Numerical simulation of air-water bubbly flow in axial flow pump impeller

Abstract

In this paper, the lift-law method was applied to design the axial flow pump. Based on Reynolds time-averaged N-S equations and standard k-ε turbulent model, three-dimensional air-water bubbly flow in an axial flow pump impeller was simulated. Under the condition of bubble void fraction of 5%, pressure and void fraction distributions were respectively obtained, movement of bubbles in the impeller channel was analyzed. The numerical results demonstrate that air bubbles accumulate at the blade back near the impeller inlet because the lowest pressure on blade back happens here. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.