Net Positive Suction Head

NPSH increases as the square of the pump flow rate near and above the design flow
rate of a pump.

From: Biermann's Handbook of Pulp and Paper (Third Edition), 2018

Related terms:

Hydraulics, Boiler, Cavitation, Turbines, Friction, Centrifugal Pumps, Feedwater

View all Topics

NPSH and Pump Cavitation

E. Shashi Menon P.E., Pramila S. Menon MBA, in Working Guide to Pumps and
Pumping Stations, 2010

The term net positive suction head (NPSH) is related with pump performance and
centrifugal pump capacity. The chapter discusses NPSH in details and also explains
how important it is in determining the pump capacity. Every pump has an NPSH
requirement. The importance of net positive suction head also lies in the fact that
it has a direct impact on pump cavitations. The importance of NPSH and its impact
on pump cavitations cannot be ignored. There are particular methods of calculating
NPSH in pipeline configuration, which have been explained in details with help of
examples. The effective pressure that is there at the center of the suction of a pump is
depicted by NPSH. The difference between the NPSH that is required at a particular
flow rate and the NPSH that is available in a specific pump is explained in details
and shown with examples.

> Read full chapter

Hydraulics
Pratima Bajpai, in Biermann's Handbook of Pulp and Paper (Third Edition), 2018
NPSH, NPSHA, NPSHR
NPSH is the absolute suction head minus the vapor pressure of the liquid being
pumped. NPSHA is the net positive suction head available and must be greater than
NPSHR, the net positive suction head required. NPSH increases as the square of the
pump flow rate near and above the design flow rate of a pump. It does not increase
this fast at flow rates much below the rated flow rate.

Good design practices on the inlet piping help insure an adequate NPSH. Suction
piping should be at least twice the diameter of the pump inlet nozzle. Pump inlet
velocities should be below 10 ft/s. Place pipe elbows at least 5–10 pipe diameters
from the pump inlet, with the lower ratio applicable to large pipe diameters. When
this is impossible, the use of rotating vanes before the elbow can solve problems.
Inlet screening devices, if used, must not have high pressure drops.

High elevation reduces atmospheric pressure and NPSHA. Every 1000 feet of eleva-
tion reduces NPSHA, the equivalent of 1.1 feet of water head.

> Read full chapter

Pumps
In Pipeline Rules of Thumb Handbook (Eighth Edition), 2014

Example 2
What are the head, efficiency, NPSHr, and BHP at 1600 gpm? (Answer: 85 , 78%,
7.5 NPSHr, and 44 BHP).

In a pumping system, the capacity of the pump moves along the pump curve based
upon the differential head across the pump. For instance, for Figure 3, with the
maximum impeller diameter, if the flow is 900 gpm and you want to increase it, you
reduce the head to 85 , and the flow will increase to 1600 gpm. It's by controlling
the pump differential head that you control the flow of the pump. If you wanted
1300 gpm, you would have to throttle the head back to 100 .

The slopes of pump curves vary depending on the pump-specific speed (Ns). How
they vary depends on Ns and is shown in Figure 4. The Ns is a dimensionless number
calculated as:

(3)

The Ns for Figure 3 is 1311.

NPSHr is net positive suction head required by the pump—based on test.

NPSHa is net positive suction head available by the system—must be calculated.

(4)

P1 = Pressure of suction vessel (atmospheric in open tanks)

hvp = Vapor pressure of liquid at its pumping temperature, t
hs = Static suction head, the vertical distance between the eye of the first stage
impeller centerline and the suction liquid level. (This may be a positive or
negative number, depending on whether the suction liquid is above the pump
suction eye or below it, as on a “lift.”)
hsf = Friction and entrance losses on the suction side

Pump curves are generated by manufacturers and show a range of impeller diame-
ters from minimum to maximum size for the casing size selected. These are based
on a single speed (rpm). Head/capacity relationship changes with speed or impeller
diameter per the affinity laws. Affinity laws are discussed in all the references. Other
information often found is suction specific speed (Nss), which is a dimensionless
number calculated at the BEP as

Figure 3. Manufacturer's performance curve.

Figure 4. Head versus capacity versus Ns.

Figure 5. Atypical pump system.

(5)

(Note: The gpm is per impeller eye, so for a double suction impeller, the flow is half
the flow of single suction impeller.)

The Nss in Figure 3 is 10,800.

Nss is a function of NPSHr. To reduce NPSHr, the impeller eye is modified. If the
eye is modified too much, it causes a reduction in the low flow capabilities of the
pump and limits the low end point of operation.

> Read full chapter

Pump fundamentals
Maurice Stewart, in Surface Production Operations, 2019
2.2.2.13 Net positive suction head required (NPSHR)
The NPSHR is the amount of NPSH required to move and accelerate the fluid
from the pump suction into the pump itself (refer to Fig. 2.17). It is determined
either by test or calculation by the pump manufacturer for the specific pump under
consideration. The NPSHR is a function of

Fig. 2.17. Net positive suction head required (NPSHR).

• Fluid geometry

• Smoothness of the surface areas

For centrifugal pumps, other factors included are as follows:

• Type of impeller

• Design of impeller eye

• Rotational speeds

2.2.2.13.1 NPSHR reductions for centrifugal pumps

The NPSHR requirement for centrifugal pumps is determined on the basis of
handling cool water. Field experience and laboratory testing have confirmed that
centrifugal pumps handling gas-free hydrocarbon fluids and water at elevated tem-
peratures will operate satisfactorily with harmless cavitation and less NPSHA than
would be required for cold water.
Fig. 2.18 shows the reductions in NPSH that should be considered when handling
hot water and certain gas-free pure hydrocarbon liquids. The use of Fig. 2.18 is
subject to certain limitations some of which are summarized as follows:

Fig. 2.18. NPSH reduction for pumps handling hydrocarbon liquids and high-tem-
perature water.Courtesy of Ingersoll-Dresser Pumps.

(1) The NPSH reductions are based on laboratory test data at steady-state suction
conditions and on gas-free pure hydrocarbon liquids shown; its application to
other liquids must be considered experimental and is not recommended.
(2) No NPSH reduction should exceed 50% of the NPSH required for cold water
or 10 feet (3 m) whichever is smaller.
(3) In the absence of test data demonstrating NPSH reductions > 10 ft (3 m) the
graph has been limited to that extent and extrapolation beyond that point is
not recommended.
(4) Vapor pressure for the liquid should be determined by the bubble point
method—do not use the Reid vapor pressure.
(5) Do not use the graph for liquids having entrained air or other noncondensable
gases which may be released as the absolute pressure is lowered at the entrance
to the impeller, in which case additional NPSH may be required for satisfactory
operation.
(6) In the use of the graph for high-temperature liquids, particularly with water,
due consideration must be given to the susceptibility of the suction system to
transient changes in temperature and absolute pressure which might require
additional NPSH to provide a margin of safety, far exceeding the reduction
otherwise permitted for steady-state operation.

The procedure in using Fig. 2.18 is best illustrated by going through an example.
Assume a pump requires a NPSHR of 16 ft (4.88 m), based on cold water at the design
capacity, is required to handle pure propane at 55°F (12.8°C) which has a vapor
pressure of approximately 100 psia (689.5 kPa). Entering Fig. 2.18 at a temperature of
55°F (12.8°C) and intersecting the propane curve shows a reduction of 9.5 ft (2.9 m)
(which is greater than one half the cold water NPSHR). The corrected value of the
NPSHR is one half the cold water NPSHR or 8 ft (2.4 m).

Assume the same pump has another application to handle propane at 14°F (− 10°C)
where its vapor pressure is 50 psia (344.7 kPa). In this case the graph in Fig. 2.16
shows a reduction of 6 ft (1.8 m) which is less than one-half of the cold water NPSH.
The corrected value of NPSH is, therefore, 16 ft (4.9 m) less 6 ft (1.8 m) or 10 ft
(3 m). For a more detailed discussion on the use of this chart and its limitations, one
should follow the requirements of the Hydraulic Institute Standards.

> Read full chapter

Condensers, pumps and cooling water

plant
Turbines, Generators and Associated Plant (Third Edition), 1991

11.2 Net positive suction head

The net positive suction head (NPSH) is an important concept in judging the suction
behaviour of a centrifugal pump. A distinction needs to be made between the NPSH
available to the pump and the NPSH required by the pump.

The NPSH available is the difference between the inlet head to the pump and the
saturation pressure of the liquid being handled. As the available NPSH is reduced,
cavitation commences, first at flowrates away from best efficiency and eventually
over the complete operating range. This is a result of the local pressure falling to
the vapour pressure of the liquid at the particular temperature condition. Operation
in a cavitating mode for extended periods results in erosion damage, regardless
of impeller material. Feed pumps with a high head per stage are most liable to
cavitation damage because of the higher energy input to the fluid.

Cavitation performance breakdown has been shown to be directly proportional to

(shaft speed)2 for a centrifugal impeller. It has also been shown that the head drop
at which unacceptable cavitation damage in pump impellers occurs, increases with
pump speed. From these findings, it is evident that the suction head levels needed
for high speed pumps are significantly greater than those for lower speed machines.

The minimum NPSH required can be defined as that value of NPSH needed by
the pump under long term load conditions to prevent the occurrence of harmful
cavitation effects, in particular that required to avoid cavitation damage and ensure
satisfactory operation.

Normal practice for determining the NPSH required to limit cavitation damage to
an acceptable level is based on head drop tests. For high duty feed pumps, the
assessment of visual test data is now also used as an additional means of assessing
the adequacy of NPSH margins.

The NPSH head drop test can be included as a standard proof of performance
test, with measurements being taken to establish the NPSH at which a 3% drop in
generated head occurs. From data available, it is considered prudent to provide for
feed pumps at least 3 × 3% head drop NPSH to avoid cavitation problems [20].

Visual cavitation tests are carried out on a special test facility, where, for example,
a perspex window allows an uninterrupted view of the impeller eye, and enables
visual observations to be made under stroboscopic lighting. This is an important
tool, allowing the exact cavitation inception point to be determined, which effectively
defines the zero cavitation damage line. Although observations of the pressure face
of the blade are difficult, this problem can be overcome by using acoustic inception
techniques to establish the onset of cavitation. When checking NPSH adequacy
using the visual technique, current practice requires the available NPSH to have
a margin over the visual appearance NPSH, which itself is associated with bubble
cavities having an agreed maximum length.

> Read full chapter

Compressors
A. Kayode Coker, in Fortran Programs for Chemical Process Design, Analysis, and
Simulation, 1995
NPSH.
The net positive suction head is the most critical factor in a pumping system. A suf-
ficient NPSH is essential, whether working with centrifugal, rotary, or reciprocating
pumps. Marginal or inadequate NPSH will cause cavitation, which is the formation
and rapid collapse of vapor bubbles in a fluid system. Collapsing bubbles place an
extra load on pump parts and can remove a considerable amount of metal from
impeller vanes. Cavitation often takes place before the symptoms become evident.
Factors that indicate cavitation are increased noise, loss of discharge head, and
reduced fluid flow.

> Read full chapter

Well Dynamics
David A. Simpson P.E., in Practical Onshore Gas Field Engineering, 2017

3.5.3.1 Pumping considerations

Not all techniques that add energy are actually “pumping liquid,” it is common to
think of them that way.

Emissions. None of the techniques in this section directly vent gas to the atmosphere,
but they all require some external motive force. On-site engines are normally
internal combustion engines that either burn well gas (most common for gas wells)
or liquid fuel trucked to site. Electric motors result in about the same emissions
as on-site engines, but those emissions take place elsewhere and someone else is
accountable for them.

The major reporting concerns are oxides of sulfur (SOx), oxides of nitrogen (NOx),
carbon monoxide (CO), and unburned fuel. Environmental regulators have added
the so-called greenhouse gases to the list, often in direct contravention of local law
(e.g., in the United States the “Clean Air Act” explicitly prohibits CO2 and CH4 from
being classed as “pollutants,” but in 2015 the US Environmental Protection Agency
did in fact class these beneficial gases as pollutants and the regulation was later
struck down by the courts). The actual pollutants of concern are all the result of
burning fuel with inadequate oxygen. It is becoming common for operators to install
fuel-air monitors to keep the combustion as close to stoichiometric as possible and
to create a record of monitoring activities.

Environmental agencies have recently spent a lot of effort (and taxpayer money) on
reducing “unloading emissions” which involve dumping raw “greenhouse gases”
into the atmosphere unburned. Engine stack gas is not a factor in this category of
emissions.

Net positive suction head (NPSH). In 1993, I was in a mixed engineering group
made up of production engineers and facilities engineers. One of the production
engineers proposed installing an electric submersible pump (ESP) in a gas well.
Innocently, I asked “what is the net positive suction head required for that pump?”
The production engineer got the look that all engineers get from time to time, the
look that says “I have no earthly idea what you are talking about, but I refuse to look
dumb so I’ll make something up,” and he said “it is zero.” I looked over at our boss
(another facilities engineer) and without another word he said to the production
engineer “David will be helping you with specifying that pump.” I’ve been very much
involved in gas-well deliquification ever since. This seems to be an area with few
facilities engineers involved which has always seemed odd to me since so much of
facilities engineering is about shifting fluids from one place to another, vertical is
not that much different.

Understanding NPSH is crucial to understanding how downhole pumps work (or

don’t). Let’s start with three important definitions (Simpson 2):

• NPSH: the amount of external pressure at the inlet to the pump

• Required NPSH (NPSH-r): The amount of external pressure required at the

pump suction to ensure that the pump operates full of liquid without phase
changes.
• Available NPSH (NPSH-a): The amount of external pressure available at the
pump suction.

It generally doesn’t matter if NPSH comes from an actual column of liquid or from
an imposed pressure (as long as the pump sees continuous-phase liquid at the pump
suction). NPSH-r is a function of fluid properties, primarily boiling point and vapor
pressure. Dissolved and entrained gases do not materially impact NPSH since they
are not condensable.

Fig. 3.25 shows why NPSH in oil fields is less of a problem than in gas fields. In a
static system, liquid will try to “seek its own level” meaning that in Fig. 3.25 the oil
level will rise in the tubing to be equal to the highest point in the reservoir that is
impacted by the well. Often several hundred feet of liquid will be above the pump
in an oil well without impacting reservoir performance.
Figure 3.25. NPSH in oil fields.

In a gas field, any liquid above the formation will add backpressure to the producing
formation. Managing that total backpressure is an important part of production
operations, but it is complicated by the competing requirements that downhole
pumps need NPSH-r and the reservoir needs a certain flowing BHP. Trading these
competing requirements against one another is far more complex than many oper-
ators realize.

If you need more NPSH-a than you have, you can:

• Change technology: an SRP requires less NPSH-r than a jet pump for example.

• Install or modify downhole equipment: you can look at changing tubing size,
installing downhole separators, installing devices to trip traveling valves on
SRPs, put vent holes in piping (be careful of this, any hole on the discharge
side of the pump will reduce pump capacity and too big a hole can steal the
entire pump capacity).
• Remove pressure drops: screens, tail pipes, standing valves all have some
amount of pressure drop that reduces the NPSH-a, but you need to under-
stand why these things are installed in the first place to be able to evaluate the
impact of removing them.
• Change pump set depth: This will be discussed later.

Cavitation. When NPSH-a is less than NPSH-r in a dynamic pump (e.g., ESP or
jet pump), then there is a significant risk of “cavitation.” “Cavitation” is “the
formation and subsequent collapse of vapor bubbles in a flow stream.” The “sub-
sequent collapse” phrase is the important part. When the vapor bubbles collapse,
the surrounding liquid rushes into the void at sonic velocity and can tear metal from
the surface of piping and fixtures. Fig. 3.26 shows a jet pump throat that was put
into cavitation for less than 1 hour (the pump suction piping was clogged tight with
coal fines and the pump could not find anything to pump so its “work” shifted to
destroying itself ). Cavitation is only an issue in dynamic pumps that rely on constant
fluid-phase inside the pump. PD pumps can cavitate, but the outcome is rougher
piping, not failed functionality.
Figure 3.26. Cutaway of a damaged jet pump throat.

Tubing set depth. The industry has observed that in oil fields, setting a pump deep in
a well (often significantly below the perforations, colloquially called “sumping the
pump”) will generally increase liquid production, in terms of both production rate
and ultimate recovery. This seems to be due to the fact that gravity has a profound
impact on liquids and the deeper you set the pump, the more pressure the pump will
see at the suction added to the cohesive forces of a continuous-phase liquid. When
pumping a commercial product, increasing both the production rate and ultimate
recovery is a very good thing.

But is it good when pumping a waste product? If you’ll remember back to Fig. 3.1,
in a gas reservoir, the near-well-bore tends to “empty” with production and “refill”
during shut-in periods. That process assumes that liquids are evenly disbursed as
droplets or small pockets. Since gravity acts more strongly on liquids than on gases,
putting a pump below the producing formation has a strong siphoning effect on
the water (the same as it has on oil in an oil reservoir) allowing the isolated pockets
and droplets of liquid to aggregate. The higher this differential is, the more of
the reservoir will experience cohesive-liquid flow. As the cone of cohesive-liquid
flow increases, the flow channels become liquid-full farther from the well-bore.
Liquid-full flow channels increase the drainage area for liquids, at the expense of
gas. The farther you get from the well-bore, the lower the differential pressure across
any given volume. Lower dP means it is more difficult for gas to displace the liquid
deep in the reservoir, and the only fluid that flows through that volume is liquid.

What is the impact of lowering tubing to sump the pump (Table 3.2) as many people
do in gas fields around the world?

Table 3.2. Effect of sumping a pump

Oil Gas/Water
Provides NPSH-a for pump Good Good
Increases the rate you can re- Good Only good if more water can
move liquid correlate to more gas (generally
the opposite is true)
Increases the liquid drainage Good Very bad (you get water re-
area at the cost of gas produc- stricting flow paths into the
tion well-bore)
Produces more liquid Very good Not good

Data on sumping pumps in gas fields is quite difficult to come by. Companies
that routinely set pumps below the producing formation never set pumps above the
producing formation and vice versa. Getting comparative apples-to-apples data has
proven impossible. The hardest thing to sort out is the question “does more water
production correlate to more gas production and/or more ultimate recovery?” If not,
does less water production (approximately equal to the native inflow rate) correlate
to more or less production and/or ultimate recovery?” As an industry we do not have
a universal answer to either of these questions.

In the POD project in the San Juan Basin mentioned earlier (Simpson, 1) we kept
careful records on gas and water production along with everything else and we had
the latitude to reposition the tubing as we saw the necessity. We found that wells
with the tubing set below the lowest zone, we did make more liquid, but less gas. We
further found that placing the tubing near the middle of the most productive zone
maximized gas production while minimizing water production in both pumping and
free-flowing wells. Our conclusion from this is that (at least in CBM) the water in the
reservoir is holding the gas onto the coal and removing it faster than desorbed gas
can flow to the well-bore causes that gas to migrate in other directions and become
unrecoverable.

I can’t say how well this concept translates to other formations, but I have observed in
a very densely drilled tight gas field, sumping a pump did increase water production
while decreasing both gas and condensate production on several wells when new
engineers came into the field and demanded that tubing be lowered “because that
is the way we did it in my last field.” This was far from a scientific study and could
have no relevance at all, but it is what I observed.

The area below the producing formation is typically called the “rat hole” because the
original purpose of drilling past the target formation was to provide a location for
fill and well-bore trash to accumulate. Keep that purpose in mind when deciding to
set a pump in the rat hole. Some of the observed problems with sumping pumps in
the rat hole have included the following:

• Concentration of well-bore trash (dropped tools, corrosion products, scale,

sludge, and fill) in the pump suction
• Difficulty in removing heat from electric motors in a space with limited-to-no
fluid outside of the production casing.

> Read full chapter

Details of Plot Layout

Seán Moran, in Process Plant Layout (Second Edition), 2017

18.2 Abbreviations/Standards and Codes/Terminology

18.2.1 Abbreviations

NPSH Net Positive Suction Head

PDA Personal Digital Assistant

PFD Process Flow Diagram; a diagram which shows

in outline the main unit operations, piped inter-
connections, and mass flows of a process plant

18.2.2 Standards and Codes

18.2.2.1 International Standards and Codes

International Standards Organization (ISO)

ISO 14122 Permanent Machinery—Per-
manent Means of Access to
Machinery
ISO 14122-1 Part 1: Choice of fixed means of 2001
access between two levels
ISO 14122-2 Part 2: Working platforms and 2001
walkways
ISO 14122-3 Part 3: Stairs, stepladders, and 2001
guardrails
ISO 14122-4 Part 4: Fixed ladders 2004

18.2.2.2 British Standards and Codes

Statutory Regulation
1997 The Confined Spaces Regula- No. 1713
tions
British Standards
BS 5908-1 Fire and explosion precautions 2012
at premises handling flamma-
ble gases, liquids, and dusts.
Code of practice for precautions
against fire and explosion in
chemical plants, chemical stor-
age, and similar premises
BS 5908-2 Guide to applicable standards 2012
and regulations

18.2.3 Terminology
Grade Local ground level/slope

Poka-yoke Japanese for “mistake-proofing” (previously

known as the less polite “baka-yoke” or “id-
iot-proofing”); techniques to avoid human error
in manufacturing industry by preventing, correct-
ing, or drawing attention to human errors as they
occur

> Read full chapter

Pump Stations
E. Shashi Menon, in Transmission Pipeline Calculations and Simulations Manual,
2015

2.17 NPSH Required versus NPSH Available

The NPSH of a centrifugal pump is defined as the NPSH required at the pump
impeller suction to prevent pump cavitation at any flow rate. Cavitation occurs
when the suction pressure at the impeller falls below the liquid vapor pressure.
This will damage the pump impeller and render it useless. NPSH required for a
pump at any flow rate is given by the pump vendor's NPSH curve, as in Figure 9.14.
For that pump curve, it can be seen that the NPSH required ranges from 38 ft at
1200 gal/min to 64 ft at 2600 gpm. To obtain satisfactory performance with this
pump, the actual available NPSH (NPSHA) must be more than the required NPSH
(NPSHR). The NPSHA is calculated for a piping system by taking into account the
positive tank head, including atmospheric pressure and subtracting the pressure
drop resulting from friction in the suction piping and the liquid vapor pressure at the
pumping temperature. The resulting value of NPSH for this piping configuration will
represent the net pressure of the liquid at pump suction, above its vapor pressure.
Shortly, we will review this calculation for a typical pump and piping system.

Consider a centrifugal pump with the suction and delivery tanks and interconnecting
piping as shown in Figure 9.20.
Figure 9.20. Suction and discharge heads for a centrifugal pump.

The vertical distance from the liquid level on the suction side of the pump center line
is defined as the static suction head. More correctly it is the static suction lift (HS)
when the center line of the pump is higher than that of the liquid supply level as in
Figure 9.20. If the liquid supply level were higher than the pump center line, it will
be called the static suction head on the pump. Similarly, the vertical distance from
the pump center line to the liquid level on the delivery side is the static discharge
head (Hd) as shown in Figure 9.20. The total static head on a pump is defined as
the sum of the static suction head and the static discharge head. It represents the
vertical distance between the liquid supply level and the liquid discharge level. The
static suction head, static discharge head, and the total static head on a pump are
all measured in feet of liquid in USCS or meters of liquid in the SI system.

The friction head, measured in feet of liquid, is the head loss resulting from
friction in both suction and discharge piping. It represents the pressure required
to overcome the frictional resistance of all piping, fittings, and valves on the suction
and discharge side of the pump as shown in Figure 9.20.

On the suction side of the pump, the available suction head HS will be reduced by
the friction loss in the suction piping. This net suction head on the pump will be the
available suction head at the pump center line.

(9.14)

where Hfs is the friction loss in suction piping.

The NPSH available is calculated by adding the suction head to the atmospheric
pressure on the liquid surface in the suction tank and subtracting the vapor pressure
of the liquid at the flowing temperature, as follows:

(9.15)

where:

Pa is atmospheric pressure, psi;

Pv is liquid vapor pressure at flowing temperature, psi
Sg = liquid specific gravity at flowing temperature
H = tank head, ft
E1 = elevation of tank bottom, ft
E2 = elevation of pump suction, ft
hf = friction loss in suction piping, ft

Problem 9.6
 A centrifugal pump is used to pump a liquid from a storage tank through 500 ft
of NPS 16 suction piping as shown in Figure 9.21. The head loss in the suction
piping is estimated to be 12.5 ft.1.Calculate the NPSH available at a flow rate of
3500 gal/min.2.The pump data indicate NPSHR = 24 ft at 3500 gal/min and 52 ft at
4500 gal/min. Can this piping system handle the higher flow rate without the pump
cavitating?3.If cavitation is a problem in (b), what changes must be made to the
piping system to prevent pump cavitation at 4500 gal/min?

Figure 9.21. NPSH calculation.

Solution
1.NPSH available in ft of liquid head is from Eqn (9.15):

Substituting given values we get2.Because NPSHR = 24 ft at 3500 gal/min and

NPSHA > NPSHR, the pump will not cavitate at this flow rate. Next, we will check
for the higher flow rate.

At 4500 gal/min flow rate, the head loss needs to be estimated.

Using Chapter 8 concepts, at 4500 gal/min:

Recalculating NPSHA at the higher flow rate we get:

Because the pump data indicate NPSHR = 52 ft at 4500 gal/min, the pump does not
have adequate NPSH (NPSHA < NPSHR) and therefore will cavitate at the higher flow
rate.3.The extra head required to prevent cavitation = 52–22.07 = 29.9 ft

One solution is to locate the pump suction at an additional 30 ft or more below the
tank. This may not be practical. Another solution is to provide a small vertical can
type pump that can serve as booster between the tank and the main pump. This
booster pump will provide the additional head required to prevent cavitation.

> Read full chapter

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