Hydraulic Design of Pump Intakes

The material presented herein is a condensation of experimentally derived results and of many observations of the operation of a pumping plant built into water intakes of diverse design during the course of ad hoc investigations by the writer for the Electricity Commission of New South Wales, Australia. Critical values of a wall friction parameter are established as a basis for proportioning approach channel passages in hydraulic models on the pump intakes. Models that satisfy the critical limits when adjusted experimentally to yield zero swirl at the suction pipe inlet have been found to give reliable indications of full scale behavior, both in regard to swirl correction and freedom from air entrainment. The report has been framed in general terms for the use of design engineers engaged in power station, pumping station, or dock design, and is illustrated by several examples of successful design.