Low pressure at the suction side of a pump can encounter the fluid to start boiling

with
• reduced efficiency
• cavitation
• damage
of the pump as a result. Boiling starts when the pressure in the liquid is reduced to
the vapor pressure of the fluid at the actual temperature.

To characterize the potential for boiling and cavitation, the difference between the
total head on the suction side of the pump - close to the impeller, and the liquid
vapor pressure at the actual temperature, can be used.
Suction Head
Based on the Energy Equation - the suction head in the fluid close to the impeller
can be expressed as the sum of the staticand the velocity head:
hs = ps / γ + v s 2 / 2 g (1)
where
hs = suction head close to the impeller
ps = static pressure in the fluid close to the impeller
γ = specific weight of the fluid
vs = velocity of fluid
g = acceleration of gravity
Liquids Vapor Head
The liquids vapor head at the actual temperature can be expressed as:
hv = pv / γ (2)
where
hv = vapor head
pv = vapor pressure
Note! The vapor pressure in a fluid depends on temperature. Water, our most
common fluid, starts boiling at 20 oC if the absolute pressure in the fluid is 2.3
kN/m2. For an absolute pressure of 47.5 N/m2, the water starts boiling at 80 oC. At
an absolute pressure of 101.3 kN/m2 (normal atmosphere), the boiling starts
at 100 oC.
Net Positive Suction Head - NPSH
The Net Positive Suction Head - NPSH - can be expressed as the difference
between the Suction Head and the Liquids Vapor Head and expressed like
NPSH = hs - hv (3)
or, by combining (1) and (2)
NPSH = ps / γ + vs2 / 2 g - pv / γ (3b)
Available NPSH - NPSHa
The Net Positive Suction Head made available the suction system for the pump is
often named NPSHa. The NPSHa can be determined during design and
construction, or determined experimentally from the actual physical system.

The available NPSHa can be calculated with the Energy Equation. For a common
application - where the pump lifts a fluid from an open tank at one level to an
other, the energy or head at the surface of the tank is the same as the energy or
head before the pump impeller and can be expressed as:
h0 = hs + hl (4)
where
h0 = head at surface
hs = head before the impeller
hl = head loss from the surface to impeller - major and minor loss in the suction
pipe
In an open tank the head at surface can be expressed as:
h0 = p0 / γ = patm / γ (4b)
For a closed pressurized tank the absolute static pressure inside the tank must be
used.
The head before the impeller can be expressed as:
hs = ps / γ + v s 2 / 2 g + h e (4c)
where
he = elevation from surface to pump - positive if pump is above the tank, negative
if the pump is below the tank
Transforming (4) with (4b) and (4c):
patm / γ = ps / γ + vs2 / 2 g + he + hl (4d)
The head available before the impeller can be expressed as:
ps / γ + vs2 / 2 g = patm / γ - he - hl (4e)
or as the available NPSHa:
NPSHa = patm / γ - he - hl - pv / γ (4f)
Available NPSHa - the Pump is above the Tank
If the pump is positioned above the tank, the elevation - he - is positive and
the NPSHa decreases when the elevation of the pump increases.
At some level the NPSHa will be reduced to zero and the fluid starts to evaporate.
Available NPSHa - the Pump is below the Tank
If the pump is positioned below the tank, the elevation - he - is negative and the
NPSHa increases when the elevation of the pump decreases (lowering the pump).
It's always possible to increase the NPSHa by lowering the pump (as long as
the major and minor head loss due to a longer pipe don't increase it more). This is
important and it is common to lower the pump when pumping fluids close to
evaporation temperature.
Required NPSH - NPSHr
The NPSHr, called as the Net Suction Head as required by the pump in order to
prevent cavitation for safe and reliable operation of the pump.
The required NPSHr for a particular pump is in general determined experimentally
by the pump manufacturer and a part of the documentation of the pump.

The available NPSHa of the system should always exceeded the required
NPSHr of the pump to avoid vaporization and cavitation of the impellers eye. The
available NPSHa should in general be significant higher than the required
NPSHr to avoid that head loss in the suction pipe and in the pump casing, local
velocity accelerations and pressure decreases, start boiling the fluid on the
impeller surface.
Note that the required NPSHr increases with the square capacity.
Pumps with double-suction impellers has lower NPSHr than pumps with single-
suction impellers. A pump with a double-suction impeller is considered
hydraulically balanced but is susceptible to an uneven flow on both sides with
improper pipe-work.
Example - Pumping Water from an Open Tank
When increasing the the elevation for a pump located above a tank, the fluid will
start to evaporate at a maximum level for the actual temperature.
At the maximum elevation NPSHa is zero. The maximum elevation can therefore
be expressed by (4f):
NPSHa = patm / γ - he - hl - pv / γ = 0
For optimal theoretical conditions we neglect the major and minor head loss. The
elevation head can then be expressed as:
he = patm / γ - pv / γ (5)
The maximum elevation or suction head for an open tank depends on
the atmospheric pressure - which in general can be regarded as constant, and the
vapor pressure of the fluid - which in general vary with temperature, especially
for water.
The absolute vapor pressure of water at temperature 20 oC is 2.3 kN/m2. The
maximum theoretical elevation height is therefore:
he = (101.33 kN/m2) / (9.80 kN/m3) - (2.3 kN/m2) / (9.80 kN/m3)
 = 10.1 m
Due to the head loss in the suction pipe and the local conditions inside the pump -
the theoretical maximum elevation is significantly decreased.
The maximum theoretical elevation of a pump above an open water tank at
different temperatures can be found from the table below.
Suction Head as Affected by Temperature

Temperature Vapor Pressure Max. elevation

(oC) (oF) (kN/m2) (m) (ft)

0 32 0.6 10.3 33.8

5 41 0.9 10.2 33.5

10 50 1.2 10.2 33.5

15 59 1.7 10.2 33.5

20 68 2.3 10.1 33.1

25 77 3.2 10.0 32.8

30 86 4.3 9.9 32.5

35 95 5.6 9.8 32.2

40 104 7.7 9.5 31.2

45 113 9.6 9.4 30.8

 50 122 12.5 9.1 29.9

55 131 15.7 8.7 28.5

60 140 20 8.3 27.2

65 149 25 7.8 25.6

70 158 32.1 7.1 23.3

75 167 38.6 6.4 21

80 176 47.5 5.5 18

85 185 57.8 4.4 14.4

90 194 70 3.2 10.5

95 203 84.5 1.7 5.6

100 212 101.33 0.0 0

Pumping Hydrocarbons
Be aware that the NPSH specification provided by the manufacturer in general is
for use with cold water. For hydrocarbons these values must be lowered to
account for the vapor release properties of complex organic liquids.
Note that the head developed by a pump is independent of the liquid, and that the
performance curves for water from the manufacturer can be used for Newtonian
liquids like gasoline, diesel or similar. Be aware that required power depends on
liquid density and must be adjusted.
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Suction Specific Speed may be used to determine what pump geometry - radial,
mixed flow or axial - to use for maximum efficiency and prevent cavitation. Suction
Specific Speed is commonly used as a basis for estimating the safe operating
range of a pump.
Suction Specific Speed is dimensionless and are expressed as
Nss = ω q1/2 / NPSHr3/4 (1)
where
Nss = Suction Specific Speed
ω = pump shaft rotational speed (rpm)
q = flow rate capacity (m3/h, l/s, m3/min, US gpm, British gpm) at Best Efficiency
Point BEP
NPSHr = pump NPSH required at best efficiency point (m, ft)
Specific Suction Speed can be compared with Specific Speed but instead of using
the total head of the pump, the available Net Positive Suction Head N.P.S.H.a is
used.
As a rule of thumb the Specific Suction Speed should be below 8500 (calculated
with US gpm) to avoid cavitation.
Online Specific Suction Speed Pump Calculator
The calculator below can used to calculate pump specific speed:
Top of Form
1750

ω - pump shaft rotational speed (rpm)

500

q - flow rate (m3/h, l/s, m3/min, US gpm, British gpm)

20

NPSHr - required Net Positive Suction Head (m, ft)

Bottom of Form

Note! When comparing pumps and their documentation be aware of the units
used.
Suction Specific Speed - Ss - is useful in determining the required operating
conditions on the suction side of the pump. For geometrically similar pumps
the Ss have the same value.
Empirical studies indicates that higher Suction Specific Speed is, the narrower is
the safe operating range from its Best Efficiency Point (BEP). Pump models
with Ssd (US units) less than 11000 have more stable operation and are more
reliable.
Convert between Imperial units (gpm) and Metric units (m3/h,
l/s)
 • Nss (US gpm) = 1.63 Nss (metric l/s) = 0.86 Nss (metric m3/h)
• Nss (Metric l/s) = 0.614 Nss (US gpm)
• Nss (Metric l/s) = 0.67 Nss (British gpm)
Example - Specific Suction Speed
The available Net Suction Head - NPSHa - of a pump is determined to be 20 ft.
With a rotational speed of 1750 rpm and a flow rate of 500 US gpm the Specific
Suction Speed can be calculated as
Nss = (1750 rpm) (500 gpm)1/2 / (20 ft)3/4
= 4138
Well below the limit 8500 to avoid cavitation.
Double Suction Type Pumps
For a double suction pump the flow at the inlet is divided by two. Using a double
suction pump is one way of meeting system NPSH and obtaining a higher head.
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