Excerpts from

Chapter 3: PUMPS
3.5 OVERALL PUMP OPTIONS:

The following chart gives an introduction of pump selection options as a

function of flow and required head.

Fig 3.1: Pump Selection Guide Chart

 Pump Capacity, gpm

Fig 3.2 Centrifugal pump selection chart

The specification of process pumps involves a step-by-step approach. The

process engineer must select a pump with the best efficiency for the full range
of process operating conditions.

The major types of pumps available are listed in the following table.

Kinetic Positive Displacement

Centrifugal: Reciprocating:
1. Radial Flow 1. Piston
2. Axial Flow 2. Plunger

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 3. Mixed Flow 3. Diaphragm
4. Turbine
Special: Rotary:
1. Jet 1. Gear
2. Gas Lift 2. Screw
3. Hydraulic Ram 3. Lobe
4. Inertia 4. Vane
5. Progressive Cavity 5. Flexible Chamber
6. Concrete pumps 6. Flexible Tube (peristaltic)

Table 3.1 Types of Pumps

Comparison between centrifugal and positive displacement type is provided

below in table 3.2.

Parameter POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT DYNAMIC

Definition Increases pressure by operating on a Increases pressure by using
fixed volume in a confined space rotary blades to increase fluid
velocity
Types Screw, gear, reciprocating, Centrifugal, axial
progressive cavity

Characteristics i) Constant volume i) Variable volume

ii) Variable differential head ii) Constant differential head
iii) Relatively insensitive to liquid iii) Sensitive to liquid properties
properties iv) Sensitive to system changes
iv) Relatively insensitive to system v) Self-
changes limiting
v) Not self-limiting

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Characteristic flow versus
differential head curve

Table 3.2: Comparison between positive displacement and dynamic pumps

Many applications can be handled by a horizontal or vertical centrifugal

pump. The following should be considered.

Feature Horizontal Vertical

Space Requirements Less headroom Less floor area, more
head room
NPSH Requires more Requires less
Flexibility for future change Less More
Maintenance More accessible Major work project

Table 3.3 Horizontal & Vertical Centrifugal Pump Selection Guide

A selection table showing the physical range of head and capacity suitable for
the various types of pump is provided below.

Pump Type Capacity m3/h (usgpm) Head m

(ft)
Minimum Maximum
Low Capacity
Peripheral 0.23 (1) 4.5 (20) 213 (700)
Vane TBD 17 (75) 122 (400)
Reciprocating Plunger 0.23 (1) 34 (150) Over
1,525
(5,000)

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General Use
Reciprocating Power 4.5 (20) 227 (1,000) Over 305
(1,000)
Direct 1.4 (5) 114 (500) Over 305
(1,000)
Centrifugal 1 – Stage 2.7 (10) 1820 (8,000) Over 150
(500)
2 – Stage 2.7 (10) 1820 (8,000) Over 210
(700)
Multistage 2.7 (10) 680 (3,000) Over 305
(1,000)
Screw 2.7 (10) 180 (800) Over 305
(1,000)
High Capacity
Centrifugal 1 – Stage 1.4 (5) 11,350 (50,000) 15 – 122
(50 – 400)
(Low Head) 57 (250) 22,700 (100,000) 3 – 61 (10
– 200)
Mixed Flow 227 (1,000) 45,400 (200,000) 0 – 7.5 (0
– 25)

Table 3.4 Pump Selection Table

Page 32

3.6.8 Stream Specific Gravity (Multiple Fluids)

Occasionally, pumping services will be designed to operate on fluids with

widely differing gravities. When calculating the hydraulics for the different
cases, the fluid with lighter gravity will often control the pump sizing.
However, it should be stressed that when the pump is operating at a lower
volume throughput, often at a noticeably higher differential head and
incidentally lower pump efficiency, the effect of the heavier gravity fluid will
give a pump discharge pressure considerably in excess of the design

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requirement of the lighter material. The process engineer must be aware of
two potential problems during operation of the heavier gravity fluid:

1. Downstream equipment (piping, heat exchangers, vessels, etc.) may be

over pressurized. In this event, either equipment ratings will need to be
increased or safeguarding measures must be implemented to prevent
over pressurizing.
2. The motor may be overloaded. In this event a larger motor may be
required or means of restricting flow will need to be implemented to
prevent overload.
3. On the data sheet, the process engineer should also note the specific
gravity of the heaviest liquid that the pump is expected to handle.

Relations in Discharge of Identical Centrifugal pump handling liquids of

different specific gravity is shown in below fig 3.17.

Fig 3.17: Typical performance of same centrifugal pump handling different

fluids..

What this diagram implies is that e.g. if same centrifugal pump of say 20 mlc
head is used to pump water (sp. gr of 1.0) and also mercury (sp. gr of 13.6),
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then ignoring effect of viscosity for this example and considering atmospheric
suction, the discharge pressure of water will be 2 barg while of mercury will
be 27.2 barg. Thus, in case of pumping mercury, if pump has been procured
originally only for water, then either motor will trip due to overload or pump
casing may bust if it is of lower design pressure.

Pages 48 to 52

3.6.18 Parallel vs. Series Centrifugal Pump Operation

3.6.18.1 Parallel Pump Operation

The combined characteristics of pumps operating in parallel are obtained by

adding their individual flow rates for a given value of head.

Pumps with different pump curves should generally not operate in parallel.
When this cannot be avoided, the pump with the lower shut-off head must be
protected against operating at flows below the allowable minimum flow.

The shut-off head of the combined pump discharge system is determined by

the pump with the highest shut-off head.

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Fig 3.29: Dissimilar two centrifugal pumps in parallel operation

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 Fig 3.30: Two identical centrifugal pumps in parallel operation

Centrifugal pumps may be combined into parallel operation for numerous

reasons. Some are:

1. Capacity increase is required for an existing pumping service and a new

pump is added in parallel to one or more existing pumps. The engineer
should be aware that the system flow will not necessarily increase in
proportion to the number of pumps added
2. Very high reliability is required of the pumping service without total
reliance on the functioning of an auto-start control mechanism. Also,

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 the loss of one pump will not cause sudden total shutdown of the
system.

In order to meet a requirement for flow capacity higher than normal on an

infrequent basis, it may be preferable to have the primary pump and its spare
operate in parallel, instead of designing each pump for the full above-normal
flow rate.

1. The required service capacity may exceed the utility energy supply
available for a single driver or driver type e.g. many companies have low
voltage (LV) to high voltage (HV) power supply cutoff at 160 KW motor
size. Thus multiple parallel pumps may be installed to make each motor
LV.
2. Desire for operating flexibility in power supply or type could result in
multiple pumps with different driver types e.g. one motor driven with
other steam turbine driven.
3. The use of multiple pumps may allow investment savings. For example,
three 50%-pumps may require lower a total investment than two pumps
sized for 100% for the service capacity. (This would be possible but
unusual.)

For parallel operation, the head-capacity curve is obtained by adding the

individual pump capacities at any one given head. Pumps with different
head-capacity curves will have different flow rates. The process engineer
must be certain that one pump is not “backed out” or forced to operate below
its minimum flow.

When pumps are operated in parallel it is imperative that their performance

curve rise steadily to shut-off. A drooping type of performance curve gives
two possible points of operation and pumps may oscillate between each other
and cause surging. In parallel operation additional pumps can be started up
only when their shut-off heads exceed the head developed by the pumps
already running. Pumps operating in parallel should have a shut-off head
10-20% higher than the rated head (API 610).

Another difficulty may occur as a result of inadequately engineered suction

lines such that one pump suction steals from the other. The remedy is to

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design for equal suction heads and to assure that available NPSH is sufficient
to satisfy each pump.

Adequate check valves must be used on pump systems operating in parallel

to minimize possible back flow through pumps and to minimize the effects of
surge which is possible on some parallel pumping systems.

It is advisable to provide a piping bypass system so that either pump can be

operated without the other. Aside from flexibility, a bypass system permits
operation at reduced conditions during maintenance, inspection or repair of
either pump.

Caution: Pumps in Parallel

A problem that can occur with pumps in parallel is shown in fig 3.31. Two
pumps are never exactly alike. If two pumps are installed in parallel, one
pump may take more than half of the total flow and the other pump less than
half. The pump with the lower flow rate may be operating below its minimum
acceptable flow rate. As the fig shows, the head produced by the two pumps
will be identical because they are connected to the same process. If the head
produced by pump B is lower than head produced by pump A, the situation
shown in the fig will occur. Pump B will decrease its flow rate until it can
produce the same head as pump A.

This situation is most dangerous when one pump is driven by a motor and
the other pump by a turbine. It is impossible to set the two speeds exactly
equal, and the difference in speed will cause a difference in head produced.

If two pumps are nominally identical and both driven by motors, the two head
curves can be assumed to be within 3% of each other. If so, one can make the
worst assumption, that is, the head of pump B is 3% lower than the head of
pump A. Then, using the system operating conditions, plot the flow through
both pumps. Make sure that the lowest flow rate is not below the pump
minimum allowable flow rate.

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 Fig 3.31: Pumps in parallel

3.6.18.2 Series Pump Operation

The combined characteristics of pumps operating in series is obtained by

adding their individual heads for a given flow rate.

The shut-off head of the combined pump discharge system is determined by

adding the shut-off heads of individual pumps.

Note that NPSH is generally a key design consideration for the first pump only
since the first pump acts as a booster for the 2nd pump in series.

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 Fig 3.32: Performance curve for two dissimilar centrifugal pumps in series

Pumps may be designed to operate in series arrangement for any of the

following reasons:

1. The head requirement exceeds the capability of a single pump.

2. The differential pressure requirement is low enough at times that one of
several pumps in series can be turned off, as in transportation pipe
lines.

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3. The primary pump has a high NPSHR Therefore, a low-head booster pump
is installed to pressure the suction of the higher-head pump.

4. Plant feed must be transferred from a remote storage area to the suction
of an on-site high-head pump.

5. Two or more pumps are preferred over a multistage pump in erosive

slurry operation.

For series operation, the head-capacity curve is obtained by adding the two
heads at any given capacity.

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 Fig 3.33: Two identical centrifugal pumps in series

It is important that adequate suction pressure be available to all pumps,

especially to the first pump in series operation. If the first pump in a series
system is deprived of adequate NPSH, its capacity will be reduced until
NPSHR equals NPSHA. Then the capacity through all the pumps in series will
be reduced, resulting in a significant overall flow loss.

The design pressure for piping and equipment, including the pumps
themselves, should be carefully examined in a series-flow operation especially
if the pumping system can be deadheaded.

The engineer should be aware that reliability is reduced for the series-flow
service since operation is now dependent on not just one pump but each
pump in the series.

Caution: Pumps in Series

Two pumps in series will generate much more discharge pressure than one
pump alone. In some cases, this pressure might be greater than the design
pressure of the downstream piping or other equipment. This condition must
be checked before proceeding with an installation of two or more pumps in
series. It is important to check the design pressure at the condition called
“pump shutoff pressure.” Shutoff pressure is obtained when the downstream
control valve is closed and the pumps operate at zero capacity and maximum
head. The shutoff pressure is equal to the pressure in the suction vessel plus
the shutoff delta P of both pumps combined. See Fig 3.34 and the example
table beneath it. For this example, the normal operating discharge pressure is
satisfactory because it is less than the design pressure. However, at shutoff,
the discharge pressure downstream of the second pump would be greater
than the equipment design pressure. This situation is not allowed. One
remedy is to install a safety valve at the discharge of the second pump as
shown.

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Index (Full Version)
Chapter
Vol No. Title No. of Pages
I – Preface, Foreword and Overall Table of Contents 6
I 1 Introduction 5
I 2 General 138
I 3 Pumps 181
I 4 Compressors 149
I 5 Fans and Blowers 59
I 6 Heat Exchangers 93
I 7 Pressure vessels, Tanks and Bullets 58
I 8 Fractionators and Absorbers 396
I 9 Separators 92
I 10 Fired Heaters 142
I 11 Incinerators 68
I 12 Agitated Vessels 86
I 13 Safety Relief Systems 255
I 14 Line Sizing, Hydraulics 76
I 15 Vacuum systems 90
I 16 Utilities 469
I 17 Dryers 48
I 18 Motors 16
I 19 Evaporators 62
I 20 Pneumatic Conveying 78
I 21 Crystallisers 32
I 22 Steam and Gas Turbines 84
I 23 Leaching and Extraction 77
I 24 Special Process Items 191
I 25 Additional Process Calculations 50

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II 26 Project Types 13
II 27 Engineering Disciplines and Sequence of 60
Engineering
II 28 Overall Engineering Documentation for all 13
Disciplines in a Project
II 29 Process Design Documentation 256
II 30 TBE Guidelines 44
II 31 Safety Studies 15
II 32 Automation and Control 138
II 33 Material of Construction 90
II 34 Cost, Time & Resource Estimation 10
II 35 Inspection and Testing 11
II 36 Precommissioning, Commissioning and 58
Guarantee Run
II 37 Specialised Studies 55
II 38 Heat Exchanger Optimization 156
II 39 Philosophies 28

III 40 Calculation Templates (40

numbers)
III 41 Checklists (25
numbers)
III 42 Datasheets (93
numbers)
III 43 Technical Bid Evaluation Formats (11
numbers)
III 44 Go-By Reference P&IDs (41
numbers)

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Handbook Details
1 No. of Chapters 44
2 No. of Pages 4000
3 Figures 2265
4 Tables 440
5 Calculation Templates 40
6 Datasheets 93
7 TBE Blank Formats 11
8 Checklists 25

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