Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management

California State University, Long Beach

Lab # 8
Centrifugal pump Experiment
(Prepared by Dr. Rebeka Sultana)
Objectives
The objective of this experiment is to determine the characteristic of a centrifugal pump. The
students will operate a single pump as well as two pumps in parallel. At a fixed motor speed, the
flow rates through the pumps will be varied and corresponding efficiency of the pump will be
determined. The students will compute pump efficiency at various other operating speed.
General Discussion
Centrifugal pumps are a radial flow rotodynamic machine. Fluid enters the rotor or impeller and
thrown outwards by centrifugal action. Because of high speed of the rotation, liquid acquires a
high kinetic energy and is thrown outwards by centrifugal action.

Figure 1. Centrifugal pump

The total head a pump provides
V22 V12
(1)

2g
On the experimental apparatus, diameters of the inlet and outlet pipes are similar, so, the velocity
head difference is considered insignificant. So,
H

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P2 P1

( z2 z1 )

P2 P1

( z2 z1 ) 0
(2)

Pressure heads can be directly read in meter of H2O from the inlet and the outlet gauge of the test
apparatus (see Figure 2). Equation (2) can be written as,
H (h2 h1 ) ( z2 z1 ) (h2 h1 ) H d

(3)

Datum is taken through the center of the F1-27 pump impeller and each position is given a datum
head correction factor as shown in Figure 3.
Following variables are used to measure pump characteristics or performance,
Qt / t
[m3/s]
Wo Qt H

[Watts]

Powerout
W
100% o 100%
Powerin
Wi

(4)
(5)
(6)

where Qt is the flow rate through the pump, Wo is the power output and Wi is the power input.
Wi is directly read the value from the inverter, explained in Procedure.
Equipment
- F1-27 Centrifugal pump test accessory.
- Hydraulic bench F1-10.
- A stopwatch.

Figure 1. Schematic of the F1-27 apparatus along with F1-10

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Figure 2. Schematic of inlet and outlet of the pump

Equipment Set up
The students will operate only F1-27 pump to characterize single pump operation.
1. Inlet of the F1-27 should be connected to the sump drain valve of the F1-10. Keep the
sump drain valve fully open after connecting it with the inlet of F1-27 (Figure 3).
2. Place the discharge manifold on the operating channel of the hydraulic bench.
3. Outlet of the F1-27 should be connected with the discharge manifold.

Figure 3. Single pump setup

The F1-27 pump will be used in parallel with the pump in the hydraulic bench.
1. Inlet of the F1-27 should be connected to the sump drain valve of the F1-10. Keep the
sump drain valve fully open after connecting it with the inlet of F1-27 (Figure 4).
2. The discharge manifold will be on the operating channel of the hydraulic bench.

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3. Outlet of the F1-27 is connected to an end of a Tee connector. One end of the Tee
will be connected with the outlet of the hydraulic bench. The last outlet of the Tee
connector should be connected with the discharge manifold.

Figure 4. Parallel pumps setup

Procedure
The experiment has two exercises.
Exercise 1: Single pump operation
1. Keep the sump drain valve of the hydraulic bench open.
2. Keep the discharge control valve of the F1-27 discharge control manifold closed.
3. Switch the power of the F1-27 invertor.
4. Press the RUN key on the invertor. Ensure that initial motor speed is 50 Hz which is the
maximum motor speed. If the speed is not at 50 Hz, then use the Up key on the invertor
to change the motor speed to the maximum speed. The operating power of the pump can
be directly read from the invertor. Use the FUNC/DATA key to change the display from
pump speed to power required. Use the FUNC/DATA key to switch between motor speed
(Hz) and motor output power (kW).
5. Open the discharge control valve fully. Read the inlet and outlet head and record the
volumetric flow rate through the pump. Record inlet head from the F1-27 inlet gauge and
outlet head from the F1-27 outlet gauge. Record the volumetric flow rate by recording the
time required to collect 5 L of water.
6. Change the head by slightly closing discharge control valve. Read the inlet and outlet
head and record the volumetric flow rate through the pump.
7. Vary the head by gradually closing the discharge control valve and reading corresponding
inlet and outlet heads and record the volumetric flow rate through the pump.
8. Include data for zero flow rate by fully closing the discharge control valve.
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9. Repeat the steps 4-8 for pump speeds 45 Hz, 40 Hz, 35 Hz, and 30 Hz.
10. Next, set the pump speed to 50 Hz and keep the discharge control valve fully open. Now,
take a set of readings by changing the settings of the sump drain valve from fully-open to
fully-closed. This will show the effect of suction losses on the performance of the pump.
Exercise 2: Parallel pump operation
1. Close the control valve on the hydraulic bench and keep the sump valve open. Close the
discharge control valve on the discharge control manifold.
2. Switch ON the pump in the hydraulic bench. Next, fully open the control valve in the
hydraulic bench.
3. Switch ON the power on the F1-27 invertor and set the motor speed to 50 Hz.
4. Open the discharge control valve in the discharge control manifold fully and establish the
flow through the system.
5. Change the settings of the discharge control value from fully open to fully closed and
record inlet and outlet heads. Inlet heads of both the pump is assumed to be the same and
is measured from the inlet gauge of F1-27. Outlet head can be measured from the gauge
of the discharge control manifold.
6. For low flow rates (< 1.4 L/s), record the time required to fill 5 L in the tanks.
7. For high flow rates 9>1.4 L/s), it is necessary to remove the sealing ball and weight from
the tank and for each pump setting, allow the water level in the tank to stabilize. It may
take several minutes for water to stabilize in the tank. Then read the value from the upper
scale on the bench sight glass. The reading from the upper scale will be used to find the
actual flow rate using the reference table, Table 1.

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Table 1. Reference flow rate

Scale Reading
Flow rate
(liters)
(L/s)
0
1.41
1
1.44
2
1.48
3
1.51
4
1.54
5
1.57
6
1.60
7
1.63
8
1.66
9
1.69
10
1.72
11
1.75
12
1.78
13
1.81
14
1.84
15
1.86
16
1.89
17
1.92
18
1.94
19
1.97

Scale Reading
(liters)
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

Flow rate
(L/s)
2.00
2.02
2.05
2.07
2.09
2.12
2.14
2.16
2.19
2.21
2.23
2.25
2.27
2.29
2.31
2.33
2.35
2.37
2.39
2.40
2.42

Calculations
Exercise 1
1. Motor speed (n) is measured directly in Hertz from an inverter - Column 2.
2. Find the volumetric flow rate (Qv) by collecting 5 L of water and finding the time to
collect that amount of water. For low flow use the stop watch to record the time required
to fill the tank Column 5.
3. Inlet head hi and outlet head ho are read from inlet and outlet gauges of the F1-27,
respectively Column 6 and 8.
4. Inlet and Outlet head correction factors are 0.02 m (hdi) and 0.17 m (hdo), respectively
Column 7 and 9.
5. Pump power input Wi is directly read from the invertor by using the FUNC/DATA key
Column 10.

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6. Calculate total head as H d (hdo hdi ) (ho hi ) - Column 11.

7. Pump power output Wo gH d Qv H d Qv - Column 12.
8. Overall turbine efficiency p

Wo
100% - Column 13.
Wi

9. Plot a graph of measured total head Hd (along Y axis) for different flow rate Qv (along x

axis) for the same rotational speed.

10. On the same graph, plot the total head Hd for different flow rate Qv for rotational speed 45
Hz, 40 Hz, 35 Hz, and 30 Hz.
11. Plot on a separate graph, measured efficiency (along Y axis) for different flow rate Qv
(along x axis) for rotational speed 50 Hz, 45 Hz, 40 Hz, 35 Hz, and 30 Hz.
12. Plot on a separate graph, measured power output (along Y axis) for different flow rate Qv
(along x axis) for rotational speed 50 Hz, 45 Hz, 40 Hz, 35 Hz, and 30 Hz.
13. Plot a graph of head Hd for different flow rates Qv using the dataset for different settings
of sump drain valve opening.
Exercise 2
1. Motor speed (n) is measured directly in Hertz from an inverter - Column 2.
2. Find the volumetric flow rate (Qv) by collecting 5 L of water and finding the time to
collect that amount of water. For low flow use the stop watch to record the time required
to fill the tank Column 5. For high flow, use the procedure explained in Exercise 2.
3. Inlet head hi and outlet head ho are read from inlet and outlet gauges, respectively
Column 6 and 8.
4. Inlet and Outlet head correction factors are 0.02 m and 0.96 m, respectively Column 7
and 9.
5. Pump power input Wi is directly read from the invertor Column 10.
6. Total head H d (hdo hdi ) (ho hi ) - Column 11.
7. Pump power output Wd gH d Qv - Column 12.
8. Overall turbine efficiency p

Wo
100% - Column 13.
Wi

9. Plot a graph of measured total head Hd for different flow rate Qv for the different

rotational speed.

Discussions
Exercise 1
1. Based on the Head vs Flow rate graph, discuss how the pump characteristic curve
changed with the rotational speed.
2. Based on efficiency vs Flow rate graph, discuss how the pump characteristic curve
changed with the rotational speed.
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3. Based on power vs Flow rate graph, discuss how the pump characteristic curve changed
with the rotational speed.
4. Based on the Head vs Flow, efficiency vs Flow rate, and power vs flow rate, what is the
optimum operating point at each speed tested.
5. Discuss using the plot of head Hd vs Qv (the dataset for different settings of sump drain
valve opening) the effect of inlet suction head on the performance of the pump.
Exercise 2
1. Discuss the pump characteristic curve for two pumps in parallel setting.
2. Discuss if you get two different flow rates when two pumps were operating in parallel.
3. Is there any difference between observed head and theoretical head? Provide reasons for
any differences.
References
Armfield, 2011, Centrifugal pump characteristics, Instruction Manual.

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Table 1: Single Centrifugal pump experiment

Motor speed: 50 Hz
No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

Motor speed: 45 Hz
No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

Motor speed: 40 Hz
No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

Motor speed: 35 Hz
No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

Motor speed: 30 Hz
No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

Various Sump valve settings

No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

Table 2: Parallel pump configuration (pump speed 50 Hz)

No
of
Obs

Motor
Speed
n
(Hz)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

15 | P a g e

Volume Time
of
to
water collect
Vol
t
3
(m )
(sec)

Flow
rate
Qv
(m3/sec)

Inlet
Head
hi
(m of
water)

Inlet head
correction
hdi
(m)

Outlet
Head
ho
(m of
water)

Outlet
head
correction
hdo
(m)

Pump
power
Input
Wi
(Watts)

Total Head
H
(m of
water)

Pump
power
output
Wo
(Watts)

Overall
Pump
Efficiency
p
(%)

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