CENTRIFUGAL PUMP DESIGN1

The client will usually specify the desired head and pump capacity. The type and speed of the
driver may also be specied. Speed is governed by considerations of cost and eciency as well as
drivers available to the client. Given these parameters, the task of the engineer is to minimize cost.
Which cost to minimize, rst cost or life-cycle cost, however, is an important consideration. From
a life cycle viewpoint, we must take into account power consumption and operation and maintenance
costs. These considerations call for optimizing eciency, reliability (the mean time between failure)
and maintainability (the mean time to repair). In general, designing to optimize these categories
results in increased costs. Often, these considerations are not very important and we can design
for minimum rst cost. In appropriate cases, the engineer should initiate a dialog with the client
concerning available options. For example, designing a boiler feed pump that operates continuously
would probably call for maximizing eciency. Eciency considerations would not be so important,
however, for a drainage pump that is only required to operate occasionally.

PIPE CONNECTIONS AND VELOCITIES

The diameter of the suction pipe is usually made larger that the pump suction ange and both
are made larger than the discharge ange and pipe. Church recommends keeping the velocity at
the suction ange about 9 or 10 ft/s and that at the discharge ange between 18 and 25 ft/s.

LEAKAGE LOSSES
To design the impeller, account must be taken of leakage from the discharge side back to the
suction side. To reduce the leakage, wearing rings are tted to the impeller and casing. These
rings are designed with specied clearances. The leakage across each ring can be calculated from
the following formula:
where: C = ow coecient2
A = leakage area =
D = mean clearance diameter
s = diametrical clearance
For small wearing rings with precise machining and ball bearings, the minimum clearance may
be reduced to 0.008 in.
HL =

3
4


U22 U12 /2g

IMPELLER INLET DIMENSIONS AND VANE ANGLE

This section is based on Church, A.H., Centrifugal Pumps and Blowers,

Ch. 6, John Wiley & Sons, 1950.

2
3

Id. Fig. 6-1, p. 92.

Attributed by Church to Stepano, A.J., Trans. A.S.M.E., HYD-54-5, 1932.

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The diameter of the impeller eye, Do, is dependent on the shaft diameter, Ds, which must initially
be approximated. The hub diameter, D H , is made 5/16 to inch larger than Ds. After estimating
Ds and D H , Do is based on the known owrate. The inlet vane edge diameter, D 1, is made about
the same as Do to ensure smooth ow.

EXAMPLE OF IMPELLER DESIGN4

Specied conditions:
Required head:
Required owrate: Q = 2500 gpm
Required speed
N = 1760 rpm

hP = 150ft

1. Quantity owrate:

1. Mass owrate:

1. Specic speed: Assume a double suction impeller; then, Q = 2500/2 = 1250gpm, and:

Nsd =

p
w(rpm) Q(gpm)
[hp (ft)]

3/4

(1760) 1250
= 1450rpm
(150)3/4

For this specic speed, a radial ow pump is indicated.5

4
5

See, Church, p. 107-117.

See,Munson, Fig. 12.18, p. 812.

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1. Water horsepower.

1. Shaft diameter. Calculate shaft diameter based on torque. Increase the calculated value
somewhat to allow for bending moment which is unknown at this point and to ensure that the
critical speed exceeds the operational speed by a reasonable margin. The bending moment
will depend on the weight distribution of the shaft and any unbalanced radial thrust acting on
the impeller. From the gure shown below, with the given ow of 2500 gpm and calculated
value of specic speed of 1450, we select a tentative value of eciency of 80%.

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Thus:
The required shaft torque then is:

Assuming a shear stress of 4000 psi:

To account for the unknown bending moment and critical speed, increase the shaft diameter

to

D s:

2 1/8 in. Church states that the hub diameter, D H , is made from 5/16 to

in. larger than

Let DH = 2 in.

1. Suction line velocity and diameter of suction ange.

Assume a velocity of 10 ft/s at the suction ange; thus:

;thus,

SU ; or,
Q= VSU (p)D
4

Assume the velocity at the eye of the impeller is 11 ft/s.

For a double suction pump, assume that the leakage will not exceed 2%. Dividing the total ow
by 2 gives:
Q=V0 A0 =V0 (

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r1

1. Wheel inlet dimensions and angle.

Assume an inlet diameter, D 1 , of 7 5/16 in.
U1 =wr=

(1760)(2)(p)(7.315)
= 56.2ft/s
(60)(2)(12)

The radial velocity should be slightly higher than V 0 because a converging shape is more ecient
than a divergent one. Let V r be 12 ft/s.
The inlet area will be decreased by the vane thickness. Assume a contraction factor, 1 6 , of
0.85; the entering width then is:
(1.02)(5.57)(144)
Q
=
= 1.75in
pD1 Vr1 e1 (p)(2)(7.31)(12)(0.85)
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enters vanes radially.
b1 =

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12 = 12.10
1 = tan1 VUr11 = tan1 56.
2

1 is usually increased slightly to account for contraction of the stream as it passes the inlet
edges as well as prerotation. The inlet angle is usually between 10 and 25 degrees7 . Let 1 be
130 .

1. Impeller diameter, D2.

The theoretical head can be found from integrating the force on a dierential mass:
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dm=d= ital brdf ital dr
dF=dmrw2 and
dP= dF
A ;
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R2
1

dP=

R2 brdfdrrw2
1

6 is generally between
1
7 Church, p. 95.

brdf

R2
2
=w2 rdr = w2 (r22 r12 )
1

0.8 and 0.9, Church, p. 95.

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U
but U=rw

and

H= Pg ;hence,

H2 H1 =

P2 P1

g =

U22 U12

2g

For a closed rotating cylinder containing a uid, the pressure head developed at the outer rim is:
H2 =

U22

2g

Substituting D 2 /2( ) for U 2 and solving for D 2 :

(12)
Where: H 2 is in feet; N is in rpm; D 2 is in inches.
Tests have shown that the required impeller diameter can be calculated from this expression by
substituting the head corresponding to the best eciency point for H 2 and then multiplying the
right side by an experimentally determined coecient :
D2 =

1840F H
N

(13)

Church8 gives several charts for which have been based on a large number of tests. Most of
the plotted points fall within a range of 0.9 to 1.1. Noting that if the head on test is found to be too
high, the impeller diameter can be machined to an appropriate diameter, select 1.05 for ; then:
D2 =

1840)(1.05)150 = 13.4in; say, 13 in.

(1760)

1. Outlet vane angle, 2 , and impeller width.

The normal range for discharge angles is between 20 and 25 degrees9 . Furthermore, 2 is usually
made larger than the inlet angle. Assume 2 = 200 .
The radial outlet velocity, V r2 , is made the same as, or slightly less than, the radial inlet velocity,
V r1 . Assume V r2 = 11 ft/s10 .

Outlet area (based on required ow plus leakage).

8
9
10

Church, pp. 199-104.

Id., p. 35.
Id., p. 110.

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Assume a contraction width, 2 , (based on experience) of 0.925:

1. Outlet velocity diagram.

The absolute outlet velocity, V 2 , is used in the design of the volute. We proceed as follows:

Theoretical tangential outlet velocity, V

Vq2 =U2

2.

Vr2
11
= 73.5ft/s
= 103.7
tan2
tan200

Actual tangential outlet velocity, V '.11

2

The inertia of the rotating uid causes a circulatory ow opposite to the direction of rotation of
the impeller. This ow, superimposed on the outward ow, results in the uid leaving the impeller
at an angle less than that calculated from angular momentum theory. Thus 2 must be decreased
and , therefore, the absolute angle, 2 , increased. The eect of circulatory ow is to reduce V 2
and the theoretical head. Church denes a circulatory ow coecient, , as:

Church assumes a value of of 0.7. This coecient can be calculated from tests. Pump
manufacturers will maintain records from which a reasonable value might be estimated for a given
design.
Vq2 = (0.7)(73.5) = 51.5ft/s
0

The outlet vector diagram can now be drawn:

11 = 12.10 , say, 130

2 = tan1 51.
5
0

V2 =

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02
Vr22 +Vq2
= 112 + 51.52 = 52.7ft/s

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'2
2

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1. Cross-section of impeller.
Wall and vane thicknesses are usually made a minimum consistent with good foundry practice.
The stresses due to centrifugal force and uid pressure are relatively low for average applications;
otherwise, they need to be taken into account12 .

Table of Calculated or Assumed Dimensions

b1 = 1.75 in per side
b2 = 1.90 in
D2 = 13 in
D0 = 7 5/16 in
Dr = 8 in (to outside of impeller wearing ring)
Impeller shroud tip thickness - 3/16 in
Connect outlet to inlet by a straight line faired into entrance to provide a smooth transition.
Make tip of hub core 3/16 in and fair into hub diameter. The drawing is shown in the gure on the
following page.
1. Check leakage loss.
From the gure on page 8, the mean diameter of the clearance is 8 in. Let s be the diametral
clearance. Church states that the wearing ring clearance for good practice is 0.01 in for rings of 6
in diameter and less. For rings greater than 6 in, increase the clearance by 0.001 in for every inch
of ring diameter greater than 6 in:
11
12

See, Church, p. 28 for a discussion of circulatory ow.

Id,, p. 152.

V2 '

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V2
Vr2
s=0.010 + (D 6)(0.001) = 0.010 + (8.5 6)(0.001) = 0.0125,say,0.013in

The clearance area is:

Head across the rings13 :

HL =

3 U22 U12
(3)(103.72 56.22 )
=
= 88.5ft
4
2g
(4)(2)(32.2)

From Figure 6-1, p 92, Church, the ow coecient for 1760 rpm and a 0.013 in clearance is 0.410.
Thus, the leakage is:
p
p
QL =CA 2gHL = (0.410)(0.00121) (2)(32.2)(88.5) = 0.0375ft3 /s

%.

13

The per cent leakage is 05.075

.58 (100); or 1.35 %, which is, close enough to the assumed value of 2

Church attributes this equation to A.J. Stepano:

 Leakage Loss and Axial Thrust in Centrifugal Pumps,

A.S.M.E. Trans., HYD-54-5, 1932.

Vr2

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2'

V'2

V2

U2

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DESIGN OF VANES
The entrance vane angle, 1 , has been found to be 130 ; that at the exit, 200 . For smooth
ow, we must design the vane such that this angle increases smoothly from 130 to 200 . We note
also that the radial components of velocity to these two angles are 12 and 11 ft/s, respectively. We
also see from the vector diagram that W=Vr /sin . The relative velocities corresponding to the
entrance and outlet stations are then: 12/sin130 = 53.3ft/s and 11/sin200 = 32.2ft/s. To obtain
intermediate values of radii corresponding to intermediate values of the position angle, , we proceed
as follows (see Fig. 3):
by a

1) Plot , V r , and W against vane radius, r, for the entrance and outlet stations and connect
straight line (or a smooth curve).
2) The corresponding values for vane angle, , are computed from sin =Vr /W . These
values are also plotted against their radii.

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dr

rd
Alternatively, write a computer program to perform the above functions. Referring to the gure
below:
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dr or dq= dr
tan = rdq
r tan

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r
Rr dr
180 P
r
=
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p
r tan
p
r tan
r
r
1

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integration.
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shape.
3) Plot the radii against to give the shape of the trailing edge
of the vane.
Draw the front edge of the vane with the same curvature as the back edge with a thickness of
about 1/8 in14 .

NUMBER OF VANES
The number of vanes is given by the Peiderer equation15 . First, calculate the average vane
angle:
m =

z=no.vanes=6.5

1 2
2

13+20 = 16.50 ; then,

2

D2 +D1
(13.5 + 7.312)
sin16.50 = 6.21,say,6.
sinm = (6.5)
D2 D1
(13.5 7.312)

The circumferential pitch of the vanes is:

.312) = 3.83in

(p)(7
(6)

Check the contraction factor:

e=

pD sinzt
zt
=1
pD
pDsin

14
Church, p. 115.

15

Id.

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e1 = 1

e2 = 1

(6)(0.125)
= 0.855(0.85assumed)
p(7.31)sin130

(6)(0.125)
= 0.948(0.925assumed)
p(13.50)sin200

The assumed values agree reasonably with those calculated.

SUMMARY
Diameter of suction ange, D su ------------------------------- 10in
Velocity in suction ange, Vsu ---------------------------------10.22 ft/s
Shaft diameter, D s ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 1/8 in
Impeller hub diameter, D H --------------------------------------2 in
Impeller eye diameter, D 0 --------------------------------------7 5/16 in
Velocity through impeller eye,V 0 -------------------------------11 ft/s
Diameter of inlet vane edge, D 1 --------------------------------7 5/16 in
Velocity at inlet vane edge, V 1 = V r1 ---------------------------12 ft/s
Passage width at inlet, b 1 -----------------------------------------1.75 in per side
Tangential velocity of inlet vane edge, U 1 -------------------56.2 ft/s
Vane angle at inlet, 1 --------------------------------------------130
Impeller outlet diameter, D 2 -------------------------------------13 in
Radial component of outlet velocity, V r2 ----------------------11 ft/s
Vane angle at outlet, 2 -------------------------------------------200
Total passage width at outlet, b 2 ---------------------------------1.98 in
Tangential velocity of outlet vane edge,
U 2 -------------------103.7 ft/s
0
Absolute velocity leaving impeller, V2 -------------------------52.5
ft/s
0
Tangential component of absolute leaving velocity, Vq2 ---51.5 ft/s
0
Angle of water leaving impeller, 2 ----------------------------130
Number of impeller vanes, z ------------------------------------6

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