Effects of the number of inducer blades on the anti-cavitation characteristics and external performance of a centrifugal pump

Installing an inducer upstream of the main impeller is an effective approach for improving the anti-cavitation performance of a highspeed centrifugal pump. For a high-speed centrifugal pump with an inducer, the number of inducer blades can affect its internal flow and external performance. We studied the manner in which the number of inducer blades can affect the anti-cavitation characteristics and external performance of a centrifugal pump. We first use the Rayleigh-Plesset equation and the mixture model to simulate the vaporliquid flow in a centrifugal pump with an inducer, and then predict its external performance. Finally, we tested the external performance of a centrifugal pump with 2-, 3-and 4-bladed inducers, respectively. The results show that the simulations of external performance in a centrifugal pump are in accordance with our experiments. Based on this, we obtained vapor volume fraction distributions for the inducer, the impeller, and in the corresponding whole flow parts. We discovered that the vapor volume fraction of a centrifugal pump with a 3-bladed inducer is less than that of a centrifugal pump with 2-or 4-bladed inducers, which means that a centrifugal pump with a 3-bladed inducer has a better external and anti-cavitation performance.