Fluids and fluid movers such as pumps, compressors of various designs and applications, are encountered throughout chemical and process industries, including oil refineries, gas production facilities, power generation, and other fields of engineering. As fluids can be in-process material in the form of liquid, gas, or a mixture of both with solids, corresponding pumps and compressors sometimes have to satisfy high demands of efficient transport of complex and difficult fluids. The progress in the design and application of pumps, compressors, and turbines has been so rapid that currently, all limitations of pressure, capacity, temperature, and nature of fluids have disappeared. At the same time, this advance in construction and application has presented numerous problems: mechanical, hydraulic, operating, economic, etc.
A thorough understanding of basic principles of fluid flow in pumps, compressors, and turbines as well as in piping systems is a prerequisite for the successful design, installation, and operation of these machines. Various numerical examples are selected carefully to be from real-life technical practice, and will help remove any misconception reflected in an inefficiently operating piping system. Design and operation of gas turbines due to their complexity, require special attention and information on their interaction with axial compressors.