Turbo Machinery
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Rotating World–Pumps
Part-I S K Bhuwan
Design Engineering and
Selection of Centrifugal
Pumps-Basics
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PART1: The training Session-5
4.1 The Impeller
4.2 Specific Speed
4.3 Impact of Dia and Speed Change
4.4 Centrifugal Pump Performance curve
4.5 Head Rise to shut off
4.6 Efficiency and concept of BEP
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Impeller
• what is an impeller?
• The impeller is the rotating component within
the centrifugal pump design, which transfers
the energy from the pump’s motor to the fluid.
It is made up of vanes that come off an open
inlet at the centre, known as the eye, which
create a centrifugal force as they spin to move
the liquid from the casing to the discharge
point.
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Impeller
Impeller – The Soul of the Centrifugal Pump
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Impeller
• 1. Open impeller
• As its name suggests, an open impeller has vanes that are
open on both sides without any protective shroud. As they
don’t have any support either side they tend to be weaker,
and therefore are typically used in smaller, inexpensive
pumps that aren’t operated under significant strain. Whilst
they are able to handle a degree of solid content unlike
closed impellers, they require a higher NPSH to operate
without cavitation, damage and loss of efficiency.
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Impeller
• An open impeller has vanes that are attached to a central
hub, but they are not enclosed on all sides.
• This design allows fluid to flow freely through the impeller,
but it can also result in some loss of efficiency due to the
fluid being able to bypass the vanes. Accordingly, open
impellers are used in pumps that handle liquids with low
viscosity, such as water, or in situations where the pump
needs to be able to pass solids or other large particles
through it.
• In many cases, open impellers are seen in paper stock
applications due to low viscosity, but higher particle density.
The open design allows thick paper stock to get through the
impeller and maintain the flow without damaging or
impeding the impeller.
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Impeller
• 2. A closed impeller has enclosed at the back
and front, providing maximum strength. They
have a low NPSH required and provide a more
efficient flow.
• However they are a more complicated,
expensive design due to their reliance on close-
clearance wear rings to reduce axial loads and
help maintain efficiency.
• They are the most popular impeller for large
pumps transferring clean liquid as they are
prone to clogging when in contact with solids.
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Impeller
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Impeller
• 3. Semi-open impellers, which have partially enclosed
vanes, and shrouded impellers, which have a shroud
or cover over the vanes to help direct and guide the
flow of fluid.
• Keeping this in mind, the semi-open impeller design
can offer a balance between the performance of open
and closed impellers, and, depending on the specific
needs of the application, can offer a, best of both
worlds, option for those that are caught deciding
between the two aforementioned options.
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Impeller
• Semi-open impellers have a back-wall shroud
that adds mechanical strength to the vanes,
whilst remaining open on the other side.
• They are somewhat of a middle ground
between open and closed impellers in terms of
efficiency and NPSHr, making them suited to
medium sized pumps with a small amount of
soft solids.
• It’s important to note with semi-open impellers
that the clearance between the vanes and the
pump casing needs to be small, as if too large
slippage and recirculation will occur.
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Impeller
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Impeller
• Vortex Impellers:
•
vortex impeller has a recessed
chamber that creates a vortex, which
allows it to handle fluids with high gas
content. They are commonly used in
the oil and gas industry.
• Advantages and disadvantages of
vortex impellers | strengths
and weaknesses
• They are efficient in pumping
liquids with entrained air or gas. One
strength of vortex impellers is their
ability to handle high gas content, but
a weakness is their low efficiency.
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Impeller
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Impeller
• Impeller Types – Look at the Velocity Triangle!
• 1) Radial Flow
• 2) Mixed Flow
• 3) Axial Flow
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Impeller
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Impeller
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Impellers and Their Specific speeds
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Specific Speed
• Specific Speed is a dimensionless rating of pump discharge
performance derived from an equation involving shaft speed, flow
rate and differential head at a pump’s Best Efficiency Point.
• It is an important factor used in the design and selection of pumps
and impellers.
• Specific speed is a concept developed for water turbines in 1915,
which was later applied to centrifugal pumps (Stepanoff, 1948).
Specific speed is a way to “normalize” the performance of these
hydraulic machines.
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Specific Speed
• The commonly-used equation for specific speed is as follows:
•
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Specific Speed
• Defined as the theoretical rotational speed at which a geometrically similar
impeller would run if it were of such a size as to produce 1 m of head (Hopt)
at a flow rate (Qopt m3/s at the best efficiency point, the specific speed is
expressed in the same units as the rotational speed:
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Specific Speed
• One of the definitions of specific speed is that it is the speed
that a modeled pump would run to produce a one foot head
when pumping one gallon per minute,
• An impeller with a low specific speed has a thin profile (the
shrouds are close together) and a large outside diameter
(OD) relative to the eye diameter. An impeller with a high
specific speed has a fat profile (the shrouds are far apart) and
has an eye diameter that is closer in size to the impeller OD.
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Pump Performance
• The Pump Performance Curve!
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The Pump Curve
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The Pump Performance Curve
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The Pump Performance Curve
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The Pump Performance Curve
• When the impeller rotates, the fluid surrounding it also
rotates. The water flows out radially through the centrifugal
force imparted by the impeller. The pressure and kinetic
energy of the water rises at the discharge side of the impeller
because the rotational mechanical energy is transferred to
the liquid. On the other hand, a negative pressure is induced
at the eye on the suction side of the impeller where water is
getting displaced. The centrifugal pump impeller when
working in tandem with the volute help to create a partial
vacuum and a low pressure. When this vacuum is maintained
it helps the fresh water stream to move into the system.
• The centrifugal pump impeller combined with the volute
decides the following:
1. flow of the pump,
2. pressure inside the pump and the liquid
3. the solid handling capacity of the centrifugal pump.
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Impellers
• When to Choose Which Impeller Type?
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Impellers
• Choosing the right impeller type depends on the application
and pumped fluid. For instance,
• Open impellers are suitable for low-viscosity fluids without
suspended solids.
• While closed impellers are suitable for pumping fluids with
solids.
• The choice of impeller type should also consider the desired
flow rate, efficiency, maintenance, and cost.
• Open impellers are ideal for pumping clean fluids with no solids
or particles. In contrast, closed impellers are suitable for
pumping fluids with solids, as they prevent clogging.
• Semi-open impellers are a hybrid of open and closed impellers.
• Recessed impellers are designed for pumping fluids with high
solid content.
• Vortex impellers, on the other hand, are used for pumping
fluids with high gas content.
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Impellers
• Impact of Impeller Diameter!
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Impact of Change of Dia and speed
• The impact of impeller diameter
• As well as the type of impeller, it is important to consider the
impeller diameter when specifying a centrifugal pump as this can
affect its performance. As you can see, the graph below shows
multiple pump curves that represent different impeller sizes and
the impact that these have on the flow and head of the pump
model in question.
• The larger the impeller, the higher the circumferential speed at the
impeller output and therefore the greater the head and flow
produced by the pump, and vice versa. With this being the case,
impellers can be trimmed to meet the specific duty point required
by the application at hand. Most centrifugal pumps’ performance
curves display the range of impeller trim sizes at which the pump
can operate sufficiently. This is then used to determine the
impeller diameter needed to achieve the performance
requirements.
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Impact of Change of Dia and speed
• The diameter of the impeller also affects pump
performance.
• A larger diameter impeller can handle more fluid,
resulting in higher flow rates.
• But it requires more energy to rotate, resulting in
higher energy consumption.
• Conversely, a smaller impeller diameter consumes less
energy but handles less fluid, resulting in lower flow
rates.
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Impact of Change of Dia and speed
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Impact of Change of Dia and speed
• Impeller trimming is a lot cheaper than
using a variable frequency drive to achieve
the required duty point.
• However, the more an impeller is trimmed,
the larger the clearance between it and the
casing which results in efficiency losses.
• This is why there is a limit to which a pump's
impeller should be trimmed.
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Impact of Change of Dia and speed
• Changing the pump speed can change the pump's performance curve
and change the operating point while the line curve remains the same.
This adjustment is called variable speed adjustment.
•
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Affinity Laws
• The affinity laws are derived from a
dimensionless analysis of three important
parameters that describe pump performance:
• - Flow,
• - Total head and
• - Power
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Affinity Laws
• The affinity laws were developed using the law of
similitudes which provide 3 basic relationships.
• 1) Flow vs. diameter and speed
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Affinity Laws
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Affinity Laws
• 2) Total Head vs. diameter and speed
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Affinity Laws
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Affinity Laws
• 3) Power vs. diameter and speed
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Affinity Laws
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Affinity Laws
• The analysis is based on the reduced impeller
being geometrically similar and operated at
dynamically similar conditions or equal specific
speed.
• If that is the case then the affinity laws can be
used to predict the performance of the pump at
different diameters for the same speed or
different speed for the same diameter.
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Affinity Laws
• In practice impellers of different diameters are
not geometrically identical, it is recommended to
limit the use of this technique to a change of
impeller diameter no greater than 10 to 20%.
• In order to avoid over cutting the impeller, it is
recommended that the trimming be done in steps
with careful measurement of the results.
• At each step compare your predicted performance
with the measured one and adjust as necessary.
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Head Rise to shut off
• The head rise to shut off is the increase in total dynamic head when
a centrifugal pump operates at its maximum flow rate and reaches the
shut-off condition.
• On Performance curve we have Shut off head point and Cut Off Point
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Head Rise to shut off
On Performance curve we have Shut off head point and Cut Off Point
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Efficiency
• Why Pumps are not 100% efficient?
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Efficiency Concept of a Centrifugal pump
• Losses in Centrifugal Pump
• 1. Hydraulic losses : Friction loss shock , eddy losses
• 2. Mechanical losses: Bearing friction, impeller
• 3. Leakage losses: leakage of liquid
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Efficiency Concept of a Centrifugal pump
• How many Efficiency Terms we use in Centrifugal pumps?
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Efficiency Concept of a Centrifugal pump
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Efficiency Concept of a Centrifugal pump
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Efficiency Concept of a Centrifugal pump
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Efficiency Concept of a Centrifugal pump
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Efficiency and concept of BEP
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Efficiency and concept of BEP
• What is the Best Efficiency Point?
• As the pressure a centrifugal pump has to overcome increases, the
discharge flow decreases until, at a certain head, the output drops
to zero. Conversely, with no head to work against, a centrifugal
pump can achieve the maximum possible output allowed by its
design, impeller selection and rotational speed. The range of
performance between these two points is specified in a pump
curve (Figure 2).
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Efficiency and concept of BEP
• A centrifugal pump has a best efficiency point (BEP)
somewhere on its pump curve.
• These are the precise conditions, determined by the
manufacturer, at which the pump operates with
greatest efficiency and can be expected to have
maximum working life and experience reduced
maintenance.
• For a particular pump design, the performance can be
modified by fitting a different impeller, by operating it
at a different rotational speed, or by changing the
suction side pipe diameter.
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Efficiency and concept of BEP
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Efficiency and concept of BEP
• Ideally, the operating point and best
efficiency points should coincide.
• Over the lifetime of the pump this can
have considerable cost benefits.
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Together We Succeed
Thank you!
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