ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the general arrangement of pumped systems. It examines the rising mains and types of pumps. The chapter provides a short introduction to energy consumption. Hydraulically, the function of a pump is to add energy, usually expressed as head to a liquid. The hydraulic performance of a pump can be summed up by the pump characteristic curve, a graph of the head added to the liquid, plotted against flow rate. The pipe system to which the pump will be connected will have a characteristic curve of its own: the system characteristic. The pipe on the upstream, or inlet side of a pump, is referred to as the suction pipe, and the pipe on the downstream, or outlet side, is referred to as the delivery pipe. Pressurised pipelines are typically subject to rapid changes in flow velocity, say due to pump operations, and this gives rise to one particular risk—surge.
