Terry Henshaw Centrifugal Pump Specific Speed [ in 1915, which was later applied to centrifugal pumps, (Stepanoff, 1948). Specific speed is a way to “normal- ize” the performance of these hydraulic machines. “The commonly-used equation for specific speed is as follows: NYGre (1) (Hoes? Where (in U.S. units): Ng = specific speed N= rotative speed of the impeller (rev/min) Qu = capacity of pump at the best efficiency point (gal/min) Hyp = head of a single stage of the pump at the best efficiency point (feet) S pecific speed isa concepe developed for water turbines! N. : Deane Tay ‘When I was first introduced to specific speed, I must admit to being unimpressed. It appeared to me that the concept might be useful to pump designers, but I could see no value to the end user. I later learned that the concept is essential to the designer, and—because it indicates the shape of the head, power and efficiency curves and the maximum achievable efficiency—it is also of value to end users. ‘One of the definitions of specific speed is that i is the speed that a modeled pump would run to produce a one foot head when pumping one gallon per minute, but I find that definition awkward. 1 prefer to think of it as an index number. In Europe, specific speed is sometimes called the “shape number,” and I prefer that name. It indicates the shapes ofthe performance curves and also determines, 10 a large degree, the profile shape of the impeller. ‘An impeller with a low specific speed has a thin profile (the shrouds are close together) and a large outside diameter (OD) relative co the eye diameter. An impeller with a high specific speed has a fat profile (the shrouds are far apart) and. hhas an eye diameter that is closer in size to the impeller OD. Figure 1 helps illustrate the concept. The charc was developed years ago by the Worthington up and is used extensively by the industry Note that the values of specific speed, in US. units, are tabulated along the bottom of the graph. ‘The small drawings below the graph show the profiles of the impellers that correspond to the specific speed numbers. “The small performance curves across the top of the graph illustrate the typical shapes of the performance curves correspondent to the values Of specific speed. Note that pumps with a low specific speed have a flat head curve, sometimes with a slight droop at shut-off (zero capacity) Such a droop does not make the pump unstable. “The power curve is steep. It increases significantly from shut-off to best efficiency point (BED). In the midrange of Ns values, the head curve continually rises to shut-off, and the power curve changes little from shut-off to BEP When Ns exceeds about 5,000, the slope of the power curve (continued on page 26) 24. SEPTEMBER 2011 wenw.pump-zone.com, PUMPS & SYSTEMS(continued from page 24) reverses, with the maximum value being at shut-off, and the head curve is very steep, with the shutoff value being as much as three times the BEP value. (Donte start one of these guys with the discharge valve closed.) Derivation For those who wish to see a derivation of Ns, the following is offered. I use what is called the “modeling law” or “model law” or “factoring law” This “law’ is used when a designer wishes to “model” a pump to one of a different size. Each dimension of the pump is multiplied by the same factor, the modeling factor, “f” The existing pump is designated with the subscript “I” and che new pump with the subscript “2. Then: Q = capacity of the existing pump at the BEP head of the existing pump at the BEP N/ = rorative speed of the existing pump pacity of the new pump at the BEP head of the new pump at the BEP tative speed of the new pump Zz ‘The model law tells us that: ¢ =f (®) from which f = eye)" 2) z =P (ey fiom which f = x (2)" (3) Equating the two fs ey ey - a (ey Combining Ni/N: terms: @)" =)" @)” ® “Taking all o the 3/2 power: @)" . ‘ (y" 6 Grouping like subscripts: No." NO" Haro Ae a ‘The resultant is specific speed. When one pump is mod- eled from another, both pumps have the same specific speed. Making It Unitless I is commonly said chat specific speed is unitless, but it nor- mally is nor. In the US., with the above units, itis not unit- less. Ircan be made unitless, though, by converting the speed to radians/second, the capacity 0 cubic feet/second and by multiplying che head by the gravitational constant “g.” “The Ns values on the Worthington graph run from 500 0 15,000. What would the values be if we were to convert to tunitless numbers? We must divide N by 9.55 «0 convert to radians/second. Q must be divided by 449 to convert to fe! second and H must be multiplied by 32.2. “The resule tells us that to convert from U.S. units to dimensionless values requires that the U.S. values for Ns be divided by 2,735. ‘Therefore, the 500 would become about 1/5, the 15,000 would become about 5, and the unitless value of 1.0 would fll very near the center ofthe graph, where maxi- ‘mum efficiencies reach their peak. Is there any significance to the maximum efficiencies occurring where the unitless Ne is 1.02 I don't know, but it sure seems like a happy coincidence. ‘References 1. Seepano A.J. Cnafigal and Avil Flow Pumps, Jon Wiley 8 Sons, Now York, 1948, 2. Stepanofl. A), Pumps and Blowers To-Phase Flow, Joba Wiley 8 Sons, New York, 1965 "A reaction cubine i, bascly, jus centifsl pump running backwards, withthe did being pushed backwards through Wits double-sucton impeller, donot divide by 2. With suction specific speed, we divide the capaciy by 2, but not for (discharge) specific peed Tey Henshaw is a retired engineer living in Magnolia, ‘Texas. He worked 50+ years in the pump industry. He can bbe reached at pumprofieate. net 26 sepreMER 2011 ‘wen. pump-zone com PUMPS & SYSTEMS