Suction Piping Design Guidelines : What is a good reference for optimal pump suction piping design? HI is light on acceptable designs, specifically avoiding air gaps, pipe sizing, length & fittings.

NPSHA and NPSHR are good criteria for selection of Suction pipe size, length, fittings etc.

Suction velocity & cavitation should be considered as important

Thanks! Specifically, is there a manual that shows the necessity of avoiding high points in suction piping?

Pumping Station Design Third Edition by Jones, G.M., et al, does mention this and does include a fair amount practical design information, with figures, on pump piping in general. The issue of high spots in the line is also mentioned in Pump Handbook Fourth Edition by Karassik, I.J., et al.

Sufficient NPSHa higher than NPSHr, 10 pipe diameter straight run, velocity 4-7 ft/sec

Selection of suction reducer(concentric/eccentric) should be carefully done.

Selection of suction reducer(concentric/eccentric) should be carefully done.

Cameron Hydraulic Data Book does not go deep into design recommendations but does a great job of clearly providing the necessary information to allow you to make good safe selections. It is also easy to navigate if you are not an engineer. I recommend it for anyones library.

Hi, if the source of water is from an open tank/ sump , then pl refer the literature related to such situation, BHRA Pump / Sump intake design, HIS (US) gives good references and guidelines for such installations. These are applicable for both centrifugal pumps intake from open reservoir as well as for wet pit vertical turbine pumps.

When designing the suction pipework and you need to reduce from the pipe diameter to the smaller pump suction flange diameter, always use flat top / eccentric reducers to minimise trapped air.