Pump Performance Project

To be able to do the project you need to buy a fish tank pump, a bucket, and a
flexible tube. You can find the fish tank pump at any pet store that sells fish
supplies. You need:
-

A water bucket
A fish tank submersible water pump
Two different diameter hoses to fit at the pump outlet.

The project demonstrates the use of the energy/mass conservation equations for a
fluidic control volume.
Pump performance or pump curve: It describes the flow rate .v. the head
produced by a given pump. Fixed speed commercial pumps are typically rated at a
relatively constant power. The pump power that comes from the electric mains is
converted into mechanical energy that is transferred to the fluid through the pump
blades. A typical pump curve and a setup to obtain it is shown below. You will
roughly need to do the following to measure the pump curve:
-

Connect the large diameter hose to the pump outlet. Have a stop watch and
a long ruler (measuring tape ~ 1m) ready. Also have a small container of
know volume (0.5 ~ 1 liter) handy to measure flow rates; e.g. water bottle.
Fill the tank with water, and submerge the pump.
Turn on the pump
Hold the outlet hose at a certain height (H) above the water level and have it
empty into the tank so that the tank level stays constant.
At this height, use the volume measure and the stop watch to measure the
flow rate.
Record the pipe diameter, and compute the velocity at the outlet. Compute
the pump power assuming negligible friction. Compute the pump efficiency
using the rated power written on the pump box.
Measure the flow rate again after changing the height level of the outlet pipe.
Go in steps of approximately 5 cm until you reach a height where the flow
rate stops. Record this height: this is the pump head at zero flow.

To investigate the effect of friction (friction increases with decreasing pipe

diameter) unplug the large diameter hose, and plug the small diameter hose.
Measure the pump curve again as explained above.
Next, plot the flow rate .v. the pump head (the height H) for the two pipe diameters.
Extrapolate the curve ends and mark the (zero flow point) and the (zero head point)
on the curve.

You should submit a brief group report (text: 2~4 pages excluding figures)
that the following headings: title; introduction; aim and objectives;
experimental method and procedure; results with calculations; discussion;
and conclusions
All your calculations, equations, experimental procedure, difficulties
faced, discrepancy between theory and experiment should be reported
and discussed.
Show actual pictures of your experiment.

Rotating Pump Blades

In your discussion and calculations please add the following two points when
comparing the two pipes:
1- Verify the applicability of the laminar flow rate relationship we found in class:

m R 4 p
Q
8 L
by comparing the ratio of flow rates in the two pipes at
different heights. How does this ratio relate to the pipe diameters ratio

hf
2- Estimate the friction head

assuming a parabolic laminar flow profile. The

hf

2 w L
g R

friction head is related to the wall shear stress through eq. 6.9b:
and we found in class that for a laminar flow the wall shear stress is related to

w 4
average flow velocity:

hf

32 LVavg

gD 2

128 LQ
gD 4

Vavg
R

; which you can sub to get: