What Is Centrifugal Pump?

Centrifugal Pump is a type of Pump where the sole aim of the centrifugal pump is to deliver the fluid from lower heads to higher heads (heights and depths are called the head). The aim of the centrifugal pump is similar to the Reciprocating Pump where it is also used to deliver the fluid from the lower head to higher heads by increasing the pressure (We had discussed Reciprocating pump in the last post). But the difference between the both reciprocating pump and centrifugal Pump is that the centrifugal pump is a rotary type whereas the reciprocating pump is back and forth type.

We will discuss the difference between centrifugal pump and reciprocating pump in the next post.

What can you learn from this post?

• Working principle of Centrifugal Pump
• Parts of Centrifugal Pump
• Working Of A Centrifugal Pump
• Specific Speed Of Pump Formula
• Advantages Of A Centrifugal Pump
• Applications Of Centrifugal Pump
• Efficiency Of Centrifugal Pump
• Conclusion

Working principle of Centrifugal Pump:

The term centrifugal is the process of attracting the molecules to its center. Similarly, the centrifugal pump will attract or suck the liquid to its center. This is what actually the centrifugal pump does.

Centrifugal Pump is an axial flow pump according to its working. The axial flow pumps (like centrifugal pump) consist of impeller (rotary part) for its functioning. So, the working principle of centrifugal pump is to convert the Kinetic Energy of Impeller into Hydro-Dynamic or Dynamic Energy (of liquid). It means the Impeller of the centrifugal will increase the Pressure of the liquid by using its rotary motion.

Parts of Centrifugal Pump:

As already mentioned, the centrifugal pump consists of impeller (one of the part); additional to the impeller, the pump has few more important parts, They are

• Housing – To protect the internal parts and arrest the liquid without flowing outwards.
  
• Suction Pipe – To suck the liquid from the low heads.
  
• Discharge Pipe – To deliver the liquid to the higher heads.
  
• Shaft – It will transfer the power from motor to the impeller.
  
• And Impeller or Vane – it will suck and deliver the liquid to the higher heads.

Additional to these parts, centrifugal pump consists of small components like Bolts, Nuts, Washers, and bushes too.

Working Of A Centrifugal Pump:

The motor and the impeller of the centrifugal are connected using a shaft, as the motor rotates the impeller will tend to rotate. Due to the rotary motion of the centrifugal pump, the impeller will create a vacuum in the suction pipe and sucks the water from the lower heads (like underground tanks). The water will touch the impeller blades and due to the angular design of the impeller the water will experience the high pressure and through the discharge pipe, the water will be discharged to the higher heads.

Here, the housing is highly water leaked proof because the water entered in to the pump should not escape from the housing (pump housing) environment.

Specific Speed Of Pump Formula:

The speed that requires for the pump or impeller to perform the tasks like sucking and the discharging is called as the specific speed (Ns). The speed is calculated in terms of Revolutions Per Minute (R.P.M); it means, the number of revolutions that an impeller rotates in one minute. The specific speed of pump formula is denoted as Ns.

So, the specific speed of pump formula is

N = Impeller speed of the pump (RPM)

Q = Flow Rate of the liquid by pump (l/s)

H = Total Head that pump can discharge the liquid (meters)

Advantages Of A Centrifugal Pump:

The advantages of a centrifugal pump are

• It can able to deliver the liquids to higher heights.
• It is portable to place anywhere.
• It is easy to carry and easy to operate.
• The noise of the centrifugal pump is less compared to other pumps.
• The consumption of electricity is less and cost effective.

So, these are the main and top advantages of a centrifugal pump.

Applications Of Centrifugal Pump:

Due to its easy usage, the centrifugal pumps application is vast. The applications of centrifugal pump are.

• Due to its operation, the centrifugal pump is used for domestic purposes.
• Centrifugal pumps are used at small workshops for delivering the liquids.
• Centrifugal pumps are used in automobile service centers for washing purposes.
• They are even use at industries too.
• They are long living and high performing pumps.

Efficiency Of Centrifugal Pump:

The efficiency is defined as “how well a component or device is performing and how effectively can be use”.

The Efficiency of the Centrifugal Pump is the ratio of Output Power to Input Power and the digit of efficiency will be change according to its capacity. Approximately a Centrifugal Pump offers an efficiency of 50 – 93 % and even 97 % in different cases.

Conclusion:

The centrifugal pumps usage is vast; we can find its usage mostly at houses and small workshops because they are easy to operate and high in performance. The centrifugal pumps are axial type so it consists separate sucking and delivering pipes. We can say that the impeller is the heart of the pump that will suck and deliver the liquids to the required places. The range of heads will be depending upon the capacity of the pump and stages in pumps.