Don't Run Centrifugal Pumps On The End of The Curve

4/20/2018 Don't Run Centrifugal Pumps on the End of the Curve
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by Mike Sondalini — 6 Comments
Don’t Run Centrifugal Pumps on the End of

the Curve
Don’t run centrifugal pumps on the end of the curve.

Pumps are designed and selected to operate near their
highest e ciency point.
If they operate at the right-hand end of the pump curve

the likelihood of cavitation increases.
Keywords: suction pressure, ow velocity, vapor

pressure, duty point.
Pump curves and what they mean

When the impellers in centrifugal pumps turn, they spin the liquid sitting in the
cavities between the vanes outward.
This liquid is forced up the discharge pipe and new liquid is sucked in to
replace the liquid ejected by the spinning impeller.
The amount of liquid pumped depends on:
1. the diameter of the impeller

2. the size and shape of the cavity between the vanes
https://accendoreliability.com/dont-run-centrifugal-pumps-end-curve/ 1/11
3. the size of the pump and the size of its inlet and outlet
openings
4. the rotational speed (RPM) of the impeller
5. how much back pressure is at the pump discharge
6. how much pressure is at the pump suction
7. the density and viscosity (slipperiness) of the liquid
For a pump with a particular impeller running at a certain speed in a liquid,

the only items on the list above that can change the amount owing through
the pump are the pressures at the pump inlet and outlet
The e ect on the ow through a pump by changing the outlet pressures is

graphed on a pump curve. A typical set of pump curves for a centrifugal pump
is shown above.
The lines running to the right and downward are the performance curves for
the pump.
They apply only to this pump running at 2900 RPM with the impeller diameters
shown at the right end of each curve. At di erent speeds or with di erent
impellers di erent curves would result. As an example of how to use the
curves, assume 120 cubic meters per hour of water had to be pumped up to a
tank on a 50-meter high building.
The impeller size to use in the pump is found from the curves by running a line
up the page at 120M3/H. Another line is run across the page at 55 meters
(allowing about 10% extra back pressure due to friction loss in the piping and
valves).
The intersection point falls near the 211 mm size impeller.
The curves running up and down are the pump e ciency curves.
They indicate the pump e ciency at di erent operating conditions.
Pump e ciency is a measure of how much of the energy put into the pump
actually goes into pumping the liquid. The duty point of 120M3/H and 55 m
back pressure for the 211 mm impeller determined above is well positioned at a
high e ciency.
This is a good pump selection for the duty.
What do the pump curves tell us?

The pump curves tell what ow to expect from a particular size impeller for a
given amount of back-pressure on the pump.
When a pump is selected for a duty, the designer selects a pump that operates
at high e ciencies on the pump curve for the impeller size. Changing the
impeller width, the impeller diameter or the angle of the vanes in the impeller
alters the impeller curve characteristics.
A wider impeller scoops more liquid and produces more ow, a larger
diameter impeller ings liquid out at higher speed and so produces more
pressure and changing the angle of the vanes alters the shape and steepness
of the pump curve.
The pump curves suddenly stop at the right end of each curve.
Beyond the end of the curve, the pump manufacturer is advising that the pump
cannot be safely operated.
Trying to run a pump o the right end of the curve will result in pump
cavitation and eventually destroy the pump.
Pump cavitation
Pump cavitation occurs when pockets of vapor enter the pump because the
liquid is boiling.
As a pump tries to pull through more liquid, the pipe friction pressure loss on
the suction line rises and the liquid entering the pump sees less pressure
(because it was lost to friction). A vacuum starts to develop at the pump
suction.
If the vacuum gets deep enough the liquid will start to boil and vaporize and the
liquid passing through the pump will contain bubbles of vapor. There is a
roaring sound as if the pump is pumping gravel.
This noise is the vapor bubbles imploding when the pressure increases again
after the low-pressure point.
E ects of ‘running on the right’

A pump operating o the right of the curve is cavitating.
The suction and discharge pressures uctuate wildly pulling and pushing the
impeller about because of the out-of-balance forces.
The shaft rattles; mechanical seals are damaged; packing is worn; bearings
are destroyed by brinelling (hammering) and shafts are bent. Pumps will be
noisy, vibrate and shake, get hot and the microjets of liquid ejected by
imploding bubbles will hit and erode the impeller metal.
Consequently, the pump will fail often and need a lot of maintenance.
Some possible reasons why a pump may be running o the right side of the
curve are shown in the table below:
The pump duty was incorrectly determined or unknown.

Incorrect head
Grabbing any pump available without doing calculations
pressure calculation
and checking the pump curve can result in this problem.
Additional tankage A longer suction line has more pipe wall friction pressure
was added and the loss so lowering the pressure available at the pump
suction line extendedsuction.
Blocked suction line. Blocked strainers and closed valves are examples
Suction pipeline Pressure loss occurs at every valve, every elbow and tee,
Friction losses not every projection into the ow and along every millimeter
allowed for. of pipe.
Broken discharge Once the back pressure is lowered a higher ow occurs

pipeline or discharge which forces the duty point to the right of the original
bypass valve opened. operating point.
Removing valves,
Reducing the back-pressure on a pump causes the ow
tanks, and pipes
through the pump to rise. The duty point moves to the
from the pump
right of the original point.
delivery line.
To keep capital costs down old pumps are often reused. If

An old pump is
the pump is oversized it will operate on the right side of
moved to a new duty.
its original design duty point.
Often a new product will be put through an existing

Change in the
pump. This product may have di erent properties and so
process conditions.
will behave di erently.
Correcting the situation

To solve the problems caused by pumps running o the right side of the curve
it is necessary to ensure the pump suction pressure is above the pressure at
which the liquid vaporizes (boils).
The list below indicates ways to maintain suction pressure:
Use larger
A larger diameter pipe has less pipe wall friction loss
diameter suction
because the ow velocity is lower.
pipelines
The suction pressure can be increased by keeping a higher

Pressurize the
level in the tank, by moving the tank higher and by lowering
suction side.
the pump.
Put more back- Partially closing a valve on the pump discharge will
pressure on the increase the back-pressure and force the pump to operate
pump discharge. further up on the left of the pump curve.
These are long helical screws (like a feed screw on an

Install inducers to
auger) which t up the suction pipe and spin with the
reduce suction
impeller. They scavenge the liquid and draw it through by
loss.
force.
Stop unnecessary Maintain free- owing suction line conditions. Clear
pressure losses. blockages, use smooth bore pipes and long radius elbows.
Change to a Change the pump size to one that delivers the same ow
slower, larger and pressure but at a slower speed. This usually also
pump impeller requires suction piping changes.
Keep the process Keep the liquid as cool as possible to increase the
liquid cool temperature range to the boiling point temperature.
Slowing the pump down reduces the ow rate of the liquid

Slow the impeller
and lessens the pipe friction losses. Pumping takes longer
speed.
and the head pressure falls.
Let the pump The manufacturer can make changes to the pump such as
manufacturer using harder impeller material, bigger bearings and

know the range of changing the impeller shape to improve operation under
duties required. cavitation conditions.
Mike Sondalini – Maintenance Engineer
DISCLAIMER: Because the authors, publisher, and resellers do not know the
context in which the information presented in the articles is to be used, they
accept no responsibility for the consequences of using the information.
We (Accendo Reliability) published this article with the kind permission of

Feed Forward Publishing, a subsidiary of BIN95.com
Web: www.feedforward.com.au
E-mail: info@feedforward.com.au
If you found this interesting you may like the ebook Centrifugal Pump
Problems & Answers.
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Comments
Jack Mulligan says

August 19, 2016 at 11:20 AM
I’ve always wondered how centrifugal pumps work, and what e ected their
e cacy. I wonder why people would try to run them on anything other than
the predetermined optimal settings. I think factory recommendations like
that are there for a reason.
Reply
Fred Schenkelberg says

August 31, 2016 at 9:33 AM
I suspect you would not be surprised how some will use equipment
inappropriately rather than purchase the right solution. To save a few
hours or dollars, they will likely end up spending more later to get it
right. cheers, Fred
Reply
OEM pump applications says

August 16, 2017 at 7:03 AM
Thank you for sharing this thorough explanation of pump performance

curves, as well as the trouble shooting tips and suggestions. Up-time is
critical for certain OEM pump applications.
Reply
Ayaz Ahmad says

August 24, 2017 at 9:21 AM
Thanks for sharing this useful info.

Just to add, a proper review of the pump performance curve is always
recommended. I have gone through few examples where the pump
supplier would recommend whats available on the shelf.
Reply
Fred Schenkelberg says

August 24, 2017 at 9:44 AM
good advice Ayaz
thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Fred
Reply
Bob says
February 27, 2018 at 7:12 AM
Excellent article. Thank you. I have a question about runout. Do you have
any data on how long pumps ususally function before pump failure occurs
in a runout condition? I know we shouldn’t operate here but I’m interested

in failures.
Reply
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4/20/2018 Don't Run Centrifugal Pumps on the End of the Curve

 About Reliability.fm Articles eBooks Resources Groups Courses Webinars

by Mike Sondalini — 6 Comments

Don’t Run Centrifugal Pumps on the End of

Don’t run centrifugal pumps on the end of the curve.

If they operate at the right-hand end of the pump curve

Keywords: suction pressure, ow velocity, vapor

Pump curves and what they mean

The amount of liquid pumped depends on:

1. the diameter of the impeller

For a pump with a particular impeller running at a certain speed in a liquid,

The e ect on the ow through a pump by changing the outlet pressures is

The intersection point falls near the 211 mm size impeller.

They indicate the pump e ciency at di erent operating conditions.

This is a good pump selection for the duty.

What do the pump curves tell us?

E ects of ‘running on the right’

The pump duty was incorrectly determined or unknown.

suction line extendedsuction.

allowed for. of pipe.

Broken discharge Once the back pressure is lowered a higher ow occurs

bypass valve opened. operating point.

To keep capital costs down old pumps are often reused. If

Often a new product will be put through an existing

Correcting the situation

The list below indicates ways to maintain suction pressure:

The suction pressure can be increased by keeping a higher

These are long helical screws (like a feed screw on an

Stop unnecessary Maintain free- owing suction line conditions. Clear

pump impeller requires suction piping changes.

liquid cool temperature range to the boiling point temperature.

Slowing the pump down reduces the ow rate of the liquid

manufacturer using harder impeller material, bigger bearings and

duties required. cavitation conditions.

Mike Sondalini – Maintenance Engineer

We (Accendo Reliability) published this article with the kind permission of

 Share  Tweet  Share

Filed Under: Articles, Plant Maintenance

« Give a Little to Get More Mitigate Risk by Determining Critical Datum »

Jack Mulligan says

Fred Schenkelberg says

OEM pump applications says

Thank you for sharing this thorough explanation of pump performance

Ayaz Ahmad says

Thanks for sharing this useful info.

Fred Schenkelberg says

good advice Ayaz

thanks for the comment.

in a runout condition? I know we shouldn’t operate here but I’m interested

The Two Faces of RCM

Job Safety on Hazardous &

What Does Eloquent Design Mean

The Detail Necessary in a Risk

© 2018 FMS Reliability · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service

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