Top-tier operators and engineers are expected to independently evaluate whether a proposed pump is genuinely the right pump for a job — reading the full family of curves a manufacturer publishes, running real NPSH numbers instead of relying on symptoms alone, applying the affinity laws to predict how a speed or diameter change will affect performance, and following a defensible selection methodology. This is the first of two advanced guides on this topic; the second covers vibration, alignment, and pump station design.
Full Pump Curve Analysis: Head, Efficiency, and Power Together
Earlier tiers focused on the head-versus-flow curve alone. A complete manufacturer pump curve sheet actually overlays three curves on the same flow axis:
- Head vs. flow — the familiar downward-sloping curve.
- Efficiency vs. flow — rises from zero at shutoff, peaks somewhere in the middle of the