Engineering Encyclopedia

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Positive Displacement Pumps

Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.
Warning: The material contained in this document was developed for Saudi
Aramco and is intended for the exclusive use of Saudi Aramco’s
employees. Any material contained in this document which is not
already in the public domain may not be copied, reproduced, sold, given,
or disclosed to third parties, or otherwise used in whole, or in part,
without the written permission of the Vice President, Engineering
Services, Saudi Aramco.

Chapter : Process For additional information on this subject, contact

File Reference: CHE10202 R. A. Al-Husseini on 874-2792
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CONTENTS PAGE

RECIPROCATING PUMPS ....................................................................................................................... 1

Piston Pumps .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Plunger Pumps........................................................................................................................................ 4
Metering Pumps ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Process Calculations for Reciprocating Pumps....................................................................................... 8
ROTARY PUMPS ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Gear Pumps ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Screw Pumps ........................................................................................................................................ 10
CONTROL METHODS FOR POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS .................................................... 13
Recycle Control .................................................................................................................................... 14
Variable Speed Motor Drive................................................................................................................. 15
Variable Piston Stroke Length .............................................................................................................. 15
PROCESS CALCULATIONS FOR POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS ........................................... 16
Brake Horsepower ................................................................................................................................ 16
Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) ...................................................................................................... 16
WORK AID 1 ........................................................................................................................................... 17
WORK AID 2 ........................................................................................................................................... 18
GLOSSARY.............................................................................................................................................. 19
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................... 21

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RECIPROCATING PUMPS

In a reciprocating pump, a piston moves back and forth within a cylinder. Liquid enters the cylinder during
the suction or intake stroke. Liquid is forced out of the cylinder during the discharge stroke. Refer to Figure 1.

FIGURE 1. RECIPROCATING PUMPS

Piston Pumps

Piston pumps are used for moderately high pressures. They are used in some special services, such as
emergency and shutdown services, where pipelines must be completely emptied. Mixtures of liquid and vapor
are encountered in these services, and the reciprocating pump is the most reliable.

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Piston Pumps (Cont’d)

Figure 1 shows the major components of a piston pump: the cylinder, the piston that moves back and forth, and
the suction and discharge valves in the ends of the cylinder. The left side of Figure 1 shows the intake stroke.
During the intake stroke, the piston moves away from the end of the cylinder, increasing the volume inside the
cylinder. The decreasing pressure inside the cylinder causes the suction valve to open and liquid to flow into
the cylinder. The higher pressure on the discharge side keeps the discharge valve closed.

The right side of Figure 1 shows the discharge stroke. Now the piston moves toward the end of the cylinder,
forcing the liquid out of the cylinder. The higher pressure inside the cylinder pushes open the discharge valve
but keeps the suction valve shut.

Some piston pumps are double acting in order to increase capacity. Figure 2 shows a double acting piston
pump. There are cylinder chambers on both sides of the piston. While the left end of the cylinder is going
through the suction stroke, the right end of the cylinder is discharging. The opposite happens when the piston
moves back in the other direction.

Other important components of a piston pump are:

• Piston rod--transfers the energy from the drive mechanism to the piston.
• Packing--surrounds the rod at the point where it enters the cylinder to prevent liquid leakage.
• Drive mechanism--includes an electric motor and a mechanism for changing the rotating motion to a
reciprocating motion. See Figure 3.

FIGURE 2. DOUBLE ACTING PISTON PUMP

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Piston Pumps (Cont’d)

FIGURE 3. DRIVE MECHANISM - RECIPROCATING PUMPS

(PISTON AND PLUNGER)

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Plunger Pumps

Plunger pumps are used for very high pressure applications, 1000 psi or greater. Examples are glycol
circulation and amine circulation in gas plants. See Figure 4. A plunger of constant diameter replaces the
piston and piston rod. This provides the mechanical strength needed for high pressure.

Plunger pumps are single acting, that is, they pump on the forward stroke only. A pump that has a single
cylinder is called "simplex." A pump with two cylinders operating in parallel is a "duplex," and three
cylinders in parallel form a "triplex."

Multiple cylinders in parallel have two advantages:

• Higher capacities are possible without large diameter cylinders, an advantage at high pressures.

• The magnitude of flow rate pulsations is reduced because discharge strokes are staggered.

Cylinder Head

Plunger

Wing Guided
Poppet Valve
Suction

With Permission from Exxon Company U.S.A.

FIGURE 4. PLUNGER PUMP

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Metering Pumps

A metering pump is a special class of reciprocating pump. It is used for injecting very small, precisely
controlled volumes of liquids into products or processes. Some of the liquids that are handled by metering
pumps are:

• Product additives.

• Corrosion inhibitors.

• Antifoam agents.

• pH control agents; acids or alkalis.

The rates pumped by metering pumps are usually below 1 gpm. However, pumps are available with capacities
up to about 10 gpm.

A metering pump is shown schematically in Figure 5. The cylinder has a single acting piston. There are ball
type check valves at the suction and the discharge ends of the cylinder. In most metering pumps, a diaphragm
isolates the piston from the pumped liquid. A hydraulic fluid is contained between the diaphragm and the
piston. The pumped liquid is on the other side of the diaphragm. This configuration isolates the piston and
other parts of the mechanism from the pumped fluid. Such protection is required when the pumped liquid is
corrosive, abrasive, toxic, or of low viscosity.

In the case of extremely toxic or flammable applications, a double diaphragm, with a leak detector between
diaphragms, is used.

Metering systems are usually supplied as a package on a skid. Process engineers frequently have to
troubleshoot these systems. Figure 6 shows a typical installation. The liquid is stored in an additive tank. The
capacity of the tank is normally about one week's supply. The additive is delivered by a tank truck or in drums.

The liquid flows from the additive tank through stainless steel tubing to the metering pump and then to the
process. A strainer installed just upstream of the pump keeps solids out of the pump.

Block valves allow the pump to be removed from service without disturbing the process. Normally, the spare
for a metering pump is not installed in the line but rather is stored in the warehouse. A malfunctioning pump
can be removed from the line and the spare pump can be installed quickly.

One optional feature is a diluent added to the line downstream of the pump. Diluent increases the flow rate and
reduces the residence time between the pump and the process. It provides a volume flow rate that is large
enough to make a spray nozzle operate properly.

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Metering Pumps (Cont'd)

Connecting
Rod
Lubricating Oil
Relief Valve High Speed
Worm Worm
High Speed Cross
Relief Valve Head Gear
Worm
Automatic
Air-Bleed Valve Micrometer
Discharge Valve Stroke Rotating
Ball Check Adjustment
Crank
Zero Stroke

Pressure Stroke
Diaphragm Lubricated Drive Length Discharge
Lubricating Position
Oil Discharge

Hydraulic Fluid
Refill
Suction Valve
Ball Check
Valve Suction Suction
Position

Full Stroke

With Permission from Milton Roy

FIGURE 5. METERING PUMP

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Metering Pumps (Cont'd)

A relief valve or safety valve is required. It may be external as shown in Figure 6, or it may be internal and
supplied by the pump manufacturer. If the pump contains an internal relief, an external valve is not required
unless the liquid is very flammable or toxic.

The calibration cylinder is used to verify that the proper flow rate of liquid is being delivered by the pump. To
use the cylinder, close the valve between the additive tank and the calibration cylinder. Now, the pump will
take suction from the cylinder alone. Time the rate at which the level falls in the calibration cylinder. The
cross-sectional area of the calibration cylinder is known. Therefore, the delivery rate can be calculated.

Relief
Valve To
Process

Additive Calibration Strainer Rotameter

Tank Cylinder Pump
Diluent (Optional)

FIGURE 6. METERING PUMP - TYPICAL INSTALLATION

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Process Calculations for Reciprocating Pumps

Two important calculations are displacement and volumetric efficiency.

Displacement is the volume of liquid that should theoretically be delivered by the positive displacement action
in one minute. The equations are as follows:

Single acting pumps: Double acting pumps:

D = ___________
A x m x Ls x n D = _____________
(2A-a) m x Ls x n Eqn. (1)
231 231

Where:

D = Displacement, gpm

A = Cross-sectional area of cylinder, sq. in.

a = Cross-sectional area of piston rod, sq. in.

m = Number of cylinders

Ls = Length of stroke, inches

n = Number of complete strokes/minute, rpm of the crankshaft

Because of leakage through the discharge and suction valves or around the piston, the actual volume of liquid
delivered may not equal the displacement. Volumetric efficiency is the actual rate of liquid flow divided by the
displacement.

Volumetric Efficiency = Flow rate, gpm Eqn. (2)

Displacement, gpm

Reciprocating pumps are not used where it is possible to use a centrifugal pump. Centrifugal pumps are
cheaper and more reliable. Reciprocating pumps are also a second choice to rotary positive displacement
pumps, described next, because of higher cost and maintenance requirements.

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ROTARY PUMPS

Rotary pumps are used for high-viscosity liquids. Two types of rotary pumps are used in Saudi Aramco, gear
pumps and screw pumps.

Gear Pumps

Gear pumps contain two intermeshing gears inside a casing. See Figure 7. Liquid enters the suction side of the
casing and flows into the spaces between the gears. Liquid cannot flow through the center of the pump because
of the intermeshing gears. The rotating action of the gears carries the liquid around the outside of the gears in
the spaces between the gear teeth and the casing. On the discharge side, the liquid cannot flow back through
the center because of the intermeshing gears. Therefore, it is forced out through the discharge nozzle.

External-Gear Three-Lobe

FIGURE 7. GEAR PUMPS

A variation of the gear pump is the lobe pump, also shown in Figure 7. The principle of operation is the same.
Only the shape of the rotating elements is different.

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Gear Pumps (Cont'd)

Gear pumps are used for high viscosity fluids at moderately low flow rates. They are often used when the
viscosity is too high for good operation of a centrifugal pump. The upper viscosity limit for centrifugal pumps
is about 500 cSt.

High viscosity actually helps the function of a gear pump. It minimizes backward slippage through the
intermeshing gears. If a gear pump is used with a liquid with a low viscosity, slippage will increase and the
volumetric efficiency will decrease.

Gear pumps are only suitable for moderate differential pressures up to about 500 psig. If a higher differential
pressure is required, a plunger pump should be used.

Screw Pumps

The screw pump contains two intermeshing screws inside a casing. One screw is rotated by a motor. Timing
gears transmit this motion to the other shaft.

The principle of operation is as follows (see Figure 8). There is a space filled with liquid between each two
threads of the screw. This space is an annular ring between the shaft and the casing, but the ring is not
complete. At the center where the screws intermesh, the space is blocked by the thread of the other screw.

As the screws rotate, these liquid-filled spaces move axially along the shaft. The liquid is forced from the
suction nozzle at the end to the discharge nozzle at the center. The flow is smooth and nonpulsating.

Screw pumps are used for high-viscosity liquids. They are available for higher capacities than gear pumps.
They can handle small amounts of solids without damage, if the solids are not abrasive. They can also tolerate
some gas in the liquid. Because screw pumps are more expensive than gear pumps, they are used only for
applications where they are particularly suitable, for example, for asphalt shipping pumps.

A three screw pump (one drive screw and two idler screws), without a timing gear, is used for applications with
clean viscous fluids. They are frequently used in lube oil and seal oil services for turbo compressor units. (See
Figure 9.)

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Screw Pumps (Cont’d)

Discharge Flange Timing Gears

Bearing

Rotary Screws Suction Flange Packing Bearing

Coarse Pitch for Low
Differential Pressure

FIGURE 8. SCREW PUMPS

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Screw Pumps (Cont’d)

FIGURE 9. THREE SCREW PUMP

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CONTROL METHODS FOR POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS

Positive displacement pumps are constant volume devices. Remember that centrifugal pumps are constant head
devices. See Figure 9.

FIGURE 10. CONTROL OF POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS

With a positive displacement pump, the head produced by the pump will rise to meet the requirements of the
system. If the discharge flow is gradually restricted, the pump will continue to deliver the same volume. As
the restriction increases, the discharge pressure will rise until one of the following happens:

• The motor overloads and stops.

• A relief valve discharges.

• A pipe or the pump casing ruptures.

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Recycle Control

The most common control method for a positive displacement pump is to recycle a portion of the pump flow
back to the suction vessel. See Figure 10. The pump is sized for approximately 120% of the highest flow
expected. The excess flow is recycled to the suction vessel by the control valve.

FIGURE 11. BY-PASS CONTROL

For pumps with high differential pressure, greater than 300 psi, recycle control has two problems:

• There is a danger of backflow from the high-pressure system to the low-pressure system through
the recycle port of the control valve. A check valve is provided to prevent backflow, but the check
valve may stick open.

• The bypass port of the control valve operates with a very high pressure drop. The bypass port,
therefore, is a very small opening that can become plugged by small solid particles.

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Variable Speed Motor Drive

This method of control for positive displacement pumps uses no bypass. This method is usually better for
services with high differential pressure.

Variable Piston Stroke Length

This method of controlling volume flow rate is used only for metering pumps.

A safety valve is always required for positive displacement pumps. Its discharge should be sent back to the
suction vessel to avoid overheating the pump fluid when the safety valve is operating.

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PROCESS CALCULATIONS FOR POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS

Brake Horsepower

bhp = _P(psi) X Flowrate (gpm) Eqn. (4)

1715 X Efficiency

It is common practice to combine volumetric and mechanical efficiency into one term.

The efficiency for reciprocating pumps is 90 to 95%.

For efficiency of gear and screw pumps see Work Aids 1 and 2.

Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH)

Positive displacement pumps have NPSH requirements also. Available NPSH is calculated the same way as for
centrifugal pumps. See Module 102.01.

For reciprocating pumps, a correction is necessary to available NPSH to account for pulsating flow. On each
suction stroke, the liquid in the suction line must be accelerated to a speed higher than average. The method for
this correction is given in GPSA, page 12-14. The amount of NPSH required is supplied by the pump
manufacturer.

Saudi Aramco standards require a safety margin of 3 ft between available and required NPSH.

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WORK AID 1

Paste VG 24

FIGURE 13. EFFICIENCY OF GEAR PUMPS

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WORK AID 2

Paste VG 25

FIGURE 14. EFFICIENCY OF SCREW PUMPS

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GLOSSARY

Additive A component of a product mixture that is a very small percentage of the total.

Antifoam Agent A chemical that is added in very small quantities to a process to reduce the
formation of foam.

Corrosion Inhibitor A chemical that is added in small quantities to a process to prevent corrosion
of the internal surfaces of the equipment.

Cylinder The containing vessel of a reciprocating pump.

Diaphragm A thin flexible metal or plastic plate. It separates the pumped liquid from a
barrier fluid.

Displacement The volume of liquid that is theoretically pumped by a positive displacement

pump without any back leakage or slip.

Double Acting Pumping on both the forward and back strokes (Reciprocating pump).

Duplex Containing two cylinders.

Gear Pump A positive displacement pump containing two intermeshing gears inside a
casing.

Mechanical The hydraulic power divided by the total power supplied to the
Efficiency pump shaft. Total power = hydraulic power + mechanical friction losses.

Metering Pump A kind of reciprocating pump that delivers small, measured amounts of
liquid to a product or process.

Packing A seal around the plunger or rod of a reciprocating pump to prevent leakage.

Piston The element that moves pack and forth in the cylinder of some reciprocating
pumps.

Piston Pump A type of reciprocating pump that contains a piston and a piston rod with a
diameter smaller than the piston.

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Piston Rod The rod that pushes and pulls the piston.

Plunger Pump A high-pressure, single acting, reciprocating pump. A plunger, which is the
same diameter as the cylinder, takes the place of piston and piston rod.

Positive Displacement A pump that operates on the principle of a constant volume of

Pump liquid being delivered.

Reciprocating Exhibiting back and forth motion.

Rotary Exhibiting rotating motion.

Screw Pump A positive displacement pump containing two intermeshing screws inside a
casing.

Simplex Containing one cylinder.

Single Acting Pumping on the forward stroke only. Typical of plunger pumps.

Triplex Containing three cylinders.

Volumetric Efficiency The volume of liquid actually pumped, divided by the pump's theoretical
displacement.

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REFERENCES

Gas Processors Suppliers Association-Engineering Data Book

Section 12

Industry Standards.
API Standard 675. Positive Displacement Pumps

Saudi Aramco Standards

Standard AES-G006
Design Practice ADP-G006

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