article · Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part A Journal of Power and Energy
A general performance prediction model for volute-type centrifugal pumps has been extended to capture dynamic behaviour during normal starting and stopping periods. To evaluate this approach, dynamic pump operations were recorded under varied valve openings with a short discharge pipeline connected to the flange. Testing also incorporated the pump into an experimental hydraulic circuit running against three series-connected supply pumps operating in either active or idle states. Measurements included instantaneous rotational speed, suction and delivery pressures, and fluid flowrate. Across all evaluated conditions, dynamic changes during pump transients exhibited quasi-steady behaviour, supporting the validity of a quasi-steady modelling framework. The resulting dynamic head-capacity predictions closely matched experimental measurements across nearly all tested configurations, establishing an accurate method for tracking transient pump characteristics during routine operation.
Centrifugal pumps experience significant hydraulic variations during routine starting and stopping. Demonstrating that these transient phases follow quasi-steady behaviour enables engineers to predict fluid pressures and flows using straightforward modelling techniques. This helps avoid excessive mechanical wear or pressure surges in piping networks without requiring excessively complex, fully unsteady simulation methods.
The model could assist pump manufacturers and hydraulic system engineers seeking to predict fluid pressures and flowrates during routine start-up and shutdown. Because testing was conducted on an experimental hydraulic rig, the technology represents applied research that has been experimentally validated in a laboratory setting rather than a near-market engineering design package.
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A performance prediction model generally applicable for volute-type centrifugal pumps has been extended to predict the dynamic characteristics of a pump during its normal starting and stopping periods. Experiments have been conducted on a volute pump with different valve openings to study the dynamic behaviour of the pump during normal start-up and stopping, when a small length of discharge pipeline is connected to the discharge flange of the pump. Such experiments have also been conducted when the test pump was part of a hydraulic system, an experimental rig, where it is pumping against three similar pumps, known as supply pumps, connected in series, with the supply pumps kept idle or running. Instantaneous rotational speed, flowrate, and delivery and suction pressures of the pump were recorded and it was observed in all the tested cases that the change of pump behaviour during the transient period was quasi-steady, which validates the quasi-steady approach presented in this paper. The nature of variation of parameters during the transients has been discussed. The model-predicted dynamic head-capacity curves agree well with the experimental data for almost all the tested cases.
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DOI: 10.1243/pime_proc_1994_208_008_02
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