Suction line losses

SUCTION LINE LOSSES (PRESSURE DROP IN PIPING), psi. SUCTION STATIC HEAD OF LIQUID ON PUMP SUCTION OR DISCHARGE, ft. 

NPSH estimate in the pump suction was in fair agreement with the water test data and indicated that a suction specific speed of 39,300 was achieved before cavitation. Examination of the pumps after the cavitation had occurred revealed that there was no physical damage. It is interesting to note that if the suction line from the tank were increased to 16 in. and an efficient bell mouthed inlet were used in the tank, the suction line losses would be reduced sufficiently to permit operation of the system with the tank ullage vented to atmospheric pressure. 

Loss through equipment in the suction line (such as a heat exchanger)... 

Friction loss in suction line side = 2.92 ft Absolute pressure in condenser = p = L5 in. Hg Abs... 

The number of turbulence or pressure drop producing fittings in the pump suction line should be kept to a minimum. Because of the excessive turbulent and friction loss that they produce, globe valves should not be used in the pump suction line. When NPSH or turbulence is a problem, a turbulence-reducing device should be used. This device should be located as near the pumps suction flange as possible. 

Example 35.1 An ammonia compressor is rated at 312 kW with saturated suction at -15°C. It is installed with a very long suction line, causing a pressure drop of 0.4 bar, and picks up 6 K superheat from its evaporator condition. Estimate the capacity loss. 

Hs0 = Head at no flow, or shutoff, ft I4ms = Head of viscous fluid, ft Hw = Water equivalent head, ft hd = Discharge head on a pump, ft of fluid hs = Suction head (or suction lift) on a pump, ft of fluid hSL, hDL = Friction losses in pipe and fittings , subscript SL for suction line and DL for discharge line, ft of fluid hv = Velocity head, ft of fluid L = S = Static head, suction side, ft (Figure 3-38)... 

The required NPSH of the pump may be read from Fig. 25.2 (regardless of the SG of the liquid being pumped). It shows that at 250 GPM, the required NPSH of 20 ft, will equal the available NPSH of 20 ft. Therefore, at a flow rate of 250 GPM, the pump will cavitate. This calculation has neglected frictional losses in the suction line, which should be subtracted from the available NPSH. 

This results in a temporary loss of pressure at the suction of the pump. This temporary loss of pressure is called the starting NPSH requirement. The more quickly the operator opens the discharge valve of a pump, the more rapidly the liquid accelerates in the suction line. This increases the starting NPSH required. 

The longer the suction line and the larger the diameter of the line, the more mass has to be accelerated. This also increases the starting NPSH required. If the sum of the frictional loss in the suction line, plus the running NPSH, plus the starting NPSH, equals the available NPSH, then the pump will cavitate on start-up. 

The most likely explanation for this head loss of 7 ft is frictional loss in the suction line. This reduces the available NPSH from 46 to 39 ft. But this is still a lot more available NPSH than the 14 ft of required NPSH needed to pump 110 GPM. 

Lack of available NPSH may also be caused by high frictional loss in the suction piping. If this is the case, a small reduction in flow will not noticeably increase the pressure at the suction of the pump. A properly designed suction line to a centrifugal pump should have a frictional head loss of only a few feet of liquid. However, having a large-diameter suction line, and a relatively small draw-off nozzle, usually will lead to excessive loss of available NPSH. 

The suction line itself, was a rather rough, old cast-iron pipe, with a frictional loss of 2 psi. This frictional loss, must be subtracted from the 7 psi just calculated. This leaves 5 psi available for us to convert to feet ... 

A pump that is lifting very cold water (with a very low vapor pressure) through a smooth (low-frictional-loss) suction line, with a very small NPSH requirement, operating at sea level (where atmospheric pressures are high), can lift water by perhaps 30 ft. The pump shown in Fig. 25.8 can lift 1200 GPM of water by only 11.5 ft. When the water level in the sump drops to 11.5 ft below the centerline of the pump s impeller, the pump will cavitate. 

When liquids are being pumped, it is important to keep the pressure in the suction line above the vapor pressure of the fluid. The available head measured at the pump suction is called the net positive suction head available (NPSHA). At sea level, pumping 15°C (60°F) water with the impeller about 1 m below the surface, the NPSHA is about 9.1 m (30 ft). It increases with barometric pressure or with static head, and decreases as vapor pressure, friction, or entrance losses rise. Available NPSHA is the characteristic of the process and represents the difference between the existing absolute suction head and the vapor pressure at the process temperature. The required net positive suction head required (NPSHR), on the other hand, is a function of the pump design (Figure 2.121). It represents the minimum margin between suction head and vapor pressure at a particular capacity that is required for pump operation. Cavitation can occur at suction pres-... 

In a submerged-tube FC evaporator, all heat is imparted as sensible heat, resulting in a temperature rise of the circulating liquor that reduces the overall temperature difference available for heat transfer. Temperature rise, tube proportions, tube velocity, and head requirements on the circulating pump all influence the selection of circulation rate. Head requirements are frequently difficult to estimate since they consist not only of the usual friction, entrance and contraction, and elevation losses when the return to the flash chamber is above the liquid level but also of increased friction losses due to flashing in the return line and vortex losses in the flash chamber. Circulation is sometimes limited by vapor in the pump suction line. This may be drawn in as a result of inadequate vapor-liquid separation or may come from vortices near the pump suction connection to the body or may be formed in the line itself by short circuiting from heater outlet to pump inlet of liquor that has not flashed completely to equilibrium at the pressure in the vapor head. 

Example 4.1 It is desired to pump a wastewater to an elevation of 30 m above a sump. Friction losses and velocity at the discharge side of the pump system are estimated to be 20 m and 1.30 m/s, respectively. The operating drive is to be 1200 rpm. Suction friction loss is 1.03 m the diameter of the suction and discharge lines are 250 and 225 mm, respectively. The vertical distance from the sump pool level to the pump centerline is 2 m. (a) If the temperature is 20°C, has cavitation occurred (b) What are the inlet and outlet manometric heads (c) What are the inlet and outlet total dynamic heads From the values of the idh and odh, calculate TDH. 

Further sources of trouble with the oil produced is water and sediment present in the oil, when it is used as a fuel oil. Water causes sparking, spitting and flashback of the flame, which result in loss of heat as a result of improper combustion. Sediments such as sand and carbon, etc. cause the erosion of burner tips, pump parts and sensitive control valves, etc. Also, some chemical compounds present in an oil will absorb oxygen from air or water, to form new compounds. Unfortunately, some of these chemical compounds are insoluble in the oil, with the result that they will either remain suspended in the oil or will drop to the bottom of the tank. They must not reach the suction lines in a storage tank. 

Fresh catalyst is normally delivered in hopper-bottom railroad cars. The catalyst may be withdrawn by gravity flow from the bottom of the car through a hose to a Fuller-Kinyon screw pump and transferred to the hopper by means of an air stream loss of catalyst is prevented by a cyclone on the air discharge from the hopper. Alternatively, the catalyst may be unloaded from the top of the ear by a vacuum lift. In this case, the suction line passes through a separator with bag filters, located above the storage hoppers. The catalyst collects in a chute and flows down through a rotating barrel-valve feeder into a screw conveyor which transfers the catalyst to the hopper (105). 

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