This course is designed to help engineers design, test, and run pumps and systems that are more effective, more economical, and more reliable. Engineers will come to understand the best state-of-the-art design practices and learn the latest theories on performance, cavitation, dynamic forces, and noise. The course will review the latest advances in design tools, and will provide expert and relevant instruction to designers on pump design optimization.

The course begins with an extensive survey of the current technology base for pump design, covering impellers, diffusers, volutes, and other flow elements. The limitations on pump operation and range due to stall and other instabilities are described. Special attention is given to problems and design issues specifically associated with pump flows, namely cavitation, unsteady flow, and vibration. The analysis of stress and vibration in centrifugal pumps will be covered in detail.

Emphasis is placed on modern methods available to the pump designer for blade layout and design, using flexible geometric techniques associated with hydrodynamic loading calculations and the computational fluid dynamic analysis of pump flows. The advantages and limitations of such analysis are reviewed thoroughly by the instructor.

• Where the pump design process begins
• What the trade-offs are in any design process
• What challenges face today's pump designers, as related to fluid dynamics and mechanical behavior of pump operation
• How modern design techniques can improve performance and reduce engineering costs.
• How to interpret performance data
• What cavitation is and how to control it
• How advanced computer software can be used to improve the process of pump design and selection
• What unusual pump performance problems are being studied today

• The foundation of pump design and performance
• Impellers and impeller loss modeling
• Diffusers
• Volutes and return channels
• Pump stall and instability
• Cavitation
• Design tools and design optimization
• Testing and instrumentation procedures
• Stress analysis of pump casings
• Vibration prediction and analysis
• Vibration test and measurement techniques

Dr. Christopher E. Brennen
Dr. Brennen was educated at the University of Oxford, UK, where he received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in Engineering Science. He has been a member of the faculty at the California Institute of Technology since 1969 and has published more than 150 papers on a wide variety of topics involving fluid mechanics. Dr. Brennen is especially well known for his work on cavitation, on turbomachinery flows, and on multi-phase flow. He has authored and/or coauthored four books and has received numerous awards for his teaching and research.

Dr. David Japikse
Dr. Japikse received his master's and doctoral degrees at Purdue University. He founded Concepts ETI in 1980 and guided the company as president until 2000 when he led the acquisition of NREC's consulting and engineering software business. He currently serves as Concepts NREC's chairman of the board. He has been responsible for many activities in centrifugal pump design, consulting, and research, and has developed a number of innovative design techniques. Dr. Japikse has also published extensively and teaches regularly to engineers. He has received many awards including the James Harry Potter Gold Medal from ASME for "?innovative, pioneering contributions in the field of thermodynamics as applied to turbomachinery design." He is a Fellow in the ASME and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Mr. Michael Platt
Mr. Platt is a specialist in structural and vibration analysis and rotor dynamic instabilities at Concepts NREC. He previously worked at Textron Lycoming on shock, vibration, and related test programs. At Concepts NREC his responsibilities include the development of structural, modal, and rotordynamic analysis features for the company's pump design systems. He is also involved in industrial and government projects in these areas.

Participants will receive a copy of Centrifugal Pump Design and Performance by David Japikse, William D. Marscher, and Raymond Furst; and Hydrodynamics of Pumps by Christopher E. Brennen. These two books are durable references of lasting value to all pump engineers.

Graduate credit may be earned for this course by qualified participants who register for course number ME 247 with the University of Vermont and complete the course and approved homework study. The course grade will appear on a University of Vermont transcript and may be transferred to other graduate programs in most recognized colleges and universities in the USA. Contact the Course Registrar at Concepts NREC for more details.