Page 12 - Centrifugal Pumps Design and Application

Preface

When Val and I decided to collaborate and write the first edition, our
goal was to produce an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand, practical text-
book stressing hydraulic design, that could be of hands-on use to the
pump designer, student, and rotating equipment engineer. Although feed-
back from readers indicates that we achieved our desired goal, we did
recognize that we had omitted several important topics. We had said little
about the design of chemical pumps and touched only lightly on the ex-
tensive range of composite materials and the manufacturing techniques
used in nonmetallic pump applications. We had totally ignored the subject
of mechanical seals, yet we fully recognized that a knowledge of seal
fundamentals and theory of operation is essential to the pump designer
and rotating equipment engineer.
Another major omission was the subject of vibration and noise in cen-
trifugal pumps. With today's high energy pumps operating at ever in-
creasing speeds, it is essential that we understand the sources of pump
noise and causes of vibration that result from installation, application,
cavitation, pulsation, or acoustic resonance.
Although we had touched lightly on rotor dynamics, we felt this sub-
ject deserved to be expanded, particularly in the areas of bearing stiffness
and damping, seal effects, and the evaluation of critical speed calcula-
tions. Finally, we had said nothing about the knowledge necessary to ex-
tend pump life during installation and operation, which requires a deep
understanding of bearings, lubrication, mechanical seal reliability, and
the external alignment of pump and driver.

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