Centrifugal Pump Characteristics for Crude Oil Transfer

The objectives of the project are to determine the range viscosity and specific gravity of
crude oil to be transferred using centrifugal pump, to evaluate the important
characteristic of centrifugal pump to be used for crude oil transfer suitable for a range of
crude oil properties and to evaluate temperature effect on crude oil properties, hence
centrifugal pump characteristics curve. The problem faces in this project is effective and
efficient crude oil transfer using centrifugal pump requires a proper design for different
types of crude oil properties and the characteristics of centrifugal pump. There are two
characteristics of crude oil that always affected efficiency and the performance of
centrifugal pump which are viscosity and specific gravity. Crude oil consists of three
types which are light crude oil, medium crude oil and heavy crude oil. Heavy crude oil
is very viscous in properties followed by medium crude oil and light crude oil. Flow rate
of pump decreases as viscosity (heavy crude oil) increase and decrease as specific
gravity of crude oil increase. Characteristics of centrifugal pump which are total head,
efficiency, net positive suction head required and brake horsepower will be affected if
flow rate of the pump low. A few experiments have been set-up to study the
characteristic curves when centrifugal pump pumping different properties of fluids. First
experiments were density test and viscosity test. Second experiment was pump test rig
experiment to see the effect of fluid properties towards pump performance and lastly,
temperature effect test on fluids during centrifugal pump pumping the fluid. The highest
viscosity of crude oil was heavy crude oil with 4.034 cp and the highest specific gravity
was sea water with 1.027. Head of pump when pumping water was higher compared to
pumping heavy crude oil with shut off head 8.434 m. Centrifugal pump was very
efficient when pumping water with 17.858. Power output required to pump sea water
was the higher with 19W compared to other fluids. Net positive suction head required of
diesel and light crude oil showed the high differential value between vapor head and
suction head which was 83% from 0 flow rate to 0.0002 m3/s flow rate. Fluids will be
heated up in order to decrease the viscosity effect of fluids, hence increase the pump
performances. The results had shown that the theory has been approved when the same
pattern performance graph were executed.