UBJECT: The difference between specific speed and suction specific speed 912

The best way to describe the shape of an impeller is to use its specific speed
number. This is a dimensionless number that was generated by the formula :

Capacity in GPM. Largest impeller at the BEP.

Head. use the larget impeller at the bep. To get the 3/4 power, cube the
number and take the square root of the resultant number, two times
The following chart gives you a graphic picture of the impeller shape represented
by this number:

The major use of the specific speed number is to help you specify pumps that are
more efficient.
The maximum pump efficiency is obtained in the specific speed range of
2000 to 3000.
Pumps for high head low capacity occupy the range 500 to 1000. While low
head high capacity pumps may have a specific speed of 15,000 or larger.
For a given head and capacity the good news is that the pump having the
highest specific speed, that will meet the requirements, probably will be the
smallest size and the least expensive. The bad news it that it will run at the
highest speed where abrasive wear and cavitation damage become a
problem.

 Efficiencies start dropping drastically at specific speeds below 1000. Also

smaller capacities exhibit lower efficiencies than higher capacities at all
specific speeds.
In propeller and other high specific speed impellers (axial flow) it is not
practical to use a volute casing. Instead, the impeller is enclosed in a pipe
like casing.
The lower the specific speed number, the higher the power loss you get with
wear ring clearance.
The clearance between the impeller and the tongue of the volute has a bearing on
efficiency, pressure pulsations and cavitation. For high efficiency you would want
a small clearance, but this produces larger pressure pulsations and the increased
flow in this area can reduce the fluid pressure enough to cause flashing of the
product and a type of cavitation known as " The vane passing syndrome".
For impellers up to fourteen inches in diameter (355 mm) this clearance should be
a minimum of four percent of the impeller diameter. If you are using greater than
fourteen inch diameter impellers the clearance should be at least six percent of the
impeller diameter. Also remember that as this clearance increases the impeller
experiences some slippage. That is the major reason that we do not like to remove
more than ten percent of the impeller diameter when trimming is called for.
If you work in both metric and imperial units as I do, the subject of specific speed
becomes very confusing because both systems use the same specific speed
numbers to describe the impeller shape. They do this even though they use a
different set of units to arrive at the same number.
In the metric system the capacity is calculated in liters/ minute and the head in
meters. Knowledgeable people in this area feel that if the calculations are done in
imperial or other metric units the final number should be reduced by the following
amount:
U.S. Gallons/ minute and feet divide the result by 1.63
U.K. Imperial gallons and feet divide the result by 1.93
M3/hour and meters divide the result by 1.50
SUCTION SPECIFIC SPEED is another number that we use in pump selection.
The formula looks the same as the regular specific speed formula, but in this
formula we use the NPSH required number rather than the total head produced by
the pump.

 Capacity in GPM. Largest impeller at the BEP.

NPSHR Larget impeller at the bep. To get the 3/4 power: cube the number
and take the square root of the resultant number, two times
NPSHR = Net positive suction head required to prevent cavitation. Remember that
this number is for sixty eight degree F. (20C) fresh water. You are going to have to
add the vapor pressure of you product to this number to get the real number that
you will be using.
We use this number to predict cavitation problems with your impeller selection.
The flow angle of the inlet vanes and the number of vanes affect this
number.
A desired value would be below 8500 with impellers having a flow angle of
about seventeen degrees and five to seven vanes. The higher the flow angle
number, the faster the liquid will travel and the lower suction head
(pressure) we will get.
Boiler feed and condensate pumps often require suction specific speed
numbers as high as 12,000 to 18,000 because of the temperature and
pressure of the water. To get to these values the impeller inlet flow angle is
reduced to a low as ten degrees and the number of vanes reduced to as little
as four . Fewer and thinner vanes help to reduce the blockage in the impeller
inlet. A disadvantage to these low flow angles is that the pump will probably
run very rough at below fifty percent of capacity.
Water applications can run at these higher numbers because the amount of
fluid expansion is very low for hot water. Mixed hydro-carbons have this
same advantage because unlike a single product, the flashing of the mixed
hydro-carbons does not take place all at the same time.
The higher the suction specific speed number the narrower the stable
window of operation.
Inducers have been used successfully with suction specific speed numbers
of approximately 24, 000
Should the available NPSH be so low that a suction specific speed number
of more than 18,000 is required, then a separate axial flow impeller (an

inducer) can be used ahead of the centrifugal impeller to prevent cavitation.

Its flow angle is some where between five and ten degrees with typically
two vanes and no more than four. In other instances a booster pump can be
installed between the pump and the source.
In their desire to quote a low NPSH required some manufacturers will cut
away the impeller inlet vanes to reduce fluid drag and thereby lower the
NPSH required. If this has been done with your application, you must insure
that the impeller to volute clearance is adjusted correctly with open impeller
designs and the wear ring clearance meets the manufacturers specifications
with closed impeller designs, or you will experience internal recirculation
problems and cavitation at the impeller outlet vane tips. Keep the suction
specific speed number below 8500 and this problem should never comes up.
In the metric system we calculate the capacity in liters/sec and the NPSH in meters.
You should try to keep the final SSS number below 5200. Above 7800 you're going
to have trouble with internal recirculation and cavitation.