Centrifugal pump design and performance Hardcover – September 1, 1997

This book opens with a survey of the very wide range of pump designs from low-cost domestic machines to highly sophisticated rocket turbopumps, and describes the parameters that can be used to order and categorize this diverse field. Starting from this introduction, the authors then describe in considerable detail the physics of the flow in impellers, diffusers, and additional components such as volutes, collectors, and return channels. Techniques for modelling these flows, which also provide a basis for predicting the performance of a pump, are highlighted throughout this treatment. The important question of the limits of stable operation is also discussed in detail, using extensive data from pump tests and also centrifugal compressor tests which the authors argue are equally applicable, and certainly shed light on phenomena such as stall, rotating stall, and surge. Different types of stall are identified and described, as well as techniques that designers can use for range extension. No precise design "rules" are currently available in this complex field, but the authors do include a table of guidelines for designers. Cavitation is similarly treated. A chapter covers stress and vibration in pumps, starting with an outline of the basic theory and moving to finite-element based analysis of stress and vibration. Rotordynamics and different types of bearing are also covered. A large part of this chapter is also devoted to vibration test procedures and equipment, and the diagnosis and troubleshooting of rotating machinery vibration problems. The process of pump design, from a basic performance specification through preliminary design, blade layout and analysis, and design optimization is described. This includes a discussion of modern computational fluid dynamic analysis in pump design. The reader is taken step-by-step through a worked design example. The final chapter of the book is concerned with experimental and test procedures and development, and indicates the sort of information that can be obtained on test, and how it can be used to further an understanding of pump performance. Read more