Experimental Apparatus for the Study of Centrifugal Pumps in Series and Parallel Configuration

The apparatus enables systematic investigation of centrifugal pump behaviour in individual, series and parallel configurations. In series operation the total head equals the sum of the individual pump heads; in parallel operation the total flow rate equals the sum of the individual flow rates. This behaviour is directly analogous to series and parallel configurations of electrical resistances, providing students with an intuitive framework for the analysis of complex hydraulic networks.

The unit is fully self-contained and features two identical multi-stage centrifugal pumps with variable-speed drives. Switching between series and parallel operation is achieved via ball valves, with no rewiring or hardware modification required. Each pump is equipped with inlet and outlet pressure sensors; dedicated transducers also measure flow rate, rotational speed and absorbed electrical power, enabling complete characterisation of every configuration without any external instrumentation or base module. All measured values are acquired in real time and transmitted to a PC for display and analysis using the dedicated data acquisition software.