Centrifugal Pump

(Single Stage)
Nicolle Jan A. Abogadie BSEE V-2

Brief History
The centrifugal pump was developed in Europe in the late 1600s and was seen in the United States in the early 1800s. Its wide spread use, however, has occurred only in the last seventy-five years. Prior to that time, the vast majority of pumping applications involved positive displacement pumps. Source: http://www.pacificliquid.com/pumpintro.pdf Year 1475 According to Reti, a Brazilian soldier and historian of science, the first machine that could be characterized as a centrifugal pump was a mud lifting machine that appeared in a treatise by the Italian Renaissance engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Year 1687 French-born inventor Denis Papin develops the first true centrifugal pump, one with straight vanes used for local drainage. Year 1851 British inventor John Appold introduces the curved vane centrifugal pump. Year 1851 John Gwynne files his first centrifugal pump patent. His early pumps were used primarily for land drainage, and many can still be seen today in pump house museums. They were usually powered by Gwynnes' steam engines. By the end of the 19th century, Gwynne was producing pumps of all sizes to cover all industrial applications, from small electric pumps to those rated at 1,000 tons per minute. His company had also begun to produce scientific pumps, e.g., porcelain pumps for chemical works. In the 1930s they were producing almost 1,000 different models. Source: http://www.pump-zone.com/topics/pumps/pumps/history-pumps-throughyears

Operation:
Centrifugal pumps move fluids by stirring them faster and faster in a circular motion and then changing the increased speed of the fluid into pressure. Depending on the design of the particular pump, centrifugal pumps are capable of either very high or very low discharge pressures, or very high or very low volume discharge. Major parts 1. Pump Casing 2. Seal Chamber / Stuffing Box 3. Volutes and Diffusers 4. Impellers 5. Shaft Sleeves

Pump casing
Casing may be either solid or split. Solid casing implies a design in which the discharge waterways leading to the nozzle are all contained in one (1) casing, or fabricated piece. It must have one (1) side open so that the impeller may be installed into the casing. As the sidewalls surrounding the impeller are in reality part of the casing, a solid casing strictly speaking, cannot be used, designs normally called solid casing are really radially split. Most single stage end suction pumps are solid casing pumps. A split casing pump is made of two (2) or more parts fastened together and commonly referred to as a horizontally split case pumps.

Pump casing

Seal Chamber / Stuffing Box

Seal Chamber and Stuffing box bot refer to a chamber, either integral with or separate from pump case housing that forms the region between the shaft and casing where sealing media are installed. When the sealing is achieved by means of a mechanical seal (Figure 8), the chamber is commonly referred to as a Seal chamber. When the sealing is achieved by means of packing, the chamber is referred to as a Stuffing box (Figure 9). Both the seal chamber and the stuffing box have the primary function of protecting the pump against leakage at point where the shaft passes out through the pump pressure casing. When the pressure at the bottom of the chamber is below atmospheric, it prevents air leakage into pump. When the pressure is above atmospheric, the chambers prevent liquid leakage out of the pump. The seal chamber and stuffing boxes are also provided with cooling or heating arrangement for the proper temperature control.

Seal Chamber / Stuffing Box

Seal Chamber / Stuffing Box

Volutes and Diffusers

Volute and diffuser describes the area in which a centrifugal pump converts the kinetic energy of the fluid into pressure The volute pump derives its name from the spiral-shaped casing surrounding the impeller and converts velocity energy into pressure energy. A centrifugal pump volute increases in size from its initial point until it encompasses the full 360 degrees around the impeller and then flares out to the final discharge opening. The wall dividing the initial section and discharge nozzle portion of the casing is called the tongue of the volute or the cut-water . In a single stage volute pump that is operating at normal capacities the forces on the impeller are balanced, at reduced flows they are not. The amount of this force depends on pressures and impeller size. This force can distort (bend) the shaft and the cause rubbing of the impellers on the casing. If the condition persists, the result is often a broken shaft. There are several ways to solve this problem. One (1) is to use heavier shafts and bearings. Another way is to use a double-volute (Figure 10), or a diffuser (Figure 11).

Volutes and Diffusers

Diffuser (Figure 11) performs the same function as volutes, converting kinetic energy into pressure energy. It consists of a number of vanes set around the impeller. These acts to further divide the forces to lessen the shaft bending. Diffusers are used mainly in high-pressure multistage pump designs and in vertical pumps.

Impellers
The impeller is the main rotating part that provides the centrifugal acceleration to the fluid. They are often classified in many ways. Based on major direction of flow in reference to the axis of rotation 1. Radial flow 2. Axial flow 3. Mixed flow Based on suction type 1. Single-suction 2. Double-suction Based on mechanical construction 1. Closed 2. Open 3. Semi-open

Shaft Sleeves
Shaft sleeves (Figure 21) are used on pumps to protect the shaft from erosion and corrosion. Shaft sleeve are commonly used as stuffing boxes leakage joints and bearings and, like wear rings, provides a cheap an easy way to renew a shaft to its original dimensions.

Applications:
1. Energy and Oil - refineries, power plants 2. Building Services - pressure boosting, heating installations, fire protection sprinkler systems, drainage, air conditioning 3. Industry and Water engineering - boiler feed applications, water supply (municipal, industrial ), wastewater management, irrigation, sprinkling, drainage and flood protection. 4. The Chemical and Process Industries - paints, chemicals, hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, cellulose, petro-chemicals, sugar refining, food and beverage production. 5. Secondary systems - coolant recirculation, condensate transport, cryogenics, refrigerants