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EDWARD J. SERVEN, Jr., and R. R. RHODES Standard Pump Division, Worthington Corp., East Orange, N. J.
Pump Theory A review of pumping theory can serve as an excellent guide in the design and selection of pumps for chemical service Last month IIEC presented a group of three articles on Heat Exchangers in the Chemical Industry. The article, “Pump Theory,” begins the second set of three from the ACS Cleveland Meeting on Selection of Chemical Equipment. And next month IIEC will conclude this presentation with a series on Distillation Equipment. Each group covers theory, design, and applications of the equipment discussed.
T H E most common classification for pumping equipment is through consideration of the mechanism of moving, or adding energy to the liquid. Therefore, all pumps will be classified as either kinetic or positive displacement pumps. The chart below presents, in a very simple form, an extension of this classification system. I t begins by considering the theory of operation of major classifications, and then shows some of the ways in which this basic theory is applied in order to obtain some of the familiar specialized pieces of equipment.
Kinetic Pumps In the kinetic class of pumps, the pumping job is accomplished by the addition of kinetic energy to the liquid. In the centrifugal type, this is accomplished through the rotation of a disk, called an impeller, within the liquid being pumped. This impeller
