Also known to be a rotary pump, a centrifugal pump has a rotating impeller or vanes that are immersed in the medium being pumped and enclosed in a housing to direct the flow of liquid. The rotation of the vanes which creates the centrifugal force is what increases the pressure of the liquid. This is why the pump gets its name from the fact that it depends largely on the centrifugal action of the rotating vanes that’s provided with an enclosing circular casing. As the medium enters the center of the vanes, they rotate and sweep away the medium with a circular motion to the outlet on the other end of the casing.
As the liquid enters the suction side of the rotary pump, the vanes of the rotating disc pick it up and will then be discharged by the centrifugal force. This discharge of the liquid from the outlet creates the vacuum at the eye of the impeller, which further causes more liquid to flow into the impeller to replace the ones that have been discharged. This process repeats continuously for the entire pumping operation as long as certain conditions are being met.
- No air muts enter the suction of the inlet of the rotary pump.
- The supply of liquid is sufficient enough to satisfy the required discharge volumes.
- The height of the suction is not too much for the volume of the liquid that is being discharged.
- The supply mains are not too small to supply the required volume of the pumping operation.
Once all these conditions are achieved, then the operation goes smoothly. And finally, most of centrifugal pumps can convert over 70% of the velocity energy into pressure energy. This further adds to the pressure energy that’s being discharged by the impeller which gives the pump a high percentage of recovery and up performance.