“PUMPS” LAB REPORT
MEEN20010 LABORATORY 1
AARYAN SUKHDEO
STUDENT NO. 22326596
Contents
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
THEORY AND METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................6
Experiment 1 ..........................................................................................................................6
Experiment 2 ..........................................................................................................................7
Experiment 3 ..........................................................................................................................8
Experiment 4 ..........................................................................................................................9
RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................11
Experiment 1 ........................................................................................................................11
Experiment 2 ........................................................................................................................11
Experiment 3 ........................................................................................................................12
Experiment 4 ........................................................................................................................13
Experiment 5 (lab assisted) ..................................................................................................13
DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................................14
Experiment 1 ........................................................................................................................14
Experiment 2 ........................................................................................................................14
Experiment 3 ........................................................................................................................14
Experiment 4 ........................................................................................................................14
Experiment 5 ........................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................15
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................................16
1
ABSTRACT
The impact of the pump experiment is to investigate how fluid reacts being transported in
tubes using gravity and pumps. The effects of this were measured by recording the flow rate
while the fluid moves from one container to another. A siphon can be used to test the impact
of gravity and how the height determines the flow rate. This experiment also uses a small
1.2V NiMH battery pack. Pumps are great, efficient ways of transporting fluid, a single pump
will be tested and compared to two pumps working in both series and parallel. In addition to
the variation in which we will connect the pumps and the height we will siphon through; we
will investigate the rate of flow change when we increase and decrease the diameter of the
tube in each case.
2
INTRODUCTION
As a fluid moves through a tube, mass is moved from one place to another, the rate at which
the fluid is being transported is called the mass flow rate. This is the primary method of
recording our results and can be calculated as follows.
Fig 1. Mass Flow Rate
A siphon is a bent tube which can be used to transport fluids to areas of lower elevation. It
works by priming the siphon first, pulling water through tube. The gravity causes a pressure
difference within the tube sucking the fluid to the lower area. The higher the height difference
the greater the pressure and flow rate.
(Jumper, W.D. and Stanchev, B., 2014)
Fig 2. Siphon Robert Curley, 2019)
3
Fig 3. Inside a centrifugal pump
A pump is a piece of mechanical equipment, used to move fluid from one area to another, this
can include movement in an upwards direction as well as motion from areas of different
pressure. A more common use of the pump is to circulate liquid are a system for a specific
purpose, often cooling. They are an essential part of most mechanical devices nowadays.
They work by a rotating shaft inside the casing of the pump causing torque which, in turn,
increases the outlet pressure of the liquid. The pumps we will be using are M200
Micropumps. (Haridasan, M. and Jensen, R.D., 1972)
The basic principle of operation of a centrifugal pump is force-vortex flow, this means when
a body of liquid is acted upon by a torque the pressure head of the rotating liquid is increased.
This increase in pressure is directly proportional to the velocity of the liquid. (Lobanoff, V.S.
and Ross, R.R., 2013) (TCS MICROPUMPS: M100 and M200 (S, W, 180 and SUB versions), 2018)
The pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the pump can be described using
Poiseuille's formula. The law tells you how the nonturbulent flow of a liquid through a
cylindrical pipe depends on the viscosity of the liquid, the radius of the pipe, and the pressure
gradient.
Fig 4. Poiseuille Equation
4
No matter the system, it must be primed before the experiments start. This means there must
be water throughout the whole tubing. Likewise, the pumps must also be full of water before
turning them on. A syringe is used to prime the systems, this is done by inserting the end of
the syringe into the tube and sucking the air out. Thus creates a vacuum effect filling the
tubes and pumps with water. If the systems are not primed the pumps might spin freely when
connected to power and will not transport any water. ∆P will need to be calculated and
compared to the other values. ∆P is also required to compare it to the pumps curve graph.
The pump curve graph is used to determine the operating point of the pumps. This point is
the ratio between pressure and flow rate and is unique to each pump. (Badeer, H.S. and
Synolakis, C.E., 1989)
5
THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
The lab consists of four separate experiments, investigating a siphon, single pump, pumps in
series and pumps in parallel. The effects of each on the flow rate of the liquid is what is
desired. The liquid used in all experiments is water. The flow rate is what we will be
measuring in each case. The is value will have to be compared to the theoretical value at a
later stage.
Experiment 1
Measuring the effects of a siphon is quite simple. A siphon is a self-pumping system where
the higher container empties itself into the lower one without the need for an external pump.
The apparatus includes:
- 2x 500ml Jugs
- A 3.2mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A syringe
- A measuring tape
One of the jugs was filled with water and raised to a height, the tube was then inserted into
the jug and secured with a piece of tape to stop movement during the experiment. At this
point, the other end of the tube is placed into the other jug which is at a lower height. The
siphon is all set up and ready to go, however the system must be primed before the self-
pumping aspects works. To do this, we use a siphon to suck water through the tube and begin
the process. The measurements taken consist of the height difference between the two jugs
and the time taken for 300ml of water to transfer from the 1st jug to the 2nd jug. The diameter
of the tube remains consistent for this experiment. The only thing that varies is the height at
which the jugs differ by this can be seen by the graph below and the table of results for 4
trails.
Fig 5. Siphon in action
6
Experiment 2
The same single pump is used in this experiment, only changing the inner diameter of the
outlet tube, the effects of the pumps are recorded here. The apparatus for this experiment
includes:
- 2x 500ml Jugs
- A 3.2mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A 1.6 mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A syringe
- A Centrifugal pump
- 1.2V battery pack
Fig 6. Single pump with 3.2mm outlet
Firstly, the 3.2mm tubes are connected to the pump's inlet and outlet. The pump, just like the
syringe, needs to be primed for it to function properly. The pump is turned on by directly
connecting the connections to a battery pack using crocodile clips. The only thing measured
here is the time taken for 300ml of water to transfer to the other jug. The flow rate is then
calculated and recorded. The experiment is then repeated for the 1.6mm diameter tube.
Fig 7. Single pump with 1.6mm outlet
7
Fig 8. Connection of the pump to the battery pack
Experiment 3
Connecting two pumps in series can be trickier than just
connecting the one pump. The is due to the directions of the
outlet tubes. If the outlet of the first pump is connected to the
outlet of the second pump, the results will be inaccurate, and
the system might not function at all. Again the 1.6mm tube is
connected to the second pump output for the second test. The
apparatus used is similar to the last experiment:
- 2x 500ml Jugs
- 2x A 3.2mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A 1.6 mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A syringe
- 2x Centrifugal pumps
- 2x 1.2V battery pack
The experiment is set up the same way with one jug full of water and the other connected to
the outlet of the second pump. Both pumps must be primmed before the experiment starts and
turned on at the same time. The time is measured for the 300ml of the water to transfer to the
second jug. The experiment is repeated for the 1.6mm tube as well.
Fig 9, 10. Pumps in series with 3.2mm and 1.6mm outlet
tubes
8
Fig 11. Pumps in series connected to two separate battery packs
Experiment 4
Investigating the effects of connecting two pumps in parallel is tested in this experiment. As
before the tests are done with both diameters of outlet tube. The results are recorded and
compared to the other experiments. When connecting the pumps, it is vital that the pumps are
connected properly, sending the water in the same direction. The apparatus used consists of:
- 2x 500ml Jugs
- 2x 3.2mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A 1.6 mm inner diameter tube of length 1m
- A syringe
- 2x Centrifugal pumps
- 2x 1.2V battery pack
- Y – junction fittings
Fig 12. Pumps in Parallel
9
A Y – junction fitting it used to connect the pumps in parallel, this allows us to have one
tube for the outlet and one but for the inlet for the entire system. The batteries must be
connected to the pumps at the same time to ensure accurate results. The system needs to
be primed with the syringe before the experiment starts. Results were obtained for the
3.2mm and 1.6mm tubes.
10
RESULTS
Experiment 1
The experiment consists of testing the effects of a siphon at different heights. Effects
can easily be seen. The height range varied from 0.2m – 0.8m. Four tests were carried
out resulting in four separate times. The times and corresponding heights can be seen
below in the table.
Fig 13. Siphon results
The table above illustrates the results obtained from the experiments. The height is the
vertical distance between the two brims of the jugs, the time is measured in seconds
and represents the duration until 300ml of water was transferred. The flow rate can
easily be calculated by dividing the height by the time. The graphical representation
of the table can be seen below.
Fig 14. Siphon graph
Experiment 2
The single pump was tested with the 3.2mm tube and the 1.6mm tube, the effects of
the tube diameter played a significant part in the difference in results. This can be
seen in the table below. The longer time is related to the smaller diameter, and this
was clear during the experiment. When calculating ∆P the formula used can be seen in
the introduction, the viscosity of water is assumed to be 0.01 poise at a temperature of
20 degrees Celsius, which is the estimated temperature of the room while conducting
the experiment. ( Korson, L., Drost-Hansen, W. and Millero, F.J., 1969.)
11
Fig 15. Results for single
pump
The pump curve graph for the single pump can be seen below, it identifies the
operating point for the two different diameter tubes. The pump curve is obtained by
connecting the maximum pressure point to the maximum flow rate point. The green
and blue lines are graphical representations of Poiseuille equation for the single pump.
Comparing our values for ∆P and the operating points for the two different outlet
sizes, we see that for the 1.6mm tube, the operating point is around 2.5ml/s at 15KPa,
which is close enough to the measured values of 1.61ml/s at 10kPa. However, for the
larger 3.2mm outlet, the measured flow rate is not close to the operating flow rate
which is around 3.3ml/s at 11.5KPa. The measured rate is 6.18ml/s almost double the
operating point. This is a clear error in experimental data which can simply be
explained by human error in the lab or with calculations.
Fig 16. Pump
Graph Curve
Experiment 3
Two pumps in series are connected to the 3.2mm outlet tube first. The time was
recorded and compared to the previous test. The same two pumps in series are now
connected with the 1.6mm outlet tube and the time is recorded, both results can be
seen below.
Fig 17. Results for series
pumps
12
Experiment 4
Pumps connected in parallel were tested with again the 3.2mmm and 1.6mm outlet
tubes. Both times were recorded and can be seen below. The time is measured in
seconds and represents the seconds passed for 300ml of water to travel through the
system.
Fig 18. Results for parallel pumps
Experiment 5 (lab assisted)
Experiment 5 was performed by the lab assistant. It
involved connecting a pump to a 3.2mm tube and raising
the tube vertically. The aim of this is to see how far up the
water travels before the pressure causes the water to rise
no further. The pressure head we obtained was 2.6m.
From further calculations we can determine the maximum
pressure for the pump.
Fig 19. Ladder test to determine maximum pressure
13
DISCUSSION
Experiment 1
Experiment 1 measured the effects of the siphon. The results can clearly be seen in the table
above and the graph (fig.13 and 14). There is a clear linear correlation between the flow rate
and the height the water is siphoned through. The is an effective method of transferring fluid
but only works when moving fluids from areas of different height.
Experiment 2
A single pump connected to two different size outlet tubes was examined. The effects of both
outlets can be seen from fig. 15 above, the smaller diameter outlet tube has a clear effect of
the flow rate, however the pressure difference is much less compared to the larger outlet tube.
This can have its benefits, but the lager tube has a much higher flow rate which is desirable.
From the pump curve graph, we can see the clear error in the measured flow rate data. The
flow for the larger diameter tube is almost double the operating point flow with a similar
enough pressure. Since the pressure is close enough, this leads me to believe there is an error
in the measured data or calculations.
Experiment 3
The two pumps connected in series had an interesting outcome. Both output tubes were
tested, and results recorded, fig. 15. The flow rates and pressures are slightly higher than the
single pump which is expected since there’s two pumps. The pressure for the 1.6mm tube is
very similar between the single pump and two pumps in series. This is interesting since I
thought it would have been higher for the series pumps. This can be caused due to friction
between the fluid and the extra tubing slowing it down, or a reduction in the viscosity due to
the water increasing temperature slightly from being run through the pump systems.
Experiment 4
The pumps connected in parallel had an unexpected outcome. For the larger outlet tube, the
flow rate was much less than I expected. Compared to the other two experiments, the flow
rate and pressure is not great. The low speed and pressure can be caused due to the viscosity
increasing and the increased tubing causing friction between the water and the walls of the
tube. A similar explanation can be given for the smaller diameter outlet tubes, however the
result for the parallel pumps is greater than the single pump.
Experiment 5
The obtained pressure head from the test was 2.6m, this is the pressure exserted by a column
of fluid on the bottom of the well. The main purpose of this experiment was to test the
capabilities of the pumps and determine the maximum pressure. The max pressure can be
obtained by using P = pgh and compared to the max flow rate. (Bell, J.H., Schairer, E.T., Hand,
L.A. and Mehta, R.D., 2001)
14
CONCLUSION
The results from the experiments show the correlation between flow rate and the diameter of
the outlet tubes and well as pressure. The most effective pump system was two pumps
connected in series with the larger 3.6mm outlet tube. This system also has the highest
pressure which is desirable in many scenarios. The least effective system is the single pump
with a small outlet tube, it has both the lowest flow rate and pressure. However, the
experimental error with the single pump must be considered when deciding which pump is
best for which scenario. This conclusion was made by inspecting the graph Fig 16.
However, when dealing this vertical height difference, anything over 0.5m I would
recommend using a siphon technique, it has a high flowrate when the height difference is
large. The system is also much more practical to set up and more convenient.
15
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jumper, W.D. and Stanchev, B., 2014. Towards explaining the water siphon. The
Physics Teacher, 52(8), pp.474-478.
Lobanoff, V.S. and Ross, R.R., 2013. Centrifugal pumps: design and
application. Elsevier.
Badeer, H.S. and Synolakis, C.E., 1989. The Bernoulli‐Poiseuille equation. The
Physics Teacher, 27(8), pp.598-601.
Bell, J.H., Schairer, E.T., Hand, L.A. and Mehta, R.D., 2001. Surface pressure
measurements using luminescent coatings. Annual Review of Fluid
Mechanics, 33(1), pp.155-206.
Robert Curley, 2019, siphon
TCS MICROPUMPS: M100 and M200 (S, W, 180 and SUB versions), 2018.
M100 and M200 Micropumps, pp 1-2.
Haridasan, M. and Jensen, R.D., 1972. Effect of temperature on pressure head‐
water content relationship and conductivity of two soils. Soil Science Society of
America Journal, 36(5), pp.703-708.
Korson, L., Drost-Hansen, W. and Millero, F.J., 1969. Viscosity of water at
various temperatures. The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 73(1), pp.34-39.
16
