Pump Selection for a POL system and pump curves in water

[Freddie]

How do you convert your load (in volumetric flowate and TDH)for an oil system to select a pump on a pump curve that was built with water? Can you simply convert the TDH in terms of POL to a TDH in terms of water and use the same flowrate and then build/overlay your system curve on the pump curves? Appreciate any help. Thank you.

 

[TD2K]

For a certain flow rate, a centrifugal pump always puts out the same head irregardless of the liquid.

The dP will change of course due to the change in specific gravity but the head will remain the same.

 

[quark]

Freddie!

TD2K is correct. The head developed by the pump will be same for any liquid. But if you put a pressure gauge in the pump discharge line it will read different for water and some other liquid which has different specific gravity. That is why most of the times it is called meters of liquid column.

regards,

 

[tstead]

...as long as the fluid is non-viscous. If you are pumping a viscous fluid (which your oil may quite possibly be) then the pump's performance curve WILL change (sometimes quite substantially).

As long as your viscosity is below ~300-500 SSU then there is no need to worry about it.