Centrifugal Pump Operating Principle & Pump Components Overview

A quick question to reflect upon :

What are the two main components that you observed in the operating principle animation? 

First, the impeller adds the the velocity to the liquid or in other words, kinetic energy .

At the same time, the centrifugal force that is generated at the centre of the impeller forces the liquid to its edge.

Then, the casing converts this moving energy/kinetic energy into the potential energy.

Hence, the casing and impeller are the most important components of a Centrifugal pump.

Of course the source of the kinetic energy is the motor and shaft is responsible to transmit them to the impeller. Hence they are important too.

Then , what are the other parts that are important for reliable Pump operation? 

We have mechanical seals to control the leakage and bearings to handle the rotor loads.

Pump Performance Curve

Now let’s look at the performance curve and reflect on this question, 

what do you generally look in a performance curve. 

You see, the rated point, the BEP ( The point where the pump operates without major issues)

Shut Off Head – The point at which there will not be any flow.

Then, the End of Curve , to know what is the upper limit of your flow.

Liquid Properties

Now, I would like you to take a look at the key liquid characteristics as well like Density, Viscosity , Temperature and then of course the viscosity correction factors.

In the next segment, we are going to discuss about these liquid properties, stay tuned. 

If you would like to listen to this segment, the above link is for you to understand the concept a bit better. 

Image Credits :

Pump Operating Principle - Licensed under CC by NC 2.0