Experimental Investigation of a Centrifugal Pump Hydraulic Performance in Hydraulic Transmission of Solids

Abstract In petroleum and mine industries, the centrifugal pumps were used for transferring solid particles with water. This method is preferable to other methods because of its user friendly and economic issues. In this article by selecting a proper pump and designing test circuit, we conducted hydraulic tests for water and water mixture with solid particles. For this purpose, an experimental set-up of centrifugal pump with only water and water with solid particles was developed. Then by analyzing the test results and efficiency equation, optimal coefficients of head loss is provided to improve the pump efficiency during hydraulic transmission of solids. The experimental results of power consumption, head, and pressure difference measurements in solid–liquid systems are presented. The experimental set-up results are compared with simulation and numerical one, which show a good agreement with them. It reveals that by adding the solid particles and increasing the fluid density up to 15%, the consumed power increases by about 20%, which result in dropping the efficiency of hydraulic system up to 6%. Finally, the optimal components for developed cycle presented for evaluation the various configuration and hydraulic analysis of pure flow and flow with solid particles in various applications to enhance the most achievable efficiency.