AFT Application Topics
Four Quadrant Pump Modeling
Pumps may experience a range of operating conditions that are not normal during hydraulic transients. Typical pump curves have performance data with a positive head rise and positive flowrate, in what is said to be the first quadrant. However, it is possible to experience flow conditions in the other three quadrants, likely caused by a lack of protective flow control devices such as check valves. AFT Impulse provides 21 sets of four quadrant data to model pumps with similar specific speeds. Four quadrant data is a more detailed representation of what the pump performance may be during a transient event. Dimensionless parameters are then calculated according to the Suter method, based on correlated data.