The Affinity Laws of Centrifugal Pumps

A centrifugal pump converts the input power to kinetic energy in the liquid by accelerating the liquid by a revolving device
- an impeller. The most common type is the volute pump. Fluid enters the pump through the eye of the impeller which rotates at high speed. The fluid is accelerated radially outward from the pump chasing. A vacuum is created at the impellers eye that continuously draws more fluid into the pump. The energy created by the pump is kinetic energy according the Bernoulli Equation. The energy transferred to the liquid corresponds to the velocity at the edge or vane tip of the impeller. The faster the impeller revolves or the bigger the impeller is, the higher will the velocity of the liquid energy transferred to the liquid be. This is described by the Affinity Laws.
Pressure and Head

If the discharge of a centrifugal pump is pointed straight up into the air the fluid will pumped to a certain height - or head - called the shut off head. This maximum head is mainly determined by the outside diameter of the pump's impeller and the speed of the rotating shaft. The head will change as the capacity of the pump is altered. The kinetic energy of a liquid coming out of an impeller is obstructed by creating a resistance in the flow. The first resistance is created by the pump casing which catches the liquid and slows it down. When the liquid slows down the kinetic energy is converted to pressure energy.
it is the resistance to the pump's flow that is read on a pressure gauge attached to the discharge line
A pump does not create pressure, it only creates flow. Pressure is a measurement of the resistance to flow. In Newtonian fluids (non-viscous liquids like water or gasoline) the term head is used to measure the kinetic energy which a pump creates. Head is a measurement of the height of the liquid column the pump creates from the kinetic energy the pump gives to the liquid.
The main reason for using head instead of pressure to measure a centrifugal pump's energy is that the pressure from a pump will change if the specific gravity (weight) of the liquid changes, but the head will not
The pump's performance on any Newtonian fluid can always be described by using the term head.
Different Types of Pump Head

Total Static Head - Total head when the pump is not running Total Dynamic Head (Total System Head) - Total head when the pump is running Static Suction Head - Head on the suction side, with pump off, if the head is higher than the pump impeller
Static Suction Lift - Head on the suction side, with pump off, if the head is lower than the pump impeller Static Discharge Head - Head on discharge side of pump with the pump off Dynamic Suction Head/Lift - Head on suction side of pump with pump on Dynamic Discharge Head - Head on discharge side of pump with pump on
The head is measured in either feet or meters and can be converted to common units for pressure as psi or bar.
it is important to understand that the pump will pump all fluids to the same height if the shaft is turning at the same rpm
The only difference between the fluids is the amount of power it takes to get the shaft to the proper rpm. The higher the specific gravity of the fluid the more power is required.
Centrifugal Pumps are "constant head machines"

Note that the latter is not a constant pressure machine, since pressure is a function of head and density. The head is constant, even if the density (and therefore pressure) changes. The head of a pump in metric units can be expressed in metric units as: h = (p2 - p1)/( g) + v22/(2 g) where h = total head developed (m) p2 = pressure at outlet (N/m2) p1 = pressure at inlet (N/m2) = density (kg/m3) g = acceleration of gravity (9.81) m/s2 v2 = velocity at the outlet (m/s) Head described in simple terms (1)
A pump's vertical discharge "pressure-head" is the vertical lift in height - usually measured in feet or m of water - at which a pump can no longer exert enough pressure to move water. At this
point, the pump may be said to have reached its "shut-off" head pressure. In the flow curve chart for a pump the "shut-off head" is the point on the graph where the flow rate is zero
Pump Efficiency
Pump efficiency, (%) is a measure of the efficiency with wich the pump transfers useful work to the fluid. = Pin/Pout (2) where = efficiency (%) Pin = power input Pout = power output
Hydraulic Pump Power

The ideal hydraulic power to drive a pump depends on the mass flow rate, the liquid density and the differential height
- either it is the static lift from one height to an other, or the friction head loss component of the system can be calculated as Ph = q g h / (3.6 106) where Ph = power (kW) q = flow capacity (m3/h) = density of fluid (kg/m3) (1)
g = gravity (9.81 m/s2) h = differential head (m)
Shaft Pump Power

The shaft power - the power required transferred from the motor to the shaft of the pump - depends on the efficiency of the pump and can be calculated as Ps = Ph / where Ps = shaft power (kW) (2)
= pump efficiency
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Affinity Laws of centrifugal pumps or fans indicates the influence on volume capacity, head (pressure) and/or power consumption of a pump or fan due to
Change in speed of wheel - revolutions per minute (rpm) Geometrically similarity - change in impeller diameter
Note that the affinity laws for fans are not identical with pumps.
Pump Affinity Laws Volume Capacity

The volume capacity of a centrifugal pump can be expressed like q1 / q2 = (n1 / n2)(d1 / d2) where q = volume flow capacity (m3/s, gpm, cfm, ..) n = wheel velocity - revolution per minute - (rpm) d = wheel diameter (1)
Head or Pressure
The head or pressure of a centrifugal pump can be expressed like dp1 / dp2 = (n1 / n2)2 (d1 / d2)2 where dp = head or pressure (m, ft, Pa, psi, ..) (2)
Power
The power consumption of a centrifugal pump can be expressed as P1 / P2 = (n1 / n2)3 (d1 / d2)3 where P = power (W, bhp, ..) (3)
Changing the Wheel Velocity
If the wheel diameter is constant - change in pump wheel velocity can simplify the affinity laws to Volume Capacity q1 / q2 = (n1 / n2) Head or Pressure dp1 / dp2 = (n1 / n2)2 Power P1 / P2 = (n1 / n2)3 (3a) (2a) (1a)
Note! If the speed of a pump is increased with 10% the volume flow increases with 10% the head increases with 21% the power increases with 33 % If we want to increase the volume flow capacity of an existing system with 10% we have to increase the power supply with 33%.
Changing the Impeller Diameter

If wheel velocity is constant a change in impeller diameter can simplify the affinity laws to Volume Capacity q1 / q2 = d1 / d2 Head or Pressure dp1 / dp2 = (d1 / d2)2 Power P1 / P2 = (d1 / d2)3 (3b) (2b) (1b)
Example - Pump Affinity Laws - Changing Pump Speed

The pump speed is changed when the impeller size is constant. The initial flow is 100 gpm, the initial head is 100 ft, the initial power is 5 bhp, the initial speed is 1750 rpm and the final speed 3500 rpm. The final flow capacity can be calculated with (1a): q2 = q1 n2 / n1 = (100 gpm) (3500 rpm) / (1750 rpm) = 200 gpm The final head can be calculated with (2a): dp2 = dp1 (n2 / n1)2 = (100 ft) ((3500 rpm) / (1750 rpm))2 = 400 ft The final power consumption can be calculated with (3a): P2 = P1 (n2 / n1)3 = (5 bhp) ((3500 rpm) / (1750 rpm))3 = 40 bph
Example - Pump Affinity Laws - Changing Impeller Diameter
The diameter of the pump impeller is reduced when the pump speed is constant. The diameter is changed from 8 to 6 inches. The final flow capacity can be calculated with (1b): q2 = q1 (d2 / d1) = ( 100 gpm) ((6 in) / (8 in)) = 75 gpm The final head can be calculated with (2b): dp2 = dp1 (d2 / d1)2 = (100 ft) ((6 in) / ( 8 in))2 = 56.3 ft The final power consumption can be calculated with (3b): P2 = P1 (d2 / d1)3 = (5 bhp) ((6 in) / ( 8 in))3 = 2.1 bph

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A centrifugal pump converts the input power to kinetic energy in the liquid by accelerating the liquid by a revolving device

Pressure and Head

Different Types of Pump Head

Centrifugal Pumps are "constant head machines"

Hydraulic Pump Power

g = gravity (9.81 m/s2) h = differential head (m)

Shaft Pump Power

Pump Affinity Laws Volume Capacity

Changing the Wheel Velocity

Changing the Impeller Diameter

Example - Pump Affinity Laws - Changing Pump Speed

Example - Pump Affinity Laws - Changing Impeller Diameter

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