ABSTRACT
This chapter is divided into three sections. Section 8.1 introduces the centrifugal pump and system performance curves, the intersection of which should fall in the best efficiency point. Pumping power is obtained in terms of head and flow rate and is used in conjunction with the pump and motor efficiency to derive the pump heat. Section 8.2 discusses the net positive suction head (NPSH), the difference between the available and the required NPSH and the satisfaction of the margin to the required NPSH for the emergency core cooling system pumps. The pump similarity rules are used to obtain the pump flow rate, head and power for various impeller diameters and speeds. Section 8.3 covers the transient operation of centrifugal pumps in terms of dimensionless flow, angular velocity and time to provide graphs of pump flow and head versus time in startup and shutdown. Finally, the homologous curves are introduced, which provide the necessary information for integration in system-wide computer codes.
