PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF END SUCTION, SINGLE STAGE, RADIAL DISCHARGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMP IN TURBINE MODE OPERATION

Pump as Turbine (PAT) provides a cost-effective alternative to conventional hydro turbines for high terrain rural areas where grid supply is not feasible. PAT technology is simple, low in cost and easy to harness. End suction centrifugal pumps are readily available as compared to conventional custom made hydro turbines. This paper presents theoretical, numerical and experimental study of radial discharge centrifugal pump in hydro turbine mode. Experimental setup is used to investigate performance of radial discharge end suction mono block centrifugal pump in pump and turbine mode and the results are compared with theoretical and numerical results. Performance characteristic of mono block pump of specific speed 20.28 (m, m3 /s) in turbine mode operation are determined through experiment. The experiment results reveal suitability of using a mono block centrifugal pump in hydro turbine mode. The results confirm that the pump in hydro turbine mode operate at higher heads and discharge as compared to the pump mode operation. BEP (best efficiency point) for the pump in hydro turbine mode is lower than in pump mode operation. Correlations proposed by earlier researchers for performance prediction of pump in hydro turbine mode are also tested