Numerical analysis of pressure fluctuations due to rotor-stator interaction in a diffuser pump by vortex method

Abstract

A numerical method for more realistic prediction of the pressure fluctuations due to rotor-stator interaction in a diffuser pump was developed, in which time-dependent inlet flow was supposed to change with the total hydraulic head according to the resistance equation of pumping system., The unsteady flow was calculated for a diffuser pump with 5 impeller blades and 8 diffuser vanes by using vortex method, in which a new procedure'that vortices shed from solid boundary was proposed from the basic governing equation. A new scheme was proposed to improve the unsteady pressure evaluation by boundary integration method in rotor-stator interaction problem. The calculated time varying flow rate, total hydraulic head, and pressure fluctuations in vanes diffuser passage, were compared with those measured and calculated by other methods. Calculated unsteady pressure fluctuations in vaned diffuser passage showed good agreement with the experimental data and the CFD calculated results.