FLUID MACHINERY

Chapter 1
PUMPS AND PUMPING
Part I
 Pump Definition and Types

Machines that add energy to a fluid stream are called pumps

when the flow is liquid or slurry

Types

 Positive displacement pumps

(piston or plunger, gear, screw…)
are not in the focus of our consideration

 Rotodynamic pumps
• Axial flow
• Radial flow (centrifugal)
• Mixed flow
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 Axial Pumps Classification

Single stage Multistage

Variable pitch
Fixed pitch

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 Axial Pump Main Components

Stationary inlet
guide vanes Diffuser with stationary
outlet guide vanes

Impeller

 The stationary inlet guide vanes are intended to prerotate the axial input flow for
more smooth its entrance into the impeller.
 The impeller imparts energy to the liquid flow.
 The diffuser serves for reducing flow velocity after the impeller and conversion a part
of kinetic energy to pressure.
 The fixed outlet guide vanes are used to remove the whirl component of the discharge
velocity after the impeller. 4
 Features of Axial Pumps

Operation

An axial flow pump has a propeller-type of impeller running in a casing. The pressure in an
axial flow pump is developed by the flow of liquid over the blades of impeller. The fluid is
pushed in a direction parallel to the shaft of the impeller, that is, fluid particles, in course
of their flow through the pump, do not change their radial locations. It allows the fluid to
enter the impeller axially and discharge the fluid nearly axially. The propeller of an axial
flow pump is driven by a motor.
Main Advantages

 High discharge (flow rate) at a relatively low head (vertical distance).

 It can easily be adjusted to run at peak efficiency at low-flow/high-pressure and high-
flow/low-pressure by changing the pitch on the propeller (some models only).
 Comparatively small aerodynamic losses and high stage efficiency.
 Smallest dimensions among many of the conventional pumps.

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Application of Axial Flow Pumps

 Evaporators and crystallizers

 Waste-water handling
 Sludge transfer
 Flood control
 Flume recirculation
 Irrigation
 Regeneration
 Heat recovery
 High-volume mixing

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 Mixed Flow Pump

Impeller of mixed
flow pump

The head developed by mixing flow pumps is partly by centrifugal action and
partly by the lift of the impeller vanes on the liquid. The pump has a single inlet
impeller with the flow entering axially and discharging in an intermediate between
radial and axial direction, usually into volume type casing. They are used for
medium heads (8 – 15 m) and for medium to large capacities.
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 CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS:
Basic Design and Description
Centrifugal pump converts rotational
energy to the energy of a moving
fluid. A portion of the energy goes
into kinetic energy of the fluid. Fluid
enters axially through eye of the
casing, is caught up in the impeller
blades, and is whirled tangentially
and radially outward until it leaves
through all circumferential parts of
the impeller into the diffuser part of
the casing. The fluid gains both
velocity and pressure while passing
through the impeller. The volute
diffuser or scroll section of the
casing decelerates the flow and
further increases the pressure.

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 Main Types of Centrifugal Pumps

Double-Suction
Single-Stage
Pump
Pump

Multistage Pump

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Typical Single Stage Centrifugal Pump

Main components

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Multistage Centrifugal Pump

Structural arrangement

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Double-Suction Centrifugal Pump

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Pump Sealing:
Packing Gland
The stuffing box is a cylindrical space in the pump casing
surrounding the shaft. Rings of packing material are
placed in this space. Packing is material in the form of
rings or strands that is placed in the stuffing box to form a
seal to control the rate of leakage along the shaft. The
packing rings are held in place by a gland. The gland is, in
turn, held in place by studs with adjusting nuts. As the
adjusting nuts are tightened, they move the gland in and
compress the packing.

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 Pump Sealing:
Wearing Rings
Wearing rings are replaceable rings that are attached to the impeller and/or the pump
casing to allow a small running clearance between the impeller and the pump casing
without causing wear of the actual impeller or pump casing material.

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 Impeller Types

Open impellers Semiclosed impellers Closed impellers

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 Open Impellers

 Vanes are attached to the central hub, without any sidewall or

shroud, and are mounted directly onto a shaft;
 Structurally weak and require higher NPSHR values;
 Typically used in small-diameter, inexpensive pumps and pumps
handling suspended solids.

hub

Vanes (Blades)

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 Partially open or semiclosed impellers

 Incorporates a back wall (shroud) to stiff the vanes and add

mechanical strength;
 Used in medium-diameter pumps and with liquids containing
small amounts of suspended solids;
 Offer higher efficiencies and lower NPSHR than open impellers. It
is important that a small clearance or gap exists between the
impeller vanes and the housing.
hub

Vanes

shroud
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 Closed Impellers

 Have both a back and front wall (shrouds) for maximum strength;
 Used in large pumps with high efficiencies and low NPSHR;
 Can operate in suspended-solids service without clogging but will exhibit
high wear rates. The closed-impeller type is the most widely used type of
impeller for centrifugal pumps handling clear liquids;

shrouds hub

Vanes

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 Forces on Impeller

Impeller unbalanced to the axial pressure

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 Forces on Impeller:
Balancing of axial pressure
Compensating holes

P < Pp

Double-suction pump is axially compensated

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 Forces on Impeller:
Balancing of Radial Pressure Force

Single−volute Double−volute
pump pump

Impeller is Impeller is balanced

unbalanced when the with respect to radial
flow rate is not equal loading at any flow
to the design value rate

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 Inducer

An inducer is the axial inlet portion of a centrifugal pump rotor, the function of which
is to raise the inlet head by an amount sufficient to prevent significant cavitation in
the following pump stage. It is used in applications in which the inlet pressure of a
pump is close to the vapor pressure of the pumped liquid.
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 Pumping System

H S [ m] − Static head or static lift

General pumping system
p1 V12
H1 =Z1 + + − Total head
ρ g 2g
at the pump inlet
p2 V22
H 2 =Z 2 + + − Total head
ρ g 2g
at the pump outlet
=
H H 2 − H1 − Total head developed
by the pump

H = ( Z 2 − Z1 ) +
( p2 − p1 )
+
(V
2
2
− V12 )
ρg 2g

p2 − p1
Z1 ≈ Z 2 ; V1 = V2 ⇒ H =
ρg
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 Pumping Head Expression

Bernoulli's equation for suction piping (line)

patm p1 V12
HA + =Z1 + + + hΣ1 =H1 + hΣ1
ρg ρ g 2g
hΣ1 − Total head loss in the suction piping comprising intake loss, pipe friction loss,
and form losses
Bernoulli's equation for delivery (pressure) line
p2 V22 p
Z2 + + = H 2 = H A + H s + atm + hΣ 2
ρ g 2g ρg
hΣ 2 − Total head loss in the pressure line comprising exit loss, pipe friction loss,
and form losses

patm p
H = H 2 − H1 = H A + H s + + hΣ 2 − H A − atm + hΣ1 = H s + hΣ1 + hΣ 2
ρg ρg

H = H s + hΣ1 + hΣ 2
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 Suction Line

H s=
1 Z1 − H A − Static suction lift

 patm V12 
p1=  − H s1 − − hΣ1  ρ g − Absolute pressure in the suction flange
 ρ g 2 g 
p1  pv (vapour pressure) Cavitation !

Net Positive Suction Head

p1 V12 pv pa p
NPSH = + − NPSH = − H s1 − hΣ1 − v
ρ g 2g ρ g ρg ρg

The Available NPSH (NPSHA) is a measure of how the fluid at a pump inlet is close to
cavitation.
The Required NPSH (NPSHR) is the head value at the suction side (e.g. the inlet of a pump)
required to keep the fluid from cavitating (provided by the manufacturer)

NPSH A > NPSH R No cavitation inside the pump!

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 Cavitation in Centrifugal Pumps

Schematic of the cavitation

Cavitation damage and

erosion of the impeller

There are no materials resistant to cavitation!

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