Two motor-driven centrifugal pumps, mounted on a stainless steel plinth with a water reservoir and pipework for continuous circulation. The pumps can be configured for single pump operation, two pumps in parallel or two pumps in series by using manually operated ball valves. Similarly, manual valves are used to control the flow and facilitate the study of suction effects, including demonstration of air release.
In parallel operation the two pumps draw from a shared inlet pipe of a wider diameter than the pump inlet, reflecting a typical industrial configuration of parallel pumping. Each pump has impellers that can be easily accessed and replaced without tools. delivered with three impellers in total, one with forward curved blades and two with backward curved blades, allowing the students to investigate the effects of impeller characteristics.
Learning Objectives / Experiments
Investigation of pumps in series and parallel configuration
Determining the head
Recording the pump characteristics
Determining the hydraulic power
Determining the operating point
Specification:
Investigation of series and parallel configuration of pumps
Two identical centrifugal pumps
Transparent tank as intake tank
Overflow in the tank ensures constant suction head
Ball valves used to switch between series and parallel operation
Manometers at inlet and outlet of each pump
Flow rate determined by base module
Water supply via base module or via laboratory supply