A centrifugal pump is a pump that is rotodynamic in nature that employs the use of a turning impeller to increase a liquids pressure. These are commonly used to move liquids through piping systems. The liquid enters in the pump following a path near its axis which is rotating. After entry, its speed is quickened by the impeller, which leads to the fluid flowing in the outward direction. After entry into the diffuser, it makes an exit into the piping system downstream, and that’s why these pumps prove to be a great help due to the fact that they make larger discharges via smaller head.
The inspiration for the centrifugal pump is believed to have originated from a water lifting machine that was invented by the Italian engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini, in 1475, that according to a Brazilian historian is thought to be the prototype of a pump that applies centrifugal force. The first true centrifugal pump was invented in 1600, by Denis Papin. However, Papin’s pump had straight vanes instead of curved ones, and they began to have curved vanes no earlier than 1851, introduced by the British inventor John Appold.
A centrifugal pump functions by converting the moving force of kinetic energy, which is often a result of a rotating electric motor or turbine, to an heightened static liquid pressure. Bernoullui’s principle describes this action. As the pump impeller rotates, it imparts kinetic energy to the fluid as it is being drawn in from the impeller eye and is forced outward to the periphery. The fluids kinetic energy changes as it exits the impeller and is converted to static pressure due to the change in area the fluid experiences in the volute section. This static pressure occurs because the area the fluid experiences in the volute section is changed. One of the main factors for this is the volute shape of the pump casing or the vanes that are responsible for this conversion. The main purpose of the diffuse is to slow down the liquid and convert the kinetic energy into flow work and as a result, the pressure on the downstream side of the pump increases, causing flow.
These pumps have their fair share of problems of course, including Erosion, Corrosion, Overheating Due to Low Flow, Leakage, and Surge, and thus they need to me regularly maintained. The Energy Usage of a centrifugal pump can be estimated quite easily, depending on the flow required, the height lifted, and the total length of the pipeline.