MEHB221

Fluids Mechanics Lab

2016

Experiment No. 7
PUMP PERFORMANCE - SINGLE PUMP
Objectives
To study the characteristics of single pump operation with variable flow rate and pump
speeds.
Apparatus
Pump Test Rig, FM 07A (Figure 3).
Summary of Theory
Pumps are used in almost all aspects of industry and engineering from feeds to reactors
and distillation columns in chemical engineering to pumping storm water in civil and
environmental. They are an integral part of engineering and an understanding of how they
work is important.
Pumps are devices that transfer mechanical energy from a prime mover into fluid energy
to produce the flow of liquids. There are two broad classifications of pumps: positive
displacement and dynamic.
Dynamic Pumps
Dynamic pumps add energy to the fluid by the action of rotating blade, which increases
the velocity of the fluid. Figure 1 shows the construction features of a centrifugal pump,
the most commonly used type of dynamic pumps.

Figure 1: Construction features of a centrifugal pump.

1

MEHB221

Fluids Mechanics Lab

2016

Horizontal Single Stage Centrifugal Pump

Centrifugal pumps have two major components:

The impeller consists of a number of curved blades (also called vanes) attached in
a regular pattern to one side of a circular hub plate that is connected to the rotating
driveshaft.
The housing (also called casing) is a stationary shell that enclosed the impeller
and supports the rotating drive shaft via a bearing.

A centrifugal pump operates as follows. When the prime mover rotates the driveshaft, the
impeller fluid is drawn in axially through the center opening (called the eye) of the
housing. The fluid then makes a 900 turn and flows radially outward. As energy is added
to the fluid by the rotating blades (centrifugal action and actual blade force), the pressure
and velocity increase until the fluid reaches the outer tip of the impeller. The fluid then
enters the volute-shaped housing whose increased flow area causes the velocity to
decrease. This action results in a decrease in kinetic energy and an accompanying
increase in pressure.
The volute-shaped housing also provides a continuous increase in flow area in the
direction of flow to produce a uniform velocity as the fluid travels around the outer
portion of housing and discharge opening.
Although centrifugal pumps provide smooth and continuous flow, their flow rate output
(also called discharge) is reducing as the external resistance is increase. In fact, by
closing a system valve (thereby creating theoretically infinite external system resistance)
even while the pump is running at design speed, it is possible to stop pump output flow
completely. In such a case, no harm occurs to the pump unless this no-flow condition
occurs over extended period with resulting excessive fluid temperature build up. Thus
pressure relief valves are not needed. The tips of the impeller blade merely shear through
the liquid, and the rotational speed maintains a fluid pressure corresponding to the
centrifugal force established.
Pump Head versus Flowrate Curves for Centrifugal Pumps
Figure 2 shows pump head versus flowrate curves for a centrifugal pump. The solid curve
is for water, whereas the dashed curve is for a more viscous fluid such as oil. Most
published performance curves for centrifugal pumps are for pumping water. Notice from
Figure 2 that using a fluid having a higher viscosity than water results in a smaller
flowrate at a given pump head. If the fluid has a viscosity greater than 300 times that of
water, the performance of a centrifugal pump deteriorates enough that a positive
displacement pump is usually recommended

MEHB221

Fluids Mechanics Lab

2016

Figure 2: Pump head versus flowrate curves of centrifugal pump for water and for a more
viscous liquid.
The maximum head produced by a centrifugal pump is called pump shutoff head because
an external system valve is closed and there is no flow. Notice from Figure 2 that as the
external system resistance decrease (which occurs when a system valve is opened more),
the flowrate increases at the expense of reduced pump head. Because the output flowrate
changes significantly with external system resistance, centrifugal pumps are rarely used
in fluid power systems. Zero pump head exists if the pump discharge port were opened to
the atmosphere, such as when filling nearby open tank with water. The open tank
represents essentially zero resistance to flow for the pump.
Figure 2 shows why centrifugal pumps are desirable for pumping stations used for
delivery water to homes and factories. The demand for water may go to near zero during
the evening and reach a peak during the daytime, but a centrifugal pump can readily
handle these large changes in water demand. Since there is a great deal of clearance
between the impeller and housing, centrifugal pumps are not self priming, unlike positive
displacement pumps. Thus if a liquid being pumped from a reservoir located below a
centrifugal pump, priming is required. Priming is the prefilling of the pump housing and
inlet pipe with the liquid so that the pump can initially draw the liquid. Priming is
required because there is too much clearance between the pump inlet and outlet ports to
seal against atmospheric pressure. Thus the displacement of a centrifugal pump is not
positive where the same volume of liquid would be delivered per revolution of the
driveshaft.
The lack of positive internal seal against leakage means that the centrifugal pump is not
forced to produce flow when there is a very large system resistance to flow. As system
resistance decreases, less fluid at the discharge port slips back into the clearance spaces
between the impeller and housing, resulting in an increase in flow. Slippage occurs
because the fluid follows the path of least resistance.
3

MEHB221

Fluids Mechanics Lab

2016

Procedures
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Make sure the circulation tank is filled with water.

Switch on the main power supply.
Turn on the main switch on the control panel.
Open V5 slightly (turn approximately 720 or 2 rounds).
Check the following valve position:

Fully open valve

Fully close valve

V1 and V4
V2 and V3

6. Make sure the speed controller is at minimum before the pump is on. Turn the
pump speed controller clockwise to increase pump speed or anti-clockwise to
decrease the pump speed.
7. Turn on the pump (Pump 1).
8. Increase the speed of the pump slowly until approximately 2000 RPM.
9. Adjust the flowrate (adjust V5) to give a value of approximately 40 LPM (do not
worry if the value of the speed change).
10. Record the reading of flowrate, pump speed, power, and pressure (PT1 and PT3)
in Table 1.
11. Increase the flowrate by approximately 10 LPM and record the required readings
in Table 1. Continue until the reading of flowrate is 100 LPM.
12. Adjust the speed to 2100 RPM.
13. Record the reading of pump speed, flowrate, power, and pressure (PT1 and PT3)
in Table 2.
14. Decrease the speed by approximately 100 RPM and record the required readings
in Table 2. Continue until the reading of speed is 1400 RPM.
15. Turn off the pump.
16. Make sure valve V5 is in fully close position.
17. Turn off the main switch on the control panel.
18. Switch off the main power supply.
Data, Observation and Results

Complete your result for variable flowrate in Table 1.

Plot graph of pump head vs flowrate (Graph 1).
Plot graph of efficiency vs flowrate (Graph 2).
Complete your result for variable pump speed in Table 2.
Plot graph of flowrate vs pump speed (Graph 3).
Plot graph of pump head vs pump speed (Graph 4).

MEHB221

Fluids Mechanics Lab

2016

Analysis and Discussion

What is pump? Explain the working principle of centrifugal pump.

Comment on your results (also graphs) for variable flowrate case.
Comment on your results (also graphs) for variable pump speed case.
List the possible sources of errors and safety precaution.

Result Sheet:
Table 1: Single pump operation with variable flowrate.
Flowrate
Q
[LPM]

Speed
[RPM]

Power
(pump)
[Watt]

PT1
[bar]

PT3
[bar]

PT3PT1
[bar]

Pump
head
H
[m]

Flowrate
Q
[m3/s]

Power
(fluid)
[Watt]

Efficiency
[%]

Table 2: Single pump operation with variable pump speeds.

Speed
(RPM)

Flowrate
Q
(LPM)

Power
(pump)
[Watt]

PT1
[bar]

PT3
[bar]

PT3 - PT1
[bar]

Pump head
H
[m]

MEHB221

Fluids Mechanics Lab

Overall Efficiency
Power (fluid)

!"#$%
100%
!"!#$%&#'"

!"#$% = !"#$%

Gravitational

= 9.81 / !

Acceleration
Volumetric flow rate

m!

=
s
60000
(m) =

Pump Head

2016

2 1

Pressure unit [P1,P2] is Pascal

Unit conversion : 1 bar = 100000 Pascal
!"#$% = 1000 /!

Water Density

Figure 3: Pump Test Rig (Model FM 07A)

1. Pump, P1

4.

Speed Sensor

2. Pump, P2

5.

Pressure Gauge

3. Water Tank

6.

Pressure Transmitter