Centrifugal pump

Describe centrifugal pump and

explain its action
• Centrifugal pump consists of casing cast in halves and fitted with
impeller mounted on a spindle or shaft.
• The casing is provided with inlet and outlet branches.
• The portion of the casing in which the impeller is situated is
arranged such that area beyond the impeller tip increases
continuously from min. to max. at inlet to the discharge branch. the
discharge branch is tapered from the latter point to a diameter
corresponding to the adjacent pipe size.
• The impeller consist of number of backward sloping curved vanes
sandwiched between two shrouds. The shrouds normally carry
bearing strips which fit in close clearance bearing rings and to
reduce the leakage from the discharge side back to the suction
chamber to min.
• The principle operation of cent. p/p. is as follows.
• Water enters the suction branch and flows into
inlet or eyes of the impeller which is rotating at
moderate or high speed. The centrifugal force set
up due to this rotation acts on the water, forcing
it to the out side of the casing and at the same
time increase its velocity. This increase velocity
Head is converted into pressure energy in the
spiral casing and in the flared discharge branch.
• A air cock is generally fitted on the uppermost
part of the casing so that entrapped air may
be got rid of and air locking avoided.
• why centrifugal pump required priming ?
• As velocity of the outer tips of the impeller of
a centrifugal pump is relatively low ,the
suction efforts of the pump when empty rarely
exceeds 12mm. On water gauge. So pump
must be primed with water as it can not
exhaust the contained air.
• Material
• Non salt water pumps
• Casing: high grade cast iron with bronze
internal
• Shaft : bronze or stainless steel
• Impeller: bronze
• Sea water pump
• Casing: gunmetal (normally all bronze metal
zinc free)
• shaft: stainless steel (EN57) for soft packing,
(EN58J)(18/10/3)cr.ni. Mo. For mechanical
seal or bearing.
• Impeller: aluminium bronze or stainless steel
• Boiler feed pump
• casing : cast steel (0.25% carbon steel )
• shaft: stainless steel, highly rated turbo driven
pumps have forge alloy steel.(3% ni.- cu.- mo.)
• Impeller: stainless steel.
• The axial pump power decreases as the delivery
increases while centrifugal pump has a rinsing
absorbed power with delivery although there is
marginal fall beyond normal duty.
• The axial pump retain reasonable efficiency over
a wider head range.
• At zero discharge absorbed power of the axial
pump is much greater than normal duty the
pump needs to be unloaded at lower than normal
throughputs or the pump motor must be over
rated
• Under low head, high throughput condition
eg.2.5- 6.2m head and 2800 – 9500 m3 /hr as
commonly required by main condenser an axial
pump will run at a higher speed than equally
matched centrifugal pump
• i.e. it can be driven by smaller motor.
• The pump will idle and after little resistance when
a flow is induced through it by external mean
• The pump is reversible
•
• Material
• Casing – gunmetal or cast iron
• Impeller – aluminium bronze
• Guide vane – gunmetal
• Shaft – stainless steel
• Sleeve - – stainless steel