Pressure vs.

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Bathrooms
Kitchens Pressure vs. Head
Laundry Room
Mudrooms "Head" is not the same as pressure. Head is measure in units of feet while pressure is measured
pounds per square inch, and is independent of pressure or liquid density.
Products
Product Recalls The pressure at any point in a liquid can be thought of as being a vertical column of the liquid. The
Care & of this column is called the static head and is expressed in terms of feet of liquid.
Maintenance
Visit our Stores In a vertical column of water, the weight of the water at any given height determines the amount o
pressure it exerts in any direction. Static head is defined as the height of this column expressed in
Mechanicals of feet of liquid.
- Pipe/Valves/Ftg
- Pumps
- Water Heaters
The principle of pressure head can be demonstrated with a drinking straw inserted
- Grease Traps glass of water.
- Backflow
Prevention The water level in the straw will be the same as the water the level in the glass. If a
blown into the straw, pressure builds in the straw and pushes the water out.
Health & Safety
Wellness The pressure created in the straw is equal to the head pressure of the water in the
Resources is a simple matter to convert the created pressure to a desired unit of measure from
Water wherever the water level may be in the glass.
Sewage/Septic
Sys
Hydrostatic head
Links On This Topic The fluid height in columns A and B is identical,
but the pressure reading on the gauges differs
because of the different fluid densities.
Hydrostatic head refers to the vertical column
height; hydrostatic pressure refers to the force
exerted by the fluid.

"Head" is also used to measure the kinetic

energy created by a pump. If a pump were to
force a stream of water straight up into the air,
the height the pump was able to achieve would
be the head. A given pump with a given impeller
diameter and speed will raise a liquid to a specific
height regardless of the weight of the liquid.

Head, rather than pressure, is used to measure a

pump's power because the pressure a pump
creates will change if the specific gravity (weight)
of the liquid changes, but the head will not
change. Since a pump can move a lot of different fluids having different specific gravities, it is eas
refer to the pump's head and disregard pressure.

Pressure to Head Conversion formula

Liquids have specific gravities typically ranging from 0.5 to 1.8. Water is the benchmark with a spe
gravity of 1.0. Motors are rated assuming this benchmark and the resultant calculations are consid
be in "feet absolute."

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Pressure vs. Head - Keidel Bath, Plumbing, Kitchen - Cincinnati, OH Page 2 of 4

The static head corres

to any specific pressur
based on the weight o
liquid according to the
following formula:

Head (ft) = Pressure

(PSI) X 2.31 Specific
Gravity

This formula is based on the fact that one foot of water exerts .4333 lbs of pressure at o
This converts to one lb. of pressure at 2.31 ft.

Types of Head

The various categories of head are listed below. (Note: The Subscripts 's' refers to suction conditi
'd' refers to discharge conditions.)

Static Suction Head (hS): This refers to the level of the liquid relative to the level of the pump. Wh
liquid level is above pump centerline this number will be positive, and when it is below pump cente
this will be negative. A negative hS condition is commonly called a "suction lift" condition.

Static Discharge Head (hd): This refers to the vertical distance in feet between the level of the pum
the level of the liquid in the discharge tank.

Friction Head (hfs) or (hfd): This refers to the resistance in the pipe and fittings. It varies with the s
condition and type of pipe, the number and type of fittings, the flow rate, and type of liquid.

Vapor Pressure Head (hvp): This is the pressure level at which a liquid will vaporize at a given
temperature. This pressure rises as the temperature of the liquid ruses, which also effectively red
suction pressure head.

Pressure Head (hps) or (hpd): This refers to the pressure on the liquid in the reservoir feeding the
occurs when a pumping system operates in a pressurized tank. In an open system, this is atmosp
pressure.

Velocity Head (hvs) or (hvd): This measures pressure developed by liquid moving at a selected ve
It represents the height from which the liquid would have to fall to achieve the same velocity. It ca
significant factor in low head systems but may be ignored in most high head systems.

Total Head Calculations in a Pump

Total Suction Head (HS): This reflects the reading a pressure gauge would show if it were mounte
pump inlet. It is based on the following formula: Suction Pressure head (hpS) plus Static Suction h
(hS) plus the Velocity head at the inlet (hVS) minus the Friction head in the suction line (hfS).

HS = hpS + hS + hvS - hfS

Total Discharge Head (Hd): This reflects the reading a pressure gauge would show if it were mou
the pump outlet. It is based on the following formula: Discharge Pressure head (hpd) plus Static D
head (hd) plus the Velocity head at the outlet (hvd) plus the Friction head in the discharge line (hf

Hd = hpd + hd + hvd + hfd

Total Differential Head (HT): This is the difference between the total discharge head and the total
head:

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Pressure vs. Head - Keidel Bath, Plumbing, Kitchen - Cincinnati, OH Page 3 of 4

HT = Hd + HS (with a suction lift)

HT = Hd - HS (with a suction head)

NPSH

Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) is the total head at the pump inlet less the vapor pressure. Pum
cannot pump vapors, only liquids. If the external pressure drops or if the operating temperature ris
vaporization may occur and the pump will stop pumping. Therefore, the two most critical measure
head are NPSHr and NPSHa.

NPSH required is the pressure required at the inlet to overcome internal pressure drops and keep
liquid above its vapor pressure. NPSHr is always positive since it is expressed in terms of absolut
column height. It varies with speed and capacity of the pump. It increases as the velocity of the liq
increases, but it is independent of the fluid density. NPSHr is based on actual testing by the manu

NPSH available is the excess pressure of the liquid at the inlet over its vapor pressure. NPSHa is
in the formula below:

NPSHas = hps + hs - hvps - hfs

Where:

(hps) = Pressure Head, or Barometric Pressure of the suction vessel.

(hs) = Static suction Head, or the distance between the first stage impeller and
the liquid level.
(hvps) = Vapor Pressure of the liquid at maximum pumping temperature.
(hfs) = Friction Head, or the friction losses on the suction side.

NPSHa can also be approximated by a gauge at the inlet using the formula:

NPSHa = hpS - hvpS ± hgS + hvS

Where:
(hpS) = Pressure head or Barometric pressure of the suction vessel.
(hvpS) = Vapor pressure of the liquid at maximum pumping temperature.
(hgS) = Gauge reading at the pump corrected to the pump centerline.
(hvS) = Velocity head in the suction pipe at the gauge.

NPSH available must always be greater than NPSH required for the pump to operate properly. It
practice to have at least 2 to 3 feet of extra NPSH available at the suction flange to avoid any pro
the duty point.

For additional information on this subject, please refer to:

Chemical Engineers' Resource

See Also:
All About Pumps
All About Water

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http://www.keidel.com/mech/pressure-head.htm 12/23/2005