Experimental Investigation of Performance Modification of Centrifugal Pump

Major industrial sector are using, most pumps are of centrifugal type. Centrifugal pumps are widely used because of their design simplicity, high efficiency & low maintenance. Modern centrifugal pumps are not complex machines. Despite the simplicity of design and production, centrifugal pumps are still capable of posing complex puzzles during their operation. The performance of a pump must be modified sensibly, adapting the pump to everchanging needs of systems. Several methods are available to do so. In present work, one among the two most efficient methods, namely “Speed change” and “Impeller diameter trimming” method of speed change is used for analysis, and are experimentally investigated. Their effects on performance characteristics are comparatively evaluated. Effects of “Overfiling” are also investigated. The pump used here is a low specific speed pump with overhung, enclosed, backward-swept, radial flow impeller and single volute casing. Experimentation is fully compliant with Hydraulic Institute (HI) standards. The end results indicate that the methods give similar outcomes in terms of efficiency and financial saving as it is economical