Centrifugal Pumps Design and Application 2nd ed - Val S. Lobanoff, Robert R. Ross (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1992)

Volute Design 53
Figure 5-2. Radial thrust factor.
though the volute proper is symmetrical about its centerline, the two passages
carrying the liquid to the discharge flange often are not. For this
reason, the pressure forces around the impeller periphery do not precisely
cancel, and a radial force does exist even in double-volute pumps.
Values of the constant K have been established experimentally by actually
measuring the pressure distributions in a variety of double-volute
pumps. The data presented in Figure 5-2 apply to conventional singlestage
double-volute pumps and indicate substantial reductions in the magnitude
of K. Tests on multistage pumps with completely symmetrical
double-volute casings indicate that the radial thrust is nearly zero over
the full operating range of the pump.
The hydraulic performance of double-volute pumps is nearly as good
as that of single-volute pumps. Tests indicate that a double-volute pump
will be approximately one to one and one-half points less efficient at
BEP, but will be approximately two points more efficient on either side of
BEP than a comparable single-volute pump. Thus the double-volute casing
produces a higher efficiency over the full range of the head-capacity
curve than a single volute.
Double-volute pump casings should not be used in low-flow (below
400 GPM) single-stage pumps. The small liquid passages behind the long