CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

Module title: EAC_4_966

Course: BEng(hons)Chemical and Process engineering Year 1 (2134)

Student Name: Vivek Kanna Jayaprakash

Students Number: 3124865

Unit coordinator: Dr Dipesh Patel

Ms Aseel Abdul-Amir Al-Qutbi

20-03-2013
London South Bank University
Department of Urban Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment
103 Borough Road, London, SE1 0AA
www.lsbu.ac.uk

Contents
1) Objectives........................................................................................(3)
2) Introduction.....................................................................................(3)
3) Summary..........................................................................................(3)
4) Apparatus required..........................................................................(4)
5) Procedure.........................................................................................(5)
6) Theory...............................................................................................(6)
7) Calculations......................................................................................(8)
8) Result................................................................................................(12)
9) Analysis & Discussion.....................................................................(13)
10) Conclusion........................................................................................(13)
11) Recommendations............................................................................(13)
12) References.........................................................................................(14)

Objectives:
1) To analyse the energy transfer in a pump.
2) To find out about the characteristics of a centrifugal pump

Introduction:
The centrifugal pump is mainly used for pumping low and medium viscous
liquids. The main working of the centrifugal pump is to pump liquid through the
liquid system. This is based on the centrifugal force. This experiment about the
centrifugal pump is all about determining the charge released on its head, the
efficiency of the pump and also to determine the input i.e the shaft power.

Figure 1 : See reference

Summary:
In this experiment, when a sufficient amount of force is applied to the system
along with a certain quantity of charge with the load found to be proper. The
product of the column flow and the pressure rise can be determined in the space
of the time interval. The expected outcome is that when the force increases, the
charge current supplied to the load and the entire product along with the masses
and time interval also increases.

Apparatus required:

The main instruments used are

1.
2.
3.
4.

The full set up of a Centrifugal pump

Slotted weights to determine the mass
Water
Stop watch
Pressure guage

Voltmeter
Amme
P1

P2

Weighing scale

Bucket

Stop watch

2 : Centrifugal pump taken by Vivek Kanna Jayaprakash

Procedure:
The main purpose of a centrifugal pump is to convert the power inputted into kinetic
by accelerating the liquid present inside. It is a common choice for pumping all types
of liquids irrespective of their viscosity. The process is cheap and the flow rate can
be varied easily using a valve to restrict the flow of the liquid.
This experiment is mainly used to determine the efficiency of the centrifugal pump
Basic procedures

The voltage (V) of the system is adjusted such that the force is calculated to
be 600 N on the dynamometer for the first 5 set of readings. Later it is raised
to 750 and 900 respectively.
The current flow (i) in the system is also noted down.
In the third step the total load on the system is displayed on the weighting
scale. The weight is calculated.
The Pressure change at the outlet(p2) is set to its lower most rate in the
pressure gauge
Now making sure that the valve between the pump and tank is fully open.
Once the valve has been opened the water level rises in the tank.
Using a stop watch a time period is recorded for the water to fill up the whole
granulated bucket.
The drain should be opened once the water reaches the maximum level in the
tank such that overflow can be prevented
The value of the pressure change at the input(P1) is also noted down
The time period for which the water took to rise is noted as the bucket t here

The above procedures should be repeated for a series of 5 stages for the speed of
750 and 900 respectively. The voltage must be maintained at the correct level such
that the shaft speed is constant and the load is zero

Theory:
The main source of energy required to run this pump is electricity. This makes the
impellor inside the pump to rotate such the the liquid is pressurised and is forced to
circulate.
If the system runs in a fully equipped electrical environment, the electrical energy
(Ee) would be converted in to shaft energy (Es).This lies the path for the conversion
of the fluid energy in water (Ew).
1) Ee = Vi
Where
Ee electrical energy
V Volts
i-Current in amperes
2) Es = Lr
Where
L Load in kilo grams
r is the torque radius and is a fixed value of 0.18 m
Rotational speed in radians/sec
3) Ew = Q(p2-P1)
Where
Q Charge on the system(It is calculated using the formula q =m/t)
P2 pressure at the outlet
P1 pressure at the inlet

4) =Ew/Es
Where
-Efficiency
Ew-work outputted
Es-Work inputted
If the centrifugal pump is efficient enough then the heat is dissipated as Ee>Es>Ew

Calculations:

Q against h

1.8000E-03
1.6000E-03
1.4000E-03
1.2000E-03
1.0000E-03
8.0000E-04
6.0000E-04
4.0000E-04
2.0000E-04
0.0000E+00

Q=m/t
(m2/s)
h=(p2-p1)/g

Q against
1.5000E-03
Q=m/t
(m2/s)

1.0000E-03
5.0000E-04

=Ew/Es
=Ew/Es

0.0000E+00

Q=m/t

Q against Es
7000
6000
5000

Es=t
(w)

4000

Q=m/t
(m2/s)

3000
2000
1000
0
1

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Example calculations:

=
=86.4 1
= 86.4

=
= 6.5 0.18
= 1.17

= 2N

= 2 3.14 600
= 3770
/

=
= 1.17 3770
= 4411
=
=

10
53.45
1000

= 1.8709E-04

2 1
= .25 (0)
= 0.25

= ( 2 1)
=1.8709E-04*.25
= 4.6773E-05 W

11

. 25
1000 9.81

=0.0024525 J

= Ew /Es
=4.6773E-05/4408.56
=1.0610E-08 W

Result:
The Head of the pump,h

= 2.80E-03 W

The Efficiency

= 2.88213E-08 W

The shaft power input Es

= 9.98E+03 W

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Analysis and discussion:

The main result obtained here is similar to the result expected. So the given system
is proved to be efficient. The efficiency is calculated as 2.88213E-08 W
This proved because for an efficient centrifugal pump. All the electrical energy would
be converted into shaft energy such that the electrical energy is supposed to be
greater than the Shaft energy .Ee>Es.................... (1)
And the fluid energy should be lesser than the shift energy in other words the output
energy is lesser and the input power is greater. This can be denoted as
Es>Ew...................... (2)
From 1 and 2 It is concluded that
Ee>Es>Ew
And our given set of reading prove that this proves that the centrifugal pump is
efficient

Conclusion:
The performance or efficiency of the centrifugal pump is mainly based on the head of
the pump and its flow rate. The graphs clearly explain this concept. When the force
or speed of the pump is increased this causes a whole set of changes in its working
and finally leads to the increase in its efficiency. This can be clearly stated as when
the impellor speed increases the efficiency automatically increases. Since the main
purpose of the pump is to transport liquid from one column to another, The speed
therefore generates the efficiency manually also.

Recommendations:
In order to make the water level rise, the valve is discharged to a full extent.
Sometimes there is a risk of the water overflowing from the bucket. The drain is
opened manually to prevent this from happening. An automatic electric powered
drained can be installed to minimise this happening. This works on the principle that
when the water reaches its highest point, it triggers the drain to be opened
automatically. This type of system is used to prevent the overflow of Dams.
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Reference:
Blogspot (2013) Centrifugal pump working. [image online] Available at:
http://enggyd.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/how-to-operate-centrifugal-pump.html [Accessed:
20/03/13].
d8 (2009) centrifugal-pump: CONCLUSIONS. [online] Available at: http://centrifugalpump.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/centrifugal-pump-performance_09.html [Accessed: 20
Mar 2013].
Dictionary.com (2013) the definition of efficiency. [online] Available at:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/efficiency [Accessed: 20 Mar 2013].
Engineeringtoolbox.com (2008) Centrifugal Pumps. [online] Available at:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/centrifugal-pumps-d_54.html [Accessed: 20 Mar
2013].
Thomasnet.com (2013) Centrifugal Pumping Principles. [online] Available at:
http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/pumps-valves-accessories/centrifugal-principles
[Accessed: 20 Mar 2013].
Thomasnet.com (2013) About Centrifugal Pumps. [online] Available at:
http://www.thomasnet.com/about/centrifugal-pumps-64322407.html [Accessed: 20 Mar
2013].

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