The analysis of unsteady characteristics in the low specific speed centrifugal pump with drainage gaps

Abstract

The gap drainage impeller is a new structure of impeller which is based on the idea of flow control, and it has been validated in experiments that this structure can increase the pump efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explore a valid numerical analysis method for the simulation of low specific speed centrifugal pump, and then investigate the unsteady characteristics of the gap drainage impeller pump. The internal flow numerical simulations were done at multi-flow rates, and the calculated results were analyzed based on comparison with the experimental data of hydraulic performance, pressure pulsation and vibration acceleration. It was confirmed that: the results from the simulation tend to agree well with the experiments; the unsteady method is generally superior to the steady method in computing robustness and prediction accuracy at partial flow rates; the wall friction and clearance leakage should be considered in the performance prediction of the low specific centrifugal pump; the frequency spectra of pressure fluctuation is mainly controlled by the rotor-stator interaction, and the overall energy of pressure fluctuation and vibration is increased in part-load working conditions, especially at large flow rates; the pressure pulsation and the impeller radial fluid force are uneven in circumference, and they propagate in the opposite direction of the shaft rotating; however, the calculation error is considerable when comparing with experiments, and the reasons for which should be researched furthermore. © 2013 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.