1 The pump head before the change.

H2 The pump head before the change.

D1 The impeller diameter before the change.

D2 The impeller diameter after the change.

If you are not familiar with raising a number to some power, please look at the following examples :

 32 means 3 x 3 = 9

35 means 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 243

32.5 is the same as 3 5/2 means 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 243, then take the square root of 243 = 15.6.
Another way is to do it is to multiply the square of 3 (9) by the square root of 3 (1.732) = 15.6.
The second way is easier.

46
SUBJECT : Calculating net positive suction head (NPSH) in non-metric units 11-12.

The definition of NPSHA is simple: Static head + surface pressure head - the vapor pressure of your
product - the friction losses in the piping, valves and fittings.

But to really understand it, you first have to understand a couple of other concepts:

 Cavitation is what net positive suction head (NPSH) is all about, so you need to know a little
about cavitation.
 Vapor Pressure is another term we will be using. The product's vapor pressure varies with the
fluid's temperature.
 Specific gravity play an important part in all calculations involving liquid. You have to be
familiar with the term.
 You have to be able to read a pump curve to learn the N.P.S.H. required for your pump.
 You need to understand how the liquid's velocity affects its pressure or head.
 It is important to understand why we use the term Head instead of Pressure when we make
our calculations.
 Head loss is an awkward term, but you will need to understand it.
o You will have to be able to calculate the head loss through piping, valves and fittings.
 You must know the difference between gage pressure and absolute pressure.

47
  Vacuum is often a part of the calculations, so you are going to have to be familiar with the
terms we use to describe vacuum.

Lets look at each of these concepts in a little more detail :

 Cavitation means cavities or holes in liquid. Another name for a hole in a liquid is a bubble, so
cavitation is all about bubbles forming and collapsing.
o Bubbles take up space so the capacity of our pump drops.
o Collapsing bubbles can damage the impeller and volute. This makes cavitation a
problem for both the pump and the mechanical seal.
 Vapor pressure is about liquids boiling. If I asked you, "at what temperature does water boil ?"
You could say 212° F. or 100° C., but that is only true at atmospheric pressure. Every product
will boil (make bubbles) at some combination of pressure and temperature. If you know the
temperature of your product you need to know its vapor pressure to prevent boiling and the
formation of bubbles. In the charts section of this web site you will find a vapor pressure chart
for several common liquids.
 Specific gravity is about the weight of the fluid. Using 4°C (39° F) as our temperature standard
we assign fresh water a value of one. If the fluid floats on this fresh water it has a specific
gravity is less than one. If the fluid sinks in this water the specific gravity of the fluid is greater
than one.
 Look at any pump curve and make sure you can locate the values for head, capacity, best
efficiency point (B.E.P.), efficiency, net positive suction head (NPSH), and horse power
required. If you cannot do this, have someone show you where they are located.
 Liquid velocity is another important concept. As a liquid's velocity increases, its pressure (90°
to the flow) decreases. If the velocity decreases the pressure increases. The rule is : velocity
times pressure must remain a constant.
 "Head" is the term we use instead of pressure. The pump will pump any liquid to a given
height or head depending upon the diameter and speed of the impeller. The amount of pressure
you get depends upon the weight (specific gravity) of the liquid. The pump manufacturer does
not know what liquid the pump will be pumping so he gives you only the head that the pump
will generate. You have to figure out the pressure using a formula described later on in this
paper.
 Head (feet) is a convenient term because when combined with capacity (gallons or pounds per
minute) you come up with the conversion for horsepower (foot pounds per minute).
 "Head loss through the piping, valves and fittings" is another term we will be using. Pressure
drop is a more comfortable term for most people, but the term "pressure" is not used in most
pump calculations so you could substitute the term "head drop" or "loss of head" in the system.
To calculate this loss you will need to be able to read charts like those you will find in the
"charts you can use" section in the home page of this web site. They are labeled Friction loss
for water and Resistance coefficients for valves and fittings.
 Gage and absolute pressure. Add atmospheric pressure to the gage pressure and you get
absolute pressure.
 Vacuum is a pressure less than atmospheric. At sea level atmospheric pressure is 14.7 psi. (760
mm of Mercury). Vacuum gages are normally calibrated in inches or millimeters of mercury.

To calculate the net positive suction head (NPSH) of your pump and determine if you are going to
have a cavitation problem, you will need access to several additional pieces of information:

 The curve for your pump. This pump curve is supplied by the pump manufacturer. Someone in
your plant should have a copy. The curve is going to show you the Net Positive Suction Head
(NPSH) required for your pump at a given capacity. Each pump is different so make sure you
have the correct pump curve and use the numbers for the impeller diameter on your pump.
Keep in mind that this NPSH required was for cold, fresh water.

48
  A chart or some type of publication that will give you the vapor pressure of the fluid you are
pumping. You can find a typical vapor pressure chart in the "charts you can use" section in the
home page of this web site
 If you would like to be a little more exact, you can use a chart to show the possible reduction in
NPSH required if you are pumping hot water or light hydrocarbons. I will cover this subject in
great detail in another paper.
 You need to know the specific gravity of your fluid. Keep in mind that the number is
temperature sensitive. You can get this number from a published chart, ask some
knowledgeable person at your plant, or or take a reading on the fluid using a hydrometer.
 Charts showing the head loss through the size of piping you are using between the source and
the suction eye of your pump. You will also need charts to calculate the loss in any fittings,
valves, or other hardware that might have been installed in the suction piping. You can find
these charts in the "charts you can use" section in the home page of this web site
 Is the tank you are pumping from at atmospheric pressure or is it pressurized in some manner?
Maybe it is under a vacuum ?
 You need to know the atmospheric pressure at the time you are making your calculation. We
all know atmospheric pressure changes through out the day, but you have to start somewhere.
 The formulas for converting pressure to head and head back to pressure in the imperial system
are as follows:

o sg. = specific gravity

o pressure = pounds per square inch
o head = feet

 You also need to know the formulas that show you how to convert vacuum readings to feet of
head. Here are a few of them:

To convert surface pressure to feet of liquid; use one of the following formulas:

 Inches of mercury x 1.133 / specific gravity = feet of liquid

 Pounds per square inch x 2.31 / specific gravity = feet of liquid
 Millimeters of mercury / (22.4 x specific gravity) = feet of liquid

There are different ways to think about net positive suction head (NPSH) but they all have two
terms in common.

 NPSHA (net positive suction head available)

 NPSHR (net positive suction head required)

NPSHR (net positive suction head required) is defined as the NPSH at which the pump total head (first
stage head in multi stage pumps) has decreased by three percent (3%) due to low suction head and
resultant cavitation within the pump. This number is shown on your pump curve, but it is going to be
too low if you are pumping hydrocarbon liquids or hot water.

Cavitation begins as small harmless bubbles before you get any indication of loss of head or capacity.
This is called the point of incipient cavitation. Testing has shown that it takes from two to twenty

49
times the NPSHR (net positive suction head required) to fully suppress incipient cavitation, depending
on the impeller shape (specific speed number) and operating conditions.

To stop a product from vaporizing or boiling at the low pressure side of the pump the NPSHA (net
positive suction head available) must be equal to or greater than the NPSHR (net positive suction head
required).

As I mentioned at the beginning, NPSHA is defined as static head + surface pressure head - the vapor
pressure of your product - loss in the piping, valves and fittings .

In the following paragraphs you will be using the above formulas to determine if you have a
problem with NPSHA. Here is where you locate the numbers to put into the formula:

 Static head. Measure it from the centerline of the pump suction to the top of the liquid level. If
the level is below the centerline of the pump it will be a negative or minus number.
 Surface pressure head. Convert the gage absolute pressure to feet of liquid using the formula:
o Pressure = head x specific gravity / 2.31
 Vapor pressure of your product . Look at the vapor pressure chart in the "charts you can use"
section in the home page of this web site. You will have to convert the pressure to head. If you
use the absolute pressure shown on the left side of the chart, you can use the above formula
 Specific gravity of your product. You can measure it with a hydrometer if no one in your
facility has the correct chart or knows the number.
 Loss of pressure in the piping, fittings and valves. Use the three charts in the "charts you can
use" section in the home page of this web site
o Find the chart for the proper pipe size, go down to the gpm and read across to the loss
through one hundred feet of pipe directly from the last column in the chart. As an
example: two inch pipe, 65 gpm = 7.69 feet of loss for each 100 feet of pipe.
o For valves and fittings look up the resistance coefficient numbers (K numbers) for all
the valves and fittings, add them together and multiply the total by the V2/2g number
shown in the fourth column of the friction loss piping chart. Example: A 2 inch long
radius screwed elbow has a K number of 0.4 and a 2 inch globe valve has a K number
of 8. Adding them together (8 + 0.4) = 8.4 x 0.6 (for 65 gpm) = 5 feet of loss.

In the following examples we will be looking only at the suction side of the pump. If we were
calculating the pump's total head we would look at both the suction and discharge sides.

Let's go through the first example and see if our pump is going to cavitate:

Given:

 Atmospheric pressure = 14.7 psi

 Gage pressure =The tank is at sea level and open to atmospheric pressure.
 Liquid level above pump centerline = 5 feet
 Piping = a total of 10 feet of 2 inch pipe plus one 90° long radius screwed elbow.
 Pumping =100 gpm. 68°F. fresh water with a specific gravity of one (1).
 Vapor pressure of 68°F. Water = 0.27 psia from the vapor chart.
 Specific gravity = 1
 NPSHR (net positive suction head required, from the pump curve) = 9 feet

50
Now for the calculations:

NPSHA = Atmospheric pressure(converted to head) + static head + surface pressure head - vapor
pressure of your product - loss in the piping, valves and fittings

 Static head = 5 feet

 Atmospheric pressure = pressure x 2.31/sg. = 14.7 x 2.31/1 = 34 feet absolute
 Gage pressure = 0
 Vapor pressure of 68°F. water converted to head = pressure x 2.31/sg = 0.27 x 2.31/1 = 0.62
feet
 Looking at the friction charts:
o 100 gpm flowing through 2 inch pipe shows a loss of 17.4 feet for each 100 feet of pipe
or 17.4/10 = 1.74 feet of head loss in the piping
o The K factor for one 2 inch elbow is 0.4 x 1.42 = 0.6 feet
 Adding these numbers together, 1.74 + 0.6 = a total of 2.34 feet friction loss in the pipe and
fitting.

NPSHA (net positive suction head available) = 34 + 5 + 0 - 0.62 - 2.34 = 36.04 feet

The pump required 9 feet of head at 100 gpm. And we have 36.04 feet so we have plenty to spare.

Example number 2 . This time we are going to be pumping from a tank under vacuum.

Given:

 Gage pressure = - 20 inches of vacuum

 Atmospheic pressure = 14.7 psi
 Liquid level above pump centerline = 5 feet
 Piping = a total of 10 feet of 2 inch pipe plus one 90° long radius screwed elbow.
51
  Pumping = 100 gpm. 68°F fresh water with a specific gravity of one (1).
 Vapor pressure of 68°F water = 0.27 psia from the vapor chart.
 NPSHR (net positive suction head required) = 9 feet

Now for the calculations:

NPSHA = Atmospheric pressure(converted to head) + static head + surface pressure head - vapor
pressure of your product - loss in the piping, valves and fittings

 Atmospheric pressure = 14.7 psi x 2.31/sg. =34 feet

 Static head = 5 feet
 Gage pessure pressure = 20 inches of vacuum converted to head
o inches of mercury x 1.133 / specific gravity = feet of liquid
o -20 x 1.133 /1 = -22.7 feet of pressure head absolute
 Vapor pressure of 68°F water = pressure x 2.31/sg. = 0.27 x 2.31/1 = 0.62 feet
 Looking at the friction charts:
o 100 gpm flowing through 2.5 inch pipe shows a loss of 17.4 feet or each 100 feet of
pipe or 17.4/10 = 1.74 feet loss in the piping
o The K factor for one 2 inch elbow is 0.4 x 1.42 = 0.6 feet
 Adding these two numbers together: (1.74 + 0.6) = a total of 2.34 feet friction loss in the pipe
and fitting.

NPSHA (net positive suction head available) = 34 + 5 - 22.7 - 0.62 - 2.34 = 13.34 feet. This is enough
to stop cavitation also.

For the third example we will keep everything the same except that we will be pumping 180° F.
hot condensate from the vacuum tank.

The vapor pressure of 180°F condensate is 7 psi according to the chart. We get the specific gravity
from another chart and find that it is 0.97 sg. for 180° F. Fresh water.

Putting this into the pressure conversion formula we get:

 pressure x 2.31/sg. = 7 x 2.31 / 0.97 = 16.7 feet absolute

NPSHA = Atmospheric pressure(converted to head) + static head + surface pressure head - vapor
pressure of your product - loss in the piping, valves and fittings

NPSHA (net positive suction head available) = 34 + 5 - 22.7 - 16.7 - 2.34 = -2.74 feet.

We need 9 feet, so the pump is going to cavitate for sure.

If you are given the absolute and vapor pressures in psia, and you forgot how to convet to feet of head;
you can use the following formula, providing you know the specific weight of the liquid you are
pumping :

 Pp = Absolute pressure expressed in psia. In an open system, Pp equals atmospheric pressure,

Pa, expressed in psia.
 Pvpa = Vapor pressure expressed in psia.

52
  W = Specific weight of liquid at the pumping temperature in pounds per cubic foot.

Subject: Some of the basics you need to understand centrifugal pumps 13-4.

Fortunately the centrifugal pump business is a logical business so if you understand seven definitions,
three formulas, and three rules, the whole pump thing will make sense. The following are some of the
basics I teach in my pump seminars.

Let me say here at the beginning that you really do have to understand the following. You cannot fake
it. The good news is these definitions, formulas, and rules are not complicated and they will allow you
to troubleshoot just about any pump problem. We will begin with the seven definitions:

Head

If you point the discharge of a centrifugal pump straight up into the air it will pump the fluid to a
certain height or head called the shut off head. This maximum head is mainly determined by the
outside diameter of the pump's impeller and the speed of the rotating shaft. The head will change as
the capacity of the pump is altered

The head is measured in either feet or meters. It is important for you to understand that the pump will
pump all fluids to the same height (air or sulfuric acid, it doesn't make any difference) if the shaft is
turning at the same rpm. The only difference between the fluids is the amount of power it takes to get
the shaft to the proper rpm. The higher the specific gravity of the fluid the more power (amps)
required.

Capacity

The amount of fluid the pump will move is determined mainly by the width of the impeller and the
shaft speed. Capacity is normally measured in gallons per minute (gpm.) or cubic meters per hour
(m3/hr). High capacity pumps need a wide impeller and that is why most manufacturers shift to the
double ended design at high capacity. The bearings on either side of the shaft do a better job of
supporting the wider impeller.

Best efficiency point (B.E.P)

There are two definitions of a pump's best efficiency point .

 The point where the power going into the pump is the closest to the power coming out
 The point where the pump shaft experiences the least amount of vibration.

Brake horsepower

The amount of actual horsepower going into the pump, not the horsepower used by the motor or
driver. In the metric system we use the term kilowatts

Specific gravity

A measure of the weight of a liquid compared to 39°F (4°C) fresh water. Fresh water is assigned a
value of 1.0. If the product floats on this water the specific gravity (sg.) is less than one. If the fluid
sinks in fresh water the specific gravity is more than one. Density is a better term and someday I am
sure it will replace specific gravity as the common unit.

Velocity

53
A measure of how fast the fluid is moving. Velocity = feet/second, or meters/second in the metric
system.

Gravity

G = 32.2 ft/sec2 or 9,8 meters/ sec2 in the metric system

Next we will learn the three formulas:

First you have to know how to convert head to pressure because pump curves are shown in feet or
meters of head. You have to know how to make the conversion to be able to reference the gage
readings to the numbers on the pump curve.

Next you have to know how to convert pressure to head because pressure gages are calibrated in psi or
bar and you have to make the conversion to read the pump curve.

The last formula you need to know is how velocity converts to head. The only thing a pump can do is
impart velocity to the fluid. Since most pumps run at one speed, the pump can be described as a
constant velocity device. You have to understand how that velocity converts to head.

Here are the three rules I mentioned at the beginning of this paper:

Velocity + Pressure = a constant

This means that if the velocity of the fluid increases, the pressure (90° to the flow) will decrease. If the
flow decreases, the pressure will increase. The two numbers added together will always come out to
the same number. Flow often changes in a pump meaning that the pressure is changing also.

Velocity x Area = a constant

If the area inside of a pipe decreases, the flow through the pipe will increase as it passes through the
restriction. The two numbers multiplied together always come out to the same number. Inside a
centrifugal pump there are passages of various areas and hence various velocities and pressures.

Pressure x Area creates a force.

The unit we use to measure force is pounds, or in the metric system we use Newtons (kilograms x
gravity). Force can deflect the impeller and rotating shaft so that the pump's wear rings will come into
contact, or the rotating mechanical seal will hit something that can open the faces or damage a
component. It is important to keep the forces equal around an impeller to prevent shaft deflection.

If you understand the above definitions, formulas and rules, you should not have any trouble following
the discussions I have about pumps and seals in these papers

54
Subject: Estimating the shutoff head of a centrifugal pump.13-7

In the fifteenth century the Swiss scientist Daniel Bernoulli learned that the combination of head and
velocity was a constant throughout a piping system. He then wrote the formula showing the
relationship between this liquid velocity, and resultant head. As many of you know, I often quote this
formula in my pump and seal schools. The formula looks like this:

 
 V = Velocity or speed of the liquid at the impeller outside diameter (ft/sec.
or meters/sec.)

 g = gravity = 32.2 feet / second2 or 9.8 meters / second2

My students have heard me quote this formula as the basis for my statement that you can estimate the
shut off head of a 1750 rpm. centrifugal pump by squaring the diameter of the impeller. How did I
come to that conclusion ? Lets look at the formula again, and we will start by defining velocity:

Velocity is a measurement of speed using distance and time as the variables. The terms we use to
discuss velocity are feet/second or meters/ second. In the inch system the velocity of the impeller
outside diameter is determined by the following formula:

 d = diameter of the impeller


 rpm = speed of the impeller outside diameter
 12 = twelve inches in a foot

 60 sixty seconds in a minute

Now we will solve the formula. Substituting 1750 for the rpm we would get:

Going back to the original formula we will substitute the new value for "V"

This means that at 1750 rpm the shutoff head is 90% of the diameter of the impeller squared

If you will check a typical pump curve as supplied by the pump manufacturers, you will learn that the
shut off head actually varies from 90% to 110% of the diameter of the impeller squared. I elected to
use 100% because it is a sensible average and in some cases it accounts for the additional velocity
added to the fluid as it moves from the impeller eye to the impeller outside diameter.

If we substitute 3500 rpm for the speed, the new numbers would look like this

Going back to the original formula we will substitute the new value for "V"

55
We can round out the 3.6 to 4.0 and say that at 3500 rpm the shutoff head equals approximately the
outside diameter of the impeller squared, times four.

It is a little trickier in the metric system. Instead of using millimeters when measuring the impeller
diameter, move over two decimal places and use decimeters instead. It will make the calculations a lot
simpler because you will be using more convenient, larger numbers.

Inserting the numbers into the formula we would get a velocity of:

Going back to the head formula we would get:

We can round this off to 3d2

If the pump were running at 2900 rpm you would get

Going back to the head formula we would get:

We can round this off to 12d2

How do we use this information? You can combine this formula with your knowledge of how to
convert pressure to head and come up with an estimate to see if an operating pump is operating close
to its BEP(best efficiency point ). As an example:

In the inch system a pump discharge pressure gage reads 120 psi. The pump suction pressure gage
reads 20 psi. The pump is pumping the difference between these readings, so the pump is pumping
100 psi.

At its BEP(best efficiency point) the pump should be running between 80% and 85% of its shut off
head. 100 psi is 83% of 120 psi. The pressure to head conversion is:

56
The pump has an 8.5 inch impeller running at 3500 rpm. The shutoff head would be (8.5 inches)2 x 4
= 288 feet. Pretty close!

In the metric system we can make the calculation for a 295 millimeter impeller turning at 2900 rpm

The pump discharge pressure gage reads 10 bar The pump suction pressure gage reads 1 bar The pump
is pumping the difference between these readings so the pump is pumping 9 bar

At its BEP(best efficiency point) the pump should be running between 80% and 85% of its shutoff
head. 9 bar is 83% of 10.8 bar. The pressure to head conversion is:

106 meters shut off head. The pump has a 295 mm impeller running at 2900 rpm. The shutoff head
would be (2.95 decimeter)2 x12 =104.4. Pretty close!

Subject : Using a variable speed motor to control flow in a centrifugal pump.13-8

If you operate too far off the pump's BEP(best efficiency point) the shaft will deflect radially and that
could lead to both seal and bearing problems. So what should you do if you have to vary the capacity
of a centrifugal pump? The classic discharge control valve is not a logical choice because if you alter
the capacity of a centrifugal pump the head alters also, and in most cases this will guarantee you will
be operating off the pump's best efficiency point (BEP). It turns out there are several possible solutions
to preventing the problem of shaft deflection while running off the pump's best efficiency point.

 Switch to a double volute pump design.

 Install a pump discharge bypass line back to the storage tank such as the type commonly used
on boiler feed pumps.
 Convert to a low L3/D4 pump design that will operate in a wide window.
 Install a support bushing in the end of the stuffing box, move the seal closer to the bearings and
accept a small amount of shaft deflection.
 And the big question, "how about a variable speed drive"?

You have several options when selecting a variable speed drive:

 A variable speed electric motor

 A gasoline or diesel engine.
 A variable pulley arrangement.
 A changeable gear box.
 Electrical switch gear
 A hydraulic coupling.

So what is the correct answer ? Is the variable speed drive a sensible choice? The only correct answer
is "sometimes"! Let's take a look at what alters when you change the speed of a centrifugal pump. In
the following drawing the "H" axis is the head (feet or meters) and the "Q" axis is the capacity (gpm or
M3/hr.)

57
 Changing the speed of a centrifugal pump has just about the same affect as
changing the diameter of the pump impeller. The "Affinity Laws" allow you
to predict the results of this change.

The area within the curved lines (ABCD) is called the operating window of
the pump. Notice that the sloping best efficiency point line intersects the
capacity leg (Q) at an angle. This slope causes a problem with many
pumping applications.

For the variable speed drive to be a sensible solution to your pumping application the system curve
would have to fall on, or close to this best efficiency point line or you will experience radial loads that
will translate to shaft deflection. Most pump companies want you to operate within 5% to 10% of the
BEP(best efficiency point). Heavy duty pumps that have a low L3/D4 (shaft diameter to shaft length
ratio) have a much larger operating window.

The above diagram shows that the head is going to have to increase at a predetermined rate as the
capacity increases. In Technical Paper 7-01 you learned that there are three kinds of head that will
have an affect on the pump's capacity:

 Static head. The distance from the discharge of the pump center line to highest liquid level
minus any distance caused by the siphon affect.
 Pressure head. The head caused by pumping into a pressurized vessel.
 System or friction head. The loss of head caused by friction in the piping, valves and fittings.

In paper 5-12 you also learned that a system curve is constructed by the end user of the pump and
describes the head/ capacity relationship over the desired operating range of the pump that is going to
be specified. The pump manufacturer places his pump curve on top of this system curve and the point
where they intersect is where the pump is going to operate.

Lets take a look at a system curve for a typical boiler feed pump or any pump that will be discharging
into a constant pressure vessel or tank:

The boiler is running at a constant pressure, but the steam demand is

changing. The boiler feed water capacity must vary with the steam demand,
but the pressure or head must remain constant.

The system curve is a straight horizontal line because the dominant head is
the pressure head. The amount of piping and elevation is minimal.
Laying the best efficiency point (BEP) sloping line from a varying speed
drive on top of the system curve (EF) would show that we are at the best
efficiency point only at one point.

Allowing the tolerances of the operating window (ABCD) you can see that
we are operating efficiently over only a portion of the desired system curve.
A similar application would be pumping a varying capacity to a very high
tower or elevation where the static head is the dominant head.

58
 A hot or cold water circulating system describes a different type of system
curve. The dominant head in this example is the friction head and that
varies by almost the square of the capacity.

In other words, two times the capacity gives you four times the head, or
three times the capacity would give you nine times the head. If you plot this
on a piece of chart paper you would get an "exponential curve" as shown on
the left.

If you lay the best efficiency point line on this "exponential curve E-F" you
would get a pretty good match and just about all of the system curve falls
within the operating window (ABCD), so this becomes the ideal variable
speed application.

In other words you use a variable speed drive any time the system head is
dominated by friction in the piping, fittings and valves.

You will find this last curve in many common pumping applications:

 Circulating hot or chill water systems.

 Loading liquid cargo or fuel to a ship from a distant tank farm.
 A piping system with many outlets and a varying demand for product.
 A fire hose.

Many systems are a combination of all three types of heads. You are
going to have to decide which head is the dominant one.

One of the most common methods of varying pump shaft speed is to use a Variable Frequency Drive
(VFD). These drives take advantage of the fact that torque, speed and horsepower of an AC electric
motor are related to the frequency and voltage of the electrical power supply. Here is the relationship:

 hz = frequency or number of cycles per minute. In the U.S we run 60 cycles per minute (hertz),
most of the rest of the world uses 50 hertz.
 Torque capability = F(volts/hz)

Horse Power Capability =f(Torque x speed)

VFDs convert incoming alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) and then invert the DC power
into variable frequencies and voltage AC power. Most VFDs produce a constant voltage/frequency
(hz) ratio.

A low L3/D4 shaft is still your best protection against damage caused by operating off the pump's best
efficiency point. Any pump that experiences frequent starts and stops has this problem.

59
If the dominate head in the system is pipe friction losses a variable speed device can have some
advantages:

 They can deliver a broad range of head / capacity figures so your estimate of flow needs does
not have to be exact.
 You can eliminate the need for a throttling valve. Valves can leak and they require
maintenance.
 Often an inefficient bypass line can be eliminated.
 Throttling a pump discharge produces unwanted heat in a pump that can be eliminated by
changing the pump speed instead. This heat can cause the pumping fluid to:
o Vaporize or flash
o Crystallize
o Change viscosity
o Coke or build a film on sliding seal parts.
o Become more corrosive.
o The heat can also change critical dimensions and could cause lapped seal faces to go
"out of flat".

 The bad news is that pumps with variable speed drives have several potential problems:

 The fluid viscosity can change with speed if it is a non Newtonian fluid. As an example, the
viscosity of dilatants increases with agitation requiring additional power.
 The shaft can hit a critical speed on its way to the ideal operating speed.
 You can dial in too much capacity that can, in turn, burn out the electric motor.
 Operating off the BEP can cause shaft deflection.
 Explosion proof motors must be approved to operate over the entire operating range. At the
lower rpms the cooling fan is often not rotating fast enough.
 Variable speed demands may affect the electrical power distribution system by reducing
electrical demand.
 The mechanical seal has to be designed to operate over the entire speed range. At higher
speeds the design has to be of the stationary type with the spring face load reduced.
 At higher shaft speeds the NPSH requirement is increased to prevent cavitation problems. You
may have to install an inducer on the pump's impeller
 Higher speed almost always dictates increased maintenance costs because of increased wear
and corrosion.
 They cannot be used if the pump or equipment feeds multiple users because more than one
flow cannot be controlled by a single control unit.
 The pump or mechanical equipment must be able to operate at reduced speeds. A liquid ring
vacuum pump could have trouble at lower shaft speeds because many of these designs will not
produce a vacuum below 80% of their rated speed.
 Remember that a variable speed drive is another piece of equipment installed in the system that
will experience its own set of problems and require its own maintenance.

A few things you should know about your pump's piping system 14-7

 There should be at least 10 diameters of pipe between the suction of the pump and the first
elbow. This is especially critical in double-ended pump designs as the turbulent inlet flow can
cause shaft thrusting, and subsequent bearing problems. If an elbow must be installed be sure it
is in a plane at right angles to the pump shaft to prevent an uneven flow to both sides of a
double suction impeller.
 Pipe from the pump suction flange to the pipe rack, not the other way around.
 Make sure eccentric reducers are not installed upside down at the pump suction. The top of the
reducer should go straight into the suction flange.

60
  Piping should be arranged with as few bends as possible. If bends are necessary use a long
radius when ever possible
 Valve stems, T Branches and elbows should be installed perpendicular to the pump shaft, not
at right angles.
 If an expansion joint is installed in the piping between the pump and the nearest point of
anchor in the piping, It should be noted that a force equal to the area of the expansion joint
(which could be a lot larger than the normal piping size) times the pressure in the piping will
be transmitted to the pump proper. Pipe couplings that do not provide an axially rigid
connection have the same affect. If an expansion join or non-rigid coupling must be used, it is
recommended that a pipe anchor be installed between it and the pump.
 Be aware that radial forces are being generated in the pump housing from the pressure in the
piping system acting on the volute area. The magnitude and direction of the forces is dependent
upon the piping arrangement along with the areas and pressures involved.
 It is always a good idea to increase the size of the suction and discharge pipes at the pump
nozzle in order to decrease the head loss from pipe friction.
 Suction piping should be at least one size larger than the suction flange at the pump.
 If increasers are used on the discharge side to increase the size of discharge piping, they should
be installed between the check valve and the pump.
 Both a check and gate valve should be installed in the discharge piping with the check valve
placed between the pump and the stop valve to protect the pump from reverse flow and
excessive back pressure. Manually operated discharge valves that are hard to reach should have
some facility for quick closing. A sprocket rim wheel and chain or a remotely operated motor
are two alternatives you might consider.
 Suction piping must be kept free of air leaks.
 The installation of check valves should be avoided in the suction piping although they are often
used to reduce the number of valves that have to be operated in switching between series and
parallel pump operation.
 A foot valve is often installed in the suction piping to aid priming. Do not install them if the
pump is operating against a high static head because failure of the driver would allow liquid to
rush back suddenly causing water hammer. This is especially true for vertical turbine and
submersible pumps that are not designed for use with a foot valve.
 Foot valves should be of the low loss flap type rather than the multiple spring variety and have
a clear passage for the liquid at least the same area as the suction piping.
 A horizontal suction line should have a gradual rise or slope to the pump suction.
 Cast iron pumps should never be provided with raised face flanges. If steel suction or
discharge piping is used, the pipe flanges should be of the flat face type and not the raised face
type. Full-faced gaskets must be used with cast iron flanges.
 The optimum control valve location is within five feet (1,5 meters) of the pump discharge to
prevent too much surging of fluid in the system when the discharge is throttled.
 The optimum pipe size will consider the installed cost of the pipe (the cost increases with size)
and the pump power requirements (the power required increases with pipe friction)
o Try to limit the friction loss at design flow to 2-5 feet for each 100 feet (1-2 meters for
each 30 meters) of pipe).
o To prevent the settling of solids you need a minimum velocity of about 4 to 7 feet per
second (1.5 to 2.5 meters per second)
o Velocities of no more than 10 feet (3 meters) per second are recommended in the
suction side piping to prevent abrasive wear.

Calculating the total system head in metric units 14-10

"Head" is a very convenient term in the pumping business. Pressure is not as convenient a term
because the amount of pressure that the pump will deliver is dependent upon the weight (specific
gravity) of the liquid being pumped and as you know, the specific gravity changes with the fluid
temperature and concentration.
61
Each liter of liquid has weight so we can easily calculate the kilograms per minute being pumped.
Head or height is measure in meters so if we multiply these two together we get kilogram meters per
minute which converts directly to work at the rate of 610 kgM/min = 1 kilowatt.

If you are more comfortable with metric horsepower units you should know that 735.5 watts makes
one metric horsepower

If you will refer to the above drawing (Fig #l ) you should get a clear picture of what is meant by static
discharge head. Please note that we always measure from the center-line of the pump impeller to the
highest liquid level

To calculate head accurately we must calculate the total head on both the suction and discharge sides
of the pump. In addition to the static head we will learn that there is a second head caused by
resistance in the piping, fittings and valves called friction head and a third head caused by any pressure
that might be acting on the liquid in the suction or discharge tanks including atmospheric pressure.
This third head is called " surface pressure head".

Once we know all of these heads it becomes simple.We subtract the suction head from the discharge
head and the head that is remaining will be the amount of head that the pump must be able to generate
at its rated flow. Here is how it looks in a formula:

System head = total discharge head - total suction head or H = hd - hs

The total discharge head is made from three separate heads:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd

 hd = total discharge head

 hsd = discharge static head
 hpd = discharge surface pressure head
 hfd = discharge friction head

The total suction head also consists of three separate heads

hs = hss + hps - hfs

62
  hs = total suction head
 hss = suction static head
 hps = suction surface pressure head
 hfs = suction friction head

As we make these calculations you must be sure that all your calculations are made in either "meters
of liquid, gauge" or "meters of liquid, absolute". In case you have forgotten "absolute means that you
have added atmospheric pressure (head) to the gauge reading. Normally head readings are made in
gauge readings and we switch to the absolute readings only when we want to calculate the net positive
suction head available (NPSHA) to find out if our pump is going to cavitate.

We will begin by making some actual calculations. You will not have to look up the friction numbers
because I am going to give them to you, but you can find them in a number of publications including
my web site, my Pump and Seal Manual, or my CD. . Please note that the Pump annd Seal Manual is
only available in the U.S. and Canada. My CD is available Internationally and domestically.

Figure #2 demonstrates that the discharge head is still measured to the liquid level, but you will note
that it is now below the maximum height of the piping.

Although the pump must deliver enough head to get up to the maximum piping height it will not have
to continue to deliver this head when the pump is running because of the "siphon effect". There is of
course a maximum siphon effect. It is derived from the formula to convert pressure to head:

Since atmospheric pressure at seal level is one bar we get a maximum siphon distance of 9.8 meters if
we ignore friction in the piping

We will begin with the total suction head calculation

 The suction head is negative because the liquid level in the suction tank is below the centerline
of the pump:
o hss = - 2 meters
 The suction tank is open so the suction surface pressure equals atmospheric pressure :
o hps = 0 meters gauge

63
In these examples you will not be calculating the suction friction head. When you learn how you will
find that there are two ways to do it

 You would look at some charts and add up the K factors for the various fittings and valves in
the piping. You would then multiply these K factors by the velocity head that is shown for
each of the pipe sizes and capacities. This final number would be added to the friction loss in
the piping for the total friction head.
 Or, you can look at a chart that shows the equivalent length of pipe for each of the fittings and
add this number to the length of the piping in the system to determine the total friction loss.
You can find this chart in my web site

For this example, I will tell you the total friction head on the suction side of the pump is:

 hfs = 1.5 meters at rated flow

The total suction head is going to be a gauge value because atmosphere was given as 0,

 hs = hss + hps - hfs = - 2 + 0 - 1.5 = - 3.5 meters of liquid gauge at rated flow

The total discharge head calculation is similar

 The static discharge head is: hsd = 40 meters

The discharge tank is also open to atmospheric pressure, so: hpd = 0 feet, gauge

I will give you the discharge friction head as: hfd =7 meters at rated flow

 The total discharge head is: hd= hsd + hpd + hfd = 40 + 0 +7 = 47 meters of liquid gauge at
rated flow

The total system head calculation becomes:

Head = hd - hs = 47 - (-3.5) = 50.5 meters of liquid at rated flow

Note: Did you notice that when we subtracted a minus number (-10) from a positive number (150) we
ended up with a positive 160 because whenever you subtract minus numbers it is the same as adding
them? If you have trouble with this concept you can learn more about it from a mathematics book.

Our next example (figure #3) involves a few more calculations, but you should be able to handle them
without any trouble.

If we were pumping from a vented suction tank to an open tank at the end of the discharge piping we
would not have to consider vacuum and absolute pressures. In this example we will be pumping from
a vacuum receiver that is very similar to the hotwell we find in many condenser applications

Again, to make the calculations you will need some pipe friction numbers that are available from my
book, CD or web site. I will give you the friction numbers for the following examples.

Specifications:

 Transferring 300 m3/hr weak acid from the vacuum receiver to the storage tank
 Specific Gravity of the acid = 0.98
 Viscosity = equal to water
 Piping = all 150 mm Schedule 40 steel pipe
64
  Discharge piping rises 15 meters vertically above the pump centerline and then runs 135
meters horizontally. There is one 90° elbow in this line
 Suction piping has 1.5 meters of pipe, one gate valve, and one 90° elbow all of which are 150
mm in diameter.
 The minimum level in the vacuum receiver is 2 meters above the pump centerline.
 The pressure on top of the liquid in the vacuum receiver is 500 mm of mercury, vacuum.

To calculate suction surface pressure use the following formula:

Now that you have all of the necessary information we will begin by dividing the system into two
different sections using the pump as the dividing line.

Total suction head calculation

 The suction side of the system shows a minimum static head of 2 meters above suction
centerline. Therefore, the static suction head is:
o hss = 2 meters
 Using the first conversion formula, the suction surface pressure is:
o hps = 500 x = 7.14 meters of vacuum
 The suction friction head fs, equals the sum of all the friction losses in the suction line. If you
referenced the metric pipe friction loss tables you would learn that the friction loss in 150 mm.
pipe at 300 m3/hr. is 9 meters per 100 meters of pipe.

Fitting Equivalent length of straight pipe

150 mm normal bend elbow 3.4 meters

150 mm Gate valve 2.1 meters

65
In a real life pumping application there would be other valves and fittings that experience friction
losses:

 Check valves
 Foot valves
 Strainers
 Sudden enlargements
 Shut off valves
 Entrance and exit losses
 Etc...

The loss in the suction fittings becomes:

in 5.5 meters of pipe friction loss = x 9 = 0.50 meters

The total friction loss on the suction side is:

hfs = 0.14 + 0.50 = 0.64 meters at 300 m3/hr

The total suction head then becomes:

hs = hss + hps - hfs = 2 - 7.14 - 0.64 = - 5.78 meters gauge at 300 m3/hr

Now we will look at the total discharge head calculation

 Static discharge head = hsd = 15 meters

 Discharge surface pressure = hpd = 0 meters gauge
 Discharge friction head = hfd = sum of the following losses :

Friction loss in 150 mm pipe at 300 m3/hr, from the charts is 9 meters per hundred feet of pipe.

The discharge friction head is the sum of the above losses, that is:

hfd = 13.5 + .31 = 13.81 meters at 300 m3/hr

The total discharge head then becomes:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd = 15 + 0 + 13.81 = 28.81 meters at 300 m3/hr.

Total system head calculation:

H = hd - hs = 28.81 - (-5.78) = 34.59 meters at 300 m3/hr

Our next example will be the same as the one we just finished except that there is an additional 3
meters of pipe and another 90° flanged elbow in the vertical leg. The total suction head will be the
same as in the previous example. Take a look at figure # 4

66
Nothing has changed on the suction side of the pump so the total suction head will remain the same:

 hs = - 5.78 meters at 300 m3/hr

Total discharge head calculation

 The static discharge head (hsd) will change from 15 meters to 12 meters since the highest
liquid surface in the discharge is now only 12 meters above the pump centerline. This value is
based on the assumption that the vertical leg in the discharge tank is full of liquid and that as
this liquid falls it will tend to pull the liquid up and over the loop in the pipe line. This
arrangement is called a siphon leg.
 The discharge surface pressure is unchanged:
o hpd = 0 meters
 The friction loss in the discharge pipe will be increased by the additional 3 meters of pipe and
the additional elbow.

In 3 meters of pipe the friction loss = x 9 = 0.27 meters

The friction loss in the additional elbow = x 9 = 0.31 meters

The friction head will then increase as follows:

 hfd = 0.27 + 0.31 =0.58 at 300 m3/hr.

The total discharge head becomes:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd = 28.81+ 0 +0.58 = 29.39 meters at 300 m3/hr

Total system head calculation:

Head = hd - hs = 29.39 - (-5.78) = 35.17 meters at 300 m3/hr.

Nothing has changed on the suction side of the pump so the total suction head will remain the same:

hs = - 5.78 meters at 300 m3/hr

67
Total discharge head calculation

 The static discharge head (hsd) will change from 15 meters to 12 meters since the highest
liquid surface in the discharge is now only 12 meters above the pump centerline. This value is
based on the assumption that the vertical leg in the discharge tank is full of liquid and that as
this liquid falls it will tend to pull the liquid up and over the loop in the pipe line. This
arrangement is called a siphon leg.
 The discharge surface pressure is unchanged:
o hpd = 0 meters
 The friction loss in the discharge pipe will be increased by the additional 3 meters of pipe and
the additional elbow.
o In 3 meters of pipe the friction loss = 3 /100 x 9 = 0.27 meters
o The friction loss in the additional elbow = 3.4 /100 x 9 = 0.31 meters

The friction head will then increase as follows:

hfd = 0.27 + 0.31 = 0.58 at 300 m3/hr.

The total discharge head becomes:

hd = hsd + hpd + hfd

= 12 + 13.81+ 0 + 0.58

= 26.39 meters at 300 m3/hr

Total system head calculation

Head = hd - hs

= 26.39 - (-5.78)

= 32.17 meters at 300 m3/hr.

PUMPS IN PARALLEL

The head/ capacity curve for a centrifugal pump will be supplied to you by the pump manufacturer. The curve
he supplies describes the relationship between the head and capacity of that particular model. As you look at his
drawing you should note that the BEP (best efficiency point) is located somewhere between 80% and 85% of
the shut off or maximum head. To maximize the life of the pump you should operate the pump as close to the
BEP as you can.

Please note that in each of the following diagrams I use the same terminology:

H = Head or height, measured in feet or meters

Q = Capacity measured in gpm, m3/hr or any other units you are comfortable with.
S = A description of the system curve supplied by the consumer

68
  Unless the internal pump clearances go out of specification you
will always pump on the pump curve. As the centrifugal pump's
capacity increases the head will decrease or as the capacity
decrease, the head will increase. If you change one you always
change the other.

 The pump curve does not extend out to intersect the capacity axis
at some point. Beyond the noted limit the pump will go into
cavitation because of excess flow.

In other papers we learned that a system curve is a description of the various heads the pump will
encounter at the customer's desired capacities. The system curve is generated by the pump user and
supplied to the pump manufacture to assist him in selecting the correct pump for the application. The
head shown on the system curve is always a combination of:

 The static head. The vertical distance between the discharge of the pump and the maximum
height of the piping, minus the siphon affect
 The pressure head. The amount of pressure in the tank to be filled, converted to head units.
 The head loss caused by friction in the:
 Piping
 Valves
 And any fittings installed in the system

If you are not comfortable with these head terms please refer to paper 14-10 (U.S. customary units) or
paper 07-01 (metric units) for a detailed explanation.

Here is a diagram of a typical system head curve.

 Please note that the static and pressure heads remain constant in
most systems. It is the friction head that varies with the pump's
capacity. The higher the flow, the more friction or head loss in
these components.

 It should also be noted that friction loss varies by approximately

the square of the resistance. Twice as much flow produces almost
four times the friction losses

Once he has the customer's system curve in his possession, the pump
manufacturer will place his pump curve (P) on top of this system curve (S)
and the pump will then operate where the two curves intersect (I). Hopefully
this is close to the pump BEP

The next diagram shows two centrifugal pumps connected in parallel.

69
 These pumps could be either centrifugal or positive displacement
types. The terminology remains the same.

We connect pumps in parallel because we are trying to increase the

capacity (gpm or m3/hr) of the system

The following sketch shows what happens when two identical centrifugal pumps, connected in
parallel, intersect a system curve.

The pumps will pump where they each intersect the system curve.
Please take note of the following:

 With two pumps running they intersect at a higher head (B) and
a greater capacity than if one pump was running.
 To determine the flow of an individual pump while both are
running, trace back at that combined head to the single pump
curve and read the flow for each pump at "G". With two pumps
running, the system head is higher causing each pump to reduce
its capacity a little bit.

We sometimes hear complaints that when three pu mps are run in parallel the third pump often does
not seem to be making any difference. Look at the following diagram for an explanation:

Take a good look at the diagram and you will see that the third
pump (C) is intersecting the system curve at just about the same
point as the second pump (B).

All of this means that the capacity of three pumps running will not
be greater than that of two pumps running.

The next diagram is an example of three different size centrifugal pumps running in parallel. Running
different size pumps in parallel is seldom a good idea because the larger pump can throttle the smaller
pump causing it to run too far off of its BEP (best efficiency point.) This can cause shaft deflection
and possible premature bearing and seal failure.

Your best protection against excessive radial movement of the shaft caused by operating off the BEP
(best efficiency point is to equip the pump with a low L3/D4 shaft number.

70
  

If either (A) or (B) is running alone, it will intersect the system curve at the
point shown on the diagram.

If (A) and (B) pumps are running at the same time, the capacities are
additive at the same head. The resultant curve gives a new intersection point
on the system curve for the combined capacity.

To determine the flow contribution of each pump in this arrangement, trace

back to the intersection with curves (A) and (B),

You must be sure that the pumps will run individually in the system as well as in parallel. Please take
a look at the next diagram to see a problem application

Assume that when the pumps are running together, the combined pump
curve intersects the system curve within the operating range of the pumps.
(A&B).

If the pumps are run individually neither of them can develop enough
flow to intersect the users system curve. Because the pump is running at
the right hand side of it's curve the pump will cavitate and experience all
of the problems associated with severe shaft deflection.

Lets talk for a minute about what happens when you run PD (positive displacement) pumps in parallel.
Remember that the word "head" is not used with PD pumps. We will be using the term "pressure"
instead. Positive displacement pumps connected in parallel should have the same maximum pressure
capabilities. If they incorporate internal relief valves the valves should be set to the correct anticipated
pressures.

The rules are the same as running centrifugal pumps in parallel. You add
the capacities of the two pumps at the same pressure.

Now go back and look at the fourth diagram. In constructing these examples I used the same diameter
piping for the suction and discharge sides of both pumps, so the discharge head or pressure would be
identical coming from each of them. In practice the two pumps could be using different size piping
and the discharge head or pressure coming from the pumps would be different.

 If the piping for pumps #1 and #2 are identical, the head at the discharge of each pump would
be the same.

71
  If the piping for pump #1 were smaller than the diameter for pump #2, the only common
diameter would be where they discharge into pipe #3. How would the flow be affected in this
second case?
 The higher friction loss in piping #1 would meet the head at the intersection of 1-3, The head
from pump #1 would drop when the flow encountered this larger diameter and the flow would
increase.
 Both pumps #1 and #2 are running independently, with the system curve controlling, so pump
#2 would continue to provide flow at a rate limited by the friction in the system

There are several reasons why you might want to use pumps running in parallel:

 Two smaller pumps could be less costly than running one large pump.
 In critical applications you need a back-up pump.
 Use parallel pumps to satisfy the demands of a changing flow system.

There are some considerations you must address when using parallel pumps:

 The pumps should run at the same speed with the same diameter impellers.
 Use installed hour meters to assist you in determining the service hours on each pump if you
alternate them in operation.

72