3D Particle image velocimetry test of inner flow in a double blade pump impeller

The double blade pump is widely used in sewage treatment industry,however,the research on the internal flow characteristics of the double blade pump with particle image velocimetry(PIV) technology is very little at present.To reveal inner flow characteristics in double blade pump impeller under off-design and design conditions,inner flows in a double blade pump impeller,whose specific speed is 111,are measured under the five off-design conditions and design condition by using 3D PIV test technology.In order to ensure the accuracy of the 3D PIV test,the external trigger synchronization system which makes use of fiber optic and equivalent calibration method are applied.The 3D PIV relative velocity synthesis procedure is compiled by using Visual C++ 2005.Then absolute velocity distribution and relative velocity distribution in the double blade pump impeller are obtained.Test results show that vortex exists in each condition,but the location,size and velocity of vortex core are different.Average absolute velocity value of impeller outlet increases at first,then decreases,and then increases again with increase of flow rate.Again average relative velocity values under 0.4,0.8,and 1.2 design condition are higher than that under 1.0 design condition,while under 0.6 and 1.4 design condition it is lower.Under low flow rate conditions,radial vectors of absolute velocities at impeller outlet and blade inlet near the pump shaft decrease with increase of flow rate,while that of relative velocities at the suction side near the pump shaft decreases.Radial vectors of absolute velocities and relative velocities change slightly under the two large flow rate conditions.The research results can be applied to instruct the hydraulic optimization design of double blade pumps.     

Numerical Research on Performance Prediction for Centrifugal Pumps

Performance prediction for centrifugal pumps is now mainly based on numerical calculation and most of the studies merely focus on one model. Therefore, the research results are not representative. To make an improvement of numerical calculation method and performance prediction for centrifugal pumps, performance of six centrifugal pump models at design flow rate and off design flow rates, whose specific speed are different, were simulated by using commercial code FLUENT. The standard k-ε turbulence model and SIMPLEC algorithm were chosen in FLUENT. The simulation was steady and moving reference frame was used to consider the impeller-volute interaction. Also, how to dispose the gap between impeller and volute was presented and the effect of grid number was considered. The characteristic prediction model for centrifugal pumps is established according to the simulation results. The head and efficiency of the six models at different flow rates are predicted and the prediction results are compared with the experiment results in detail. The comparison indicates that the precision of head and efficiency prediction are all less than 5%. The flow analysis indicates that flow change has an important effect on the location and area of low pressure region behind the blade inlet and the direction of velocity at impeller inlet. The study shows that using FLUENT simulation results to predict performance of centrifugal pumps is feasible and accurate. The method can be applied in engineering practice.     

Influence of blade wrap angle on centrifugal pump performance by numerical and experimental study

The existing research on improving the hydraulic performance of centrifugal pumps mainly focuses on the design method and the parameter optimization. The traditional design method for centrifugal impellers relies more on experience of engineers that typically only satisfies the continuity equation of the fluid. In this study, on the basis of the direct and inverse iteration design method which simultaneously solves the continuity and motion equations of the fluid and shapes the blade geometry by controlling the wrap angle, three centrifugal pump impellers are designed by altering blade wrap angles while keeping other parameters constant. The three-dimensional flow fields in three centrifugal pumps are numerically simulated, and the simulation results illustrate that the blade with larger wrap angle has more powerful control ability on the flow pattern in impeller. The three pumps have nearly the same pressure distributions at the small flow rate, but the pressure gradient increase in the pump with the largest wrap angle is smoother than the other two pumps at the design and large flow rates. The pump head and efficiency are also influenced by the blade wrap angle. The highest head and efficiency are also observed for the largest angle. An experiment rig is designed and built to test the performance of the pump with the largest wrap angle. The test results show that the wide space of its efficiency area and the stability of its operation ensure the excellent performance of the design method and verify the numerical analysis. The analysis on influence of the blade wrap angle for centrifugal pump performance in this paper can be beneficial to the optimization design of the centrifugal pump.     

MULTIOBJECT OPTIMIZATION OF A CENTRIFUGAL IMPELLER USING EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHMS

Application of the multiobjective evolutionary algorithms to the aerodynamic optimization design of a centrifugal impeller is presented. The aerodynamic performance of a centrifugal impeller is evaluated by using the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solutions. The typical centrifugal impeller is redesigned for maximization of the pressure rise and blade load and minimization of the rotational total pressure loss at the given flow conditions. The Bezier curves are used to parameterize the three-dimensional impeller blade shape. The present method obtains many reasonable Pareto optimal designs that outperform the original centrifugal impeller. Detailed observation of the certain Pareto optimal design demonstrates the feasibility of the present multiobjective optimization method tool for turbomachinery design.     

Numerical prediction and performance experiment in a deep-well centrifugal pump with different impeller outlet width

The existing research of the deep-well centrifugal pump mainly focuses on reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the pump performance,and how to combine above two aspects together is the most difficult and important topic.In this study,the performances of the deep-well centrifugal pump with four different impeller outlet widths are studied by the numerical,theoretical and experimental methods in this paper.Two stages deep-well centrifugal pump equipped with different impellers are simulated employing the commercial CFD software to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for three-dimensional incompressible steady flow.The sensitivity analyses of the grid size and turbulence model have been performed to improve numerical accuracy.The flow field distributions are acquired and compared under the design operating conditions,including the static pressure,turbulence kinetic energy and velocity.The prototype is manufactured and tested to certify the numerical predicted performance.The numerical results of pump performance are higher than the test results,but their change trends have an acceptable agreement with each other.The performance results indicted that the oversize impeller outlet width leads to poor pump performances and increasing shaft power.Changing the performance of deep-well centrifugal pump by alter impeller outlet width is practicable and convenient,which is worth popularizing in the engineering application.The proposed research enhances the theoretical basis of pump design to improve the performance and reduce the manufacturing cost of deep-well centrifugal pump.     

Evaluation of subgrid-scale models in large-eddy simulations of turbulent flow in a centrifugal pump impeller

The current research of large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flow in pumps mainly concentrates in applying conventional subgrid-scale (SGS) model to simulate turbulent flow, which aims at obtaining the flow field in pump. The selection of SGS model is usually not considered seriously, so the accuracy and efficiency of the simulation cannot be ensured. Three SGS models including Smagorinsky-Lilly model, dynamic Smagorinsky model and dynamic mixed model are comparably studied by using the commercial CFD code Fluent combined with its user define function. The simulations are performed for the turbulent flow in a centrifugal pump impeller. The simulation results indicate that the mean flows predicted by the three SGS models agree well with the experimental data obtained from the test that detailed measurements of the flow inside the rotating passages of a six-bladed shrouded centrifugal pump impeller performed using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV). The comparable results show that dynamic mixed model gives the most accurate results for mean flow in the centrifugal pump impeller. The SGS stress of dynamic mixed model is decompose into the scale similar part and the eddy viscous part. The scale similar part of SGS stress plays a significant role in high curvature regions, such as the leading edge and training edge of pump blade. It is also found that the dynamic mixed model is more adaptive to compute turbulence in the pump impeller. The research results presented is useful to improve the computational accuracy and efficiency of LES for centrifugal pumps, and provide important reference for carrying out simulation in similar fluid machineries.     

THREE-DIMENSIONAL COUPLED IMPELLER-VOLUTE SIMULATION OF FLOW IN CENTRIFUGAL PUMP AND PERFORMANCE PREDICTION

A three-dimensional turbulent flow through an entire centrifugal pump is simulated using κ-ε turbulence model modified by rotation and curvature, SIMPLEC method and body-fitted coordinate. The velocity and pressure fields are obtained for the pump under various working conditions, which is used to predict the head and hydraulic efficiency of the pump, and the results correspond well with the measured values. The calculation results indicate that the pressure is higher on the pressure side than that on the suction side of the blade; The relative velocity on the suction side gradually decreases from the impeller inlet to the outlet, while increases on the pressure side, it finally results in the lower relative velocity on the suction side and the higher one on the pressure side at the impeller outlet; The impeller flow field is asymmetric, i.e. the velocity and pressure fields are totally different among all channels in the impeller; In the volute, the static pressure gradually increases with the flow route, and a large pressure gratitude occurs in the tongue; Secondary flow exists in the rear part of the spiral.     

Numerical Investigation of the Fluid Flow Characteristics in the Hub Plate Crown of a Centrifugal Pump

Due to the lack of understanding in the flow mechanism of the hub plate crown, the current calculation of the disc friction loss and the axial thrust in the centrifugal pump often uses empirical formulas. Research on the flow characteristics of the hub plate crown is of practical significance. The shroud and hub cavities are respectively studied with regard to tangential and radial velocities at the four different angular positions(0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°) at the four different operational points(0.6 Q_(sp), 0.8 Q_(sp), 1.0 Q_(sp), and 1.2 Q_(sp)). Results indicate that at the same operational point, the smaller the volute chamber sectional area is, the higher the tangential velocity of the fluid core zone of the shroud cavity is. Radial leakage flow from the volute to the seal ring at the same operational point appears in 0° and 90° direction;when the flow is large, the tangential and radial velocities of the shroud and hub cavities with the same radius tend to be equal with axial symmetry. The axial leakage flow through the balance holes significantly affects the radial distribution of both tangential and radial velocities of fluid flow in the hub cavity. The numerical calculation results of fluid leakage through the clearance of back sealing ring are in good agreement with the test results. Accordingly, the magnitude of leakage is closely related to the fluid pressure and velocity distribution in the hub plate crown of the centrifugal pump. The analysis of the flow characteristics in the hub plate crown of the centrifugal pump could reveal the cause of the disc friction loss from the mechanism, providing a significant guidance for improving the accuracy of calculation and balancing the axial thrust in the centrifugal pump.     

Cavitation optimization for a centrifugal pump impeller by using orthogonal design of experiment

Cavitation is one of the most important performance of centrifugal pumps. However, the current optimization works of centrifugal pump are mostly focusing on hydraulic efficiency only, which may result in poor cavitation performance. Therefore, it is necessary to find an appropriate solution to improve cavitation performance with acceptable efficiency. In this paper, to improve the cavitation performance of a centrifugal pump with a vaned diffuser, the influence of impeller geometric parameters on the cavitation of the pump is investigated using the orthogonal design of experiment(DOE) based on computational fluid dynamics. The impeller inlet diameter D_1, inlet incidence angle Δβ, and blade wrap angle φ are selected as the main impeller geometric parameters and the orthogonal experiment of L_9(3*3) is performed. Three-dimensional steady simulations for cavitation are conducted by using constant gas mass fraction model with second-order upwind, and the predicated cavitation performance is validated by laboratory experiment. The optimization results are obtained by the range analysis method to improve cavitation performance without obvious decreasing the efficiency of the centrifugal pump. The internal flow of the pump is analyzed in order to identify the flow behavior that can affect cavitation performance. The results show that D_1 has the greatest influence on the pump cavitation and the final optimized impeller provides better flow distribution at blade leading edge. The final optimized impeller accomplishes better cavitation and hydraulic performance and the NPSHR decreases by 0.63 m compared with the original one. The presented work supplies a feasible route in engineering practice to optimize a centrifugal pump impeller for better cavitation performance.     

Dynamic stress analysis of sewage centrifugal pump impeller based on two-way coupling method

Current research on the operational reliability of centrifugal pumps has mainly focused on hydrodynamic instability. However, the interaction between the fluid and structure has not been sufficiently considered; this interaction can cause vibration and dynamic stress, which can affect the reliability. In this study, the dynamic stresses in a single-blade centrifugal pump impeller are analysed under different operating conditions; the two-way coupling method is used to calculate the fluid-structure interaction. Three-dimensional unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved with the SST k-o9 turbulence model for the fluid in the whole flow passage, while transient structure dynamic analysis is used with the finite element method for the structure side. The dynamic stresses in the rotor system are computed according to the fourth strength theory. The stress results show that the highest stress is near the loose bearing and that the equivalent stress increases with the flow rate because the dynamic stresses are closely related to the pressure load. The stress distributions on the blade pressure side, suction side, leading edge, and trailing edge are each analysed for different flow rates; the highest stress distribution is found on the pressure side. On the blade pressure side, a relatively large stress is found near the trailing edge and hub side. Based on these results, a stress distribution prediction method is proposed for centrifugal pumps, which considers the interaction between the fluid and structuxe. The method can be used to check the dynamic stress at different flow rates when optimising the pump design to increase the pump reliability.     

离心泵偏置短叶片叶轮内部流动的粒子图像速度测量

对三副短叶片不同偏置的低比转数复合叶轮离心泵,应用粒子图像速度仪分别测试大流量、设计流量和小流量三种工况下长短叶片叶轮同一叶槽内的瞬时流场.分析叶槽内相对速度矢量、速度等值线的特征,揭示短叶片不同偏置时的速度分布规律.研究三副长短叶片复合叶轮出口处径向速度、切向速度、相对速度和相对液流角沿圆周的分布,测得与三副叶轮相对应的泵外特性曲线.测量结果表明,分流短叶片不同偏置对叶槽内流场的影响差异明显,当短叶片进口相对出口向压力面偏转时,叶轮出口相对速度分布很不均匀,短叶片工作面出口存在较大的低速区;与之相反,当短叶片进口相对出口向吸力面偏转时,叶轮出口速度分布较均匀,并且泵的扬程与流量曲线明显右移,大流量时,效率显著提高.     

圆柱形叶片潜油离心泵流场的三维数值分析

采用CFD方法研究了潜油离心泵的内部流场，讨论分析了3种不同工况下叶轮和导轮的数值计算结果。数值模拟捕捉到了离心泵内部许多不良流动现象，探讨了影响离心泵效率的原因。泵在设计工况有着良好的流动性能，在非设计工况出现了不良流动现象，影响了泵的效率。计算结果还显示：潜油泵叶轮有较好的水力性能，而潜油泵导轮的水力性能是不完善的，效率较低。     

EFFECTS OF SPLITTER BLADES ON THE LAW OF INNER FLOW WITHIN CENTRIFUGAL PUMP IMPELLER

Analysis on the inner flow field of a centrifugal pump impeller with splitter blades is carried out by numerical simulation. Based on this analysis, the principle of increasing pump head and efficiency are discussed. New results are obtained from the analysis of turbulence kinetic energy and relative velocity distribution: Firstly, unreasonable length or deviation design of the splitter blades may cause great turbulent fluctuation in impeller channel, which has a great effect on the stability of impeller outlet flow; Secondly, it is found that the occurrence of flow separation can be decreased or delayed with splitter blades from the analysis of blade loading; Thirdly, the effect of splitter blades on reforming the structure of "jet-wake" is explained from the relative velocity distribution at different flow cross-sections, which shows the flow process in the impeller. The inner flow analysis verifies the results of performance tests results and the PIV test.     

Exit flow measurements of a centrifugal pump impeller

Discharge flows from a centrifugal pump impeller with a specific speed of 150 [rpm, m³/min, m] were experimentally investigated. A large axisymmetric collector instead of a volute casing was installed to obtain circumferentially uniform flow, i.e. without interaction of the impeller and the volute. The unsteady flow was measured at the impeller exit and vaneless diffuser using a hot film probe and a pressure transducer. The flow at impeller exit showed pronounced jet-wake flow patterns. The wake, which was on the suction/hub side at high flow rate, became enlarged pitchwisely on both the hub and the shroud side as the flow rate decreases. The pitchwise non-uniformity of the flow rapidly decreased along the downstream and the nonuniformity almost disappeared at radius ratio of 1.18 for medium flow rate. The mean vaneless diffuser flow was reasonably predicted using a one dimensional analysis when an empirical constant was used to specify the skin friction coefficient. The data can be used for a centrifugal pump impeller design and validation of CFD codes and flow modeling.     

Particle image velocimetry in a centrifugal pump: Details of the fluid flow at different operation conditions

Centrifugal pumps are present in the daily life of human beings. They are essential to several industrial processes that transport single- and multi-phase flows with the presence of water, gases, and emulsions, for example. When pumping low-viscous liquids, the flow behavior in impellers and diffusers may affect the centrifugal pump performance. For these flows, complex structures promote instabilities and inefficiencies that may represent a waste of energetic and financial resources. In this context, this paper aims at characterizing single-phase water flows in one complete stage of a centrifugal pump to improve our understanding of the relationship between flow behavior and pump performance. For that, a transparent pump prototype was designed, manufactured and installed in a test facility, and experiments using particle image velocimetry (PIV) were conducted at different conditions. The acquired images were then processed to obtain instantaneous flow fields, from which the flow characteristics were determined. Our results indicate that the flow morphology depends on the rotational speed of the impeller and water flow rate: (i) the flow is uniform when the pump works at the best efficiency point (BEP), with streamlines aligned with the blades, and low vorticity and turbulence in the impeller; (ii) the velocity field becomes complex as the pump begins to operate at off-design conditions, away from BEP. In this case, velocity fluctuations and energy losses due to turbulence increase to higher numbers. Those results bring new insights into the problem, helping validate numerical simulations, propose mathematical models, and improve the design of new impellers.     

前向多翼式离心风机蜗舌附近流场的PIV试验研究

对前向多翼式离心风机建立了性能及流场测试台位,性能试验重复性良好。用粒子图像速度场仪(Particleimage velocimetry,PIV)技术对蜗舌附近速度矢量场做了详细的变工况测量及分析。结果表明,蜗舌附近的主要流动特征由冲向蜗舌的速度矢量方向及蜗舌周围滞止区的影响范围所决定。小流量时,滞止区影响范围主要在蜗舌间隙流道内,造成速度矢量向叶轮内偏斜,蜗舌下游易形成分离旋涡而恶化;大流量时,滞止区影响范围偏向蜗壳出口流道,蜗舌间隙流动较好。此外,在蜗舌间隙沿轴向不同位置返回蜗壳的流量也不同,这主要与叶片不同段做功能力不同有关。     

高速离心叶轮叶片开缝的数值研究

提出在离心叶轮吸力面尾部开缝抽吸的方法,在叶片吸力面尾部对低速流体区域进行抽吸,以减弱由叶轮内二次流所导致的射流—尾迹结构。以Krain高速离心叶轮为例,建立抽吸模型,并进行了数值计算。数值仿真结果表明,在压气机流量范围内,叶轮尾部开缝抽吸可以减少叶片表面的分离区域,改善叶轮内部流场的流动状况,有效地提高离心叶轮性能。     

带分流叶片的离心泵叶轮内部流场的PIV测量与数值模拟

用PIV技术和工程上广泛应用的k-ε标准两方程模型,对不同工况带分流叶片的离心式水泵叶轮内部流场进行了测量和计算模拟。通过试验测试和模拟计算,获得了不同工况下叶轮内的流速分布规律,揭示了叶轮内流动的非对称性、长叶片吸力面进口附近有回流、各种工况下分流叶片前缘入口稍后吸力侧均存在一个高流速区、分流叶片改善出口速度分布、随着流量增加叶轮内相对速度的大小增大明显等对带分流叶片离心泵性能有直接影响的多种流动现象。     

双流道泵输送固液介质的水力性能及磨损试验研究

为分析固液混合物对双流道输送泵性能的影响,采用平均粒径为10 mm和36 mm的固体颗粒对双流道泵在不同浓度和流量下开展输送固液两相介质的水力性能试验,并对泵的磨损进行分析。水力试验结果表明,在一定的流量下,随着输送混合物中固体颗粒浓度的增加,入口表压、出口表压、扬程及效率呈递减趋势。 与输送清水时比较,当输送固液两相介质时,随着流量的增大,轴功率上升较快,扬程的下降量在不同流量下几乎相同;效率曲线在不同流量下比输送清水时效率要低,差值随着流量的增大而增大。在同流量同浓度比工况下,泵的进出口压力、扬程和汽蚀性能在输送较大直径固体颗粒时,明显下降。通过对双流道泵磨损的分析表明,叶轮磨损部位主要在前盖板外缘、流道内偏前盖板的流道表面、压力面进口边,压力面的磨损区域呈三角形;泵体的磨损部位主要在周壁、隔舌及泵体口环处。本研究可为固液两相双流道离心泵的理论研究与设计应用提供试验依据。