University of Arkansas

Mechanical Engineering Department

MEEG 4202 - Lab III : April 10, 2019
Performance of a Pump at Different Speeds
Victor Perez Rivera
Mechanical Engineering Department

ABSTRACT
In this experiment, pump characteristics at various stages were compared to values found by the pump affinity laws as well as
calculating the specific speed of the pump impeller. A water pump system with a valve, flow, and power meter were used during
experimentation with the speed and valve position being the variable. Power consumption and flow rate at varying states were
recorded to be analyzed.
The specific speed of the pump impeller was found to be 36,698 at 2/3rd open position with a speed of 5600. The highest
percent difference between the pump affinity laws and experimental values for power were 54% at deadhead, and the lowest was 0%
at 5600 speed. The highest efficiency was 140% at 1/3rd open a speed of 4400 rpm. The lowest efficiency was 0% with a speed of
5600 rpm.
NOMENCLATURE
A Area (ft​2​)
D Diameter of impeller (ft, in.)
g Gravity (ft/s​2​)
H Pump head (ft)
I Current (Amps)
N Motor Speed (rpm)
P Power (hp)
P Pressure (psi)
Q Flow (gpm, ft​3​/s)
V Voltage (volts)
Greek
γ Specific Weight (lbf/ft​3​)
η Efficiency (%)
Subscripts
bep Best Efficiency Point
c Cross-sectional
E Electrical
i Initial
L Loss
p Pump
s Specific Speed
W Water

INTRODUCTION
The transportation of fluids (mainly water) to a place that is usable is not a new problem. Egyptians were using lever-like
contraptions to grab and lift water from the river as ancient as 2000 B.C. Bernoulli and Archimedes vied to bring an innovative design
to better understand pumps. The performance of the pump must match expectations to ensure the system will work as intended.
Manufacturing variations can lead to skewed results or using an unknown pump will lead one to wanting to determine elevation and
pressure values of the specific pump at hand.
In order to allow a liquid to flow from lower elevation to higher elevation, low pressure to high pressure, a faster rate, or any
sort of artificial flow a pump is required. There are many different types of pumps that can be used for different applications. A
centrifugal pump uses centrifugal force along the circumference of an impeller to increase the pressure of the liquid.
 The effectiveness of a pump depends on the system it is used in, and whether that system meets the many specifications and
operating constraints. This can determine the cost effectiveness of the many different pumps, and allows for the selection of the most
efficient pump for a particular system.
Determining the specific speed of the impeller while generating a performance curve at various operating points helps collect
data for analyzing the performance of the pump. Changing the valve positioning and operating speed also help collect vital data points
for performance. To determine the quality of performance against theoretical values, pump affinity laws are used for characterization
of the performance.

BACKGROUND
Pump affinity laws relate head, power, and flow of the pumps operating at various speeds and/or sized impellers. To
determine a precise pump head and power curve, pump performance tests are required. Compared to computational analysis,
experimental testing can be expensive in money and time.With a single given pump calculations can be performed with different size
impellers which eliminates the need to purchase and test the configuration experimentally.

OBJECTIVE
There were four main objectives for this experiment. To start, the measurement and comparison of the head versus flow and
overall efficiency versus flow characteristics of a pump at four different speeds. Second, to measure the piping system characteristic
with the control valve fully and partially open. Third, to determine the specific speed of the impeller. Fourth, is to determine the
specific speed of the impeller. Last, to verify the pump affinity laws.

THEORY
The pump head equation between points 1 and 2 is represented below in equation 1 [1].

H = (P _2 − P _1)/γ + Qˆ2/2g [1/(A_2ˆ2 ) − 1/(A_1ˆ2 )] + (z_2 − z _1 ) − h_(L1 − 2) (1)

The pump head ‘H’ is the work per unit weight put in at the shaft of the pump. Point 1 represents the suction/inlet at the pump and
point 2 represents the discharge/exit at the pump. , this relationship takes into account the increase in pressure ‘P’ between points 1
and 2. ‘γ’ is the weight density of water. , this takes into account the velocity head that occurs between points 1 and 2. ‘Q’ is the
volumetric flow rate, ‘g’ is acceleration due to gravity, and are the corresponding areas which are equal to one another; these all take
place between points 1 and 2. , this takes into account the change in elevation between points 1 and 2. , this accounts for overcoming
head loss. The velocity head, elevation change and head loss portions of the equation are negligible. This leads to the finalized Pump
Head equation represented in equation 2 below.

H = (P _2 − P _1)/γ (2)

The pump power equation is represented below in equation 3.

P = γQH/n (3)

‘γ’ is the weight density, ‘Q’ is the volumetric flow rate, the result ‘γQ’ is the weight flow rate through the pump and ‘H’ is the work
per unit weight. ‘n’ is the pump efficiency that takes into account the work done that doesn’t get transferred in the pump. ‘γQH’ is the
reason for the pump running. The result is pump power, ‘P’.
The pump specific speed in US units is represented below in equation 4.

N _s = ((N Qˆ(1/2))/H ˆ(3/4) )_bep (4)

‘N’ is the specific speed of the impeller measured in rpm, ‘Q’ is the flow measured in gpm, and ‘H’ is the head measured in ft. These
variables are found at the highest efficiencies available. The resulting value comes out in US units; this is used to calculate specific
speed, . When having two dynamically similar fans or pumps the affinity laws allow predictions to be made in order to create a new
graphical trend for the second fan/pump based on the first fan/pump. The head discharge characteristic can be predicted by using the
measured/known value found at a different speed or impeller diameter [2]. For this lab specifically the inlet and exit diameters and
are equal to one another. is equal to 1, this relationship is found for 3 out of the 4 affinity law equations. The affinity law for pump
flow is found below in equation 5.

Q_2/Q_1 = N _2/N _1 * (D_2/D_1 )ˆ3 (5)

‘Q’ is the volumetric flow rate measured in gpm, ‘N’ is the impeller speed measured in rpm and ‘D’ is the diameter. The affinity law
for pump head is represented below in equation 6.

H _2/H_1 = (N _2/N _1 )ˆ3 * (D_2/D_1 )ˆ2 (6)

‘H’ is the head loss and all other variables are the same. The affinity law for power is represented below in equation 7.

P _2/P _1 = γ_2/γ_1 * (N _2/N _1 )ˆ3 * (D_2/D_1 )ˆ2 (7)

‘P’ is the power measured in the pump, ‘γ’ is the weight density of water, N and D are the same as previously stated. The affinity law
for efficiency is represented below.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
This experiment used a Pump and Heat Exchanger station to document the change in discharge pressure, suction pressure,
and output flow. Also, how these values are related to the rpm and flow. The station is made up of three main parts: the pump,
pressurized tank, and heater. Control valves and flow meters had been attached throughout the station to record these values.
The motor rpm, amperage, input flow, output flow, suction pressure, and discharge pressure were all recorded after the pump
and flow were turned on to the required levels. The procedure laid out below was then followed until completed. We then shut off the
flow and pump, and cleared our workspace.

EQUIPMENT
● Pump System Station 3
● Lab Booklet
● Pen and or Pencil
PROCEDURE
1. Equipment inspection and familiarization: review schematic, and clear out any hazards
2. Open the control valve from the wall spigot to begin the water flow to the pump station
3. Open the control valve to the fully open position on the rotameter
4. Turn the pumps on and set the motor speed to 5600 rpm
5. Begin recording the values of the amperage, motor rpm, pump input flow, pump output flow, suction pressure, and
discharge pressure
6. Without adjusting the control valve, reduce the motor speed by a value of 600 rpm, and record the values listed in
step 5
7. Repeat step 6 three times with a final motor speed of 3800 rpm
8. Adjust the control valve by a value of ⅔ and repeat steps 4-7
9. Adjust the control valve by a value of ⅓ and repeat steps 4-7
10. Completely close the pumps control valve and repeat steps 4-7
11. Shutdown: Turn the pump off
12. Shutdown: close the control calce from the wall spigot to turn off water flow to the pump station

DATA, ANALYSIS, AND RESULTS

All Data was conducted in University of Arkansas Mechanical Engineering Building Room 109 on Unit 3. All the Data then was
exported to Microsoft Excel where it was added into a spreadsheet to simplify the calculation need. Since the calculations in this Lab
would have been very time consuming had they been done by hand Excel was the ideal choice. Once the data was laid out in Excel we
then took a simplified version of the energy equation, discharge pressure minus the suction pressure all divided by the dynamic
viscosity of water which in this system was determined to be 62.4 lbm/ft. Once we had the head of the pump we were then able to
calculate the power of the pump using the voltage and current that the pump drew at each operation point. With the power of the
pump, we then were able to find the efficiency of the pump.

Figure 1. Data Collected of the pump at different operation speed and different flow amounts

The above Figure show the table of Data that was collect from the experiment and then exported to excel the flow of each of the
flow meter was measured in gallon per minute. Flow meter 1 is constant because it measures the amount of water coming into the
system from the outside pumping system. Flow meter 2 changes has the speed decrease and how open the valve is. Both the suction
pressure and discharge pressure were measured in pound per square inch gauge. You could have done this measurement in psia, but
since you are taking the difference of the two this isn't necessary. The head was measured in feet which is standard for most pumps.
 Figure 2 Head and Efficiency versus flow of pump
In figure 2 you can see a chart of overall efficiency versus flow, head of the pump versus flow in blue, it also show efficiency of
the pump at different speeds, and head at different speeds. For overall efficiency versus flow we took the efficiency at the top rpm
which was 5600 rpm as the flow reduced as the valve closed the overall efficiency also decreased. This same method was used from
the head vs flow line which is in blue. For the Efficiency at different speed we took the max flow for each of the 4 operation speeds,
we used the same principle for the line “head at different speeds”.

Figure 3. System curve at various operation points of a small pump

Figure 3 shows that the head at different flow points at different speeds of the pump. You can see that as the speed decreases the
overall head also decrease for every flow point. Also you can see that as the flow increases for each individual pump speed the head
decreases which agrees with the theory of pump performance curve.
 Figure 4. Percent error using the pump affinity laws at 5600 rpm against measured results

The Above figure show the error that was found between the pump affinity laws and the measured results in the lab for head of
the pump and the efficiency. The error for both head and efficiency was relatively low and much of the error mostly likely a result
from the speed of the pump not being very accurate. Also, we rounded down or up to the 4 operation speed so they are not exactly
those operation speeds.

DISCUSSION
In our experiment the our theory about the pump affinity laws held up to current with the present error being as low as 6%,
however at some flow point the error was much higher. This could be due to a number of sources. First, every time we changed the
pump speed their could have been some slight variation from that speed to the previous speed. To explain this, we choose 4400 rpm
for example, this was a rounded number and all measurement were recorded with a pump speed around 4400 rpm, but there could
have been some slight deviation between each speed as we switch the flow rate constraint. Second, the precision of measurements of
all pressures and flow rates. For the suction pressure the gauge had a wide gap between zero psia and 1 psia so being able to determine
the pressure accurately is greatly reduced. Also, the measurement increments for both flow rates were also slightly spread out not
allowing for extreme accurate measurement of the flow rate.
Another thing that our experiment proves is the plot of the system curve at different speeds of the pump, his is shown in Figure 3
in this figure you can see how the head decreases with the speed of the pump and can also roughly visualize the pump’s overall
efficiency by connecting upward trend of points at each relative f low.

CONCLUSIONS
Experiment findings are presented below:
● Theoretical pump affinity laws match experimental data well.
 ● Unstable centrifugal pump with the best efficiency points on the upper range of speed.
● Power error was 24% at ⅔ valve opening at a speed of 5000 RPM.
Overall, the experiment went as expected without disrupting errors. One source of error worth mentioning is the difficulty in setting
the RPM, due to sensitivity of the control knob. Changing the RPM control knob and installation of a pressure gauge that makes
reading less difficult during oscillation will improve accuracy and the experiment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Thank you to the University of Arkansas Mechanical Engineering Department for supplying the equipment and facility to conduct this
experiment. Also, thank you to Dr. Rick Couvillion for providing the lab procedure and assistance to perform the experiment.

REFERENCES
[1] “Affinity Laws.” Intro to Pumps. 2019. https://www.introtopumps.com/pump-terms/affinity-laws/
[2] Couvillion, Rick J. MEEG 4202-Lab III-Pump Performance Lab, Class Notes, University of Arkansas, Spring 2019
[3] Couvillion, Rick J. MEEG 4202-Lab III-Pump Performance Lab, Pump Performance Measurment, University of Arkansas, Spring
2019
 Appendix
A. Data Tables

Appendix A.1 Pump Speed 5600 rpm

Appendix A.2 Pump Speed 5000 rpm

Appendix A.3 Pump Speed 4400 rpm

Appendix A.4 Pump Speed 3800 rpm

 Appendix A.4 Specific Speed of Pump

Appendix A.5 Head and Efficiency vs Flow

Appendix A.6 system curve at Various Operation Points

Appendix A.7 Percent Error using the Pump Affinity Laws at 5600 rpm Against Lab Results
B. Sample Calculations
C. Equipment

Appendix C.1 pump setup

Appendix C.2 pump heat exchanger

D. Raw Data

Appendix D.1 Pump Speed 5600

Appendix D.2 Pump Speed of 5000

Appendix D.3 Pump Speed of 4400

Appendix D.4 Pump speed of 3800