PUMPS

A pump is a machine or device that is used to force a liquid or gas to flow in a

particular direction by varying,
 Velocity (flow rate)
 Pressure

CENTRIFUGAL PUMP:
 Centrifugal pumps are used to transport fluids by the conversion of rotational
kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow. The rotational energy
typically comes from an engine or electric motor.
 Flow is in radial outward direction.
 It works on principle of forced vortex flow.
 Commonly used for domestic, industry purpose.
Centrifugal pumps are classified as rotary dynamic type of pumps in which a dynamic
pressure is developed which enables the lifting of liquids from a low datum height
source to a higher position. The basic principle on which a centrifugal pump works is
that when a certain mass of liquid is made to rotate by an external force, it is thrown
away from the central axis of rotation and a centrifugal head is impressed which
enables it to rise to a higher level. Now if more liquid is constantly made available at
the center of rotation, a continuous supply of liquid at higher level may be ensured.
Since in these pumps the lifting of the liquid is due to centrifugal action, these pumps
are called centrifugal pumps. In addition to the centrifugal action, as the liquid passes
through the revolving wheel or impeller, its angular momentum changes, which also
results in increasing the pressure of the liquid

 Impeller
 Casing
 Suction pipe
 Foot valve and strainer
 Delivery pipe
Rotary components
Impeller:
The impeller is the main rotating part that provides the centrifugal acceleration to the
fluid.

Shaft:
Its purpose is to transmit the torques encountered when starting and during operation.
Supports the impeller & other rotating parts.

Stationary components
 Casing:
The main purpose of casing is to convert kinetic energy into pressure energy.
Casings are generally of 2 types:
a) Volute: Used for higher head, eddy currents formed
b) Vertex: Eddy currents are reduced
A volute is a curved funnel increasing in area to the discharge port. As the area of the
cross-section increases, the volute reduces the speed of the liquid and increases the
pressure of the liquid.
Vortex Casing is a circular chamber is introduced between casing and impeller.
Efficiency of pump is increased by reducing eddy current loss.

Volute Vertex

Priming in Centrifugal pump:

 Pressure generated by centrifugal compressor is directly proportional to density of
fluid. Since density of air is much less than that of water, enough pressure is not
generated to lift water. Therefore, all the air must be removed out of a centrifugal
pump which can only be done manually by filling its impeller completely with water
which in turn automatically removes air. Now, impeller is surrounded by high density
fluid (water) due to which required pressure will be generated.

Priming is the process in which the impeller of a centrifugal pump will get fully sub
merged in liquid without any air trap inside. This is especially required when there
is a first start up. It is always advisable to start the pump only after primping.

Heads in Centrifugal Pumps:

 Suction Head:- Vertical height of center line of centrifugal pump above the water
surface to the pump from which water to be lifted.
 Delivery Head:- Vertical distance between center line of the pump and the water
surface in the tank to which water is delivered.
 Static Head:- Sum of suction head and delivery head.

Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH)

NPSH can be defined as two parts:
NPSH Available (NPSHA): The absolute pressure at the suction port of the pump.
NPSH Required (NPSHR): The minimum pressure required at the suction port of the
pump to keep the pump safe from cavitating.

NPSHA is a function of your system and must be calculated, whereas NPSHR is a

function of the pump and must be provided by the pump manufacturer. NPSHA
MUST be greater than NPSHR for the pump system to operate without cavitating. Put
another way, you must have more suction side pressure available than the pump
requires.

For efficient pumping, NPSH(a) > NPSH(r)

NPSHA is defined as static head + surface pressure head - the vapor pressure of
your product - loss in the piping, valves and fittings 

Pumps in Series and Parallel:

PARALLEL : To discharge large flow/low head
PARALLEL OPERATION: Pumps are operated in parallel when two or more
pumps are connected to a common discharge line, and share the same suction
conditions.

SERIES OPERATION

Centrifugal pumps are connected in series if the discharge of one pump is

connected to the suction side of a second pump. Two similar pumps, in series,
operate in the same manner as a two-stage centrifugal pump.

Each of the pumps is putting energy into the pumping fluid, so the resultant head is
the sum of the individual heads.

SERIES : To produce high head/low flow

CAVITATION:
During the pump operation, as the water mass passes from eye of the impeller towards
its periphery, it creates vacuum at the eye of the impeller and inside the suction pipe.
If the temperature of the water passing through the suction pipe and the eye of the
impeller happens to be higher than the saturation temperature of the water at the
prevailing vacuum, some of the water may evaporate to form tiny vapor bubbles,
which travel through the impeller.
As the water mass passes from eye of the impeller towards its periphery, its pressure
rises and the vapor in the tiny bubbles becomes unstable and condenses back to liquid
causing small implosions in these bubbles.
These implosions in the tiny vapor bubbles in the water mass have enough energy to
cause pitting in the adjoining material of the impeller as well as the pump casing. This
process of impeller and the casing material wastage is called Cavitation.
Effects of Cavitation:
 Metallic surface are damaged & cavities are formed.
 Efficiency of pump decreases.
 Unwanted noise and vibrations are produced.
Remedial measures for Cavitation
The only remedy to prevent Cavitation in any pump is to ensure that the temperature
of the water passing through the suction pipe and the eye of the impeller is maintained
below the saturation temperature at the prevailing vacuum.
Apart from that, the inner surface of the casing may be coated with hard epoxy layer
to minimize the effect of Cavitation.
Problems in Centrifugal pumps
 Increase in the clearance between the impeller neck and the wear rings
resulting in reduction in volumetric efficiency. Replacement of wear rings is
the only remedy for this.
 Damage to the impeller shaft in the way of gland packing which may be
rectified by replacement of the shaft or, if the shaft is fitted with a sleeve, by
replacing sleeve.
 Wearing of / damage to the bearings leading to increased power by the pump.
This may be rectified by replacement of the bearings.

GEAR PUMPS
• A gear pump uses the meshing of gears to pump fluid by displacement.
• There are two main variations of gear pumps;
1. External Gear Pump.
2. Internal Gear Pump.
External gear pumps use two external spur gears.
Internal gear pumps use an external and an internal spur gear.
Gear pumps are positive displacement, meaning they pump a constant amount of fluid
for each revolution
External Gear Pumps:
• External gear pumps are a popular pumping arrangements and are often used as
lubrication pumps in machine tools, in fluid power transfer units, and as oil
pumps in engines.
• Large-capacity external gear pumps typically use helical gears.
• Small external gear pumps usually operate at 1750 or 3450 rpm and larger
models operate at speeds up to 640 rpm.
• External gear pumps have close tolerances and shaft support on both sides of
the gears.
• Because of this, external gear pumps are popular for precise transfer and
metering applications involving polymers, fuels, and chemical additives.
Working:
• In External gear pumps, two gears come into and out of mesh to produce flow.
• The external gear pump uses two identical gears rotating against each other --
one gear is driven by a motor and it in turn drives the other gear.
• Liquid flows into the cavity and is trapped between the gear teeth and casing as
they rotate.
• Liquid travels around the interior of the casing in the pockets between the teeth
and the casing.
• Finally, gears forces liquid through the outlet port under pressure.
Advantages:
 A gear water pump can handle fluids that are too viscous for a centrifugal
pump.
 The pumping action is very controllable and mathematical: if you double the
speed, you double the output.
 The output of a gear water pump is independent of discharge pressure.
 Since a gear pump doesn’t have to generate centrifugal force, it can be run at a
much lower speed. This makes it smoother and more controllable.
 Gear pumps are self-priming, which can be a huge benefit. Their discharge
pressure can be very high, dependent upon a number of factors.
Disadvantages:
 Due to the meshing gears, they are not recommended for abrasive media or
solids.
 Their design is complicated and adds to their initial cost.
 Gear pumps can be “too noisy” in some environments.
 They are limited by their size and unsuitable for operations with large bulk
flow rates.
Material of Construction for Gear Pumps:
• Externals (head, casing, bracket) - Iron, ductile iron, steel, stainless steel,
high alloys
• Internals (shafts) - Steel, stainless steel, high alloys, alumina ceramic
• Internals (gears) - Steel, stainless steel, composite
• Bushing - Carbon, bronze, silicon carbide, needle bearings
• Shaft Seal - Packing, lip seal, component mechanical seal.

INTERNAL GEAR PUMPS:

• Internal gear pumps are exceptionally versatile.
• While they are often used on thin liquids such as solvents and fuel oil, they
excel at efficiently pumping thick liquids such as asphalt, chocolate, and
adhesives.
• General viscosity range: 2 to 400,000 CSt
Working:
 Liquid enters the suction port between the rotor (small gear) and idler (big
internal gear) teeth. The arrows indicate the direction of the pump and liquid,
 Liquid travels through the pump between the teeth of the "gear-within-a-gear"
principle. The crescent shape divides the liquid and acts as a seal between the
suction and discharge ports.
 The pump head is now nearly flooded, just prior to forcing the liquid out of the
discharge port. Intermeshing gears of the idler and rotor form locked pockets
for the liquid which assures volume control.
 Rotor & idler teeth mesh completely to form a seal equidistant from discharge
and suction ports. This seal forces the liquid out of the discharge port.
SCREW PUMP:
A screw pump is a positive-displacement (PD) pump that use one or several screws to
move fluids or solids along the screw(s) axis.
In its simplest form, a single screw rotates in a cylindrical cavity, thereby moving the
material along the screw's spindle

Multiple Screw Pump:

Screw pumps fall in the category of rotary pumps and have the same mechanism and
principle.
Screw pumps are the only type of pumps which are different from other rotary
displacement pumps because of the axial flow of the fluid through their pumping
elements. The fluid in screw pumps moves between the screw threads and are
displaced axially as the screws rotate and mesh.
Due to the axial flow pattern and low internal velocities, the screw pumps have certain
advantages in applications where churning and agitation of fluid is highly
objectionable or not allowed.
The inter-meshing of the screw threads on the rotors and the very fine clearances of
the surrounding housing creates a seal between the pumps inlet and outlet
Due to the rotation of the screws and the movement of fine clearances, pockets are
formed in the helices of the screw. As the screw moves the pockets also move axially
and act similar to a piston moving in one direction, while the fluid is moved axially
from inlet to outlet.
Advantages of screw pump over Gear pump
• Better suction capacity over gear pump
• Less turbulence as the clearance between screw and casing is less
• Works at higher RPM
• Less power consumption for the same pumping capacity as of gear pump
• Less pulsation
• Can be easily used where space is an issue.

RESIPROCATING PUMP:
A reciprocating pump is a class of positive-displacement pumps which includes
the piston pump, plunger pump and diaphragm pump.
 It is often used where a relatively small quantity of liquid is to be handled and where
delivery pressure is quite large.
Single-acting reciprocating pump:
Consists of a piston of which only one side engages the fluid being displaced. 

During suction movement, Suction valve opens where the liquid is taken inside the
cylinder. As the piston pushes the liquid, discharge valve opens to pump out the
liquid.
Double-acting reciprocating pump:
Both sides of the piston engage the fluid being displaced, with each stroke of the
piston carries out both suction and discharge at the same time. Thus it requires two
inflow pipes and two outflow pipes for double-acting pump.

Advantages

 Piston pumps have a wide pressure range, can reach high pressures and the
pressure can be controlled without an impact on the rate of flow.
 Piston pumps have a continuous rate of discharge.
 Pressure changes and discharge rate have minimal effect on performance.
 Piston pumps can maneuver viscous fluids, high gas volumes and solids, only
if the valves are correctly designed.

Disadvantages

 Piston pumps cost more per unit to run compared to centrifugal and roller
pumps.
 The mechanical parts are prone to wear, so the maintenance costs can be high.
 The valves must be resistant to abrasives for large solids to pass through. Piston
pumps are heavy due to their large size and the weight of the crankshaft that
drives the pump.
DIAPHRAGM PUMP
Construction of this pump consist of a DIAPHRAGM which moves through and fro
due to the pumping action that takes place by the help of compressed air or motor.
As the diaphragm moves to right (in this fig), suction action takes place which makes
the ball (lower) to lift and pulls water inside the pump.
When the diaphragm is pushed to the extreme left (in this fig), the upper ball is pushed
and the water is pumped out of the pump.

Advantages
 Air diaphragm pumps are a very efficient type of transfer pump. These
pumps can handle liquids with high, medium or low viscosities.
 They are also designed to pump liquids that feature a considerable
amount of solids.
 This type of pump can be constructed out of materials that can handle
pumping even the most acidic chemicals.

Disadvantages
 Most air diaphragm pumps require around 20 standard cubic-feet per
minute and 100 psi of air intake to operate efficiently.
 Also, these types of pumps tend not to pump very accurately at their
bottom end.
  A functioning air diaphragm pump pulsates, and a dampener must be
fitted onto the pump to reduce pulsing.

Removal of Pump for Inspection and Maintenance/Overhaul

1 Isolate pump electrical circuit breaker on main switch board and attach a warning
notice. (Do Not Operate-Men at Work).
2. Switch off and lock pump supply at its local supply panel. Attach a warning notice
to pump local supply panel.
3. Close suction and discharge valves, chain and lock hand wheels.
4. Open pump suction and discharge pipe drain valves to bilge and when water ceases
to flow; crack open the pipes / pump flange joints carefully to ensure that pump has
drained off and is safe for opening.
5. Fix a shackle to lifting pad eye above pump and hang chain block; ensuring SWL of
block, slings and shackles are satisfactory.
6. Use a centre-punch to match/mark coupling and casing, then remove the coupling
bolts.
7. Disconnect, and remove motor supply cables; taping over bare ends with insulating
tape.
8. Connect shackle and sling to motor eyebolt and lift motor clear of pump using
overhead chain block. Lay motor on its side out of harm’s way, protecting machined
surfaces on both pump and motor coupling halves against damage. (Cardboard and
masking tape is quick and efficient method.)
9. Disconnect all external fittings from pump casing e.g. cooling pipe, pressure gauge,
oil reservoirs and air cock.
10. Remove bolting from top cover and remove cover. Scrape off old gasket and
check mating surfaces, and renew gasket on assembly. (Light smear of grease on
gasket / faces)
11. The pump shaft with impeller can be lifted out of casing.
12. Dismantle the impeller, and remove the wear ring.
13. Remove the gland packing and disregard; replacing it on rebuild. Remember to cut
ends of packing at 45° and stagger joints when repacking gland
Inspection Procedure for Pump and Motor
Pump
1.Impeller, pump shaft and internal volute/casing can now be inspected for erosion,
pitting and wear.
2. If required rectify pitting or erosion in the impeller and casing with two – part alloy
epoxy putty.
3. Check main drive shaft bearings and thrust bearings for wear and replace if
required.
4. Check wear ring clearance using feeler gauges; replace the wear ring if necessary
5. Check impeller / shaft key and keyways for damage and undue wear, Unscrew
impeller shaft securing nut and check threads are in satisfactory condition; retighten to
manufacturers torque settings.
6. Give all parts a good clean removing any dirt/ medium residue before re- assembly
using new parts as required.
7. Enter date of overhaul and parts renewed in the pump maintenance record card.

Drive Motor
1.Grip motor drive shaft /coupling firmly and check for excess axial and longitudinal
movement. Rotate shaft at speed by hand, allowing it to run to a stop whilst listening
for excess noise from bearings. Any doubt on either counts, the bearings should be
replaced.
2. Megger check motor windings to ensure no dampness is present and windings are
in good condition. Any suspect readings indicate a full motor strip to check condition
of rotor and stator.
3. If these checks are satisfactory, grease bearings as required. Some bearings are now
sealed for life and will not require greasing.

Operation of bilge pumps:

In order to pump out the bilge water from each bilge wells, bilge pumps are used.
These are reciprocating pumps. In order to minimize the churning effect and reduce
the mixing of oil and water in the bilge water, reciprocating pumps are used.
This require priming as the bilge wells are situated below the floor plate. Distance
between the bilge wells and the pump is more and there are chances where the pump
sucks the air. In order to overcome this, priming is done.
How to operate the bilge pump?
Open the suction valve at individual bilge well.
Open the suction valve discharge valve of the bilge pump.
Open the bilge tank valve, to which the bilge water is to be transferred.
Before starting the pump, crack open the sea water line for priming. Once you are sure
about the suction, close the sea water line and open the bilge well suction valve.
Monitor the pressure, suction and discharge pressure.
Frequently take the sounding of the bilge tank to make sure the pump is delivering.
Don’t completely dry the bilge well as this might lead the pump to suck the air. Also if
the pump runs dry, it will damage the pump.

Emergency Bilge Suction:

Emergency bilge suction is an arrangement made to pump out the sea water from the
ship in case of engine room flooding.
It's not a pump, it is a valve.

It is also called as Emergency Bilge Injection Valve or Bilge Injection Valve or

Flooding Valve. To pump out the water during the emergency condition, this valve is
used. This valve is normally connected to the largest capacity pump of the engine
room.
Emergency bilge suction valve is typically a SDNR globe valve. The diameter of the
valve is 2/3rd of the largest capacity pump suction diameter.
Suction is taken from 300mm above the bottom level. This valve and the pipeline is
coloured with “RED” During emergency, the water from engine room bilge can be
pumped out through emergency bilge suction without 15ppm monitor.
BALLAST PUMP OPERATION
The ballast pump suction and discharge valves, along with other valves, have their fail
safe in the OPEN position so that if any valve malfunction or get stuck, still remains
open to carry out ballast operation
When filling ballast tanks with ballast pumps it should be observed that the motors are
not overloaded (check current in ammeter). If this occurs, the number of opened
valves to ballast tanks shall immediately be reduced (closed) until current is within
allowable limit.  Ballast pump motor overload alarm is given for the safety of ballast
pump.
Starting the ballast pump:
Ballast pump should be started by keeping DISCHARGE VALVE SHUT.
By doing this, we can reduce the starting current on the motor. In large capacity
pumps, there will be high delivery head. If pumps are started by keeping the delivery
valve open, then high delivery head will impose high pressure on the motor.

CARGO PUMP OPERATION:

Cargo pump is used in tanker ships to pump out the crude oil cargo using the steam.
Warming up:

·       CHECK L.O. IN THE SUMP Tk. AND DRAIN WATER IF ANY.

·       CHECK ALL THE WATER DRAINS OF TURBINE ARE OPEN.
·       OPEN IN AND OUT V/V TO L.O. COOLER AND OVERBOARD AND
MAIN INLET SEA WATER V/Vs.
·       OPEN OVER BOARD AND INLET V/VS OF SEA WATER TO AUX.
CONDENSER AND AIR EJECTOR
·       OPEN WARMING V/V OF STEAM TO C.O.P. LINE AND WARM UP THE
MAIN STEAM LINE. SHUT ALL THE WATER DRAINS WHEN STAEM
STARTS COMING OUT.
START AUX. L.O. PUMP AND CHANGE OVER TO AUTO MODE.
·       OPEN THE V/V (NORMALLY ALL V/VS ARE OPEN) OF CONDENSTAE
P/P AND START THE P/P.
·       OPEN 2 V/VS OF AIR AND TWO V/VS OF STAEM ON THE AIR
EJECTOR.
·       OPEN THE MAIN V/V OF GLAND STEAM AND ADJUST THE Pr. ABOUT
0.15 Kg/cm2 ON THE C.O.P.S.
·       CHECK EXHAUST V/V OF C.O.P.S. AND OPEN (NORMALLY OPEN).
·       OPEN WARMING V/V ON THE C.O.P.S. SLOWLY.
·       RESET IF ANY TRIP.

STARTING

·       AFTER ABOUT ONE HOUR WARMING OF C.O.P. OPEN MASTER

STAEAM V/V FOR C.O.P.S.
·       DRAIN IF ANY WATER INLINE ON THE C.O.P. AND OPEN STEAM V/V
OF THE C.O.P. TO BE START. SHUT THE WARMING V/V.
·       BRING THE GOVERNOR LEVER TO START POSITION THE TURBINE
SHOULD START ROTATING SLOWLY.
RUN THE P/P. @ 50-100 RPM FOR 5 MIN IF EVERY THING IS OK OPEN THE
STEAM V/V SLOWLY THE P/P RPM WOULD REACH TO 650.

STOPPING

1.      Close the cargo oil pump turbine main steam stop valve and close all
         the gland steam valves.
2.      Open all the turbine, line and steam chest drains.
3.      Ensure that all the lubricating oil-priming pumps are running.
4.      Close the cargo oil pump turbine exhaust valves.
5.      If the vacuum condenser is not required for any other service shut down the air
ejector(s).
 
 6 .      Stop the condensate pump. Leave operational in case the condenser hot well
level rises due to condensation.
7.      Leave the sea water-cooling operating for at least two hours.
8.      When the system has cooled down, close the lubricating oil cooler water
         supply valves.
9.      Leave the lubricating pumps running to reduce corrosion in the turbine
        gearing.
10.   Shut down the fresh water-cooling to the air ejector condenser and
    seawater cooling to the vacuum condenser.

Centrifugal pump Characteristic curves

For a given pump, head decreases as the flowrate increases.

Efficiency of a pump increases up-to the peak efficiency point. After this point,
efficiency decreases.
BEP: Best efficiency point where the pump operates at highest efficiency for a given
impeller dia.