Adjustable Speed Drives As

Applied To Centrifugal Pumps

Thi s art i cl e i s a revi sed edi t i on of t he ori gi nal D-7108 appl i cat i on
not e as wri t t en by Denni s P. Connors, John D. Robechek, and
Denni s A. Jarc. The overal l cont ent and pri nci pl es of t hi s 1982
publ i cat i on are st i l l very much val i d and rel evant t oday. The si gni f -
i cant changes t hat have occurred si nce t hi s art i cl e was ori gi nal l y
publ i shed i s i n AC t echnol ogy. The domi nant met hod of AC cont rol
i s by PWM i nvert ers, part i cul arl y wi t h t he advent of t he hi gh
speed Insul at ed Gat e Bi pol ar Transi st ors (IGBTs). Thi s wi l l be t he
onl y dri ves t echnol ogy t o be consi dered i n t hi s revi si t ed anal ysi s.
ABSTRACT
Cent ri f ugal pumps are general l y si zed t o operat e at or near t he
best ef f i ci ency poi nt at maxi mum f l ow. The maxi mum f l ow
requi rement s, however, f requent l y occur f or a very short peri od
duri ng t he operat i ng cycl e wi t h t he resul t t hat some met hod of
f l ow cont rol i s requi red. The t radi t i onal approach t o f l ow cont rol
has used val ves; whi ch i ncrease syst em pressure, i nherent l y
wast e energy, and general l y cause t he pump t o operat e at
reduced ef f i ci enci es.
Adj ust abl e speed dri ves (ASDs) can achi eve reduced f l ow by pro-
vi di ng adj ust abl e speed pump operat i on. Thi s resul t s i n reduced
syst em pressure and operat i on near t he pump' s Best Ef f i ci ency
Poi nt (BEP). In addi t i on, mai nt enance cost s mi ght be reduced.
Thi s paper wi l l di scuss t he energy savi ngs pot ent i al of AC ASDs
f ol l owed by a bri ef descri pt i on of t he operat i on and rel at i ve bene-
f i t s of PWM AC dri ves.
CENTRIFUGAL PUMP APPLICATIONS AND ENERGY
SAVINGS POTENTIAL
Cent ri f ugal pumps are used on many i ndust ri al and commerci al
appl i cat i ons. M any of t hese pumps are operat ed at f i xed speeds,
but coul d provi de energy savi ngs t hrough adj ust abl e speed opera-
t i on. Revi ewi ng t he af f i ni t y l aws f or cent ri f ugal pumps and a t yp-
i cal operat i ng cycl e f or a cent ri f ugal appl i cat i on wi l l show t hi s.
Foreword
Application Solution
Figure 1. Affinity Laws for Centrifugal Pumps
Fi gure 1 graphi cal l y i l l ust rat es t he physi cal l aws of cent ri f ugal
pumpi ng appl i cat i ons. The f l ow i s di rect l y proport i onal t o speed;
pressure i s proport i onal t o t he square of t he speed; and power i s
proport i onal t o t he cube of t he speed. These rel at i onshi ps can
al so be expressed numeri cal l y as shown i n f i gure 2. Theoret i cal l y,
i t woul d be possi bl e t o operat e at 50% f l ow wi t h onl y 13% of t he
power requi red at 100% f l ow. Si nce t he power requi rement s
decrease much f ast er t han t he reduct i on i n f l ow, t he pot ent i al
exi st s f or si gni f i cant energy reduct i on at reduced f l ows.
Figure 2
These charact eri st i cs are i mport ant when one consi ders a t ypi cal
dut y cycl e f or a cent ri f ugal appl i cat i on. A t ypi cal operat i ng cycl e
mi ght be represent ed by t he bar chart shown i n f i gure 3.
Cent ri f ugal pumps are general l y si zed t o handl e t he peak f l ow
requi rement s, whi ch t ypi cal l y occur f or very short peri ods of t i me.
Consequent l y, t he equi pment woul d be operat ed at reduced f l ows
most of t he t i me. For t hi s exampl e, t he syst em woul d be operat -
ed bel ow 70% f l ow over 94% of t he t i me. Thus, t hi s sort of dut y
cycl e coul d provi de energy savi ngs by adj ust abl e speed operat i on
of t he pump.
Figure 3. Typical Centrifugal Pump Duty Cycle
Figure 4. Typical Centrifugal Pump Curve
PUMP BASICS
An underst andi ng of t he basi c operat i ng charact eri st i cs of cen-
t ri f ugal pumps i s necessary t o appl y t hese concept s t o any part i c-
ul ar appl i cat i on.
Fi gure 4 shows a pump curve descri bi ng t he head (or pressure)
versus f l ow charact eri st i cs of a t ypi cal cent ri f ugal pump. Thi s
curve shows t hat t he pump wi l l produce l i mi t ed f l ow i f appl i ed t o
a pi pi ng syst em i n whi ch a l arge pressure di f f erent i al i s requi red
across t he pump t o l i f t t he l i qui d and overcome resi st ance t o f l ow
(as at poi nt A). Hi gher f l ow rat es can be achi eved as t he requi red
pressure di f f erent i al i s reduced (as at poi nt B).
To det ermi ne where al ong t hi s curve t he pump wi l l operat e i n a
gi ven appl i cat i on requi res t he addi t i onal i nf ormat i on provi ded by
t he syst em curve. Thi s curve, shown i n f i gure 5, represent s t he
charact eri st i cs of t he pi pi ng syst em t o whi ch t he pump i s appl i ed.
The head requi red at zero f l ow i s cal l ed t he st at i c head or l i f t .
% Speed
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
% Fl ow
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
% Horsepower Requi red
100
73
51
34
22
13
6
3
wi l l shi f t t o t he l ef t i n such a way t hat ef f i ci ency wi l l remai n con-
st ant rel at i ve t o poi nt s on t he pump curve f or reduced f l ows.
Figure 7. Fixed Speed Pump Efficiency
FLOW CONTROL TECHNIQUES
Hi st ori cal l y, f i xed speed AC mot ors have dri ven cent ri f ugal pumps
and reduced f l ow has been achi eved by usi ng cont rol val ves as
shown i n f i gure 8. Cl osi ng t he val ve reduces t he f l ow by i ncreas-
i ng t he f ri ct i on i n t he syst em. The modi f i ed syst em curve and t he
new operat i ng poi nt can be represent ed as shown i n f i gure 9.
Not e t hat t he desi red reduct i on i n f l ow has been achi eved, but at
t he expense of i ncreased syst em pressure rel at i ve t o 100% f l ow.
Figure 8. Valve Control
An al t ernat i ve approach t o val ve cont rol i s shown i n f i gure 10.
Reduci ng t he pump speed causes t he pump curve t o shi f t down-
wards as shown i n f i gure 11. Si nce t he operat i ng poi nt i s st i l l
det ermi ned by t he i nt ersect i on of t he reduced speed pump curve
and t he syst em curve, i t i s possi bl e t o achi eve t he same reduced
f l ow as achi eved wi t h a val ve, but at si gni f i cant l y l ess pressure.
Thi s shows how many f eet of el evat i on t hat t he pump must l i f t
t he f l ui d regardl ess of t he f l ow rat e. Anot her way t o descri be st a-
t i c head i s t o t hi nk of i t as t he amount of work needed t o over-
come t he ef f ect s of gravi t y.
Figure 5. SystemCurve
The ot her component of head i s cal l ed t he f ri ct i on head and
i ncreases wi t h i ncreasi ng f l ow. Fri ct i on head i s a measure of t he
resi st ance t o f l ow (backpressure) provi ded by t he pi pe and i t s
associ at ed val ves, el bows, and ot her syst em el ement s.
The i nt ersect i on of t he pump and syst em curves shows t he nat ur-
al operat i ng poi nt f or t he syst em wi t hout f l ow cont rol , as shown
i n f i gure 6. Thi s i nt ersect i on woul d general l y be chosen t o ensure
t hat t he pump i s operat ed at or near i t s best ef f i ci ency poi nt .
Figure 6. Combined Curves
Fi gure 7 shows a t ypi cal pump and ef f i ci ency curve f or operat i on
at a f i xed speed. It can be seen t hat f or f i xed speed operat i on,
t he ef f i ci ency vari es as f l ow i s adj ust ed. For adj ust abl e speed
operat i on however, t he af f i ni t y l aws predi ct t hat t he pump curve
wi l l shi f t downwards f or reduced speed and t he ef f i ci ency curve
H
e
a
d

o
r

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Flow
S
y
s
t
e
m

C
u
r
v
e
Friction
Head
Static Head or Lift
In addi t i on t o energy savi ngs, whi ch are di scussed i n det ai l l at er,
operat i on at reduced pressures can resul t i n l onger pump seal
l i f e, reduced i mpel l er wear, and l ess syst em vi brat i on and noi se.
These benef i t s coul d provi de addi t i onal savi ngs over pot ent i al
energy savi ngs.
Figure 10. Adjustable Speed Control
ENERGY SAVINGS
The pump out put power, or hydraul i c power, can be expressed as:
Horsepower = Head (Feet ) x Fl ow (GPM ) x Speci f i c Gravi t y
3960
Theref ore, f or any gi ven l i qui d, t he power t hat t he pump must
t ransmi t i s proport i onal t o t he head t i mes t he f l ow and can be
represent ed by rect angl es f or each operat i ng poi nt as shown i n
f i gure 11.
Figure 11. Adjustable Speed Operation Reduces
Required Power
The val ve cont rol rect angl e i ncl udes bot h t he dark and l i ght shad-
ed areas. Speed cont rol uses onl y t he l i ght er shaded port i on of
horsepower. Theref ore, t he pot ent i al energy savi ng avai l abl e at
t hi s part i cul ar f l ow poi nt i s represent ed by t he darker rect angl e.
Thi s si t uat i on resul t s i n a subst ant i al reduct i on i n out put power
requi red t hrough t he use of sol i d st at e ASD cont rol rat her t han
val ve cont rol . Rel at i ng t hi s reduct i on i n requi red out put power t o
i nput power, whi ch i s t he basi s f or t he user' s power bi l l , requi res
consi derat i on of t he ef f i ci ency of t he pump and f l ow cont rol el e-
ment s.
Ef f i ci ency can be expressed as:
Ef f i ci ency = Out put Power = Out put Power
Input Power (Out put Power + Losses)
Si nce t he out put power requi red i s si gni f i cant l y reduced at
reduced f l ows, t here i s a reduct i on i n l osses i n each syst em el e-
ment at reduced speed. Energy savi ngs can be subst ant i al even
when t he equi pment provi di ng vari abl e speed operat i on i s rel a-
t i vel y i nef f i ci ent , as t he numeri cal exampl e i n t he t abl e on he
next page shows.
Thus, t he f i rst st ep t oward real i zi ng energy savi ngs on cent ri f ugal
pumpi ng appl i cat i ons i s t he deci si on t o use adj ust abl e speed dri -
ves. The second st ep i s t o use t he most ef f i ci ent adj ust abl e
speed dri ve t hat meet s t he appl i cat i on requi rement s.
Dri ve energy l osses can vary subst ant i al l y bet ween dri ve t ypes,
Sol i d-st at e devi ces have much l ower l osses t han sl i p devi ces and
cl osel y approxi mat e i deal , 100% ef f i ci ent operat i ng charact eri s-
t i cs as shown i n f i gure 12.
Pump Curve
H
e
a
d

o
r

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Flow
Typical Throttled
Operating Point
Natural
Operating Point
T
h
r
o
t
t
l
e
d

S
y
s
t
e
m
U
n
t
h
r
o
t
t
le
d
S
y
s
t
e
m
H
e
a
d

o
r

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Typical
Throttled Operating Point
Reduced Speed
Operating Point
Figure 9. Throttle System
Input Power Comparison
EFFICIENCY COMPARISONS
Pump ef f i ci enci es at vari ous operat i ng poi nt s are readi l y avai l abl e
f rom t he pump manuf act urer i n t he f orm of an ef f i ci ency map
superi mposed over t he pump curves f or vari ous i mpel l er si zes as
shown i n f i gure 13.
Figure 13. Efficiencies for Various Impellers
(Typical)
FUTURE TRENDS
The st at e-of -t he-art has progressed dramat i cal l y i n el ect roni cs i n
recent years. Advances i n l ogi c have produced l arge scal e i nt e-
grat ed and mi croprocessor devi ces t hat wi l l cont i nue t o i ncrease
t he capabi l i t y of el ect ri c dri ves. Improvement s i n t hyri st ors have
resul t ed i n decreased si ze whi l e t he devel opment of IGBTs have
expanded capabi l i t i es and si ze ranges. M ot or dri ves are expect ed
t o cont i nue decreasi ng i n cost and i ncreasi ng i n perf ormance i n
t he years t o come. Besi des l onger-t erm energy savi ngs, t he i ni t i al
cost di f f erent i al bet ween i nst al l i ng an AC dri ve/ mot or package as
compared t o an AC st art er/ mot or package i s cont i nual l y
di mi ni shi ng.
Dramat i c i ncreases i n energy cost s i n recent years have made
adj ust abl e-speed f l ow cont rol t hrough t he use of sol i d-st at e
dri ves economi cal i n many i nst ances. Large users of cent ri f ugal
pumpi ng equi pment woul d be wi se t o begi n gai ni ng experi ence
wi t h t hese dri ves now.
CONCLUSION
The most i mport ant choi ce t o be made i n sel ect i ng pump dri ves i s
t he deci si on t o sel ect a non-sl i p, sol i d-st at e, adj ust abl e speed
dri ve. Any such dri ve can of f er dramat i c energy savi ngs by ef f i -
ci ent l y mat chi ng t he energy consumed t o t he hydraul i c l oad
requi rement s at any gi ven moment .
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 20 40 60 80 100
V
a
l
v
e

C
o
n
t
r
o
l
S
o
l
i
d
-
S
t
a
t
e

C
o
n
t
r
o
l
I
n
p
u
t

P
o
w
e
r

(
H
P
)
% Flow
S
k
i
p

C
o
n
t
r
o
l
D
r
i
v
e

C
o
n
t
r
o
l
Fl ow
9 Di amet er
8 1/ 2
8
7 1/ 2
Reach us now at www.rockwellautomation.com
Wherever you need us, Rockwel l Aut omat i on bri ngs t oget her l eadi ng
brands i n i ndust ri al aut omat i on i ncl udi ng Al l en-Bradl ey cont rol s,
Rel i ance El ect ri c power t ransmi ssi on product s, Dodge mechani cal power
t ransmi ssi on component s, and Rockwel l Sof t ware. Rockwel l Aut omat i on s
uni que, f l exi bl e approach t o hel pi ng cust omers achi eve a compet i t i ve
advant age i s support ed by t housands of aut hori zed part ners, di st ri but ors
and syst em i nt egrat ors around t he worl d.
Americas Headquarters, 1201 South Second Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204, USA, Tel: (1) 414 382-2000, Fax: (1) 414 382 4444
EuropeanHeadquarters SA/NV, avenue Herrmann Debroux, 46, 1160 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: (32) 2 663 06 00, Fax: (32) 2 663 06 40
Asia Pacific Headquarters, 27/ F Citicorp Centre, 18 Whitfield Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Tel: (852) 2887 4788, Fax: (852) 2508 1846
Reliance Electric StandardDrives Business,24800 Tungsten Road, Cleveland, OH 44117, USA, Tel: (1) 888 374 8370, Fax: (216) 266 7095
Publ i cat i on D-7737 M arch 2000 2000 Rockwel l Int ernat i onal Corporat i on Al l Ri ght s Reserved Pri nt ed i n USA
Table: Energy Cost Comparison
(1) Typi cal 100 HP appl i cat i on. Fl ow cont rol , when exerci sed, equal s 70% of f ul l f l ow. 4000 hours operat i on per year and $.07/ KWH assumed.
(2) Sl i p cont rol ref ers t o f l ui d and magnet i c coupl i ngs, of t en ref erred t o as hydraul i c or eddy current coupl i ngs. Wound rot or mot ors are al so sl i p devi ces.
100% Fl ow Val ve Cont rol Sl i p Cont rol (2) Sol i d-St at e (VFD) Cont rol
Syst em Out put Power (HP)
Syst em Losses (HP)
Val ve
Pump
M ot or
St art er/ Cont rol l er
Input Power (HP)
Input Power (KW)
Annual Energy Cost s(1)
65.7
-
16.9
7.9
0.2
90.7
67.7
$18,956
28.3
24.7
21.6
7.0
0.2
81.8
61.0
$17,080
28.3
-
8.9
5.1
19.9
62.2
46.4
$12,992
28.3
-
8.9
6.1
4.4
47.7
35.6
$9,968
NOTE: Thi s mat eri al i s not i nt ended t o provi de operat i onal i nst ruct i ons. Appropri at e Rel i ance
El ect ri c Dri ves i nst ruct i on manual s precaut i ons shoul d be st udi ed pri or t o i nst al l at i on,
operat i on, or mai nt enance of equi pment .