Priming of a centrifugal pump
Priming of a centrifugal pump is the process of filling the liquid at the suction pipe and the impeller. Priming is done to put pump into working order by filling or charging with water.
Why Priming is required ?
Pressure developed by the impeller of centrifugal pump, is proportional to the density of he fluid in the impeller. If the impeller is running in air, it will produce only a negligible pressure. This pressure will not suck water from its source through the suction pipe. To avoid this, pump is first filled up with water.
Priming is done as follows :
- First of all the suction pipe and impeller is completely filled with water.
- The delivery valve is closed and the pump is started.
- The rotating impeller pushes water in the delivery pipe, opens the delivery valve and sucks water through suction pipe.
Reference :
A textbook of hydraulics, fluid mechanics and hydraulic machines by R.S. Khurmi
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