Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Preliminary investigation of overall efficiency of motor-driven pump systems powered by a variable frequency drive with and without impeller trimming. |
| Authors: |
Wang, Gang (AUTHOR) g.wang2@miami.edu, Bejar, Danielle (AUTHOR), Alonso Sevilla, Thomas (AUTHOR), Ding, Li (AUTHOR) |
| Source: |
Science & Technology for the Built Environment. Feb2026, Vol. 32 Issue 2, p182-196. 15p. |
| Subjects: |
Variable speed drives, Impellers, Performance-based design, Simulation methods & models, Induction motors, Electric pumps, Mechanical efficiency |
| Abstract: |
Due to direct shaft connection to induction motors, centrifugal pumps can only run at a limited number of speeds. Impeller trimming is normally applied to fine tune the pump operating point to match the demanded design performance with degraded pump efficiency. Due to dynamic water flow, motors are often powered by variable frequency drives (VFDs). The question is whether the VFD can replace impeller trimming to achieve the design performance without degrading pump efficiency. The objective of this paper is to investigate the overall efficiency of motor-driven pump systems powered by a VFD with and without impeller trimming through simulations. First, potential approaches to obtain pump efficiency and the equivalent circuit method to obtain motor efficiency are discussed. Second, an approach to obtain pump efficiency is identified using manufacturer data. Finally, the overall efficiency with and without impeller trimming is simulated for a 4 × 5×13.5 pump on the right and left boundaries of the preferred operation region as well as the best efficiency points. The simulation results reveal that the utilization of VFDs can provide an absolute improvement of 10% in the efficiency if the impeller is trimmed below 12.5 inch but risk of overloaded motors exists with incorrect VFD settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|
Copyright of Science & Technology for the Built Environment is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| Database: |
Engineering Source |
