Define pump?

A pump is a hydraulic device which converts mechanical energy to hydraulic energy mainly pressure energy.

Classification of Pumps.
Pumps are classified into two main groups.

1. Positive displacement pumps.

a. Reciprocating pumps.
i. Piston pump ii. Diaphragm pumps
b. Rotary pumps
i. Gear pumps ii. Rotary vane pump
2. Rotodynamic pumps (Dynamic pressure pump)
a. Centrifugal pump

Positive-displacement pumps

A positive displacement pump makes a fluid move by trapping a fixed amount and forcing (displacing) that trapped
volume into the discharge pipe.
Some positive displacement pumps use an expanding cavity on the suction side and a decreasing cavity on the
discharge side. Liquid flows into the pump as the cavity on the suction side expands and the liquid flows out of the
discharge as the cavity decreases. The volume is constant through each cycle of operation.
Positive displacement pumps all pulsate, meaning that their volume flow within a cycle is not constant. The variation
in flow and speed leads to pressure fluctuations due to resistance in the pipe system and in valves.
Positive displacement pumps, unlike centrifugal or roto-dynamic pumps, theoretically can produce the same flow at a
given speed (RPM) no matter what the discharge pressure. Thus, positive displacement pumps are constant flow
machines. However, a slight increase in internal leakage as the pressure increases prevents a truly constant or linear
flow rate.

Rotodynamic dynamic pressure pumps

A rotodynamic pump is a kinetic machine in which energy is continuously imparted to the pumped fluid by means of a
rotating impeller, propeller, or rotor. Examples of rotodynamic centrifugal pump to increase fluid velocity or pressure

Reciprocating Pump

Classification of Reciprocating Pumps.

The reciprocating pumps may be classified as:
1. According to the water being in contact with one side or both sides of the piston
a. Single-acting pump
b. Double cylinder pump
2. According to the number of cylinders provided
a. Single cylinder pump
b. Double cylinder pump
c. Triple cylinder pump
Schematic diagram of Reciprocating Pump. Main parts of Reciprocating Pump.
1. A cylinder with a piston, piston rod, connecting rod
and a crank
2. Suction pipe,
3. Delivery pipe,
4. Suction valve, and
5. Delivery valve.

Working of reciprocating pump.

 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.
 When crank starts rotating, the piston moves to and fro in the cylinder. When crank is at A, the piston is at the
extreme left position in the cylinder ODC(outer dead centre).
 For the first half revolution of the crank, the crank rotates from A to C the piston moves from ODC to
IDC(inner dead centre).
 The pressure inside the cylinder falls below atmospheric pressure thus leading water to enter the cylinder from
sump through suction pipe.
 For the second half revolution of the crank the crank moves from C to A, the piston moves from IDC to ODC.
 The pressure of the water inside the cylinder is more than the atmospheric pressure thus the delivery valve
opens and the liquid is discharged out through the delivery tube.
Discharge, Work done and Power required for single Discharge, Work Done and Power Required for
acting Reciprocating Pump. double acting Reciprocating Pump.

volume of cylinder = LA m3 volume of cylinder = LA m3

volume of water delivered m3 volume of water delivered m3

= LA → (1) = 2LA → (1)
revolutin of the crank rev revolutin of the crank rev
N rev N rev
Speed of the pump = N rpm = → (2) Speed of the pump = N rpm = → (2)
60 sec 60 sec

To obtain discharge multiply eq (1) and (2) To obtain discharge multiply eq (1) and (2)

𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐦𝟑 𝟐𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐦𝟑
𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 (𝐐𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨 ) = 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 (𝐐𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨 ) =
𝟔𝟎 𝐬 𝟔𝟎 𝐬

weight of water lifted per weight of water lifted per

Work done by Work done by
second X Total height second X Total height
reciprocating pump = reciprocating pump =
through which the water is through which the water is
per second per second
raised raised

weight of water lifted per second = Ẇ weight of water lifted per second = Ẇ
Ẇ = gρAV Ẇ = gρAV
Ẇ = gρQ → (3) {AV = Q, } Ẇ = gρQ → (3) {AV = Q}
Total height through which the water is raised = Total height through which the water is raised =
(hs + hd ) → (4) (hs + hd ) → (4)

Work done by Work done by

reciprocating pump = eq(3) X eq(4) reciprocating pump = eq(3) X eq(4)
per second (Power) per second (Power)

Power = ρg X Q X (hs + hd ) W Power = ρg X Q X (hs + hd ) W

LAN 2LAN
For single acting reciprocating pump (Q) = 60 For single acting reciprocating pump (Q) = 60

𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝟐𝐋𝐀𝐍
𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝛒𝐠 𝐗 𝐗 (𝐡𝐬 + 𝐡𝐝 ) 𝐖 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝛒𝐠 𝐗 𝐗 (𝐡𝐬 + 𝐡𝐝 ) 𝐖
𝟔𝟎 𝟔𝟎

𝐋𝐀𝐍 (𝐡𝐬 + 𝐡𝐝 ) 𝟐𝐋𝐀𝐍 (𝐡𝐬 + 𝐡𝐝 )

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝛒𝐠 𝐗 𝐗 𝐤𝐖 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝛒𝐠 𝐗 𝐗 𝐤𝐖
𝟔𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝟔𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎

𝐋𝐀𝐍 (𝐡𝐬 + 𝐡𝐝 ) 𝟐𝐋𝐀𝐍 (𝐡𝐬 + 𝐡𝐝 )

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝛒𝐠 𝐗 𝐗 𝐇𝐏 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝛒𝐠 𝐗 𝐗 𝐇𝐏
𝟔𝟎 𝟕𝟒𝟔 𝟔𝟎 𝟕𝟒𝟔
Slip and percentage slip of Reciprocating Pump.
Slip is defined as the difference between theoretical discharge (𝑸𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐 ) and actual discharge(𝑸𝒂𝒄𝒕 ).
Hence mathematically,
𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩 = 𝐐𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨 − 𝐐𝐚𝐜𝐭

Slip is mostly expressed in percentage slip which is given by,

𝐐𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨 − 𝐐𝐚𝐜𝐭
%𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩 = 𝐗 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝐐𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨

𝐐𝐚𝐜𝐭
%𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩 = (𝟏 − ) 𝐗 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝐐𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨
Q act
where = cd (coefficeient of discharge)
Q theo

%𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩 = (𝟏 − 𝐜𝐝 ) 𝐗 𝟏𝟎𝟎

What is negative slip in reciprocating pump, and give the conditions for negative slip to occur.
We know that slip = Q theo − Q act

If Q act > Q theo

Then the slip of the pump will be –ve in that case the slip
of the pump is called as the negative slip.

Conditions for negative slip to occur.

1. Long suction pipe
2. Short delivery pipe
3. Pump running at high speed

Velocity and acceleration of the piston of the reciprocating pump.

θ → Angular displacement
ω → Angular velocity
t → time

Angular displacement =Angular

velocity X time
θ = ωt
r= radius of the crank
xp = Displacement of piston

From the above diagram 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑣𝑝 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛

AF= Displacement of piston xp , dxp d(r − r cos ωt)
AF = OA − OF {OA = r, OF = r cos θ} vp = =
dt dt
AF = r − r cos θ 𝐯𝐩 = 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫) 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛉
𝐱𝐩 = 𝐫 − 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛚𝐭 {𝛉 = 𝛚𝐭}
𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑝 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑛
dvp d(ωr sin ωt )
ap = =
dt dt
𝐚𝐩 = 𝛚𝟐 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫) 𝛚𝟐 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉
Velocity and acceleration of water at the suction and delivery tube.
 The water inside the cylinder which is in contact with the piston
will have the same velocity and acceleration as that of piston.
 But the velocity and acceleration of the water in suction and
delivery tube will be different because of different cross sectional
area of the suction tube and delivery tube.
 The velocity and acceleration in the suction and delivery tube can
be found out by applying continuity equation between suction
tube and cylinder, and delivery tube and cylinder.
A  Area of cross section of cylinder
Vp  Velocity of water in piston

as  Area of cross section of suction tube

vs  Velocity of water in suction tube

ad  Area of cross section of delivery tube

vd  Velocity of water in delivery tube

Applying continuity equation between the suction tube Applying continuity equation between the delivery
and cylinder to find the velocity of water in the suction tube and cylinder to find the velocity of water in the
tube delivery tube.
as vs = Avp ad vd = Avp
A A
vs = vp vd = vp
as ad
𝐀 𝐀 𝐀 𝐀
𝐯𝐬 = 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫) 𝐯𝐬 = 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛉 𝐯𝐝 = 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫) 𝐯𝐝 = 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛉
𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐝
We could find the acceleration of water in the suction We could find the acceleration of water in the delivery
tube by differentiating the velocity in suction tube tube by differentiating the velocity in delivery tube
equation. equation.
𝐝𝐯 𝐝𝐯
Acceleration in suction tube = 𝐬 Acceleration in suction tube = 𝐝
𝐝𝐭 𝐝𝐭
A A
dvs d (as ωr sin ωt ) dvd d (ad ωr sin ωt )
= =
dt dt dt dt
𝐀 𝟐 𝐀 𝟐 𝐀 𝟐 𝐀 𝟐
𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐬 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫) 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐬 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐝 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫) 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐬 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉
𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐝

Pressure head due to acceleration in suction: Pressure head due to acceleration in suction:
𝐥𝐬 𝐀 𝟐 𝐥𝐬 𝐀 𝟐 𝐥𝐝 𝐀 𝟐 𝐥𝐝 𝐀 𝟐
𝐡𝐚𝐬 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫)𝐡𝐚𝐬 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉 𝐡𝐚𝐝 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛚𝐭 (𝐨𝐫)𝐡𝐚𝐝 = 𝛚 𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝛉
𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐠 𝐚𝐝 𝐠 𝐚𝐝

has will be maximum when θ = 0° had will be maximum when θ = 0°

𝐥𝐬 𝐀 𝟐 𝐥𝐬 𝐀 𝟐
(𝐡𝐚𝐬 )𝐦𝐚𝐱 = 𝛚 𝐫 (𝐡𝐚𝐝 )𝐦𝐚𝐱 = 𝛚 𝐫
𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐠 𝐚𝐬

Effect of variation of velocity on friction in suction and delivery pipe.

From Darcy weisbach equation the head loss due to We know that the velocity at suction tube
friction is given by the formula A
vs = a ωr sin θ
2
lv s
hf = 4f Sub vs value in eq(1)
d 2g
𝟐
𝟒𝐟 𝒍𝒔 𝐀
To find the head loss due to friction in the suction pipe 𝐡𝐟𝐬 = ( 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛉 )
substitute 𝟐𝐠 𝒅𝒔 𝐚𝐬
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑠 {𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒}
𝑙 = 𝑙𝑠 {𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒} Similarly head loss due to friction in delivery pipe
𝟐
𝑑 = 𝑑𝑠 {𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒} 𝟒𝐟 𝒍𝒅 𝐀
𝐡𝐟𝐝 = ( 𝛚𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝛉 )
hf = hfs {head loss due to friction in suction tube} 𝟐𝐠 𝒅𝒅 𝐚𝐝
𝑙𝑠 𝑣𝑠 2
hfs = 4f → (1)
𝑑𝑠 2g
Indicator Diagram.
The indicator diagram for a reciprocating pump is defined as the graph between the pressure head in the cylinder ant
the stroke length of the piston for one complete revolution of the crank.

Ideal Indicator Diagram.

The graph between the pressure head in the cylinder and
the stroke length of the piston for one complete
revolution of the crank under ideal conditions is known
as ideal indicator diagram.

In the graph the line EF represents the atmospheric

pressure head equal to 10.3 m of water.

Hatm = atmospheric pressure head 10.3 m of water

hs = Suction head
hd = Delivery head
L = stroke length

Power developed by the pump

LAN
Power = ρg X X (hs + hd )
60
AN
ρg X = k {where k is constant}
60
Power = K X L(hs + hd )

From the graph the area of the,

Area of indicator diagram = L(hs + hd )

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 = 𝐊 𝐗 (𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦)

𝐖𝐃 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩 ∝ (𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦)

.

Effect of acceleration in suction and delivery pipes on Indicator Diagram.

Effect of friction in Suction and delivery pipes on Indicator Diagram.

Effect of acceleration and friction in suction and delivery pipes on Indicator Diagram.

Maximum speed of reciprocating pump.

Air Vessels.

MINIMUM SPEED FOR STARTING A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP

The pressure rise in the impeller is given by the equation.
𝑢22 𝑢12
−
2𝑔 2𝑔
Where
𝑢1 → 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟
𝑢2 → 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟
 If this pressure rise is more than or equal to manometric head (Hm), the centrifugal pump will start to deliver water
otherwise the pump will not discharge water even though the impeller rotates. There for the pressure rise in the
impeller should be at least equal to manometric head.
𝒖𝟐𝟐 𝒖𝟐𝟏
− = 𝑯𝒎 → (𝟏)
𝟐𝒈 𝟐𝒈
𝜋𝐷1 𝑁 𝜋𝐷2 𝑁
𝑢1 = , 𝑢2 = → (2)
60 60
We know that manometric efficiency is given by the formula,
𝐻𝑚 𝑔
𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 =
𝑢2 𝑣𝑤2
𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑢2 𝑣𝑤2 𝜋𝐷2 𝑁
𝐻𝑚 = {𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢2 = }
𝑔 60
𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑣𝑤2 𝜋𝐷2 𝑁
𝐻𝑚 = → (3)
𝑔 𝑋 60
Substituting equation (2) and (3) in equation (1)
𝜋 2 𝐷2 2 𝑁 2 𝜋 2 𝐷1 2 𝑁 2 𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑣𝑤2 𝜋𝐷2 𝑁
2
− 2 =
60 𝑋 2𝑔 60 𝑋 2𝑔 𝑔 𝑋 60
𝜋2𝑁2 𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑣𝑤2 𝜋𝐷2 𝑁
2 [𝐷2 2 − 𝐷1 2 ] =
60 𝑋 2𝑔 𝑔 𝑋 60
𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝜼𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒗𝒘𝟐 𝑫𝟐
𝑵=
𝝅[𝑫𝟐𝟐 − 𝑫𝟐𝟏 ]
MULTISTAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
If centrifugal pump consists of two or more impellers, the pump is called multistage centrifugal pump.The impeller
may be mounted on the same shaft or on different shafts.
Purpose to use multistage centrifugal pump.
1. To produce high head
2. To discharge large quantity of water
 Multi stage centrifugal pump for high Heads Multi stage centrifugal pump for high Discharge

Water enters impeller number1, impeller imparts head to the
water. Water with high head enters impeller number2 the
impeller imparts head thus water leaving the second impeller
will have much higher head.
For obtaining high discharge, the pump should be connected
in parallel as shown above. Each of the pump lift water form
common sump and discharges eater to a common pipe to
which the delivery pipes of each pump is connected. Each
pump produces same head.

Let,
Let,
𝑛 = 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑓𝑡
𝑛 = 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙
𝐻𝑚 = 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟
𝑄 = 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 = 𝒏 𝑿 𝑯𝒎

𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 = 𝒏 𝑿 𝑸

Sample problems:
1. A three stage centrifugal pump has impellers 40 cm in diameter and 2 cm wide at outlet. The vanes are curved back at
the outlet at 45° and reduce the circumferential area by 10%. The manometric efficiency is 90% and the overall
efficiency is 80%. Determine the head generated by the pump when running at 1000 r.p.m. delivering 50 litres per
second. What should be the shaft horse power?
2. A four-stage centrifugal pump has four identical impellers, keyed to the same shaft.The shaft is running at 400 r.p.m.
and the total manometric head developed by the multistage pump is 40 m. The discharge through the pump is 0.2 m/s.
The vanes of each impeller are having outlet angle as 45° If the width and diameter of each impeller at outlet is 5 cm
and 60 cm respectively, find the manometric efficiency.

SPECIFIC SPEED OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP (NS)

The specific speed of a centrifugal pump is defined as the speed of a geometrically similar pump which would
discharge one cubic metre of liquid per second against a head of one metre. It is denoted by Ns

𝑵√𝑸
𝑵𝒔 = 𝟑/𝟒
𝑯𝒎
CHARACTERISTIC CURVES OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMP
Characteristics curves of a centrifugal pumps are defined as those curves which are plotted from the result of a number
of tests on the centrifugal pump.
 These curves are necessary to predict the behaviour and performance of the pump when the pump is working under
different flow rate, head and speed.

The following are the important characteristics curves for pump

1. Main characteristics curve
2. Operating characteristic curve
3. Constant efficiency or Muschel curves

Main Characteristic Curves.

The main characteristic curves of a centrifugal pump consists

of variation of head (manometric head, Hm.), power and
discharge with respect to speed.
For plotting curves of manometric head vs speed, discharge is
kept constant.
For plotting curves of discharge versus speed, manometric
head (Hm) is kept constant.
And for plotting curves of power versus speed, the manometric
head and discharge are kept constant.

Operating Characteristic Curves.

If the speed is kept constant, the variation of manometric head,

power and efficiency with respect to discharge gives the
operating characteristics of the pump.
The input power curve for pumps shall not pass through the
origin. It will be slightly away from the origin on the y-axis, as
even at zero discharge some power is needed to overcome
mechanical losses.
The head curve will have maximum value of head when
discharge is zero.
The output power curve will start from origin as at Q = 0,
output power (HQω) will be zero.
Constant Efficiency Curves.

For obtaining constant efficiency curves for a pump, the head

vs discharge curves and efficiency vs discharge curves for
different speed are used
By combining these curves (H - Q curves and η - Q curves),
constant efficiency curves are obtained.
For plotting the constant efficiency curves (also known as iso-
efficiency curves), horizontal lines representing constant
efficiencies are drawn on the η - Q curves. The points, at which
these lines cut the efficiency curves at various speeds, are
transferred to the corresponding H - Q curves. The points
having the same efficiency are then joined by smooth curves.
These smooth curves represents the iso efficiency curves.

MAXIMUM SUCTION LIFT OR SUCTION HEAD

Maximum suction lift is defined as the maximum distance between the free surface of liquid and the centre of the
impeller. If the pump is installed in such a way that the distance is greater than maximum suction lift the water will not
be delivered.

𝑃𝑎 𝑣𝑎2 𝑃1 𝑣12
+ + 𝑍𝑎 = + + 𝑍1 + ℎ𝐿
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔
To find the maximum suction lift, the pressure in the inlet of the pump should not be less than vapour pressure of the
liquid there for 𝑃1 = 𝑃𝑣
𝑃𝑎 𝑣𝑎2 𝑃𝑣 𝑣12
+ + 𝑍𝑎 = + + 𝑍1 + ℎ𝐿
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔
𝑣𝑠2
𝐻𝑎 = 𝐻𝑣 + + ℎ𝑠 + ℎ𝑓𝑠
2𝑔
𝒗𝟐
𝒉𝒔 = 𝑯𝒂 − (𝑯𝒗 + 𝟐𝒈𝒔 + 𝒉𝒇𝒔 )

NET POSITIVE SUCTION HEAD (NPSH)

 𝑃 𝑃 𝑣2
NPSH= Absolute pressure at the inlet of the pump (𝜌𝑔1 ) - Vapour pressure head abs. units (𝜌𝑔𝑣 ) + velocity head (2𝑔1 )
𝑃1 𝑣12
𝑁𝑃𝑆𝐻 = +
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔