Centrifugal Pumps

• The pumps employing centrifugal effects for increasing fluid pressure have been in use
for more than a century.
• The centrifugal pump, by its principle, is converse of the Francis turbine. The flow is
radially outward, and the hence the fluid gains in centrifugal head while flowing
through it.
• Because of certain inherent advantages, such as compactness, smooth and uniform
flow, low initial cost and high efficiency even at low heads, centrifugal pumps are used
in almost all pumping systems.
• However, before considering the operation of a pump in detail, a general pumping
system is discussed as follows.
 General Pumping System &
The Net Head Developed by a Pump

The total head developed by the pump =

static head + sum of all the losses.
 Different type of head
1. Static Suction Head
( hs ) elevation of the liquid relative to
Head resulting from
the pump centerline is called static suction head
• If the liquid level is above pump centerline, hs is positive.
• If the liquid level is below pump centerline, hs is negative.
• Negative hs condition is commonly denoted as a “suction lift”
condition.
 2. Static Discharge Head ( hd )
It is the vertical distance in feet between the pump
centerline and the point of free discharge or the
surface of the liquid in the discharge tank
 introduction
The energy required to push water through a pipeline is dissipated as friction
pressure loss, in m .
 “Major” losses occur due to friction within a pipe Darcy-Weisbach
equation
 “minor” losses occur at a change of section, valve, bend or other interruption

where
f = friction factor
k = Loss Coefficient of the pipe fitting
L = Length (m)
D = Diameter (m)
V = Velocity (m/s)
 Supporting Information
Major Losses :
• Pressure loss is proportional to L/D ratio and velocity head .
• For low velocities, where the flow is laminar, friction loss is caused by viscous shearing
between streamlines near the wall of the pipe and the friction factor (f) is well defined .
• For high velocities where the flow is fully turbulent, friction loss is caused by water
particles coming into contact with irregularities in the surface of the pipe and friction
factor itself is a function of surface roughness.
• In most engineering applications, the velocity is less than that required for fully
turbulent flow and f is a function of both the viscosity of a boundary layer and the
roughness of the pipe surface. Values of f can be determined experimentally and
plotted in dimensionless form against Reynolds Number Re to from a Moody Diagram .
Minor Losses :
• Minor losses behave similarly to major losses, where a device with a large k value leads
to a high pressure loss. In general, a very sudden change to the flow path contributes to
significant pressure loss .
 3. Friction Head ( hf )
This head required to overcome the
resistance to flow in the pipe and fittings
• It is dependent upon the size, condition and type of pipe, number
and type of pipe fittings, flow rate, and nature of the liquid.
• There are many types of losses of head for flowing liquids such as
friction, inlet and outlet losses .
• The major loss is that due to frictional resistance of the pipe,
which depends on the inside roughness of the pipe .
• The common formula for calculating the loss of head due to
friction is Darcy’s one.
 Darcy’s formula for friction loss of head:
For a flowing liquid, water in general, through a pipe, the horizontal forces on
water between two sections (1) and (2) are :
P1 A = P2 A + FR
Where :
P1 = Pressure intensity at (1) .
A = Cross sectional area of pipe .
P2 = Pressure intensity at (2) .
FR = Frictional Resistance at (2) .
FR / sp.gr x A = ( P1 / sp.gr ) - ( P2 / sp.gr ) = hf
Where :
Hf = Loss of pressure head due to friction.
sp.gr = Specific gravity of water.
It is found
experimentally that : x Wetted Area x Velocity2
FR = Factor
FR = ( sp.gr x f / 2g ) x ( sp.gr x d x L ) x v2
Where :
f = Friction coefficient.
d = Diameter of pipe.
L = Length of pipe.

It may be substituted for in the last equation to

get the head loss for a known discharge. Thus,
How does the pressure increase ?
Centrifugal pumps may consist of the following
types:
(a) Radial Flow Pumps Radial flow pumps generate pressure purely
(b) Axial Flow Pumps centrifugal force of the liquid due to
(c) Mixed Flow Pumps rotation of the pump impeller. Axial flow
pumps develop pressure by propelling or
lifting the liquid by the pump impeller vanes.
Mixed flow pumps use a combination
of radial and axial flow pumps. When high
heads are required, radial flow pumps are
used. Axial flow and mixed flow pumps are
generally used with low head, high
capacity systems.
Parts of a Centrifugal Pump
A centrifugal pump is built up of two main
parts:
1. THE ROTOR (or Rotating Element).
2. THE CASING (or Housing or Body).