Pumps engineering terminology

[FTIStudents]

Hello,
We are a group of students of Translation, and we have been asked to translate a Spanish handbook about hydraulic pumps into English. However, we have some questions and we were wondering if you could give us a hand.

In the original text, the author uses the term "altura", but we do not know if this should be translated as "head" or "height". Examples:
-Usually, an increase of pressure and height is needed to make the displacement possible.
-Thus, we can say that the main characteristic of liquids displacement is the relation between the flow Q (quantity) and the height H (head) achieved. Therefore, the Q-H is the characteristic of the transporting elements; in this case, of the pump.

 

[BigInch]

It should be translated as "differential head", H, as in a pump's Q-H curve.

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"Pumping systems account for nearly 20% of the world’s energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities." - DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99.99% for pipeline companies)

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[25362]

From wikipedia:

Aunque la fuerza centrífuga producida depende tanto de la velocidad en la periferia del impulsor como de la densidad del líquido, la energía que se aplica por unidad de masa del líquido es independiente de la densidad del líquido. Por tanto, en una bomba dada que funcione a cierta velocidad y que maneje un volumen definido de líquido, la energía que se aplica y transfiere al líquido, (en pie-lb/lb de líquido) es la misma para cualquier líquido sin que importe su densidad. Por tanto, la carga o energía de la bomba en pie-lb/lb se debe expresar en pies o en metros y es por eso por lo que se denomina genéricamente como "altura".