3 Concept of a

Pumping System
LIQUID TRANSFER
To truly understand pump operation, one needs to carefully examine the specifics
of each individual system in which a pump is installed and operating (see Figure
2). The main elements of a pumping system are:

• Supply side (suction or inlet side)

• Pump (with a driver)
• Delivery side (discharge or process)

The energy delivered to a pump by the driver is spent on useful energy to move
the fluid and to overcome losses:

Energyinput = Energyuseful + Losses (1)

Efficiency = Energyuseful /Energyinput (2)

Losses = Mechanical + Volumetric + Hydraulic (3)

⇓ ⇓ ⇓
bearings leakage (slip) friction
coupling entrance/exit
rubbing vortices
separation
disc friction

From the pump user viewpoint, there are two major parameters of interest:

Flow and Pressure

Flow is a parameter that tells us how much of the fluid needs to be moved
(i.e., transferring from a large storage tank to smaller drums for distribution
and sale, adding chemicals to a process, etc.).
Pressure tells us how much of the hydraulic resistance needs to be overcome
by the pumping element, in order to move the fluid.

In a perfect world of zero losses, all of the input power would go into moving
the flow against given pressure. We could say that all of the available driver power
was spent on, or transferred to, a hydraulic (i.e., useful) power. Consider the simple

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©1999 CRC Press LLC

 Driver
Coupling

Pump
Valve Valve

FIGURE 2 Pump in a system.

illustration in Figure 3, which shows a piston steadily pushed against pressure, “p,”
inside a pipe filled with liquid. During the time “t,” the piston will travel a distance
“L,” and the person, exerting force “F” on a piston, is doing work to get this process
going. From our school days, we remember that work equals force multipled by
distance:

W=F×L (4)

For a steady motion, the force is balanced by the pressure “p,” acting on area, “A”:

W = (p × A) × L = p × (A × L) = p × V (5)

Area

Force
Volume = A x L

Travel

FIGURE 3 Concept of power transfer to the fluid.

©1999 CRC Press LLC

INPUT POWER, LOSSES, AND EFFICIENCY
Work per unit of time equals power. So, dividing both sides of the equation by “t,”
we get:

W p×V
= , (6)
t t

or,

Power = p × Q,

where

V
Q= .
t

“Q” is the volume per unit of time, which in pump language is called “flow,”
“capacity,” or “delivery.” Inside the pump, the fluid is moved against the pressure
by a piston, rotary gear, or impeller, etc. (thus far assuming no losses).
This book will use conventional U.S. nomenclature, which can easily be con-
verted to metric units using the conversion formulas located in Appendix B at the
end of the book.
So, Ideal Power = Fluid Horsepower = FHP = p × Q × constant, since all
power goes to “fluid horsepower,” in the ideal world. Typically, in U.S. units, pressure
is measured in psi, and flow in gpm, so we derive the constant:

lbf × gal  in 2   ft 3   min 

psi × gpm = × 144 2  ×  ×
in × min 
2
ft   7.48 gal   60 sec 

 
lbf × ft  144   HP  = BHP .
= × ×
sec  7.48 × 60   lbf × ft  1714
 550 
 sec 

Therefore,

p×Q
FHP = . (7)
1714

This is why the “1714” constant “rings a bell” for rotary pump users and manufacturers.

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 Returning to the “real world,” let us “turn on the friction” exerted by the walls
of the imperfect pipes on liquid, and consider the rubbing of the piston against the
pipe walls, as well as the “sneaking” of some of the liquid back to low pressure
through the clearances between the piston and pipe walls. BHP = FHP + Losses, or
introducing the efficiency concept:

FHP
η= , (8)
BHP

or
FHP = BHP × η.

We can now correct Equation 7 with the efficiency:

p×Q
BHP = . (9)
η × 1714

Jumping ahead a little, Equation 9 is typically used when dealing with positive
displacement pumps (which include rotary pumps), but a “centrifugal world” is more
accustomed to expressing pressure traditionally in feet of head, using specific
gravity3:

p × 2.31
H= (feet of water ) (10)
SG
which turns Equation 9 into

 H × SG  × Q
 2.31  H × Q × SG
BHP = = . (11)
η × 1714 η × 3960

This is why a “3960” constant should now “ring a bell” for centrifugal pumps users.
Both Equation 9 and 11 produce identical results, providing that proper units are
used.

SYSTEM CURVE
From the discussion above, we have established that flow and pressure are the two
main parameters for a given application. Other parameters, such as pump speed,
fluid viscosity, specific gravity, and so on, will have an effect on flow and/or pressure,
by modifying the hydraulics of a pumping system in which a given pump operates.
A mechanism of such changes can be traced directly to one of the components of
losses, namely the hydraulic losses.

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 Essentially, any flow restriction requires a pressure gradient to overcome it.
These restrictions are valves, orifices, turns, and pipe friction. From the fundamentals
of hydraulics based on the Bernoulli equation, a pressure drop (i.e., hydraulic loss)
is proportional to velocity head:

V2
h loss = K (coefficient “k” can be found in books on hydraulics).3 (12)
2g

For the flow of liquid through a duct (such as pipe), the velocity is equal to:

Q
V= (13)
A

which means that pressure loss is proportional to the square of flow:

hloss ~ Q2. (14)

If this equation is plotted, it will be a parabola (see Figure 4).

hLoss~Q2
Hydraulic Losses (hLoss)

Parabola

Flow (Q)

FIGURE 4 Hydraulic losses, as a function of flow.

PUMP CURVE
A pump curve shows a relationship between its two main parameters: flow and
pressure. The shape of this curve (see Figure 5) depends on the particular pump type.
Later on, we will show how these curves are derived. For now, it is important
to understand that the energy supplied to a pump (and from a pump to fluid) must
overcome a system resistance: mechanical, volumetric, and hydraulic losses. In terms
of pressure drop across the pump, it must be equal to the system resistance, or
demonstrated mathematically,

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 Rotary (or any PD-Type)

Pressure (p), or Head (H)

Centrifugal

Flow (Q)

FIGURE 5 Pump curves, relating pressure and flow. The slope of the centrifugal pump
curve is “mostly” flat or horizontal; the slope of the PD-pump is almost a vertical line.

∆ppump = hloss, at a given flow. (15)

Therefore, the pump operating point is an intersection of the pump curve and a
system curve (see Figure 6). In addition to friction, a pump must also overcome the
elevation difference between fluid levels in the discharge and suction side tanks, a so-
called static head, that is independent of flow (see Figure 7). If pressure inside the
tanks is not equal to atmospheric pressure then the static head must be calculated as
equivalent difference between total static pressures (expressed in feet of head) at the
pump discharge and suction, usually referenced to the pump centerline (see Figure 8).
The above discussion assumes that the suction and discharge piping near the pump
flanges are of the same diameter, resulting in the same velocities. In reality, suction
and discharge pipe diameters are different (typically, a discharge pipe diameter is
smaller). This results in difference between suction and discharge velocities, and their
energies (velocity heads) must be accounted for. Therefore, a total pump head is the
difference between all three components of the discharge and suction fluid energy per
unit mass: static pressure heads, velocity heads, and elevations. For example,

p d – p s Vd2 – Vs2
H= + + (z d – z s ).1 (16)
γ 2g

Note that the units in Equation 16 are feet of head of water. The conversion between
pressure and head is:

p × 2.31
H= . (17)
SG

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 (a) Centrifugal
H
Pump

System Operating point

(b) Rotary
P
Pump

System Operating point

Q slip

(c) Rotary pump

FIGURE 6 Pump operating point — intersection of a pump and a system curves.

Note: Due to the almost vertical curve slope of rotary pumps (b), their performance curves
are usually and historically plotted as shown on (c) (i.e., flow vs. pressure).

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 ho

Hydraulic Losses
Zd ho = f(Q)
Zs

Pump ho
(b)

(a)
ho=Zd-Zs ho

FIGURE 7 System curves:

(a) without static head (ho = negligible)
(b) with static head

500 psig

100 psig
Zd

Zs

Pump

hd = 500 x 2.31 + Z
d
SG

hs = 100 x 2.31 + Z
s
SG

ho = hd-hs = (500-100)x2.31 + (Z -Z )
d s
SG

Correction for pressurized tanks.

FIGURE 8 “Equivalent” static head, (ho), must be corrected to account for the actual
pressure values at the surfaces of fluids in tanks.

©1999 CRC Press LLC

 From our high school days and basic hydraulics, we remember that the pressure,
exerted by a column of water of height, “h,” is

p = ρgh = γ h, (18)

where γ is a specific weight of the substance, measured in lbf/ft3. A specific gravity

(SG) is defined as a ratio of the specific weight of the substance to the specific
weight of cold water: γo = 62.4 lbf/ft3. (SG is also equal to the ratio of densities,
due to a gravitational constant between the specific weight and density). So,

SG = ρ/ρo = γ/γo, (19)

p = ρgh = γ h = (γoSG)h = 62.4 × SG × h (lbf/ft2) (20)

(To obtain pressure in more often used units of lbf/in2 (psi), divide by 144).

h × SG
p= , (21)
2.31
or

p × 2.31
h=
SG

Clearly, if the system resistance changes, such as an opening or a closing of the

discharge valve, or increased friction due to smaller or longer piping, the slope of
the system curve will change (see Figure 9). The operating point moves: 1 → 2, as
valve becomes “more closed,” or 1 → 3, if it opens more.

(2)
Pressure (P) or Head (H)

(1)
50% Open
(1) (3)
Pump

10% Open
(2)

2 1 3 Flow (Q)
90% Open
(3)

FIGURE 9 System curves at different resistance.

©1999 CRC Press LLC