1. Chapter 14: Turbomachinery
Eric G. Paterson
Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
Spring 2005

2. Note to Instructors
These slides were developed1, during the spring semester 2005, as a teaching aid for the undergraduate Fluid Mechanics course (ME33: Fluid Flow) in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Penn State University. This course had two sections, one taught by myself and one taught by Prof. John Cimbala. While we gave common homework and exams, we independently developed lecture notes. This was also the first semester that Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications was used at PSU. My section had 93 students and was held in a classroom with a computer, projector, and blackboard. While slides have been developed for each chapter of Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications, I used a combination of blackboard and electronic presentation. In the student evaluations of my course, there were both positive and negative comments on the use of electronic presentation. Therefore, these slides should only be integrated into your lectures with careful consideration of your teaching style and course objectives.
Eric Paterson
Penn State, University Park
August 2005
1 These slides were originally prepared using the LaTeX typesetting system (
and the beamer class ( but were translated to PowerPoint for
wider dissemination by McGraw-Hill.

3. Objectives
Identify various types of pumps and turbines, and understand how they work
Apply dimensional analysis to design new pumps or turbines that are geometrically similar to existing pumps or turbines
Perform basic vector analysis of the flow into and out of pumps and turbines
Use specific speed for preliminary design and selection of pumps and turbines

4. Categories
Pump: adds energy to a fluid, resulting in an increase in pressure across the pump.
Turbine: extracts energy from the fluid, resulting in a decrease in pressure across the turbine.

5. Categories For gases, pumps are further broken down into
Fans: Low pressure gradient, High volume flow rate. Examples include ceiling fans and propellers.
Blower: Medium pressure gradient, Medium volume flow rate. Examples include centrifugal and squirrel-cage blowers found in furnaces, leaf blowers, and hair dryers.
Compressor: High pressure gradient, Low volume flow rate. Examples include air compressors for air tools, refrigerant compressors for refrigerators and air conditioners.

6. Categories Positive-displacement machines Dynamic machines
Closed volume is used to squeeze or suck fluid.
Pump: human heart
Turbine: home water meter
Dynamic machines
No closed volume. Instead, rotating blades supply or extract energy.
Enclosed/Ducted Pumps: torpedo propulsor
Open Pumps: propeller or helicopter rotor
Enclosed Turbines: hydroturbine
Open Turbines: wind turbine

7. Pump Head
Net Head
Water horsepower
Brake horsepower
Pump efficiency

8. Matching a Pump to a Piping System
Pump-performance curves for a centrifugal pump
BEP: best efficiency point
H*, bhp*, V* correspond to BEP
Shutoff head: achieved by closing outlet (V=0)$
Free delivery: no load on system (Hrequired = 0)

9. Matching a Pump to a Piping System
Steady operating point:
Energy equation:

10. Manufacturer Performance Plot

11. Pump Cavitation and NPSH
Cavitation should be avoided due to erosion damage and noise.
Cavitation occurs when P < Pv
Net positive suction head
NPSHrequired curves are created through systematic testing over a range of flow rates V.

12. Dynamic Pumps Dynamic Pumps include
centrifugal pumps: fluid enters axially, and is discharged radially.
mixed--flow pumps: fluid enters axially, and leaves at an angle between radially and axially.
axial pumps: fluid enters and leaves axially.

13. Centrifugal Pumps Snail--shaped scroll
Most common type of pump: homes, autos, industry.

14. Centrifugal Pumps

15. Centrifugal Pumps: Blade Design

16. Centrifugal Pumps: Blade Design
Vector analysis of leading and trailing edges.
Side view of impeller blade.

17. Centrifugal Pumps: Blade Design
Blade number affects efficiency and introduces circulatory losses (too few blades) and passage losses (too many blades)

18. Axial Pumps
Open vs. Ducted Axial Pumps

19. Open Axial Pumps Blades generate thrust like wing generates lift.
Propeller has radial twist to take into account for angular velocity (=r)

20. Ducted Axial Pumps Tube Axial Fan: Swirl downstream
Counter-Rotating Axial-Flow Fan: swirl removed. Early torpedo designs
Vane Axial-Flow Fan: swirl removed. Stators can be either pre-swirl or post-swirl.

21. Ducted Axial Pumps: Blade Design
Relative frame of reference
Absolute frame of reference

22. Dimensional Analysis  analysis gives 3 new nondimensional parameters
Head coefficient
Capacity coefficient
Power coefficient
Reynolds number also appears,but in terms of angular rotation
Reynolds number
Functional relation is

23. Dimensional Analysis If two pumps are geometrically similar, and
The independent ’s are similar, i.e., CQ,A = CQ,B ReA = ReB A/DA = B/DB
Then the dependent ’s will be the same CH,A = CH,B CP,A = CP,B

24. Dimensional Analysis
When plotted in nondimensional form, all curves of a family of geometrically similar pumps collapse onto one set of nondimensional pump performance curves
Note: Reynolds number and roughness can often be neglected,

25. Pump Specific Speed
Pump Specific Speed is used to characterize the operation of a pump at BEP and is useful for preliminary pump selection.

26. Affinity Laws
For two homologous states A and B, we can use  variables to develop ratios (similarity rules, affinity laws, scaling laws).
Useful to scale from model to prototype
Useful to understand parameter changes, e.g., doubling pump speed (Ex ).