Published Article: Oversizing or Undersizing a Pump
Colorado Springs, Colo., USA, October 7, 2019 --- Applied Flow Technology (AFT) has an article in the October 2019 issue of Pumps & Systems Magazine which discusses the effects of oversizing or undersizing a pump. The article reflects on engineer's use of the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) when designing piping systems.
Written by Stephanie Villars, AFT Applications Engineer, the article discusses selecting a pump and piping system with the primary goal of achieving the required pressure and flow for the application, whether it is for a cooling water systems, fuel pipelines, a chemical production plant or any other applications.
It is generally recommended by centrifugal pump standards, such as the Hydraulic Institute (HI) standard HI 9.6.3, to operate the pump within approximately 80 to 110 percent of the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) to avoid decreases in efficiency which would then require more power to be used by the pump. Energy not being transferred to fluid has to be outlet in other forms such as heat or vibration. So, as efficiency at the pump decreases, the amount of vibration and heat being generated at the pump increases.
Throughout the article, Villars outlines verifying the overall design factors, operational extreme considerations, and selecting the right tools to simplify the design process and reduce mistakes.