Design of centrifugal pump inlet piping
Thread Content
Can there be a low point in the inlet piping of a centrifugal pump? Please discuss it
I don’t know what the author means by the low point
High at both ends and low in the middle; it’s laid underground, so no problem. When there is air, it moves in both directions.
It shouldn’t be possible. If there are low points, heavy oil will settle there, and over time oil solidification will occur, which will affect the flow rate of the pump.
This isn’t a big problem. Backflow can be enabled, allowing the system to be emptied when necessary, such as during shutdowns. No deposition occurs during normal use.
In normal pump systems, the inlet is usually connected via piping from a higher position to a lower one; it’s rare for piping to run from a lower position to a higher one. Is there any advantage to this? Putting aside whether oil is present or not (and not focusing only on heavy oil pumps), it’s not appropriate to deliberately add a U-tube at the pump inlet. When the backup pump is not in operation, other substances are likely to accumulate.
Personally, I think the pipeline at the inlet of the pump can be placed underground, provided that there is sufficient head for the fluid, and there are no issues such as line freezing or excessive impurities in the short term. Actually, if we look at it in more detail, things like the bottom of the tank and the pipelines can all be considered as the inlet pipelines of the pump.