The way that a pump receives the liquid into the impeller determines the available combination of discharge

flow and head that the pump can generate. NSS determines the operating window of the pump.

N = speed of the pump in rpm Q = flow rate through the pump, m3/h NPSHr = NPSH required in m

As the NPSHR of the pump goes down, the NSS value rises.
As the NSS value increases, the operating window of the pump narrows.

The value of S for most pumps is typically between 7,000 and 15,000. The higher values are more common in higher speed, higher capacity units.

A user would prefer to provide as low NPSHA as possible to reduce the suction side equipment, piping cost A pump manufacturer would want more NPSHA, with an ample margin above the pump NPSHR, to avoid cavitation.

The user would prefer to have low NPSHR

NPSHR in centrifugal pumps is normally reduced by increasing the diameter of the impeller eye. The eye area is increased , resulting in less velocities and high static pressure and avoid cavittation

The large eye required to obtain low NPSHR leads to the problem of "eye recirculation" or "suction recirculation.

Larger impeller eye does decrease the NPSHR at the BEP , but causes flow separation at the off-peak low-flow conditions. High NSS design is better only if a pump does not operate below its BEP High NSS designs are known to result in reliability problems Actual plant studies shows pumps with NSS > 8500 - 9000, reliability begins to suffer exponentially. Users started to limit the value of the NSS upto 8500 as a typical guiding value.

Parameters
Centrifugal pump type/ fluid
Pump/Motor Speed , rpm Flow, GPM
EXAMPLE 1

Example 1
End Suction pump, single stage/ Cooling water 1750 600 7 9961

Example 2
End Suction pump, single stage / Kerosene 3500 1200 30 9458

Example 3
Double Suction impeller, single stage/ Fire water
1780 4500 20 8928

NPSHr at BEP, feet Nss

EXAMPLE 2

EXAMPLE 3

For Example 1, minimum continuous flow is 42% For Example 2, minimum continuous flow is 29% For Example 3, minimum continuous flow is 53% In case, it is required to operate pump below minimum continuous flow, a pressure relief valve with a discharge bypass line is required

CONCLUSION

How far away from the BEP a pump can operate on its performance curve without damage is determined by its impellers suction specific speed.

DYNAMICS

6.9.1.2 Rotor of 1- or 2- stage pumps first dry bending critical speed shall be atleast 120% of MCOS
6.9.1.3 Total deflection at primary seals faces with max. diameter impeller & specified speed shall be < 50m. 1- & 2- stages pumps, liquid stiffness not considered 9.2.4.1.1 With increase in internal clearances of multistage & high speed pumps, 1st or 2nd wet lateral critical speed can coincide with NOP. Lateral analysis predicts this coincidence & resulting vibrations 9.2.4.1.2 Table 18 provides the criteria for deciding the requirement of lateral analysis (as per Clause I.1)

I 1.3 Separation margins and damping For new & twice the new clearances, the damping factor vs separation margin shall be within the acceptable region shown in Fig I.1

I 1.5 Allowable displacement Peak to peak displacement of unbalanced rotor at point of maximum displacement < 35% of diametrical running clearance

9.1.1.3 Shaft flexibility index for OH2 & OH3 pumps shall be calculated as per Annex K clause K.1 if specified Shaft stiffness is inversely proportional to shaft flexibility index, ISF ISF = L13/D14 (K.2)

ISF needs to be related to pump size & not to pumps of similar size Load on shaft depends on impeller size, which depends on flow, head and speed Size factor Kt = (Q x H)/N Q is flow at BEP of maximum diameter impeller; H is the corresponding total head; N is the rotative speed. ISF = 32 x Kt-0.76 Design review required for an overhung pump whose ISF > 1.2 times the equation value .

Calculation of Bearing System Life Bearing system life shall be at least 25 000 h with continuous operation at rated conditions, and at least 16 000 h at maximum radial and axial loads and rated speed.

Bearing life L10h,sys = [ (1/L10A )3/2 + (1/L10B )3/2 + . +(1/L10N )3/2]

Bearing life L10h = (Cr/Pr)x Cr is the dynamic load rating of the bearing; Pr is the equivalent dynamic load; x is 3 for ball bearings and 10/3 for roller bearings.

Sound A disturbance in an elastic medium resulting in an audible sensation. Noise is by definition unwanted sound.

Vibration

A disturbance in a solid elastic medium which may produce a detectable motion.

The basic unit of level in acoustics is the decibel (abbreviated dB).

P2 is the absolute value of the power under evaluation P1 is an absolute value of a power reference quantity

Decibel addition. Decibel levels are added logarithmically and not algebraically.

When two decibel values differ by 0 or 1 dB 2 or 3 dB 4 to 9 dB 10 or more dB

Add the following amount to the higher value 3 dB 2 dB 1 dB 0 dB

Decibel subtraction If the cumulative level of several sources is known, what would the cumulative level be if one of the sources were reduced is calculated as below

Increase in Lp with equipment operating 3 dB 4 to 5 dB 6 to 9 dB 10 or more dB

Correction to measured total Lp -3 dB -2 dB -1 dB 0 dB

SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL (LP or SPL). Sound waves represent tiny oscillations of pressure just above and below atmospheric pressure. These pressure oscillations impinge on the ear, and sound is heard.

The sound pressure level (in decibels) is defined by:

P is the absolute level of the sound pressure Pref is the reference pressure i.e 20Pa

SOUND POWER LEVEL (Lw or PWL)

Sound power level is an absolute measure of the quantity of acoustical energy produced by a sound source.
It is the manner in which the sound power is radiated and distributed that determines the sound pressure level at a specified location. The sound power level (in decibels) is defined by:

P is the absolute level of the sound power Pref is the reference power, 10-12 W

FREQUENCY Frequency is analogous to pitch. The normal frequency range of hearing for most people extends from a low frequency of about 20 to 50 Hz (a rumbling sound) up to a high frequency of about 10,000 to 15,000 Hz (a hissy sound) or even higher for some people. Frequency unit, hertz, Hz

When an electrical or mechanical device operates at a constant speed and has some repetitive mechanism that produces a strong sound, that sound may be concentrated at the principal frequency of operation of the device. These frequencies are designated discrete frequencies or pure tones when the sounds are clearly tonal in character, The principal frequency is known as the fundamental, and most such sounds also contain many harmonics of the fundamental. The harmonics are multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. times the fundamental.

Octave frequency bands

All equipments generates and radiates some noise over the entire audible range of hearing.
The amount and frequency distribution of the total noise is determined by measuring it with an octave band analyzer, which is a set of contiguous filters covering essentially the full frequency range of human hearing. Each filter has a bandwidth of one octave, and nine such filters cover the range of interest for most noise problems.

An octave represents a frequency interval of a factor of two. The first column of below table gives the band width frequencies The second column gives the geometric mean frequencies of the bands, used to label the various octave bands. .
Lower Band limit
22 45 88 177 354 707 1414

Octave
31.5 63 125 250 500 1000 2000

Upper band limit

45 89 177 354 707 1414 2828

2828
5657

4000
8000

5657
11314

Sound level meters are equipped with weighting circuits that tend to represent the frequency characteristics of the average human ear for various sound intensities. The frequency characteristics of the A-, B-, and C-weighting networks

The relative frequency response of the average ear approximates the A curve when sound pressure levels of about 20 to 30 dB are heard.

Calculation of A-weighted sound level.

It is always possible to calculate, with a reasonable degree of accuracy, an A-weighted sound level from octave band levels. This is done by subtracting the decibel weighting from the octave band levels and then summing the levels logarithmically.