SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING,

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY,

ISLAMABAD.

FLUID MECHANICS LAB REPORT

Name Registration # TRN Section Sub-Group
Hamza Sohail Moghal 366518 112 C A

Experiment # 5: Centrifugal Pump

Objective
The objective of the experiment is to determine the impact of varying flow rates on the
performance of a centrifugal pump and investigate how changes in flow rate affect the pump's
efficiency and pressure head while maintaining a constant speed.
Apparatus
Series and Parallel Pump Test Rig having the following features:
 Valves
 Speed Sensor
 Pressure Gauge
Procedure
1. First, the circulation tank was filled with water.
2. The valves 1 and 4 were fully opened and the valves 2 and 3 were fully closed.
3. The power supply was turned on and the switch at the control panel was also turned on.
The indicators for pressure, speed, flowrate, and power were turned on.
4. The volumetric flowrate of the fluid was adjusted by valve 5, after activating Pump I.
5. Readings were taken for pressure, power, speed, and flow rate from the digital indicators.
6. After completion, power supply and all the valves were switched to off position.

Results
Single pump operation with variable flow rate

kg
ρ=1000 3
m

m
g=9.81 2
s
Flow rate Speed Power PT1 PT3 PT3- PT1 Pump Head Efficiency
(LPM) (RPM) (Watt) (bar) (bar) (bar) (m) (%)
0 1742 261 1.02 1.93 0.91 9.276 0
10 1738 271 1.00 1.84 0.84 8.562 5.14
20 1736 298 1.00 1.80 0.80 8.155 8.95
30 1708 314 1.00 1.73 0.73 7.441 11.62
40 1722 323 0.99 1.69 0.70 7.135 14.45
50 1709 330 0.98 1.61 0.63 6.422 15.91
60 1715 307 0.97 1.49 0.52 5.301 16.93
70 1709 313 0.92 1.38 0.46 4.689 17.14
80 1705 335 0.92 1.35 0.43 4.383 17.11
90 1713 343 0.92 1.23 0.31 3.160 13.55
100 1720 357 0.90 1.13 0.23 2.344 10.69

Sample Calculations

Pump Head:
P T 3 −P T 1 0.84 ×105
H= = =8.562 m
ρ×g 1000 × 9.81

First convert flowrate from LPM to m3/s

flow∈ LPM 10 3
Q= = =0.00016667 m /s
60000 60000

Power of fluid:
Pfluid =ρ × g ×Q × H

Pfluid =1000 ×9.81 ×0.00016667 × 8.52=13.93 watt

Efficiency:

P fluid 13.93
ŋ= ×100= ×100=5.14 %
Pelectrical 271
Graphs
Relationship of Efficiency and Flowrate in Centrifugal Pumps

Variation in Efficiency with Flowrate

18

16

14

12
Efficiency (%)

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Flowrate (Liters/minute)

Relationship of Pump Head and Flowrate in Centrifugal Pumps

Variation in Pump Head with Flowrate

10
9
8
7
Pump Head (m)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Flowrate (Liters/minute)
Discussion
The experiment was conducted so that the relationship between the flowrate and the efficiency
and that between the flowrate and pressure head of the pump could be studied. It was seen that
the efficiency increases with the flowrate to a certain point and decreases after that. The pressure
head on the other hand, decreased with the increase in flowrate. It can be explained that the
efficiency increases at first and then decreases, because as the flowrate becomes higher, the flow
becomes turbulent.
From Bernoulli’s Equation, it is imperative that as the flowrate (or velocity) of the fluid
increases, its pressure head decreases (keeping the elevation head constant). This is exactly what
was seen from the experiment.
The graphs in both cases were not linear, and it can be explained by the uncertainties and errors
in the experiment. A lot of human errors and instrumental inaccuracies could have caused the
non-linearity of the relations.

Conclusion
All in all, it was concluded that the flowrate affects the efficiency and pressure head of the pump.
This knowledge is essential for an engineer, who can optimize the use of pumps in various
applications by using this information.