Basic Pump Parameters and the Affinity Laws

Randall W. Whitesides, P.E.

Course Outline

Students of this three-hour course will be provided with important concepts associated with the operation of centrifugal pumps to include pump performance parameters, design considerations, efficient operation, and the affinity laws.

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this three-hour course, the student will:

• Be familiar with the major division of design considerations of centrifugal pumps;
• Be aware of the variables that affect centrifugal pump performance and;
• Learn the methods of predicting pump performance when changes are made.
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended primarily for Chemical and Mechanical Engineers in the process industries. Civil, Environmental, and Petroleum Engineers whose endeavors involve centrifugal pumps will have equal interest. It is assumed that the student has a rudimentary knowledge of fluid static and dynamic concepts.

Benefits for Attendees

This course will review the various aspects of the centrifugal pump operational fundamentals of head, capacity, power, speed, and efficiency. Examples of pumping systems, complete with hydraulic analytical solutions, are provided to aid in the understanding of the presented material. Additional and interesting hydraulic facts are randomly interspersed throughout the course.

Course Content

The course content is in a PDF file (467 KB) Basic Pump Parameters and the Affinity Laws.

Additional Resources

The following websites offer excellent additional information on pumps and hydraulic systems. Both of these sites can be reviewed to supplement the material that is supplied in this course:

1. Free pump and hydraulic tutorials are offered at www.pumpworld.com/toc.htm.
2. Free pump technical papers are available at www.mcnallyinstitute.com.

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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