Unit-4: Introduction to Fluid Mechanics and Applications

Introduction: Fluids properties, pressure, density, dynamic and kinematic viscosity, specific gravity,
Newtonian and Non-Newtonian fluid, Pascal’s Law and Continuity Equation. Working principles of
hydraulic turbines (Pelton Wheel and Francis) & pumps (Centrifugal and Reciprocating) and their
classifications and hydraulic lift.

The hydraulic machine which converts mechanical energy into hydraulic energy are called pumps.
Pumps are used to increase the energy level of water by virtue of which it can be raised to a higher
level. The hydraulic energy is in the form of pressure energy the pumps are of two types
1. Centrifugal pump
2. Reciprocating pump

RECIPROCATING PUMPS:
Reciprocating pumps are positive displacement pump, i.e. initially, a small quantity of liquid is taken
into a chamber and is physically displaced and forced out with pressure by a moving mechanical
elements.
The reciprocating pumps are used where relatively small quantity (fixed) of liquid per unit time is to be
transferred but at relatively higher pressure.
For industrial purposes, they have become obsolete due to their high initial and maintenance costs as
compared to centrifugal pumps.
Small hand operated pumps are still in use that include well pumps, etc.
These are also useful where high heads are required with small discharge, as oil drilling operations
The mechanical energy is converted in to hydraulic energy (pressure energy) by sucking the liquid in to
a cylinder in which a piston is reciprocating, which exerts the thrust on the liquid and increases its
hydraulic energy (pressure energy) the pump is known as reciprocating pump.

There are following main components of a reciprocating pump mentioned here. Following figure
displayed here indicates the reciprocating pump.
1. A cylinder with a piston, piston rod, connecting rod, crank and crank shaft
2. Suction pipe & Delivery pipe
3. Suction valve & Delivery Valve
A reciprocation pumps consists of a plunger or a piston that moves forward and backward inside a
cylinder with the help of a connecting rod and a crank. The crank is rotated by an external source of
power. The cylinder is connected to the sump by a suction pipe and to the delivery tank by a delivery
pipe. At the cylinder ends of these pipes, non-return valves are provided. A non-return valve allows the
liquid to pass in only one direction. Through suction valve, liquid can only be admitted into the
cylinder and through the delivery valve, liquid can only be discharged into the delivery pipe.

Above figure indicates the single acting reciprocating pump. Piston will move within a cylinder in
forward and backward direction towards inner dead center and outer dead center i.e. piston will execute
the reciprocating motion within the tight fit cylinder.
Reciprocating movement of piston within tight fit cylinder will be executed by connecting the piston
with crank with the help of connecting rod as displayed in figure. Crank will be fixed with crank shaft
which will be rotated by an electric motor.
Suction pipe and delivery pipe will be fixed with the cylinder by means of suction valve and delivery
valve respectively as displayed in above figure.
Suction valve and delivery valve will be check valve i.e. non return valve and hence water may flow in
one direction only through these valves.

Working of Reciprocating Pump: When the piston moves from the left to the right, a suction pressure
is produced in the cylinder. If the pump is started for the first time or after a long period, air from the
suction pipe is sucked during the suction stroke, while the delivery valve is closed. Liquid rises into the
suction pipe by a small height due to atmospheric pressure on the sump liquid.

During the delivery stroke, air in the cylinder is pushed out into the delivery pipe by the thrust of the
piston, while the suction valve is closed. When all the air from the suction pipe has been exhausted, the
liquid from the sump is able to rise and enter the cylinder. • During the delivery stroke it is displaced
into the delivery pipe. Thus the liquid is delivered into the delivery tank intermittently, i.e. during the
delivery stroke only

Silent points:
 A single acting reciprocating pump consists of a piston, which moves forwards and backwards
in a close fitting cylinder.
 The movement of the piston is obtained by connecting the piston rod to crank by means of a
connecting rod.
 The crank is rotated by means of an electric motor.
 Suction and delivery pipes with suction valve and delivery valve are connected to the cylinder.
 The suction and delivery valves are one way valves or non-return valves, which allow the water
to flow in one direction only.
 Suction valve allows water from suction pipe to the cylinder which delivery valve allows water
from cylinder to delivery pipe only
 When the crank starts rotating, the piston moves to and fro in the cylinder. When the crank is at
A the piston is at the extreme left position in the cylinder.
 As the crank is rotating from A to C (i.e. from𝜃 = 0 𝑡𝑜 1800 ) the piston is moving towards right
in the cylinder. The movement of the piston towards right creates a partial vacuum in the
cylinder.
 But on the surface of the liquid in the sump atmospheric pressure in acting, which is more than
the pressure inside the cylinder.
  Thus the liquid is forced in the suction pipe from the sump.
 This liquid opens the suction valve and enters the cylinder.
 When crank is rotating from C to A (i.e. from 𝜃 = 1800 𝑡𝑜 3600 ), the piston from its extreme
right position starts moving towards left in the cylinder.
 The movement of the piston towards the left increases the pressure on the liquid inside the
cylinder more than atmospheric pressure.
 Hence the suction valve closes and delivery valve opens.
 The liquid is forced in to the delivery pipe and is raised to the required height.

Classification of Reciprocating pumps: Following are the main types of reciprocating pumps:
• According to use of piston sides
Single acting Reciprocating Pump: If there is only one suction and one delivery pipe and the liquid is
filled only on one side of the piston, it is called a single-acting reciprocating pump.
Double acting Reciprocating Pump: A double-acting reciprocating pump has two suction and two
delivery pipes, Liquid is receiving on both sides of the piston in the cylinder and is delivered into the
respective delivery pipes
Water will be acting on both side of the piston in case of double acting reciprocating pump as displayed
here in following figure. Therefore, there will be two suction and two delivery pipes for double acting
reciprocating pump as shown in following figure.
When there will be a suction stroke on one side of the piston, same time there will be a delivery stroke
at the other side of the piston.
Hence, in case of double acting reciprocating pump, there will be two suction strokes and two delivery
strokes for one complete revolution of crank and water will be discharged through the delivery pipes
during these two delivery strokes.

According to number of cylinder: Reciprocating pumps having more than one cylinder are called
multicylinder reciprocating pumps.
Single cylinder pump A single-cylinder pump can be either single or double acting –
Double cylinder pump (or two throw pump) A double cylinder or two throw pump consist of two
cylinders connected to the same shaft. –
Triple cylinder pump (three throw pump) A triple-cylinder pump or three throw pump has three
cylinders, the cranks of which are set at 1200 to one another. Each cylinder is provided with its own
suction pipe delivery pipe and piston.
There can be four-cylinder and five cylinder pumps also, the cranks of which are arranged accordingly.
DISCHARGE THROUGH A RECIPROCATING PUMP
Consider a single acting reciprocating pump.
Let D = Diameter of cylinder
A = Cross-sectional area of piston or cylinder
r = Radius of crank
N = r.p.m. of the crank
L = Length of the stroke = 2 × 𝑟
ℎ𝑠 = Height of the axis of the cylinder from water surface in sump
ℎ𝑑 = Height of delivery outlet above the cylinder axis (also called delivery head)
Volume of water delivered in one revolution or Discharge of water in one revolution = Area × Length
of stroke = 𝐴 × L
Number of revolutions per second = 𝑁 / 60
Discharge of pump per second Q = Discharge in one revolution × No. of revolutions per sec

Weight of water delivered per second 𝑊 = 𝜌 × 𝑔 × 𝑄

Work done per second = Weight of water lifted per second ×Total height through which water is lifted
= 𝑊 × ℎ𝑠 + ℎ𝑑 ___ (2)
Where ℎ𝑠 + ℎ𝑑 = Total height through which water is lifted
From equation (1) weight of water is given by

Substituting the value of W in equation (2), we get

 SLIP OF RECIPROCATING PUMP
Slip of a pump is defined as the difference between the theoretical discharge and actual discharge of a
pump.
The actual discharge of pump is less than the theoretical discharge due to leakage.
The difference of the theoretical discharge and actual discharge is known as slip of the pump.
Hence 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 = 𝑄𝑡ℎ − 𝑄𝑎𝑐
But slip is mostly expressed as percentage slip

NEGATIVE SLIP OF THE RECIPROCATING PUMP: Slip is equal to the difference of

theoretical discharge and actual discharge.
If actual discharge is more than the theoretical discharge, the slip of the pump will become –ve. In that
case the slip of the pump is known as negative slip. Negative slip occurs when the delivery pipe is
short, suction pipe is long and pump is running at high speed.
INDICATOR DIAGRAM: The indicator diagram for a reciprocating pump is defined the graph
between the pressure head in the cylinder and the distance travelled by piston from inner dead centre
for one complete revolution of the crank.
As the maximum distance travelled by the piston is equal to the stroke length and hence the indicator
diagram is a graph between pressure head and stroke length of the piston for one complete revolution.
The pressure head is taken as ordinate and stroke length as abscissa.
IDEAL INDICATOR DIAGRAM
The graph between pressure head in the cylinder and the stroke length of piston for one complete
revolution of the crank under ideal conditions is known as ideal indicator diagram.
Line EF represents the atmospheric pressure head equal to 10.3 meters of water.
Let 𝐻at𝑚 = Atmospheric pressure head = 10.3 m of water
L = Length of the stroke
ℎ𝑠 = Suction head and
ℎ𝑑 = Delivery head
During suction stroke, the pressure head in the cylinder is constant and equal to suction head ℎ 𝑠, which
is below the atmospheric pressure head 𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑚 by a height of ℎ𝑠
The pressure head during suction stroke is represented by a horizontal line AB which is below the line
EF by a height of ′ℎ𝑠 ′
During delivery stroke, the pressure head in the cylinder is constant and equal to delivery head (ℎ𝑑),
which is above the atmospheric head by a height of ′ℎ𝑑 ′.
Thus the pressure head during the delivery stroke is represented by a horizontal line CD, which is
above the line EF by a height of ℎ𝑑.
Thus for one complete revolution of crank, the pressure head in the cylinder is represented by the
diagram ABCD.
This diagram is known as ideal indicator diagram

PROBLEM 1: A single acting reciprocating pump running at 50 r.p.m. delivers 0.01 𝑚3/𝑠 of water.
The diameter of piston is 200 mm and stroke length in 400 mm. Determine i) The theoretical discharge
of pump ii) Co-efficient of discharge iii) Slip and the percentage slip of pump.

Sol: Given data the speed of the pump, N = 50 rpm

Actual discharge, 𝑄𝑎𝑐𝑡= 0.01 𝑚3/𝑠

Dia. Of piston, D = 200mm = 0.2 m

PROBLEM 2: A double acting reciprocating pump, running at 40 r.p.m. is discharging 1.0m3 of water
per minute. The pump has a stroke of 400 mm. the diameter of piston is 200 mm. the delivery and
suction head are 20m and 5m respectively. Find the slip of the pump and power required to drive the
pump.
Problem-3: A single-acting reciprocating pump discharge 0.018 m3 /s of water per second when
running at 60 rpm. Stroke length is 500 mm and the diameter of the piston is 220 mm. If the total lift is
15 m, determine: a) Theoretical discharge of the pump b) Slip and percentage slip of the pump c) Co-
efficient of discharge d) Theoretical Power required for running the pump

Problem-4: A three-throw reciprocating pump is delivering 0.1 m3 /s of water against a head of 100 m.
Diameter and stroke length of the cylinder are 250 mm and 500 mm respectively. Friction losses
amount to 1 m in the suction pipe and 16 m in the delivery pipe. If the velocity of water in the delivery
pipe is 1.4 m/s, pump efficiency 90% and slip 2%, determine the pump speed and the input power
supplied.
 INTRODUCTION TO CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
The hydraulic machines which convert the mechanical energy in to hydraulic energy are called pumps.
• The hydraulic energy is in the form of pressure energy. If the mechanical energy is converted in to
pressure energy by means of centrifugal force acting on the fluid, the hydraulic machine is called
centrifugal pump.
• The centrifugal pump acts as a reversed of an inward radial flow reaction turbine. This means that
the flow in centrifugal pumps is in the radial outward directions.
• The centrifugal pump works on the principle of forced vertex flow which means that when a certain
mass of liquid is rotated by an external torque, the rise in pressure head of the rotating liquid takes
place.

MAIN PARTS OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

Impeller: The rotating part of a centrifugal pump is called impeller. It consists of a series of backward
curved vanes. The impeller is mounted on a shaft which is connected to the shaft of an electric motor
Casing: It is similar to the casing of a reaction turbine. It is an air tight passage surrounding the
impeller and is designed in such a way that the kinetic energy of the water discharged at the outlet of
the impeller is converted in to pressure energy before the water leaves the casing and enters the
delivery pipe.
The following three types of the casing are commonly adopted.
Volute (spiral)
Vortex
Casing with guide blades
Volute Casing: It is the casing surrounding the impeller. It is of a spiral type, in which area of flow
increases gradually. The increase in area of flow decreases the velocity of flow. The decrease in
velocity increases the pressure of the water flowing through the casing. It has been observed that in
case of volute casing, the efficiency of the pump decreases slightly as a large amount of energy is lost
due to the formation of eddies in this type of casing.
Vortex Casing: If a circular chamber is introduced between the casing and the impeller, the casing is
known as vortex casing. By introducing the circular chamber, the loss of energy due to the formation of
eddies is reduced to a considerable extent. Thus the efficiency of the pump is more than the efficiency
when only volute casing is provided.
Casing with guide blades: in this type of casing the impeller is surrounded by a series of guide blades
mounted on a ring known as diffuser. The guide vanes are designed in which away that the water from
the impeller enters the guide vanes without shock. Also the area of guide vanes increases thus reducing
the velocity of flow through guide vanes and consequently increasing the pressure of the water. The
water from the guide vanes then pass through the surrounding casing, which is in most of the cases
concentric with the impeller.

Suction pipe with foot valve and a strainer: A pipe whose one end is connected to the inlet of the
pump and other end dips in to water in a sump is known as suction pipe. A foot valve which is a non-
return valve or one-way type of valve is fitted at the lower end of the suction pipe. The foot valve
opens only in the upward direction. A strainer is also fitted at the lower end of the suction pipe.
Delivery pipe: A pipe whose one end is connected to the outlet of the pump and the other end delivers
the water at the required height is known as delivery pipe.
HEADS OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
Suction Head : It is the vertical height of the centre line of centrifugal pump, above the water surface
in the tank or sump from which water is to be lifted. This height is also called suction lift ′ℎ𝑠 ′. Delivery
Head : The vertical distance between the centre line of the pump and the water surface in the tank to
which water is delivered is known as delivery head. This is denoted by ′ℎ𝑑 ′.
Static Head : The sum of suction head and delivery head is known as statics head′𝐻𝑠 ′.
𝐻𝑠 = ℎ𝑠 + ℎ𝑑
Manometric Head : Manometric head is defined as the head against which a centrifugal pump has to
work. It is denoted by 𝐻𝑚.

𝑍0 = Vertical height of the outlet of the pump from datum line, and
EFFICIENCIES OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMP
Manometric Efficiency 𝜼 : The ratio of the Manometric head to the head imparted by the
impeller to the water is known as 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 =

Mechanical Efficiency : The power at the shaft of the centrifugal pump is more the
power available at the impeller of the pump. The ratio of the power available at the
impeller to the power at the shaft of the centrifugal pump is known as mechanical
efficiency.

Overall Efficiency : It is defined as the ratio of power output of the pump to the power
input to the pump.

Classification of Centrifugal pumps:

MULTI STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP: If a centrifugal pump consists of two or more impellers,
the pump is called a multistage centrifugal pump. The impeller may be mounted on the same shaft or
on different shaft. A multi stage pump is having 2 functions;
i. To produce a high head
ii. To discharge a large quantity of liquid.
If a high head is to be developed, the impellers are connected in series while for discharging large
quantity of liquid; the impellers are connected in parallel.

MULTI STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP FOR HIGH HEADS: For developing a high head, a
number of impellers are mounted in series or on the same shaft.
The water from suction pipe enters the first impeller at inlet and it discharges at outlet with increased
pressure.
The water with increased pressure from the outlet of the first impeller is taken to the inlet of the 2 nd
impeller with the help of connecting pipe.
At the outlet of the 2nd impeller the presence of water will be more than the pressure of water at the
outlet of the 1st impeller. Thus, if more impellers are mounted on the same shaft, the pressure will be
increased further.
n = No. Of impeller mounted on the same shaft.
Hm= head developed by each impeller. Total head developed = n × Hm

MULTI STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS FOR HIGH DISCHARGE:

For obtaining high discharge the pumps should be connected in parallel.
Each of the pumps lifts the water from a common sump and discharges water to a common pipe to
which delivery pipe of each pump are connected.
Each pumps is working against the same head.
N = number of identical pumps are in parallel
Q = discharge through each pump
Total discharge = n.Q
PRIMING: Priming in a centrifugal pump is defined as the operation in which the suction pipe, casing
of the pump and a portion of the delivery pipe to the delivery value is completely filled up from outside
source with the liquid to be raised by the pump before starting the pump.
Thus air from these parts of the pump is removed and these parts are filled with the liquid to be
pumped.
The work done by the impeller and the head generated by the pump are independent of the density. So
when the pump is running in air the head generated is in terms of metre of air.
If the pump is primed with water, the head generated is same meter of water. But as the density of air is
very low. The generated head of air in terms of equivalent metre of water head is negligible. And hence
the water may not be sucked from the pump. To avoid this difficulty, priming is necessary

COMPARISION BETWEEN CENTRIFUGAL PUMP AND RECIPROCATING PUMP:

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP RECIPROCATING PUMP
The hydraulic machine which converts The hydraulic machine which converts hydraulic
mechanical energy into pressure energy by means energy into pressure energy by sucking liquid in a
of centrifugal force acting on the fluid is called cylinder in which piston is reciprocating known as
centrifugal pump reciprocating pump
It occupies 6 to 8 times more floor space area than
It occupies less floor space
centrifugal pump
Installation is easy Installation is difficult
Maintenance cost is less Maintenance cost is high
It requires priming It does not require priming
It is suitable for large discharge and small head It is suitable for low discharge and high head

Applications of the Centrifugal pump include the following.

 These pumps are used in the oil & energy industries to pump oil, soil, slurry, and power
generation plants.
 These pumps are used in industrial & fire protection for ventilation and heating, boiler feed,
 Pressure boosting, fire safety sprinkler systems and air conditioning.
 These pumps are used in the manufacture of waste management, agricultural and wastewater
processing plants, gas processing, irrigation, drainage, municipal industry, and overflow
protection.
 These pumps are used in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries for hydrocarbons,
paints, cellulose, petrochemical, beverage production, sugar refining, and food.
HYDRAULIC LIFT: Hydraulic lift is a device used for carrying passenger or goods from one floor to
another in multi-storeyed building.
The principle for hydraulic lifts is based on Pascal‘s law for generating force or motion, which states
that pressure change on an incompressible liquid in a confined space is passed equally throughout the
liquid in all directions
The concept of Pascal‘s law and its application to hydraulics can be seen in the example below, where
a small amount of force is applied to an incompressible liquid on the left to create a large amount of
force on the right.

Hydraulic lifts are of two types, namely,

1. Direct acting hydraulic lift
2. Suspended hydraulic lift.
Direct Acting hydraulic lift: It consists of a ram, sliding in fixed cylinder as shown in fig. At the top
of the sliding ram, a cage (on which the persons may stand or goods may be placed) is fitted. The liquid
under pressure flows into the fixed cylinder. This liquid exerts force on the sliding ram, which moves
vertically up and thus raises the cage to the required height. The cage is moved in the downward
direction, by removing the liquid from the fixed cylinder.
Suspended Hydraulic Lift: In Fig below show the suspended hydraulic lift. It is a modified form of
the direct acting hydraulic lift. It consists of a cage (on which persons may stand or goods may be
placed) which is suspended from a wire rope. A jigger, consisting of a fixed cylinder, a sliding ram
and a set of two pulley blocks, is provided at the foot of the hole of the cage. One of the pulley block is
movable and the other is a fixed one. The end of the sliding ram is connected to the movable pulley
block. A wire rope, one end of which is fixed blocks and finally over the guide pulleys as shown in fig.
The cage is suspended from the other end of the rope. The raising or lowering of the cage of the lift is
done by the jigger as explained below.

When water under high pressure is admitted into the fixed cylinder of the jigger, the sliding ram is
forced to move towards left. As one end of the sliding ram is connecting to the movable pulley block
and hence the movable pulley block moves towards the left, thus increasing the distance between two
pulley blocks. The wire rope connected to the cage is pulled and cage is lifted. For lowering the cage,
water from the fixed cylinder is taken out. The sliding ram moves towards right and hence movable
pulley blocks also moves towards right. This decreases the distance between two pulley blocks and
cage is lowered due to increased length of the rope.

Problem 1: A hydraulic lift is required to lift a load of 8 kN through a height of 10 meters, once in
every 80 seconds. The speed of the lift is 0.5 m/sec. Determine : (i) Power required to drive the lift (ii)
Working period of lifts in seconds, and (iii) Idle period of the lift in seconds
Solution- Given : Load lifted, W = 8 kN = 8 X 1000 = 8000 N
Height, H = 10m
Time for one operation, t = 80 s
Speed of lift, v = 0.5m/s
(i) Work done in lifting the load in 80 seconds = W X H = 8000 X 10 = 80000 Nm.
⸫ Work done/sec = 80000/80 = 1000Nm/s
⸫ Power required to drive the lift = 1/1000 X Work done/sec = 1/1000 X 1000 = 1.0 kW.