Chapter 14

TURBOMACHINERY
The jet engines on
modern
commercial
airplanes are
highly complex
turbomachines that
include both pump
(compressor) and
turbine sections.

2
14–1 ■ CLASSIFICATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY
Pumps: Energy absorbing devices since
energy is supplied to them, and they
transfer most of that energy to the
fluid, usually via a rotating shaft. The
increase in fluid energy is usually felt
as an increase in the pressure of the
fluid.
Turbines: Energy producing devices they
extract energy from the fluid and
transfer most of that energy to some
form of mechanical energy output,
typically in the form of a rotating
shaft. The fluid at the outlet of a
turbine suffers an energy loss,
typically in the form of a loss of
pressure.
(a) A pump supplies energy to a fluid,
while (b) a turbine extracts energy
from a fluid.
3
The purpose of a pump is to add
energy to a fluid, resulting in an
increase in fluid pressure, not
necessarily an increase of fluid
speed across the pump.
The purpose of a turbine is to
extract energy from a fluid,
resulting in a decrease of fluid
pressure, not necessarily a
For the case of steady flow,
decrease of fluid speed across
conservation of mass requires that the
the turbine.
mass flow rate out of a pump must
equal the mass flow rate into the pump;
for incompressible flow with equal inlet
and outlet cross-sectional areas (Dout =
Din), we conclude that Vout = Vin, but
Pout > Pin.

4
Pump: Fluid machines that move liquids.
Fan: A gas pump with relatively low
pressure rise and high flow rate.
Examples include ceiling fans, house
fans, and propellers. When used with gases, pumps are
Blower: A gas pump with relatively called fans, blowers, or compressors,
moderate to high pressure rise and depending on the relative values of
moderate to high flow rate. Examples pressure rise and volume flow rate.
include centrifugal blowers and squirrel
cage blowers in automobile ventilation
systems, furnaces, and leaf blowers.
Compressor: A gas pump designed to
deliver a very high pressure rise,
typically at low to moderate flow rates.
Examples include air compressors that
run pneumatic tools and inflate tires at
automobile service stations, and
refrigerant compressors used in heat
pumps, refrigerators, and air
conditioners.
5
Turbomachines: Pumps and
turbines in which energy is supplied
or extracted by a rotating shaft.
The words turbomachine and
turbomachinery are often used in the
literature to refer to all types of pumps
and turbines regardless of whether
they utilize a rotating shaft or not.

Not all pumps have a rotating shaft;

(a) energy is supplied to this manual
tire pump by the up and down motion of a
person’s arm to pump air; (b) a similar
mechanism is used to pump water with an
old-fashioned well pump.
6
Fluid machines may also be broadly classified as either positive-displacement
machines or dynamic machines, based on the manner in which energy transfer
occurs.
In positive-displacement machines: Fluid is directed into a closed volume.
Energy transfer to the fluid is accomplished by movement of the boundary of the
closed volume, causing the volume to expand or contract, thereby sucking fluid in
or squeezing fluid out, respectively.

(a) The human heart is an

example of a positive-
displacement pump; blood is
pumped by expansion and
contraction of heart
chambers called ventricles.
(b) The common water
meter in your house is an
example of a positive-
displacement turbine; water
fills and exits a chamber of
known volume for each
revolution of the output
shaft.
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Dynamic machines: There is no closed
volume; instead, rotating blades supply
or extract energy to or from the fluid.
For pumps, these rotating blades are
called impeller blades, while for turbines,
the rotating blades are called runner
blades or buckets.
Examples of dynamic pumps include
enclosed pumps and ducted pumps and
open pumps.
Examples of dynamic turbines include
enclosed turbines, such as the
hydroturbine that extracts energy from
water in a hydroelectric dam, and open
turbines such as the wind turbine that
extracts energy from the wind.
A wind turbine is a good example of a
dynamic machine of the open type; air
turns the blades, and the output shaft
drives an electric generator
8
 14–2 ■ PUMPS
The mass flow rate of fluid through the pump is an obvious primary
pump performance parameter.
For incompressible flow, it is more common to use volume flow rate
rather than mass flow rate.
In the turbomachinery industry, volume flow rate is called capacity
and is simply mass flow rate divided by fluid density,

The performance of a pump is characterized additionally by its net head H,

defined as the change in Bernoulli head between the inlet and outlet of the
pump:

9
For the case in which a liquid is being pumped,
the Bernoulli head at the inlet is equivalent to
the energy grade line at the inlet.

The net head of a pump, H, is defined as the change in Bernoulli head from
inlet to outlet; for a liquid, this is equivalent to the change in the energy
grade line, H = EGLout - EGLin, relative to some arbitrary datum plane; bhp
is the brake horsepower, the external power supplied to the pump.
Pump Performance Curves and Matching a Pump to a
Piping System
Free delivery: The maximum volume flow rate through a pump occurs when
its net head is zero, H = 0; this flow rate is called the pump’s free delivery.
Shutoff head: The net head that occurs when the volume flow rate is zero,
and is achieved when the outlet port of the pump is blocked off. Under these
conditions, H is large but V is zero; the pump’s efficiency is again zero,
because the pump is doing no useful work.
Best Efficiency Point (BEP): The pump’s efficiency reaches its maximum
value somewhere between the shutoff condition and the free delivery
condition. It is notated by an asterisk (H*, bhp*, etc.).
Pump Performance Curves: Curves of H, pump, and bhp as functions of
volume flow rate are called pump performance curves (or characteristic
curves).
Operating point or duty point of the system: In a typical application,
Hrequired and Havailable match at one unique value of flow rate—this is the
operating point or duty point of the system. For steady conditions, a pump
can operate only along its performance curve.

11
12
 The useful pump
head delivered to the
fluid does four things

Equation 14–6 emphasizes the role

of a pump in a piping system;
namely, it increases (or decreases)
the static pressure, dynamic
pressure, and elevation of the fluid,
and it overcomes irreversible losses. 13
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15
It is common practice in the pump
industry to offer several choices of
impeller diameter for a single pump
casing. There are several reasons
for this:
(1) to save manufacturing costs
(2) to enable capacity increase by
simple impeller replacement
(3) to standardize installation
mountings
(4) to enable reuse of equipment
for a different application

16
Example of a manufacturer’s performance plot for a family of centrifugal
pumps. Each pump has the same casing, but a different impeller diameter.
19
 Pump Cavitation and Net Positive Suction Head
When pumping liquids, it is possible
for the local pressure inside the
pump to fall below the vapor
pressure of the liquid, Pv.
When P < Pv, vapor-filled bubbles
called cavitation bubbles appear.
The liquid boils locally, typically on
the suction side of the rotating
impeller blades where the pressure
is lowest.

Net positive suction head (NPSH): Cavitation bubbles forming and

The difference between the pump’s collapsing on the suction side of an
inlet stagnation pressure head and impeller blade.
the vapor pressure head.

20
Required net positive suction head (NPSHrequired): The minimum NPSH
necessary to avoid cavitation in the pump.

Typical pump performance curve in

The volume flow rate at which the actual
which net head and required net
NPSH and the required NPSH intersect
positive suction head are plotted
represents the maximum flow rate that
versus volume flow rate.
can be delivered by the pump without
the occurrence of cavitation.

21
 Pumps in Series and Parallel
When faced with the need to increase volume flow rate or
pressure rise by a small amount, you might consider adding
an additional smaller pump in series or in parallel with the
original pump.

Arranging two very

dissimilar pumps in
(a) series or (b)
parallel can
sometimes lead to
problems.

22
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24
Several identical pumps
are often run in a
parallel configuration so
that a large volume flow
rate can be achieved
when necessary. Three
parallel pumps are
shown.

25
Positive-Displacement Pumps

Fluid is sucked into an

expanding volume and then
pushed along as that volume
contracts, but the mechanism
that causes this change in
volume differs greatly among
the various designs.
Positive-displacement pumps
are ideal for high-pressure
applications like pumping
viscous liquids or thick slurries,
and for applications where
precise amounts of liquid are
to be dispensed or metered, as
in medical applications.
Examples of positive-displacement pumps:
(a) flexible-tube peristaltic pump, (b) three-
lobe rotary pump, (c) gear pump, and (d)
double screw pump.
26
Four phases (one-eighth of a turn apart) in the operation
of a two-lobe rotary pump, a type of positive-
displacement pump. The light blue region represents a
chunk of fluid pushed through the top rotor, while the
dark blue region represents a chunk of fluid pushed
through the bottom rotor, which rotates in the opposite
direction. Flow is from left to right.

27
 Dynamic Pumps
There are three main types of dynamic pumps that involve rotating blades
called impeller blades or rotor blades, which impart momentum to the
fluid.
They are sometimes called rotodynamic pumps or simply rotary pumps.
Rotary pumps are classified by the manner in which flow exits the pump:
centrifugal flow, axial flow, and mixed flow

The impeller (rotating portion) of the three main

categories of dynamic pumps: (a) centrifugal flow, (b)
mixed flow, and (c) axial flow.

28
Centrifugal-flow Pump: Fluid enters axially (in
the same direction as the axis of the rotating shaft)
in the center of the pump, but is discharged
radially (or tangentially) along the outer radius of
the pump casing.
For this reason centrifugal pumps are also called
radial-flow pumps.
Mixed-flow Pump: Intermediate between
centrifugal and axial, with the flow entering axially,
not necessarily in the center, but leaving at some
angle between radially and axially.
Axial-flow Pump: Fluid enters and leaves axially,
typically along the outer portion of the pump
because of blockage by the shaft, motor, hub, etc.

The impeller (rotating portion) of the three main

categories of dynamic pumps: (a) centrifugal flow, (b)
mixed flow, and (c) axial flow. 29
 Centrifugal Pumps
Centrifugal pumps and blowers can be
easily identified by their snail-shaped
casing, called the scroll.
They are found all around your home;
in dishwashers, hot tubs, clothes
washers and dryers, hairdryers,
vacuum cleaners, kitchen exhaust
hoods, bathroom exhaust fans, leaf
blowers, furnaces, etc.
They are used in cars; the water pump
in the engine, the air blower in the
heater/air conditioner unit, etc.
Centrifugal pumps are ubiquitous in
industry as well; they are used in
building ventilation systems, washing
operations, cooling ponds and cooling A typical centrifugal blower with its
towers. characteristic snail-shaped scroll.

30
Impeller or Rotor: In pump terminology, the rotating assembly that consists
of the shaft, the hub, the impeller blades, and the impeller shroud.
A shroud often surrounds the impeller blades to increase blade stiffness.

Side view and frontal view of a typical centrifugal pump. Fluid enters axially in
the middle of the pump (the eye), is flung around to the outside by the rotating
blade assembly (impeller), is diffused in the expanding diffuser (scroll), and is
discharged out the side of the pump. We define r1 and r2 as the radial locations
of the impeller blade inlet and outlet, respectively; b1 and b2 are the axial blade
widths at the impeller blade inlet and outlet, respectively. 31
There are three types of centrifugal pump based on impeller
blade geometry: Backward-inclined blades, radial blades,
and forward-inclined blades.
Centrifugal pumps with backward-inclined blades are the
most common. These yield the highest efficiency of the
three because fluid flows into and out of the blade
passages with the least amount of turning.
Centrifugal pumps with radial blades (also called straight
blades) have the simplest geometry and produce the
largest pressure rise of the three.
Centrifugal pumps with forward-inclined blades produce a
pressure rise that is nearly constant.

The three main types of

centrifugal pumps are those
with (a) backward-inclined
blades, (b) radial blades,
and (c) forward-inclined
blades; (d) comparison of
net head and brake
horsepower performance
curves for the three types of
centrifugal pumps. 32
Volume flow rate:

Close-up frontal view of the simplified

centrifugal flow pump used for elementary
analysis of the velocity vectors. Absolute
velocity vectors of the fluid are shown as
bold arrows. It is assumed that the flow is
Close-up side view of the simplified
everywhere tangent to the blade surface
centrifugal flow pump used for elementary
when viewed from a reference frame
analysis of the velocity vectors; V1, n and
V2, n are defined as the average normal rotating with the blade, as indicated by the
(radial) components of velocity at radii r1 relative velocity vectors.
and r2, respectively.
 Shaft torque is equal to the change in
moment of momentum from inlet to outlet, as
given by the Euler turbomachine equation
(also called Euler’s turbine formula)

Euler turbomachine
equation:

Alternative form, Euler turbomachine

equation:

Net head:
Control volume (shaded) used for
angular momentum analysis of a
centrifugal pump; absolute
tangential velocity components V1, t
and V2, t are labeled. 34
35
36
(a) A centrifugal pump impeller with too few blades leads to excessive circulatory
flow loss—the tangential velocity at outer radius r2 is smaller in the gaps between
blades than at the trailing edges of the blades (absolute tangential velocity vectors
are shown).
(b) On the other hand, since real impeller blades have finite thickness, an impeller
with too many blades leads to passage losses due to excessive flow blockage and
large skin friction drag (velocity vectors in a frame of reference rotating with the
impeller are shown exiting one blade row). The bottom line is that pump engineers
must optimize both blade shape and number of blades.
 Axial Pumps
Axial pumps do not utilize so-called
centrifugal forces. Instead, the
impeller blades behave more like
the wing of an airplane, producing lift
by changing the momentum of the
fluid as they rotate.
The lift force on the blade is caused
by pressure differences between the The blades of an axial-flow pump
top and bottom surfaces of the blade, behave like the wing of an airplane.
and the change in flow direction The air is turned downward by the
leads to downwash (a column of wing as it generates lift force FL.
descending air) through the rotor
plane.
From a time-averaged perspective,
there is a pressure jump across the
rotor plane that induces a downward
airflow.
Downwash and pressure rise across
the rotor plane of a helicopter, which
is a type of axial-flow pump.
38
Imagine turning the rotor plane vertically; we now have a propeller.
Both the helicopter rotor and the airplane propeller are examples of open axial-
flow fans, since there is no duct or casing around the tips of the blades.
The casing around the house fan also acts as a short duct, which helps to direct
the flow and eliminate some losses at the blade tips.
The small cooling fan inside your computer is typically an axial-flow fan; it looks like
a miniature window fan and is an example of a ducted axial-flow fan.

Axial-flow fans may

be open or ducted:
(a) a propeller is an
open fan, and (b) a
computer cooling fan
is a ducted fan.
39
A well-designed rotor blade or propeller
blade has twist, as shown by the pink cross-
sectional slices through one of the three
blades; blade pitch angle  is higher at the
root than at the tip because the tangential
speed of the blade increases with radius. 40
 When used to move flow in a duct, a single-
impeller axial-flow fan is called a tube-axial
fan.
A second rotor that rotates in the opposite
direction can be added in series with the
existing rotor to form a pair of counter-rotating
rotor blades; such a fan is called a counter-
rotating axial-flow fan. Alternatively, a set of
stator blades can be added either upstream
or downstream of the rotating impeller.
As implied by their name, stator blades are
stationary (nonrotating) guide vanes that
simply redirect the fluid.
An axial-flow fan with a set of rotor blades (the
impeller or the rotor) and a set of stator
blades called vanes (the stator) is called a
vane-axial fan.
A tube-axial fan (a) imparts swirl to
the exiting fluid, while (b) a
counterrotating axial-flow fan and
(c) a vane-axial fan are designed
41
to remove the swirl.
14–3 ■ PUMP SCALING LAWS
Dimensional Analysis

Dimensional analysis of a pump.

42
• If two pumps are
geometrically similar, and
• The independent ’s are
similar, i.e.,
CQ,A = CQ,B
ReA = ReB
A/DA = B/DB
• Then the dependent ’s will
be the same
CH,A = CH,B
CP,A = CP,B
• When plotted in
nondimensional form, all
curves of a family of
geometrically similar pumps
collapse onto one set of
nondimensional pump
performance curves
• Note: Reynolds number
and roughness can often be
neglected,
Pump Specific Speed

Pump specific speed is used to characterize the

operation of a pump at its optimum conditions
(best efficiency point) and is useful for
preliminary pump selection and/or design.

Even though pump specific speed is a

dimensionless parameter, it is common
practice to write it as a dimensional
45
quantity using an inconsistent set of units.
 Maximum efficiency as a function of
pump specific speed for the three
main types of dynamic pump. The
horizontal scales show
nondimensional pump specific speed
Conversions between the dimensionless, (NSp), pump specific speed in
conventional U.S., and conventional customary U.S. Units (NSp, US), and
European definitions of pump specific pump specific speed in customary
speed. Numerical values are given to four European units (NSp, Eur).
significant digits. The conversions for
NSp,US assume standard earth gravity.
47
Affinity Laws

Equations 14–38 apply to both pumps and turbines.

States A and B can be any two homologous states between any
two geometrically similar turbomachines, or even between two
homologous states of the same machine.
Examples include changing rotational speed or pumping a different
fluid with the same pump.

Useful to scale from model to prototype

Useful to understand parameter changes, e.g., doubling pump
48
speed (Ex. 14-10).
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