Shut-off " head is a condition,when a centrifugal pump runs with discharge valve closed.

-When a serviced pump is to be tested for its performance , we are running pump with different discharge condition to ensure that the pump is capable of performing as designed. -Shut-off head is the maximum head generated by a centrifugal pump with zero flow and relatively less power. Because it has to overcome very small head[upto discharge valve],less frictional losses and inertia loads. -So, shut off head is a part of the charactoristic curves. #Caution: Dont run the centrifugal pump for a prolonged period in shut-off condition ,or else the liquid will get vaporise and pump will run dry and damaged the important part of the pumps like mechanical seal/gland packings,bearing ,etc. #It IS A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE "to operate a cf pump with closed discharge valve during start-up after proper priming to minimise the heavy loading of the liquid column .As the pump gain its normal speed,gradually open the discharge valve .Like-wise , when stopping a pump,close the discharge valve and then stop the pump. #At its BEP(best efficiency point) the pump should be running between 80% and 85% of its shutoff head. #"Head pressure" on the other hand is more complicated. "Head" may be simply defined as any resistance to the flow of a pump. When pump manufacturers list the head pressure, they are referring to the vertical discharge pressure head. Described in very simple terms, a pump's vertical discharge "pressure-head" is the vertical lift in height (usually measured in feet of water) at which a pump can no longer exert enough pressure to move water. At this point, the pump may be said to have reached its "shut-off" head pressure. When you look at a flow curve chart for a pump, the "shut-off head" is the point on the graph where the curved line becomes horizontal as the flow rate at that point is zero. The higher a pump's head pressure, the more powerful the pump.

Pump surging - if a pump doesn't have a minimum flow it will build up discharge pressure. When this discharge pressure gets high enough the pump cannot overcome it any more and the water starts to flow backwards. When the water starts to flow backwards, the pump slows down. The impeller will start to spin backwards building up pressure again. The water inside the pump will shift back and forth wreaking havoc with your pump impeller. This cycle of spinning forwards and backwards will repeat itself and will destroy your thrust bearing and destroy your pump. This can happen with any type of centrifugal pump, if you block the discharge the pump will build up pressure and surging can take place. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_pump_surging#ixzz1SpSJsBOI