Grundfos ECADEMY

Pump selection basics

Calculating Total Dynamic Head

Learning Outcomes

After this course you should be able to:

• Understand the difference, and importance of sizing and selection in the Pump selection process

• Calculate Total Dynamic Head in order to Size a Centrifugal pump

• Overview of Centrifugal pump Curves

• Determine how to select the correct pump based on operating point

• Analyze Various Selection Criteria

Sizing vs Selecting
a Pump

• In order to Size the pump we must know or

determine the Head and the Flow required to
meet the system demands.

• Once we have properly sized the pump we can

then begin the “Selection” process to
determine which pump would be the best
When we say “Head” for this
pump for our application. exercise we are talking about the
• We select which pump is best based on a
TDH or Total Dynamic Head in the
number of different criteria such as: system.
• Pump Efficiency

• Power required for the Pump

• NPSHr or the Net Positive Suction Head

required by the pump

• Piping configuration

• and other considerations.

Calculating Total Dynamic Head (TDH)
• Depending on the type of system all of these
components may not need to be calculated.

• However, in other systems we may have to calculate

additional factors. We will not have to worry about
those for the examples in this module because we are
only dealing with cool water for this introductory
course.

Elevation Pressure Friction loss Total

Head Head (Hf) Dynamic
(He) (Hp) Usually rated Head
Rated in feet Rated in feet in feet (TDH)

For the examples in this training module we will only be doing calculations using approximately 60° F water.
Centrifugal pump curves are not rated in psi but in feet of head.
Determining
Elevation Head (He)

• Elevation head is calculated

from the surface of the
water’s original location to
the upper surface of the
water’s destination.
200 ft
• If we wanted to begin to
pump the water from the
lower tank to the upper tank
what would be the starting
elevation?

• Yes, the elevation head is

200ft.
Determining Elevation Head (He)
• If the tank eventually drew down
to this level, what is the total
elevation of the system now?

• The elevation head

is still 200ft.

200 ft
300 ft
Determining Elevation Head (He)
• Notice, that we have changed
the pipe running into the
upper tank!

• What is the elevation head

now?

• It’s still 200 ft. Changing the 200 ft

piping did not change the
elevation head
Determining Pressure Head (Hp)
• The second component that we
need to account for in our total
dynamic head (TDH) calculation
is pressure. 20 psi
100 ft
• This may be either pressure
that we want to add to the
system or pressure that our
pump needs to overcome .

• Here we have 100 feet of

elevation head but we are also
pumping into a tank that is pre-
charged with 20psi of pressure.

• Because the centrifugal pump

curves will be rated in feet of Pressure in tank = 20 psi = 20 x 2.31 = 46 ft
head instead of pressure, we
must convert any pressure Elevation head = 100 ft
change into feet.
Total dynamic head = 100 + 46 =146 ft
Converting Between
Head and Pressure

• To better understand pressure and head, we

will start with the properties of water.

• One cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons

and weighs 62.4 pounds.

9
Converting Between 1 foot of head
Head and Pressure

• If we’re looking to convert one foot of head to 62.4 lbs

psi, we’re looking for the force per unit area in
one square inch. =
• In one square foot there are 144 square inches 144 in2
(12x12) so if we divide 62.4 by 144 we will
determine how many pounds per square inch
are in one foot of water.

• There are 0.433 pounds per square inch per

= 0.433 psi
foot of head or 1 foot of water =0.4333 psi

11
Converting Between 1 psi
Head and Pressure

• Let’s to convert pressure or psi to head or feet. 1 psi

• We can do that by simple division. =
• This gives us the very important number that
0.433 psi/ft
states that 1 psi equals 2.31 feet.

= 2.31 ft

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Head and Pressure Examples Based on Water
• Now if each of these tubes were filled
with water, what would be the
corresponding pressure or PSI?

• The first tube is filled with water up to

100 feet. Using the formula, what would
the gauge read?

• Now on this middle column is 80 feet of

head. What would this gauge read?
100 ft
• And on this short one, at 23 feet of head. 80 ft
What would the gauge read?

• So if you know the head in a system, you

can convert to PSI.

• And if you can read the gauge pressure in 23 ft

a system, you can convert to feet of head.

43.29 psi 34.6 psi 9.956709957 psi

Determining Friction Head (Hf)
• Friction head is the third and final part of
calculating TDH.

• Friction is the drag the piping puts on the water

as it flows. That friction amounts to lost energy,
or reduced pressure, and we can measure or
calculate the effect. We use a chart like this.

• This chart is for new steel pipe. There are other

charts for copper, plastic, etc.

• Here is the column with the flow rate.

• Here’s the column for friction head loss. Notice

that it is expressed as loss PER 100 FEET OF PIPE!!!

• So if we have 100 feet of pipe, and we are flowing

at 10 gpm, what is the head loss?

• Right. 6.81 feet.

Determining Friction Head (Hf)
• That’s almost 7 extra feet of head the pump has
to work against.

• What if we had 300 feet of this pipe, at 10 gpm?

What would be the friction head loss?

• Yes, it would be almost 21 feet.

Calculating Friction Head
• We are pumping 10 gpm through 250 feet of pipe.
What is the friction loss?
10 gpm
• Our Total Length of pipe is 250 feet.

• We have to divide that by 100 (because our friction loss 250 ft

charts are per 100 feet of pipe)

• Then that amount is multiplied by our friction factor for

10 gallons per minute through 1” steel pipe. If we
250/100 x 6.81 = 17 ft
remember from our previous example it is 6.81 feet of
head loss per 100 feet.

• This will give us a total of 17 feet. Pressure = 0 ft

• And in this picture, what is the pressure the pump is
working against? Yes. 0 psi.
TDH = 17 + 0 = 17 ft
• And the elevation head is 0 feet.

• So the TDH in this system is 17 feet.

Determining Fitting Friction
• There is one more piece to the
friction pie.

• The water actually has pretty

smooth sailing through pipe.
But valves and fittings create a
lot of turbulence, which can add
up to a good bit of friction.

• You use a chart like this to

calculate friction losses through
valves and fittings.

• Take a moment to study this

chart.

• A reality in the field is that most

people disregard valve and
fitting friction in many systems,
and will often use some type of
“Rule of Thumb”.
Determining Fitting Friction
• A reality in the field is that most
people disregard valve and
fitting friction in many systems,
and will often use some type of
“Rule of Thumb”.

• In some cases it may only

amount to a few feet of head
loss; however in other systems
it may be a large loss.

• But be careful!!!! If you come

across a system that is not
providing enough flow, it might
be because there are so many
valves and fittings that were not
considered that the head is
higher than calculated. And the
higher the head, the less flow a
pump can provide to the
system.
Determining Fitting Friction
• we must understand that these
numbers are not friction values
in feet

• These numbers are equivalent

lengths of pipe

• For instance, the friction loss

through one 1 ¼ inch Standard
90 degree Elbow

• Is equal to the loss in 3.6 feet of

1 ¼ inch pipe.

• The real large friction loss

through valves and fittings can These are NOT
be seen when there are valves in friction values!!!
a system that are partially
closed.
Putting It All Together
• Now we will do a complete total Dynamic Head
calculation with 100 gpm of water through 100 ft
of 2 ½” schedule 40 steel pipe.
Wide Open
• Our system also has two standard 90° elbows
Globe Valve
and one wide open globe valve.

• We are pumping from a open storage tank with

zero psi 75 feet up into a storage tank where we
want 60 psi.

• One quick point for this example. We are

selecting this pump based on the current water
level in the tank.

• As the water goes down in the tank, it will affect

pump performance.

• We will look at how this change will affect our

pump later in this training module.
1) Determine Fitting Friction
• First we look up thefriction loss
through a 2 ½” inch standard 90
degree elbow

• This equal to the friction loss

through 6.5 feet of straight 2-1/2
inch pipe

• Then we find the friction loss

through a 2 ½” inch wide open Globe
Valve

• This is equal to the friction loss

through 70 feet of straight 2-1/2 inch
pipe
3) Calculating Friction Head

• Now we will calculate total friction loss

through our pipe and fittings.
• We have 100 feet of actual pipe
• For types of fittings we have 2 x 90 degree elbows
• This gives us a total length of all pipe and fittings of 183 feet
• Equivalent length value of each is 6.5 feet as we
previously looked up in the table • Then we divide our 183 feet of pipe by 100 because the charts
are friction loss per 100 feet of pipe
• This adds up to a length of 13 feet for our 2 elbows
• We multiply that by the friction factor of 7.09 that we found
• The new have for types of fittings 1 x Globe Valve
in the previous slide
• Equivalent length value of 70 feet as we also
saw in the table • Which gives us a total friction loss of 13 feet

• This makes our total equivalent length

of our fittings 13 + 70 = 83 feet
2) Determine Friction Head
• Now we will determine our friction
loss factor through the 2 ½” pipe at
100 gallons per minute

• So, we need to determine where

the flow of 100 GPM intersects
with the HEAD LOSS Column in
order to determine our head loss.

• We can see that the two columns

intersect at 7.09 feet of head loss
per 100 feet of pipe.
4) Calculating Total
Dynamic Head

• Now we key in our 13 feet of friction loss in

our total Dynamic Head Calculation. 13 ft
• Then we multiply our required pressure of 60
psi times 2.31 which equals 138.6 feet of head 60 psi x 2.31 = 138.6 ft
• Add in our 75 feet of elevation head

• Total the 3 measurements to equal 226.6 ft. elevation head= 75 ft

• This tells us that we want to select a pump for
100 gallons per minute at 226.6 feet of head

• We will use this head and flow later to select

TDH = 226.6 ft
a centrifugal pump.