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864
CHAPTER 56
. 1965 Guide And Data Boot
fig. 2.... Specific Gravity of Water as a '.Function of Temperature
Fig. 3 .... Typical Performance, and BHP Requirements .for a Single-Suction, Long-Coupled .Centrifugal Pump at Various Speeds
tion 2 is multiplied by the specific gravity of the fluid. Pump efficiency decreases somewhat with other fluids. This must be taken in account when computing pump horsepower.
Pump presures are expressed in either pounds per square inch or in feet of liquid. A column of 2.3 ft of water at 62 F exerts a pressure of 1 psi. Pump selection charts usually give pressures or heads in feet. To convert readings given in pounds per square inch into feet of water they must be multiplied by 2.3. Dividing by 2.3 reduces readings in feet of water into pounds per square inch.
The unit for measuring head is the foot. Therefore:
, ' , psi X 2.31 X 62.3 . psi X 2:31 head in ft --------------- ------------- ---------- --------
(4)
where
W ~ specific weight in pounds per cubic foot. S ** specific gravity of fluid.
Pump capacity or volume is expressed in gallons per minute
(gpm), cu ft per second (cfs), or gallons per 24rhr day (gpd),
delivered against a specified head or pressure.
Specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a substance to
that of an equal volume of water at 39.2 F (the temperature
of maximum density of water). The specific gravity of water
at various temperatures is given in Fig. 2. For brines, refer to
Chapter 21.
Pump speed is the speed at which the shaft rotates the
impeller, and is given in revolutions per minute (rpm). Tip
speed refers to the speed at the impeller periphery, and is
given in feet per second. Specific speed is a type number or
index used by the design engineer to select the most applicable
speed for a pump designed to operate in a certain range.
However, tip speed and specific speed will both be within
satisfactory limits if pumps are selected from the data shown
' in manufacturer's catalogs.
'
When pump speed is changed, capacity varies directly as
the speed, pressure (head) varies directly as the' square of the
speed, and power requirements vary directly as the cube of
tiie speed. (See Fig. 3).
Performance Curves
A pump's' performance is most commonly shown by means of plotted curves, as in Fig. 1, which relate the flow (gallons per minute), the pressure produced (head' is feet of fluid), the power required (brake horsepower), the hydraulic efficiency (water hp output +bhp input), the specific gravity, and vis cosity of the fluid, the shaft speed (revolutions-per minute),
and the net positive suction head (feet of fluid) required for
normal operation, of the pump. See section System Charac
teristics for net positive suction head (NPSH).' For many
amah pumps, some of this information is omitted.
- Pump curves present the average results obtained from
testing several pumps of the same design under standardized
test conditions. Manufacturers should be consulted for pump
applications that differ considerably from ordinary practice.
' There is a'common but arbitrary classification of centrifugal
pumps into steep-curve pumps and fiat-curve pumps, -Which
refers to the shape of the. head capacity curve as shown in
Fig. 4. Pumps with flat-curves'often preferred' for closed
circuit systems,' because large changes in pump capacity can
be achieved with a, small change 'in head: This is valuable
when balancing1'several circuits' in a system. Steep-curve
pumps are frequently selected for*open circuit systems, .such
as for cooling towers. They have the advantage tKat'a change
in piping resistance,*resulting from corrosion or scale accumu
lation, has a minimum throttling effect on the flow.
>
The maximum efficiency characteristic of a pump` is not
always the most important feature in making a selection. A
selection' must be made in consideration ofthe system -re
sistance if the pump'is'to operateat'its peak efficiency. Sys
tems in which there is no corrosion and systems that are pro
tected against corrosion* should;not be designed from pipe
fig. 4 .... Performance Curves for Steep-Curve*' Pumpi .
and fiat^Gnve Pumps
^
Pumps .. !
865
Table;;!:..Performance Characteristics of Various Types of Pumps
- ........... -
Characteristic Flow. ... i-
Pump Response to Throttling of
Discharge .
>;.'*./' ' j
Resulting Effect of Raising Head
Pressure ' , Power
Capacity i - - Power ;; *
i ' Centrifugal : Even Increase Decrease Decrease Decrease
fypo of fuap
Rotary
rorbtao-
Rodprocof<a0
Even
Even
Pulsating
With no Relief Valve---Increase to Destruction -
Increases to limits of Power
None*
*. Slight
- None
Increase
Increase
Increase
Resulting Effect ..of- Lowering.',* .'Capacity
Head
'
Power' -
. Increase ' * Increase
None- . Decrease
- Slight Decrease
, Slight to- None Decrease
friction loss tables containing high corrosion allowance. Use of
such tables results in excessive heads and causes selection of a larger pump thanactiially is required, with consequent higher initial costs and increased.power consumption. .When deter mining friction loss-for. closed , and .corrosion-free: systems,
tables.for resistance of clean pipeishould always be used.* It
should also be noted that the pump user is always interested
in performance at the.actual pumping-conditions-of the sys?
tern,' rather than.in performance:at .some other operating
point on its performance-curve..
.' -
It is a general rule that pumps for systems using liquids for
heating and cooling should.be hydraulically and mechanically
designed,for quiet operation, durability, .simple,Bervice, mini mum maintimn-nfa, , ftnH - minimum niftt.mn - .raquirpmpntft
rather than for.minimum cost.or eize. , -, j.,- >.. . -
' HYDRAUUC'; SYST^
^;
Particular attention must be'given to the condition of the fluid as it enters the suction'flange of-the pump. If-the abso lute pressure on the fluid at the suction flange approaches the vapor pressure of the fluid too closely, vapor pockets will form in the impeller passages. This condition will interfere with pump performance, and-the collapse of the vapor pockets will be noisy and even destructive. The amount of pressure in excess of the 'vapor pressure required to prevent the formation of vapor pockets, is known as the required net posi
tive suction .head (NPSH). The required NPSH varies con
siderably with pump capacity and increases rapidly at'.very
high capacities, as' shown in Fig. 1. This rapid increase
of the NPSH explains the noisy and often unsatisfactory
performance of centrifugal pumps at extreme capacities: -A*
common rule is to operate a pump at no more than-J.of its
maximum capacity. Particular attention must be given to this
when operating, with hot fluids or with fluids pumped from
vacuum conditions. Then it is often necessary to calculate the
available net positive suction head. This can be done simply by
redrnlnting the absolute static pressure'at the suction,flange,-
adding the velocity head of the fluid at the suction flange, and
subtracting the vapor pressure of the fluid' at the'suction
flange. The result will be the arotZaNe-NPSH. If the available
NPSH is smaller than the pump manufacturer's recommended
required NPSH; cavitation noise, inadequate pumping, and
mechanical problems are to be expected. If the required NPSH
is not given in the performance table, the pump manufacturer
must be consulted.
A centrifugal pump responds to the hydraulic characteris
tics of the system to which it is applied and produces fluid
flow and pressure related to the pressure conditions of the sys
tem for that .flow (see Table 1). This .condition makes it
necessary to carefully predict the system characteristics for
proper pump selection.
Pumps are applied to two general types of piping systems:
closed systems and open systems.. For a closed system, since
the hydraulic circuit is dosed' the system pressure can be
arbitrarily changed. These systems usually have a compres
sion tank to control the system pressure. A system having
an expansion tank open to the atmosphere as described in
Chapter 10,1954 Guide And Data Book, is actually a dosed
hydraulic dreuit.' An open system has a break in .the hydraulic
circuit and therefore requires an analysis of the static pressure difference between the suction and discharge conditions.
In both types of- systems there is resistance to fluid flow
because of pipe friction. This resistance varies with the
amount of flow approximately in proportion to the square
of the change in velocity of the fluid. This relation can be
shown graphically and is called a system curve, Fig. 5.
^
Hv/H,_-(Q,/Qip
(5)
where
Hi -- pressure drop at design flow. Qi.
Hi = system pressure drop at
flow Qi.
When the'pump capacity curve is'diperimposed-oh .the system curve, the intersection of the two curves, as shown on .