1. Choosing a means of transport for a liquid

The design of a pumping system responds to a need: to transport a certain quantity of liquid from point A to point B, every month, or every day, or every hour. There are a wide variety of ways of satisfying this need: you can use a mobile container, the modern example of which is the tanker truck.

The differences between transporting a fluid in a container and transporting a fluid by pumping are so considerable that it's essential to explain them. Pumping is a system in which only the fluid is in motion, all the other elements - the pump, piping and accessories - are immobile in space, and this has very significant consequences...