Shaft pump power - effect of pipe network configuration

Abstract

Building design has often many engineering challenges to achieve the best possible energy and economic efficiencies. It is necessary to use technological tools capable of predicting with a high degree of accuracy the behavior of a pipe network system in order to obtain good designs that avoid problems in the future. This study is focused on the analysis of three pipe networks with different floors and the same configuration on each level. Four case studies have been developed in order to analyze the energy requirements and the outlet pressure of a pump for multiple pipe diameters, various floors, and fluid flow rates. The effects of the pipe diameter and the flow rate on the energy cost have been also analyzed. It has been observed that an increase in the flow rate in a pipeline of one inch of diameter causes a huge increase in the pump power when working on the net with a single floor. In addition, it has been found out that the higher the number of the floors is, the higher the pump powder is. However, this effect has not been significant when using pipelines with high diameters. Besides, it has been found out that the higher the number of the floors is, the higher the pressure drop in the system is. This effect is highly significant when using pipelines with small diameters. The total pump power cost had an exponential decay with the increase in pipe diameter.