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AMAZON multi-meters discounts AMAZON oscilloscope discounts Centrifugal pumps basically consist of a stationary pump casing and an impeller mounted on a rotating shaft. The pump casing provides a pressure boundary for the pump and contains channels to properly direct the suction and discharge flow. The pump casing has suction and discharge penetrations for the main flow path of the pump and normally has a small drain and vent fittings to remove gases trapped in the pump casing or to drain the pump casing for maintenance. ---1 is a simplified diagram of a typical centrifugal pump that shows the relative locations of the pump suction, impeller, volute, and discharge. The pump casing guides the liquid from the suction connection to the center, or eye, of the impeller. The vanes of the rotating impeller impart a radial and rotary motion to the liquid, forcing it to the outer periphery of the pump casing, where it’s collected in the outer part of the pump casing, called the volute. The volute is a region that expands in cross-sectional area as it wraps around the pump casing. The purpose of the volute is to collect the liquid discharged from the periphery of the impeller at high velocity and gradually cause a reduction in fluid velocity by increasing the flow area. This converts the velocity head to static pressure. The fluid is then discharged from the pump through the discharge connection. The two types of volutes. Centrifugal pumps can also be constructed in a manner that results in two distinct volutes, each receiving the liquid that is discharged from a 180-degree region of the impeller at any given time. Pumps of this type are called double volute pumps. In some applications the double volute minimizes radial forces imparted to the shaft and bearings because of imbalances in the pressure around the impeller.
--- Centrifugal pump. ---Single and double volute. CHARACTERISTICS CURVE For a given centrifugal pump operating at a constant speed, the flow rate through the pump is dependent on the differential pressure or head developed by the pump. The lower the pump head, the higher the flow rate. A vendor manual for a specific pump usually contains a curve of pump flow rate versus pump head called a pump characteristic curve. After a pump is installed in a system, it’s usually tested to ensure that the flow rate and head of the pump are within the required specifications. A typical centrifugal pump characteristic curve. Several terms associated with the pump characteristic curve must be de fined. Shutoff head is the maximum head that can be developed by a centrifugal pump operating at a set speed. Pump run-out is a the maximum flow a centrifugal pump can develop without damaging the pump. Centrifugal pumps must be designed to be protected from the conditions of pump run-out or operating at shutoff head. ---3 Centrifugal pump characteristic curve. PROTECTION A centrifugal pump is dead headed when it’s operated with a closed discharge valve or against a seated check valve. If the discharge valve is closed and there is no other flow path available to the pump, the impeller will churn the same volume of water as it rotates in the pump casing. This will increase the temperature of the liquid in the pump casing to the point that it will flash to vapor. If the pump is run in this condition for a significant amount of time, it will become damaged.
When a centrifugal pump is installed in a system such that it may be subjected to periodic shutoff head conditions, it’s necessary to provide some means of pump protection. One method for protecting the pump from running deadheaded is to provide a recirculation line from the pump discharge line upstream of the discharge valve back to the pump's supply source. The recirculation line should be sized to allow enough flow through the pump to prevent overheating and damage to the pump. Protection may also be accomplished by use of an automatic flow control device. Centrifugal pumps must also be protected from run-out. One method for ensuring that there is always adequate flow resistance at the pump discharge to prevent excessive flow through the pump is to place an orifice or a throttle valve immediately downstream of the pump discharge. GAS BINDING Gas binding of a centrifugal pump is a condition in which the pump casing is filled with gases or vapors to the point where the impeller is no longer able to contact enough fluid to function correctly. The impeller spins in the gas bubble but is unable to force liquid through the pump. Centrifugal pumps are designed so that their pump casings are completely filled with liquid during pump operation. Most centrifugal pumps can still operate when a small amount of gas accumulates in the pump casing, but pumps in systems containing dissolved gases that are not designed to be self-venting should be periodically vented manually to ensure that gases don’t build up in the pump casing. PRIMING Most centrifugal pumps are not self-priming. In other words, the pump casing must be filled with liquid before the pump is started or the pump won’t be able to function. If the pump casing becomes filled with vapors or gases, the pump impeller becomes gas-bound and incapable of pumping. To ensure that a centrifugal pump remains primed and does not become gas-bound, most centrifugal pumps are located below the level of the source from which the pump is to take its suction. The same effect can be gained by supplying liquid to the pump suction under pressure supplied by another pump placed in the suction line. CLASSIFICATION BY FLOW Centrifugal pumps can be classified based on the manner in which fluid flows through the pump. The manner in which fluid flows through the pump is determined by the design of the pump casing and the impeller. The three types of flow through a centrifugal pump are radial flow, axial flow, and mixed flow. Radial Flow In a radial flow pump, the liquid enters at the center of the impeller and is directed out along the impeller blades in a direction at right angles to the pump shaft. The impeller of a typical radial flow pump and the flow. Axial Flow In an axial flow pump, the impeller pushes the liquid in a direction parallel to the pump shaft. Axial flow pumps are sometimes called propeller pumps because they operate essentially the same as the propeller of a boat. The impeller of a typical axial flow pump and the flow through a radial flow pump. ---4 Radial flow centrifugal pump. ---5 Typical axial flow centrifugal pump. Mixed Flow Mixed flow pumps borrow characteristics from both radial flow and axial flow pumps. As liquid flows through the impeller of a mixed flow pump, the impeller blades push the liquid out away from the pump shaft and to the pump suction at an angle greater than 90 degrees. The impeller of a typical mixed flow pump and the flow through a mixed flow pump are shown. MULTI-STAGE PUMPS A centrifugal pump with a single impeller that can develop a differential pressure of more than 150 psid between the suction and the discharge is difficult and costly to design and construct. A more economical approach to developing high pressures with a single centrifugal pump is to include multiple impellers on a common shaft within the same pump casing. Internal channels in the pump casing route the discharge of one impeller to the suction of another impeller. This shows a diagram of the arrangement of the impellers of a four-stage pump. The water enters the pump from the top left and passes through each of the four impellers, going from left to right. The water goes from the volute surrounding the discharge of one impeller to the suction of the next impeller. A pump stage is de fined as that portion of a centrifugal pump consisting of one impeller and its associated components. Most centrifugal pumps are single-stage pumps, containing only one impeller. A pump containing seven impellers within a single casing would be referred to as a seven-stage pump or generally as a multi stage pump. ---6 Typical mixed flow pump. ---7 Multi-stage centrifugal pump. ---8 Components of a centrifugal pump. Stuffing Box Pump Shaft Stuffing Box Gland Packing Lantern Ring Inlet Volute Impeller Wearing Ring Impeller Volute Pump Casing Wearing Ring Pump Casing COMPONENTS Centrifugal pumps vary in design and construction from simple pumps with relatively few parts to extremely complicated pumps with hundreds of individual parts. Some of the most common components found in centrifugal pumps are wearing rings, stuffing boxes, packing, and lantern rings. These components are shown in ---8 and are described in the following pages. Impellers Impellers of pumps are classified based on the number of points that the liquid can enter the impeller and also on the amount of webbing between the impeller blades. Impellers can be either single-suction or double-suction. A single-suction impeller allows liquid to enter the center of the blades from only one direction. A double-suction impeller allows liquid to enter the center of the impeller blades from both sides simultaneously. ---9 shows simplified diagrams of single and double-suction impellers. Impellers can be open, semi-open, or enclosed. The open impeller consists only of blades attached to a hub. The semi-open impeller is constructed with a circular plate (the web) attached to one side of the blade. The enclosed impeller has circular plates attached to both sides of the blades. Enclosed impellers are also referred to as shrouded impellers. ---10 illustrates examples of open, semi open, and enclosed impellers. The impeller sometimes contains balancing holes that connect the space around the hub to the suction side of the impeller. The balancing holes have a total cross sectional area that is considerably greater than the cross-sectional area of the annular space between the wearing ring and the hub. The result is suction pressure on both sides of the impeller hub, which maintains a hydraulic balance of axial thrust. ---9 Single-suction and double-suction impellers. Suction; Eye Single-Suction; Single-Suction Double-Suction; Casing Impeller; Suction Eye ; Suction Eye ---10 Open, semi-open, and enclosed impellers. Diffuser Some centrifugal pumps contain diffusers. A diffuser is a set of stationary vanes that surround the impeller. The purpose of the diffuser is to increase the efficiency of the centrifugal pump by allowing a more gradual expansion and less turbulent area for the liquid to reduce in velocity. The diffuser vanes are designed in a manner that the liquid exiting the impeller will encounter an ever-increasing flow area as it passes through the diffuser. This increase in flow area causes a reduction in flow velocity, converting kinetic energy into flow energy. The increase in flow energy can be observed as an increase in the pressure of an incompressible fluid. ---11 shows a centrifugal pump diffuser. ---11 Centrifugal pump diffuser. Wearing Rings Centrifugal pumps contain rotating impellers within stationary pump casings. To allow the impeller to rotate freely within the pump casing, a small clearance is maintained between the impeller and the pump casing. To maximize the efficiency of a centrifugal pump, it’s necessary to minimize the amount of liquid leaking through this clearance from the high-pressure side or discharge side of the pump back to the low-pressure or suction side. It’s unavoidable that some wear will occur at the point where the impeller and the pump casing nearly come into contact. This wear is due to the erosion caused by liquid leaking through this tight clearance and other causes. Eventually the leakage could become unacceptably large and maintenance would be required on the pump. To minimize the cost of pump maintenance, many centrifugal pumps are designed with wearing rings. Wearing rings are replaceable rings that are attached to the impeller and/or the pump casing to allow a small running clearance between the impeller and pump casing without causing wear of the actual impeller or pump casing material. Stuffing Box In almost all centrifugal pumps, the rotating shaft that drives the impeller penetrates the pressure boundary of the pump casing. It’s important that the pump is designed properly to control the amount of liquid that leaks along the shaft at the point that the shaft penetrates the pump casing. Factors considered when choosing a method include the pressure and temperature of the fluid being pumped, the size of the pump, and the chemical and physical characteristics of the fluid being pumped. One of the simplest types of shaft seal is the stuffing box. The stuffing box is a cylindrical space in the pump casing surrounding the shaft. Rings of packing material are placed in this space. Packing is material in the form of rings or strands that is placed in the stuffing box to form a seal to control the rate of leakage along the shaft. The packing rings are held in place by a gland. The gland is, in turn, held in place by studs with adjusting nuts. As the adjusting nuts are tightened, they move the gland in and compress the packing. This axial compression causes the packing to expand radially, forming a tight seal between the rotating shaft and the inside wall of the stuffing box. The high-speed rotation of the shaft generates a significant amount of heat as it rubs against the packing rings. If no lubrication and cooling are provided to the packing, the temperature of the packing increases to the point where damage occurs to the packing, the pump shaft, and possibly the nearby pump bearing. Stuffing boxes are normally designed to allow a small amount of controlled leakage along the shaft to provide lubrication and cooling to the packing. Tightening and loosening the packing gland can adjust the leakage rate. Lantern Ring It’s not always possible to use a standard stuffing box to seal the shaft of a centrifugal pump. The pump suction may be under a vacuum so that outward leakage is impossible or the fluid may be too hot to provide adequate cooling of the packing. These conditions require a modification to the standard stuffing box. One method of adequately cooling the packing under these conditions is to include a lantern ring. A lantern ring is a perforated hollow ring located near the center of the packing box that receives relatively cool, clean liquid from either the discharge of the pump or from an external source and distributes the liquid uniformly around the shaft to provide lubrication and cooling. The fluid entering the lantern ring can cool the shaft and packing, lubricate the packing, or seal the joint between the shaft and packing against leakage of air into the pump in the event the pump suction pressure is less than that of the atmosphere. Mechanical Seals In some situations, packing material is not adequate for sealing the shaft. One common alternative method for sealing the shaft is with mechanical seals. Mechanical seals consist of two basic parts, a rotating element attached to the pump shaft and a stationary element attached to the pump casing. Each of these elements has a highly polished sealing surface. The polished faces of the rotating and stationary elements come into contact with each other to form a seal that prevents leakage along the shaft. SUMMARY The important information in this section is summarized below. _ Centrifugal pumps contain components with distinct purposes. The impeller contains rotating vanes that impart a radial and rotary motion to the liquid. _ The volute collects the liquid discharged from the impeller at high velocity and gradually causes a reduction in fluid velocity by increasing the flow area, converting the velocity head to a static head. _ A diffuser increases the efficiency of a centrifugal pump by allowing a more gradual expansion and less turbulent area for the liquid to slow as the flow area expands. _ Packing material provides a seal in the area where the pump shaft penetrates the pump casing. _ Wearing rings are replaceable rings that are attached to the impeller and/or the pump casing to allow a small running clearance between the impeller and pump casing without causing wear of the actual impeller or pump casing material. _ The lantern ring is inserted between rings of packing in the stuffing box to receive relatively cool, clean liquid and distribute the liquid uniformly around the shaft to provide lubrication and cooling to the packing. _ There are three indications that a centrifugal pump is cavitating: 1. Noise 2. Fluctuating discharge pressure and flow 3. Fluctuating pump motor current _ Steps that can be taken to stop pump cavitation include: 1. Increasing the pressure at the suction of the pump 2. Reducing the temperature of the liquid being pumped 3. Reducing head losses in the pump suction piping 4. Reducing the flow rate through the pump 5. Reducing the speed of the pump impeller _ Three effects of pump cavitation are: 1. Degrading pump performance 2. Excessive pump vibration 3. Damage to pump impeller, bearing, wearing rings, and seals _ To avoid pump cavitation, the net positive suction head available must be greater than the net positive suction head required. _ Net positive suction head available is the difference between the pump suction pressure and the saturation pressure for the liquid being pumped. _ Cavitation is the process of the formation and subsequent collapse of vapor bubbles in a pump. _ Gas binding of a centrifugal pump is a condition in which the pump casing is filled with gases or vapors to the point where the impeller is no longer able to contact enough fluid to function correctly. _ Shutoff head is the maximum head that can be developed by a centrifugal pump operating at a set speed. _ Pump run-out is the maximum flow that can be developed by a centrifugal pump without damaging the pump. _ The greater the head against which a centrifugal pump operates, the lower the flow rate through the pump. The relationship between pump flow rate and head is illustrated by the characteristic curve for the pump. _ Centrifugal pumps are protected from deadheading by providing a recirculation from the pump discharge back to the supply source of the pump. _ Centrifugal pumps are protected from run-out by placing an orifice or throttle valve immediately downstream of the pump discharge. Prev: Dust
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