Fluid Moving Machinery

Fluids are moved through pipe, equipment, or the ambient atmosphere by pumps, fans, blowers,
and compressors. Such devices increase the mechanical energy of the fluid. The energy increase
may be used to increase the velocity, the pressure, or the elevation of the fluid. In the special
case of liquid metals energy may be added by the action of rotating electromagnetic fields. Air
lifts, jet pumps, and ejectors utilize the energy of a second fluid to move a first. By far the most
common method of adding energy is by positive displacement or centrifugal action supplied by
outside forces. These methods lead to the two major classes of fluid-moving machinery:

 those applying direct pressure to the fluid and

 those using torque to generate rotation.

The first group includes positive-displacement devices and the second includes centrifugal
pumps, blowers, and compressors. Also, in positive displacement devices, the force may be
applied to the fluid either by piston acting in a cylinder or by rotating pressure members. The
first type is called reciprocating machines and the second is called rotary positive-displacement
machines

A. PUMPS

Pumps are devices for supplying energy or head to a flowing liquid in order to overcome head
losses due to friction and also, if necessary, to raise the liquid to a higher level. The head
imparted to a flowing liquid by a pump is known as the total head Δh. If a pump is placed
between points 1 and 2 in a pipeline, the heads for steady flow are related by equation:

* ( )+ * ( )+

Where Z, P/γ, v2/2αg are the static, pressure and velocity heads respectively and hf is the head
loss due to friction. The dimensionless velocity distribution factor α is 1/2 for laminar flow and
approximately 1 for turbulent flow.

The following factors influence the choice of pump for a particular operation.

 The quantity of liquid to be handled. This primarily affects the size of the pump and
determines whether it is desirable to use a number of pumps in parallel.
 The head against which the liquid is to be pumped. This will be determined by the
difference in pressure, the vertical height of the downstream and upstream reservoirs and
by the frictional losses which occur in the delivery line. The suitability of a centrifugal
pump and the number of stages required will largely be determined by this factor.
  The nature of the liquid to be pumped. For a given throughput, the viscosity largely
determines the friction losses and hence the power required. The corrosive nature will
determine the material of construction both for the pump and the packing. With
suspensions, the clearances in the pump must be large compared with the size of the
particles.
 The nature of the power supply. If the pump is to be driven by an electric motor or
internal combustion engine, a high-speed centrifugal or rotary pump will be preferred as
it can be coupled directly to the motor. Simple reciprocating pumps can be connected to
steam or gas engines.
 If the pump is used only intermittently, corrosion problems are more likely than with
continuous working.

The cost and mechanical efficiency of the pump must always be considered, and it may be
advantageous to select a cheap pump and pay higher replacement or maintenance costs rather
than to install a very expensive pump of high efficiency

System Heads

The important heads to consider in a pumping system are the suction, discharge, total and
available net positive suction heads. The following definitions are given in reference to the
typical pumping system shown below where the arbitrarily chosen base line is the center-line of
the pump:
In the above equations, hfs and hfd are the head losses due to friction in the suction and discharge
sides respectively; Zs and Zd are the static heads, Ps and Pd are the gas pressure above the liquid
in the tank on the suction and discharge sides. hs and hd are the values of (P/ρg + v2/2gα + Z) at
the suction flange and discharge flange respectively.

The above equations are obtained by applying Bernoulli's equation between the supply tank and
the suction flange, and between the discharge flange and the receiving tank, respectively. On the
suction side, the frictional loss hfs, reduces the total head at the suction flange but on the
discharge side, hfd increases the head at the discharge flange.

The total head Δh which the pump is required to impart to the flowing liquid is the difference
between the discharge and suction heads:

This gives the final derivation:

( )
( ) ( )

It should be noted that the suction head hs, can fall to a very low value, for example when the
suction frictional head loss is high and the static head Zs is low. If the absolute pressure in the
liquid at the suction flange falls to, or below, the absolute vapour pressure Pv of the liquid,
bubbles of vapour will be formed at the pump inlet. Worse still, even if the pressure at the
suction flange is slightly higher than the vapour pressure, cavitation--the formation and
subsequent collapse of vapour bubbles will occur within the body of the pump because the
pressure in the pump falls further as the liquid is accelerated.

In order that cavitation may be avoided, pump manufacturers specify a minimum value by which
the total head at the suction flange must exceed the head corresponding to the liquid's vapour
pressure.
The difference between the suction head and the vapour pressure head is known as the Net
Positive Suction Head, NPSH:

( ) ( )

The available NPSH must exceed the value required by the pump and specified by the
manufacturer. The required NPSH increases with increasing flow rate.

Power Requirement

The power delivered to the fluid Pf is calculated from the mass flow rate and the head developed
by the pump from :

However the power supplied to the pump drive from an external source known as the brake
Power PB is given as:

In SI unit :

The pumping hydraulic power once the flow and corresponding system resistance have been
established is calculated from:

̇ ( ) ̇
̇

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