MEP 4120 – Hydraulic Machines (A)

Up to now, we concerned only with the turbomachines through

their design, efficiencies, performance characteristics, type for a
particular task. However, we did not mention anything about the
system where these machines will assembly within to satisfy one
of the prementioned purposes for which we use a turbomachine .
Also, in our previous fluid mechanics courses we covered in
details the subject of the systems where the turbomachine will be
inserted through the study of the flow through pipes and ducts.
This subject will shortly be reviewed at first and the applied
parameters and variables will be adjusted to suit with that used in
the field of turbomachinery.
Thus, the purpose of this section is to learn how to match well a
machine to a particular system. In other words, on which basis we
select an optimal machine among a group of proposed machines
to operate well with certain specific system. Also, we will study
the conditions when the pump-system is not firstly matched well
or the system is altered for the meanwhile or on the long run. 2
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If we take into consideration any of the previous systems, we
will look after such systems by applying the energy equation (real
Bernoulli's equation) for each side of the pump and by selecting
the centerline of the pump as the optional datum to measure the
static potential head.
1- suction side from the free surface of the suction tank up to the
pump suction section:

2- delivery side from the pump delivery section up to the free

surface of the delivery tank:

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Thus, the total head has to be added from the machine into the
system and required to overcome the static heads and all losses
in the system and to flow the fluid at certain discharge can be
calculated by subtracting the two previous equations as:

This equation is called the system curve equation

If we substitute for the losses in the suction and delivery pipes
from the major and secondary losses as previously studied as:

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The system curve will modify to be:

This is the system curve which represents a particular system

where the fluid is required to pump through it.

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This is a quadratic equation. The first part represents the overall
static head where the pump operates against it and independent
of the discharge and equals the manometric head when the
discharge is zero i.e. the intersection with the head axis . It can be
either positive or negative depending on the system geometry .

While the second part represents the quadratic varying term of

the discharge. The constant K should be always positive and
indicates how big is the resistance in the system . If K is large, the
system curve will propagate rapidly toward the vertical direction
and vice versa.
If any parameter in the system ( except the change of the static
head is varied ) such as regulating a valve or inserting a bend or
any other connection, etc., the K parameter will change.

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Now , if the system curve is plotted on the same graph of the
performance characteristics curves, it will intersect with the
actual pump head curve at a point which is called the duty or the
operating point as shown in the figure.

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Thus, the pump and the
system will be in good
matching when the duty or
operating point lie very close
from the BEP of the pump.
Otherwise, the selected
pump or the pump in duty
will mismatch with the given
system. Therefore, this
matching should be
recognize again. This can be
done for a given system by
selecting another well-
matched pump or for a given
pump by varying the
parametric characteristics of
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the system.
The following two figures show bad matching between the
system and the pump and its effects on the entire performance
characteristics of the pump operation.

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Now, varying the constant K of the system, which may be due to
a partial closing of a regulating valve. The operating point will
move into a new point away from the BEP of the original
operating point. Thus, operating the pump at less efficient point .

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If the static head is only changed by varying the levels in one or
both the levels in the tanks, then the figures will look as the
following:

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The effect of the speed variation on the operating point can be
shown in the figures:

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The iso-efficiency
curves for the
operation at various
speed for the same
pump may be
deduced from the
affinity laws as:

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Throttling regulation versus speed regulation

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In axial flow pumps care should be taken to ensure that the
system curve do not cut the performance characteristic curve in
more than one place. Otherwise, instability in operation may be
result in.

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Sometimes it is required in some operating conditions to
increase the head or the discharge or both and we have only
multiple units that each cannot alone cover the required task.
Usually, one solution is to connect pumps in series or in parallel
or in both arrangements to produce a new combined performance
characteristic curve. The new operating point results from the
intersection between our task system curve and the combined
characteristic curve.
One has not to guess either series or parallel combination to
choose based only on just increasing the head or the discharge.
Simply, draw the combination curve and intersect it with the
system and then decide which connection arrangement should be
selected.
 * IMPORTANT * : Do not forget, to calculate the amount of how
each pump contribute by in the performance parameters
quantities (discharge, head and power) or at which efficiency it
works, you have to refer back to the original performance curves
belonging of each. 28
Connection in series:

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Two similar pumps in series

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Operating point for two similar pumps in series:

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Three identical pumps in series:

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connection in parallel:

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connection in parallel:

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connection in parallel:

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Two identical pumps in parallel:

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Two identical pumps in parallel:

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Operating point for two similar pumps in parallel:

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Three identical pumps in parallel:

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Two non-identical pumps in parallel:

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Two non-identical pumps in parallel:

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Two non-identical pumps in series and in parallel:

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Correct and wrong matching between the system curve and two
non-identical pumps connected in parallel.

CORRECT WRONG
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Be careful that in some cases the decision for the connection
either in parallel or in series becomes obligatory for one of them
and in some other cases becomes ambiguous and depends at
then on other factors like the efficiency and the power
consumption as in the following Figures. In fact, this is mainly
dependant upon the shape of the system curve .

Critical-Decision
System Curve
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EXAMPLE: Here, because the system curve is steep (large
frictional losses), the choice of in series connection is obligatory
where it gives larger discharge and head than even three pumps
connected in parallel.

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Mixed combination in connecting multiple pumps

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