Chapter five

Pump selection guidelines and pump

system design

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 Pump Performance Curve
 A mapping or graphing of the pump's ability to
produce head and flow

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 Pump Performance Curve(con’t)

Step #1, Horizontal Axis

 The pump's flow rate is plotted on the

horizontal axis ( X axis)
 Usually expressed in m3 per Minute

Pump Flow Rate

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 Pump Performance Curve(con’t)

Step #2, Vertical Axis

 The head the pump produces is plotted on

the vertical axis (Y axis).

 Usually express in meter of Water

Head

Pump Flow Rate

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 Pump Performance Curve(con’t)
Step #3, Mapping the Flow and the Head

Performance Curve

 Most pump performance

curves slope from left to right
Head

Pump Flow Rate

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 Pump Performance Curve(con’t)

Shut-off Head
 Shut-off Head is the
maximum pressure or
head the pump can
produce
Head

 No flow is produced

Pump Flow Rate

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 Pump Performance Curve(con’t)

Maximum Flow

 Maximum flow is the

largest flow the pump can
Head

produce
 No Head is produced
Pump Flow Rate
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 System Performance Curves

 System Performance Curve is a mapping of the head

required to produce flow in a given system.

 A system includes all the pipe, fittings and devices the

fluid must flow through, and represents the friction
loss the fluid experiences.

H t H stat   hL

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 System Performance Curve(con’t)

Step #1, Horizontal Axis

 The System's flow rate is plotted on the

horizontal axis ( X axis).

 Usually expressed in m3 per Minute

System Flow Rate

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 System Performance Curve(con’t)

Step #2, Vertical Axis

 The head the system requires is plotted on

the vertical axis (Y axis).

 Usually express in meter of Water

Head

Pump Flow Rate

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 System Performance Curve(con’t)
Step #3, Curve Mapping
 The friction loss is mapped onto the graph
 The amount of friction loss varies with flow
through the system

Friction Loss
Head

Pump Flow Rate

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 The point on the system curve that intersects the pump
curve is known as the operating point.

Head

Pump Flow Rate

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 Pump Selection

Two main inputs for pump selection are:

required flow rate

pump speed (depends on the speed of the electric motor)

Additional consideration for pump selection are

type of fluid (highly viscous, muddy, etc.)

available space, vertical placement limitations that will affect 𝑁𝑃𝑆𝐻

maximum allowable noise level etc.

For preliminary pump selection specific speed () and suction specific speed ( 𝑆) are two
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commonly used variables.
 Pump Selection (con’t)
Using the required head and flow rate we can first select a pump family
from a manufacturer’s catalogue. For example for the plot given below at
2900 𝑟𝑝𝑚, ‘‘65-160’’ family is suitable for 𝑄 = 100 and h = 30 𝑚.

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 Pump Selection (con’t)
These are the detailed performance curves of
the pumps in ‘‘65-160’’family running at
2900 𝑟𝑝𝑚.
• There are three similar pumps with impeller
diameters of 160 𝑚𝑚, 175 𝑚𝑚 and 184 𝑚𝑚.
• Black curves are iso-efficinecy lines.
• and curves are also provided.
• One of these three pumps can be selected by
considering cavitation possibility, efficiency
and power consumption.
• The smallest pump can not provide the
required head of 30 𝑚 at the desired flow rate
of 100 .
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 Selection of A Pump (con’t)
It has been seen that the efficiency of a pump depends on the
discharge, head, and power requirement of the pump. The
approximate ranges of application of each type of pump are
indicated in the following Figure.

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 Selection of A Pump(con’t)
In selecting a particular pump for a given system.

 The design conditions are specified and a pump is selected

for the range of applications.

 A system characteristic curve (H-Q) is then prepared.

 The H-Q curve is then matched to the pump characteristics

chart which is provided by the manufacturer.

 The matching point (operating point) indicates the actual

13/11/2023 working conditions. 17
 Selection of A Pump(con’t)

Circulator 1

Circulator 2

Circulator 3
Head

Pump Flow Rate

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 Cavitation
 What is cavitation and where and why it occurs has been
discussed in the chapter on chapter two.

 In the case of pumps, the pressure is lowest at the inlet

and cavitation damage occurs at the inlet.

 For cavitation to occur the pressure at the location should

be near the vapour pressure at the location.

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 Cavitation(con’t)
 Under this condition, vapor bubbles form (water starts to boil) at
the impeller inlet and when these bubbles are carried into a zone
of higher pressure, they collapse abruptly and hit the vanes of
the impeller (near the tips of the impeller vanes). causing:

• Damage to the pump (pump impeller)

• Violet vibrations (and noise).
• Reduce pump capacity.
• Reduce pump efficiency
 Applying the energy equation between sump surface and
the pump suction

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 Cavitation(con’t)

where Z is the height from sump surface and pump suction.

 The other terms have their usual significance.

 The term hfs should include all losses in the suction line.

 Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) is defined as the available total

suction head at the pump inlet above the head corresponding to
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the vapour pressure at that temperature. 21
 Cavitation(con’t)
 There are two values of NPSH of interest.

(1). Required NPSH, denoted (NPSH)R , that must be maintained or exceeded so that
cavitation will not occur and usually determined experimentally and provided by the
manufacturer.

(2). Available NPSH, denoted (NPSH)A , which represents the head that actually
occurs for the particular piping system. This value can be determined
experimentally, or calculated if the system parameters are known.

 For proper pump operation (no cavitation) :

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(NPSH) >(NPSH)
 Cavitation(con’t)

where Pv is the vapour pressure.

 From the equation above

 Thomas cavitation parameter is defined by

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 Cavitation(con’t)
 At cavitation conditions,

 The height of suction, the frictional losses in the suction line

play an important role for avoiding cavitation at a location.

 When pumps designed for one location is used at another

location, atmospheric pressure plays a role in the onset of
cavitation.
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 Cavitation(con’t)
 Some authors use the term “suction specific speed, ‘ns”.
Where H in the general equation is substituted by NPSH.

 One correlation for critical cavitation parameter for

pumps is given as

 These equations depend upon the units used and should

be applied with caution.

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 THANK YOU!!!

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