Model-Based Efficient Selection of Centrifugal Pumps for Simple Branch Pumping Systems

The efficient selection of centrifugal pumps to operate in a system is a subject that needs the utmost attention due to its high energy consumption. Nowadays, a significant percentage of the pumps work outside of the preferred operating region (POR). In the present paper, a mathematical model is developed for identifying if a pump operating in a single branch pumping system, is inside of the POR, which indicates that it was selected correctly and, therefore, operates efficiently. The developed model was implemented in MatLab®, through a discrete algorithm. For the study, a pump database was created with the digitalization of the H(Q) and $$\eta (Q)$$ curves of 43 pumps from different manufacturers and operating ranges. Seven different sizes systems were defined for model validation. Each system was tested for all pumps belonging to the database. The results show that the model correctly identifies which pumps work inside and outside the POR, using system-pump non-dimensional coefficients, without calculating the operating flow rate. In the case that the analyzed pump is outside the POR, the method also indicates how far a pump is from the POR limits. This allows to the pipeline system designers to choose a strategy for efficient pump selection.