Pump Engineering Handbook

An open knowledge base on industrial pumping — centrifugal, gear (external and internal), thermal-oil, and fire-fighting (NFPA-20 / NBR-16704) — written by engineers at FB Bombas, a Brazilian pump manufacturer operating since 1944.

The math, selection logic, and compliance references are generic and apply to any manufacturer’s equipment. Examples reference our own catalog where it is useful for grounding the discussion in real-world models.

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Contents

1. Centrifugal pumps

• Normalized centrifugal pumps — ISO 2858 / ASME B73.1
• Selection logic and operating point
• Hydraulic performance testing — ANSI/HI 14.6

2. Gear pumps

• External gear pumps — fundamentals
• Internal gear pumps — viscous and shear-sensitive fluids

3. Thermal-oil pumps

• Thermal oil circulation — design considerations

4. Fire-fighting pumps

• NFPA-20 overview
• NBR 16704 — the Brazilian fire-pump standard

5. Glossary

• Pump terminology — trilingual (PT / EN / ES)

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How to read this handbook

This is a reference, not a textbook. Each page is self-contained and answers a specific question an engineer or buyer might face during sizing, procurement, or commissioning. Every page links to:

1. The relevant standard (ISO, API, NFPA, ASME, ANSI/HI, NBR).
2. The relevant product line in the FB Bombas catalog where one of our models is a useful concrete example — never as a sales pitch.

If you find a mistake, open an issue or PR. We respond within five business days.

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About FB Bombas

We design, machine, assemble, and test industrial pumps in Cabreúva, São Paulo.

• Website: www.fbbombas.com.br
• Product catalog: centrifugal · gear · internal gear · thermal oil
• Technical manuals: Manuais técnicos
• Compliance: CRCC Petrobras · API 610 · API 676 · NFPA-20 · NBR 16704
• Contact: comercial@fbbombas.com.br · +55 11 4898-9200

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License

• Code (any utility scripts here): MIT
• Documentation (everything in docs/): CC BY 4.0

Attribution: please credit FB Bombas and link back to this repository when reusing material.

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More from the FB Bombas open knowledge base

All knowledge-base sites are hosted on GitHub Pages and licensed under CC BY 4.0 (or CC BY-ND 4.0 for the manuals mirror).

• nfpa20-fire-pump-checklist — 47-item NFPA-20 / NBR-16704 fire-pump compliance checklist
• pump-procurement-playbook — Industrial pump procurement playbook — RFQ, TCO, contract clauses
• pump-glossary-multilang — Trilingual pump glossary — PT / EN / ES with gotchas and standard references
• latam-pump-buyers-guide — Country-by-country LATAM procurement guide — Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru
• fb-bombas-technical-manuals — Official FB Bombas technical manuals (PDF) — FBCN, FBE, FBEI, FBOT

Canonical FB Bombas: www.fbbombas.com.br · Manuais técnicos