Comparative evaluation of some existing correlations to predict head degradation of centrifugal slurry pumps

Abstract

In order to optimally design a slurry transportation system, it is necessary to know how the presence of solids will change the performance of the slurry pump to be installed. This paper makes the comparison of some existing correlations available in the literature to predict the head reduction factors of such centrifugal pumps handling slurries. For this purpose, a large number of published data for various centrifugal slurry pump tests in the literature have been used to develop a new correlation and then this correlation and all others have been tested against the data. For the proposed correlation, the mean and average deviations between the calculated and measured head reduction factor is 8.378 and 0.620%, respectively, for all data of mostly handling commercial slurries. It also produces 12.441 % mean deviation in the prediction of efficiency ratio for 216 data points. Overall, the new correlation that can be applied to both metal and rubber lined pumps with impeller diameter up to 850 mm, gives remarkably closer fit to the published data of both head and efficiency ratios than all existing correlations.