Likewise, pump power and NPSHr increase as viscosity increases. A more viscous fluid will generally experience a decrease in volumetric flow rate, head and efficiency compared to water at the same pump speed. Due to the importance of centrifugal pump performance in every fluid industry, it is imperative that accurate corrections are used when a centrifugal pump uses a thicker fluid than what the pump manufacturer used to evaluate the performance. Pump performance curves describe the head added to a fluid, pump power and net positive suction head required (NPSHr) at a variety of different volumetric flow rates.
But what happens when the fluid’s viscosity significantly deviates from water? This is where engineers need to adjust the pump performance curves to account for the difference in viscosity between water and the actual fluid in the pump. Typically, pump manufacturers use water to obtain the values for their pump performance curves, even if the intended service of the pump is for a fluid with properties that are different from water. For example, a fluid with high viscosity, such as maple syrup, is thicker and resists flow more when compared to a fluid with a lower viscosity, like water. It is a fluid’s resistance to flow and is higher for thicker fluids. Viscosity is a fundamental property of a liquid.
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