Session – 2

Working Principle of Centrifugal

Pump

Alfred Franklin V
Cell Number: 9965370082

Course: B.E/B.Tech (First Year)-common to all Branches.

Subject: Basic Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
University: Anna University Tirunelveli.
Session Objectives
At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:

• Define pump
• Classification Pumps
• Describe the working principle.
• Understand about the Multi stage pumps.
• Know priming and Cavitation.
• List the Applications.

Teaching Learning Material

• Black Board and Chalk

• PPT
• Animation

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
Session Plan
Skill and
Time Learning Aid and Faculty Typical Student
Content Competency
(in min) Methodology Approach Activity
Developed

Remembering/
Knowledge
Introduction to Understanding/
10 Brain storming Facilitates Participates Comprehension
Pumps
Interpersonal

Remembering/
Knowledge
Pump Classification & Understanding/
5 PPT Explains Listens
Components Comprehension

Remembering/
Knowledge
10 Working Principle PPT Explains Listens Understanding/
Comprehension

Understanding/
Velocity triangle& Comprehension
15 Chalk and Talk Explains Listens
Work done Logical-
Mathematical

10 Multistage Pumps Remembering

Demonstration/
interaction participate Understanding
ppt
Linguistic

Understanding/
Priming , Cavitation Comprehension
5 PPT Explains Listens
& Application Logical-
Mathematical

Comprehension
Conducts &
5 Conclusion Pick & speak Participates Interpersonal/
Facilitates
intrapersonal

Topic Name: Working Principle of Centrifugal Pump Page 3

Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
Session Inputs
Introduction to Pump

The learners may have some basic understanding of pump, as

it is a general term. Therefore, It would be a good idea to
conduct a brain storming session so as to know what they know
about the term ‘pump’.

Suggested Activity:
Brainstorming

Brainstorming is carried out by posing the question:

1. What is pump?
2. What is the need for pumps?
3. How pumps can be classified?

Responses from the learners can be listed on the board.

1. A device to pump water. A device to pump fluids
2. Lift water, pump water, bring water to tank, etc..
3. Mono block 1hp, Submericible pump, jet pump.

The unrelated words are to be removed by explaining why they are not
relevant. After removing the irrelevant words, the definition is tried from the
remaining words on the board.

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
 What is a pump?
• Hydraulic machine converts mechanical energy
into hydraulic energy.
The objective of pumping system are:
• Transfer liquid from source to destination
• Circulate liquid around a system

How pumps are classified?

Pumps

Others (e.g. Positive

Dynamic Impulse, Buoyancy) Displacement

Centrifugal Special effect Rotary Reciprocating

Internal External Slide

Lobe
gear gear vane

Positive Displacement Pumps

• For each pump revolution
-Fixed amount of liquid taken from one end
-Positively discharged at other end
• If pipe blocked
-Pressure rises
-Can damage pump
• Used for pumping fluids

• Reciprocating pump
-Displacement by reciprocation of piston plunger

Topic Name: Working Principle of Centrifugal Pump Page 5

Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
 -Used for viscous fluids and oil wells
• Rotary pump
-Displacement by rotary action of gear, cam or vanes
-Several sub-types
-Used for special services in industry
Dynamic pumps
• Mode of operation
-Rotating impeller converts kinetic energy into pressure
or velocity to pump the fluid
• Two types
-Centrifugal pumps: pumping water in industry – 75% of
pumps installed
-Special effect pumps: specialized conditions

Components of Centrifugal pump

Before explaining the working principle of centrifugal pump we

have to explain the components so that the students can
understand the operation of pump quickly.

The components of centrifugal pump are :

a)Casing
b) Impeller
c) Suction Pipe
d) Delivery Pipe.

Casing
--It is an air tight Passage.
1. Volute Casing

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
2. Vortex Casing
3. Casing with guide vanes

Impeller
-Rotating part of pump is called impeller

Working Principle:
After explaining the components of centrifugal pump, the
students can understand the working principle quickly. The
following two figures are used for explaining the working
principle.

The working principle is explained below by showing more

images.

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Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
 A centrifugal pump is one of the simplest pieces of equipment in
any process plant. Its purpose is to convert energy of a prime mover (a
electric motor or turbine) first into velocity or kinetic energy and then into
pressure energy of a fluid that is being pumped. The energy changes
occur by virtue of two main parts of the pump, the impeller and the volute
or diffuser. The impeller is the rotating part that converts driver energy
into the kinetic energy. The volute or diffuser is the stationary part that
converts the kinetic energy into pressure energy.
Note: All of the forms of energy involved in a liquid flow system are
expressed in terms of meter of liquid i.e. head.

Generation of Centrifugal Force

The process liquid enters the suction nozzle and then into eye
(center) of a revolving device known as an impeller. When the impeller
rotates, it spins the liquid sitting in the cavities between the vanes
outward and provides centrifugal acceleration. As liquid leaves the eye of
the impeller a low-pressure area is created causing more liquid to flow
toward the inlet. Because the impeller blades are curved, the fluid is
pushed in a tangential and radial direction by the centrifugal force. This
force acting inside the pump s the same one that keeps water inside a
bucket that is rotating at the end of a string.

A centrifugal pump will pump fluid at the

point where the system curve intersects the
pump curve.

Basic definitions:

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
 1. Suction head (hs)
It is the vertical height of free surface of water in the sump to the
centre of pump.

2. Delivery head (hd)

It is the vertical height of free surface of water in the overhead tank
to the centre of pump.
3. Manometric head (Hm)
The head against which the centrifugal pump has to work is known
as manometric head.

Velocity triangle
The derivation of work done by the pump is explained with the
help of velocity triangle. The various components of velocities
should be explained.

The velocity components at inlet and exit are explained as

below.

At Inlet:
Fluid enters at absolute velocity v1 through a cylindrical surface of radius r1 at an angle α.

v1 = absolute velocity vector

vf1 = flow velocity
vwl = whirl velocity
vrl = relative velocity with respect to impeller blades
u1 = tangential velocity of impeller
α = angle between absolute velocity and tangential velocity.
θ = inlet blade angle

At Outlet:
Fluid exits at absolute velocity v2 through a cylindrical surface of radius r2 at an angle α 2 .

v2 = absolute velocity vector

vf2 = radial flow velocity two components
vw2 = whirl velocity of v2
vr2 = relative velocity with respect to impeller blades
u2 = tangential velocity of impeller
β = angle between absolute velocity and tangential velocity
φ = outlet blade angle

Topic Name: Working Principle of Centrifugal Pump Page 9

Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
 • Mass flow rate = ρ Q =(Volume flow rate)(fluid density)
• Discharge (Q) = π D2 B2 Vf2 = π D1 B1 Vf1

Work done per second (E1) = T ω = m’ u2 Vw2 Watts

Work done per second by the impeller on the fluid = rate of energy transfer

Euler’s Equation

Euler Head = E = (1/g) ( ( v w 2 u 2 − v w1u1 ) in units of meters (m)

This equation applies to both pumps and turbines. For turbines

vw1u1>vw2u2 and thus E is negative and indicates that the energy transfer is
in the opposite direction.

Multistage Pumps
Having discussed the working of centrifugal pump, let us now
discuss the multi staging of centrifugal pumps to handle critical
situations where high head or discharge being required. The
images will help the students self explanatory.

Centrifugal pumps can be arranged in:

1. Series.
2. Parallel.
Pumps (impellers) in series
- The pumps can be arranged in series where the fluid is
lifted to a higher level.

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
 -Here Discharge
remains constant.
Q1 = Q 2

- Total head is equal to

sum of individual head
of all impellers.
Htotal =
H1+H2+-----+Hn

Pumps in Parallel
- The pumps can
be arranged parallel where
the requirement of discharge is more.

Topic Name: Working Principle of Centrifugal Pump Page 11

Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
- Head remains constant.
H1= H2

- Total Discharge is equal to sum of individual Discharge of all

pumps.
Qtotal = Q1 + Q2 + Q3+-----+ Qn

Priming & Cavitations:

Before explaining the working principle of centrifugal pump we

have to explain the components so that the students can
understand it easily.

Priming
The process of filling the suction pipe, casing and
the portion of delivery pipe up to delivery valve with
the fluid is known as priming.

Cavitation
Very destructive phenomena that occur when the
pressure of the fluid drops below vaporization point. The result
is the formation of tiny bubbles that collapses when pressure
increase on the impeller. Those implosions work as small
“explosions” on the impeller that will destroy it.

It’ll happen mainly for 3 reasons:

• Bad system design.
• Clogging of pre-filters.
• Valves closed on the suction side.

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
Applications:
1. Domestic.
2. Irrigation.
3. Industrial applications.

Conclusion:

To conclude this session, we can do a pick and speak

activity
Suggested Activity: Pick & Speak
The keywords from this topic are written on some chit and put it on a
bowl. Then the learners are asked to take it one by one and they have to
talk about the key word that they took.

The key words are:

1. Impeller
2. Casing
3. Priming
4.Cavitation
5. Multi staging.
6. Head

Topic Name: Working Principle of Centrifugal Pump Page 13

Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
Summary
In this session, we learnt to:

• Define a pump
• Classify Pumps
• Describe the working principle.
• Compare pumps in parallel and Series.
• Understand priming and Cavitations.
• List the Applications.

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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg
References
BOOKS
1. Frank. M. White, Fluid Mechanics, McGraw Hill,
Singapore, 1999.

2. J. E. Huguenin and J. Colt, Design and operating guide

for aquaculture seawater systems, Elsevier, Netherland,
1992.

3. George Fischer , Industrial Piping Systems- Planning

Fundamentals, Georg Fischer AG, Schweiz, 2002.

4. Bansal, Fluid Mechanics and Machinery, Laxmi

Publications, New delhi ,2008.

WEBSITES
http:/www.pumpworld.com/
http:/Imoneng.com/
www.images.google.com

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Author Name: Alfred Franklin.V College Name: St. Xavier’s Catholic College of Engineering
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Alfred Franklin, St.Xavier’s Catholic college of Engg