1

Multiple Pumps in Parallel

All pumps are operating under the same head.
Total capacity is the sum of the discharges for individual pumps.
Establish composite characteristic curve by adding up capacities from

individual pumps and plotted against a common head as shown in

Figure 3.
Use the composite characteristic curve and the system curve to find
the operating condition.
Suitable for a system that has a large static lift and low friction losses.

Multiple Pumps in Parallel

Figure 3 Characteristic Curve for Two Pumps in Parallel

For multiple pumps in parallel:

H HA HB
Q QA QB
P PA PB ....

H AQA
550

H B QB
550

....

H (QA QB )
550

H (QA Q B )
H (Q A QB )
Q QB

A
QA H Ain QB H Bin QA H QB H QA QB
A
B
A B
3

Example
Two pumps are arranged in parallel as shown below. Their characteristic curves are
shown in the following figure. The static head for the system is 40 ft. The pipeline
consists of 9 in-diameter pipe of 1200 ft length. The total minor head loss coefficient is
20 and the Darcy-Weisbach friction factor f is 0.022. Determine the operation condition
and the power input.
400

80
Efficieny curve
for Pump B

360

70
Efficieny curve
for Pump A

320

60
50

240
200

40

160

30

120

Characteristic curve for Pump A

80

Efficiency (%)

Head H (ft)

280

20

Characteristic curve for Pump B

10

40
0
0

200

400

600

800

0
1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400
Capacity Q (gpm)

 Solution:

1. The composite characteristic curves for pump A and pump B can be plotted as
shown in the figure below:

2. The system curve can be calculated using the following equation and plotted
in the figure above:
H 40 h f hm
8 fLQ 2
8Q 2
40
k
g 2 d 5
g 2 d 4
8Q 2
0.022 1200
20
40
(

)
32.2 3.1416 2
0.755
0.754
40 4.39Q 2
5

3.

The operating condition at the intersection of the characteristic and

system curves:
Q = 2120 gpm, H = 138 ft

4.

Corresponding to the head of 138 ft:

For Pump A: QA = 1280 gpm, hA = 68% (See the next side)
For Pump B: QB = 840 gpm, hB = 77% (See the next slide)

5.

Overall efficiency:

QA QB
QA / A QB / B

1280 840
1280 / 68 840 / 77
71.3%

6.

Input Power:
Input..Power

QH
550

62.4 (2120 / 449) 138

550 0.713
104hp

400

80
Efficieny curve
for Pump B

360

77%
68%

Efficieny curve
for Pump A

320

70
60
50

240
200

40

160

30

120

Characteristic curve for Pump A

80

Efficiency (%)

Head H (ft)

280

20

Characteristic curve for Pump B

10

40
QB = 840 gpm

0
0

200

400

600

800

QA = 1280 gpm

0
1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400
Capacity Q (gpm)

Multiple Pumps in Series

All pumps are operating with the same discharge.
Total head is the sum of heads for individual pumps.
Establish composite characteristic curve by adding up heads from

individual pumps and plotted against a common discharge as shown in

Figure 4.
Use the composite characteristic curve and the system curve to find the
operating condition.
Suitable for a system that has a small static lift and high friction losses.

Multiple Pumps in Series

For multiple pumps in series:
H H A HB
Q QA QB

P PA PB ...

Figure 4 Characteristic Curve for

Two Pumps in Series

Q( H A H B )
550

Q( H A H B )
Q( H A H B )
H HB

A
QH Ain QH Bin QH A QH B H A H B
A
B
A B

Example
Two pumps are arranged in series as shown below. Their characteristic curves are shown
in the following figure. The static head for the system is 80 ft. The pipeline consists of 6
in-diameter pipe of 1200 ft length. The total minor head loss coefficient is 20 and the
Darcy-Weisbach friction factor f is 0.022. Determine the operation condition and the
power input.
400

80
Efficieny curve
for Pump B

360

70
Efficieny curve
for Pump A

320

60
50

240
200

40

160

30

120

Characteristic curve for Pump A

80

Efficiency (%)

Head H (ft)

280

20

Characteristic curve for Pump B

10

40
0
0

200

400

600

800

0
1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400
Capacity Q (gpm)

10

 Solution:

1. The composite characteristic curves for

pump A and pump B can be plotted as
shown in the figure below:
2. The system curve can be calculated
using the following equation and
plotted in the figure above:
H 80 h f hm
8 fLQ 2
8Q 2
80
k
g 2 d 5
g 2 d 4
8Q 2
0.022 1200 20
80
(

)
32.2 3.1416 2
0.55
0.5 4
80 29.3Q 2

11

3.

The operating condition at the intersection of the characteristic and

system curves:
Q = 1080 gpm, H = 258 ft

4.

Corresponding to Q = 1080 gpm:

For Pump A: HA = 152 ft, hA = 69%
For Pump B: HB = 106 ft, hB = 75%

5.

Overall efficiency:

6.

HA HB
H A / A H B /B

152 106
71.9%
152 / 69 106 / 75

Input Power:
Input..Power

QH
550

62.4 (1080 / 449) 258

550 0.719
97.9hp

12

400

80
75%

Efficieny curve
for Pump B

360

69%

70

320

50

240
200

40

160

30

120

Characteristic curve for Pump A

80

Efficiency (%)

280

Head H (ft)

60

Efficieny curve
for Pump A

20

Characteristic curve for Pump B

10

40
1080

0
0

200

400

600

800

0
1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400
Capacity Q (gpm)

13

Net Positive Suction Head

Net positive suction pressure (NPSH) is defined as the absolute pressure

at the suction inlet of a pump:

ps

V
e
NPSH
s w

2g

ps = Pressure at the suction inlet

Vs = Velocity at suction inlet

ew = Vapor pressure

NPSH can be also expressed as follows:

NPSH

Po

z hL

ew

po = Vapor pressure
z = Vertical distance from reservoir surface to the suction inlet.
hL = Head loss for the suction pipe
14

Net Positive Suction Head

To avoid cavitation due to formation of vapor pockets,

which can damage the pump, the available NPSH should

be larger than the required NPSH provided by the
manufacturer.
This requirement also may be expressed in terms of

cavitation parameter () as follows:

= NPSH/(total pump head)
To avoid cavitation, should be higher than the critical

value provided by the manufacturer, which ranges from

0.05 for a specific speed of 1,000 to 1.0 for a specific
speed of 8,000.
15

Net Positive Suction Head

16