RECIPROCATING PUMPS

- a reciprocating pump is a machine in which

the pumping action is accomplished by the
forward and backward movement of a piston
inside a cylinder, usually provided with
valves. It is classified as a positive
displacement pump.

- In 1840, Henry R. Worthington invented the

first direct acting-pump reciprocating steam
pump used for feeding water into boilers.
 TYPES OF RECIPROCATING PUMPS
A. Piston and Plunger type reciprocating pumps B. Diaphragm type reciprocating pumps
1. Steam or Direct-acting, double-acting pumps 1. Simplex-type pumps
a. simplex pumps a. Fluid operated type
b. duplex pumps b. Mechanically operated type
2. Power or Indirect pumps 2. Multiplex-type pumps
a. Single-acting pumps a. Fluid operated type
i. Simplex pumps b. Mechanically operated type
ii. Duplex pumps
iii. Triplex pumps
iv. Multiplex pumps
b. Double acting pumps
i. Simplex pumps
ii. Duplex pumps
iii. Triplex pumps
iv. Multiplex pumps
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIRECT AND INDIRECT
ACTING RECIPROCATING PUMPS

1. Direct-acting reciprocating pump is a pump 2. Indirect-acting reciprocating pump is a pump in

that is motivated by the force of steam on the
steam piston. Any force applied on the steam
piston is transmitted to the water piston. Steam
and water pistons are normally double-acting,
which means that every stroke of the water
piston is a delivery stroke.
which water is driven by an electric motor, internal
combustion engine, steam turbine, gas turbine, or
steam engine. It is also called a power pump. It has
high efficiency and constant speed because of the
type of drive. It is capable of delivering constant
quantity of fluid against a variable head. It i's either
single-acting or double:-acting.

Reciprocating Pumps may be either piston or

plunger type
 Cylinder and Piston
Dimensions
For Direct-acting reciprocating pump
For Indirect-acting reciprocating pump
CLASSIFICATION OF RECIPROCATING
PUMPS IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF
WATER CYLINDERS
1. Simplex pump - a reciprocating
pump with one cylinder
2. Duplex pump - a reciprocating
pump with two cylinders
3. Triplex pump - a reciprocating pump
with three cylinders
 FORMULAS
FOR DIRECT ACTING PUMPS

a. Approximate commercial speed of piston c. Pump duty – the work done in the water
𝑉 = 1.38 𝐿 𝐹𝑡 cylinders expressed in N-m/million joules
9.807𝑚 𝐻 −𝐻
Pump duty = 1000𝑚𝑤 ℎ 𝑑−ℎ 𝑠 × 106
𝑠 𝑠 𝑒

b. Piston displacement d. Pump duty in terms of N-m per 1000 kg dry

𝜋
𝑉𝐷 = 4 𝐷2 𝑉𝑛 steam
9.807𝑚 𝐻 −𝐻
Pump duty = 1000𝑚𝑤 ℎ 𝑑−ℎ 𝑠 × 106
𝑠 𝑠 𝑒
 FORMULAS
FOR INDIRECT ACTING PUMPS FOR BOTH DIRECT AND INDIRECT ACTING PUMPS

a. Rotative speed of directly coupled motor or a. Volumetric Efficiency

the crankshaft 𝜂𝑣 =
𝑄
100% =
actual volume flow,𝑚3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛
(100%)
𝐹 𝑉𝐷 𝑉𝐷 ,𝑚3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑁𝑚 = 907 𝑡𝐿

b. Slip
𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑝 = 1 − 𝜂𝑣

Note: you can obtain negative slip if theoretical

b. Piston displacement (rod neglected) discharge is less than actual discharge
𝜋
𝑉𝐷 = 4 𝐷2 𝑉𝑛
PUMP PERFORMANCE CURVES
-When selecting a centrifugal pump, one should match the performance of the pump to that
needed by the system. To do that, an engineer would refer to a pumps composite curve

-a pump performance curve indicates how a pump will perform in regards to pressure head and
flow. A curve is defined for a specific operating speed (rpm) and a specific inlet/outlet diameter.

-Flow is indicated on the x-axis while pressure/head is indicated on the y-axis. Several curves on
one chart indicate the performance for various impeller diameters.

- The curve also shows the shut off head or the head that the pump would generate if operating
against a closed valve.

- The pump performance curve also provides efficiency curves. These efficiency curves intersect
with the head-flow curves and are labeled with percentages. The efficiency varies throughout the
operating range
• In our example below, these
curves show the performance at
1450 rpm for a 3” inlet/2” outlet.
• The impeller size ranges from
6.3” to 8.7”. If pumping against a
head of 40 ft using an impeller
size of 7.9”, you could pump at a
rate of 140 gallons per minute.
• the shutoff for the 7.9” impeller is
45 ft of head.
• with the 7.9” impeller, we can
see that at 140 gallons per
minute, the pump is operating at
72% efficiency.
CAVITATION OF PUMPS
- Cavitation is a phenomenon which occurs in a centrifugal pump when the pressure at any point
inside the pump drops below the vapor pressure corresponding to the temperature of the liquid. This
results in the formation of vapor bubbles. These vapor bubbles are carried along with the flowing liquid
and collapse with tremendous shock when a pressure that is higher is reached.

- In other words, cavitation is the formation of cavities of water vapor in the suction side of a pump
due to low suction pressure.

Causes of cavitation in centrifugal pumps:

1. Low suction pressure
2. Low atmospheric pressure
3. High liquid temperature
4. High velocity
5. Rough surfaces edge
6. Sharp bends
Bad effects of cavitation in centrifugal pumps:
1. Noise accompanying the collapse of vapor bubbles
2. Vibration of the unit
3. Decrease in capacity
4. Pitting due to chemical reaction
5. Corrosion

Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH)

- Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) is the term used to describe pump cavitation characteristics.
Specifically, it is the pressure (head) in excess of the saturation pressure of the liquid being pumped.

- The NPSH is the difference between the absolute dynamic pressure of the liquid measured at the
centerline of the pump and the saturation pressure corresponding to the temperature of the liquid at the
same point

- The NPSH also refers to the pressure at the pump suction flange, corrected to the pump centerline,
that prevents vaporization of fluid.
Net Positive Suction Head Available (NPSHA)
-Net Positive Suction Head Available (NPSHA) is the net positive suction head that is available or
existing at the pump installation. It is equal to the pressure head of the source of liquid or atmospheric
pressure-if the source of water is an open tank-plus or minus the difference in elevation between
surface of liquid at source and pump centerline minus vapor or saturation pressure of liquid at its
temperature minus friction losses between source of liquid and suction flange, all of which are in the
same linear dimension.

NPSHA = 𝐻𝑃 ± 𝐻𝑧 − 𝐻𝑣𝑃 − 𝐻𝐿
Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHR)
-Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHR) is a'performance characteristic of a Pl!mp and is
established through closed loop or valve suppression tests conducted by the pump manufacturer.
These tests consist of lowering the NPSHA provided to the test pump until the pump head, power, or
efficiency noticeably decreases
- The NPSHR is equal to the gauge pressure reading in linear dimension at suction flange, corrected
to the pump centerline minus vapor pressure or sa~uration pressure of water at a 'given temperature in
linear measurement plus the velocity at . suction flange.

𝑃𝐴 𝑉2
NPSHR = + 𝑧 − 𝐻𝑣𝑃 +
𝑦 2𝑔
Things to consider in determining the value of NPSHR
1. The pump manufacturer should be consulted to determine the basis of the stated values of NPSHR.
2. The pumping system designer should provide some margin above the stated NPSHR when designing
for pump suction conditions

Typical margins over published NPSHR

* 10% - 50% - for simple cold water pumping system
* 50%-100% - for complex boiler feed pumping system with transient suction operations

Cavitation Parameter
- Cavitation parameter or Thoma-Moody coefficient e is a dimensionless parameter used to predict
the occurrence of cavitation.
e = NPSHR / TDH
Suction Specific Speed Required (S)
- is an index number descriptive of the suction characteristics of a given pump design. It is the
speed in rpm at which a pump impeller would operate if reduced proportionately in size so as to deliver
a rated capacity of 1 gpm against an NPSHR of 1 ft.
𝑁 𝑄
S= 3
𝑁𝑷𝑺𝑯𝑹 ൗ4

Suction Specific Speed Available (SA)

- is an index number descriptive of the available suction conditions of the pumping system from
which the pump is receiving suction. It is the speed in rpm at which a pump impeller would operate if
reduced proportionately in siz'e so as to deliver a rated capacity of 1 gpm against a NPSHA of 1 ft.
𝑁 𝑄
SA = 3
𝑁𝑷𝑺𝑯𝑨 ൗ4
Pump’s Specific Speed (𝑁𝑠 )
- is the speed in rpm at which the geometrically similar pump impellers would operate to develop
one foot of head when discharging one gallon per minute.
𝑁 𝑄
𝑁𝑠 = 3
𝑻𝑫𝑯 ൗ4