scholarly journals Laser Velocimeter Measurements in a Centrifugal Pump With a Synchronously Orbiting Impeller

Author(s):  
Ronald J. Beaudoin ◽  
Steven M. Miner ◽  
Ronald D. Flack

Velocity profiles were measured in the impeller of a centrifugal pump with a two directional laser velocimeter. Blade to blade profiles were measured at four circumferential positions and four radii within and one outside the four bladed impeller. Data is presented herein at two circumferential and three radial locations. The pump was tested in two configurations; with the impeller running centered within the pump, and with the impeller orbiting with a synchronous motion (ϵ/r2). Variation in velocity profiles among the individual passages in the orbiting impeller were found. At design flow rate, these variations ranged from 30 to 60 percent for the radial component, and 15 to 25 percent for the tangential component. Tangential velocity profiles near the impeller exit (r/r2 = 0.973) were near uniform across each individual passage. Differences in the magnitude of the exit tangential velocities among the passages, however, were detected. Systematic differences in the velocity profile shapes of the centered and orbiting impellers were in general not measured, the only exception being at r/r2 = 0.973 at 40% of the design flow rate. At this condition, two distinct radial velocity profiles were measured. Two of the impeller passages of the orbiting impeller contained a recirculation region covering 20–30% of the blade passage while the other two passages contained no recirculation region. The centered impeller also contained this region of reverse flow. Finally, velocity data was numerically integrated to find the forces and stiffnesses due to momentum fluxes on the impeller for the orbiting condition.

1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Beaudoin ◽  
S. M. Miner ◽  
R. D. Flack

Velocity profiles were measured in the impeller of a centrifugal pump with a two-directional laser velocimeter. Blade-to-blade profiles were measured at four circumferential positions and four radii within and one outside the four-bladed impeller. Data are presented herein at two circumferential and three radial locations. The pump was tested in two configurations; with the impeller running centered within the pump, and with the impeller orbiting with a synchronous motion (ε/r2 = 0.016). Variation in velocity profiles among the individual passages in the orbiting impeller were found. At design flow rate, these variations ranged from 30 to 60 percent for the radial component, and 15 to 25 percent for the tangential component. Tangential velocity profiles near the impeller exit (r/r2 = 0.973) were near uniform across each individual passage. Differences in the magnitude of the exit tangential velocities among the passages however, were detected. Systematic differences in the velocity profile shapes of the centered and orbiting impellers were in general not measured, the only exception being at r/r2 = 0.973 at 40 percent of the design flow rate. At this condition, two distinct radial velocity profiles were measured. Two of the impeller passages of the orbiting impeller contained a recirculation region covering 20-30 percent of the blade passage while the other two passages contained no recirculation region. The centered impeller also contained this region of reverse flow. Finally, velocity data were numerically integrated to find the forces and stiffnesses due to momentum fluxes on the impeller for the orbiting condition.


Author(s):  
S. M. Miner ◽  
R. D. Flack ◽  
P. E. Allaire

Two dimensional potential flow was used to determine the velocity field within a laboratory centrifugal pump. In particular, the finite element technique was used to model the impeller and volute simultaneously. The rotation of the impeller within the volute was simulated by using steady state solutions with the impeller in 10 different angular orientations. This allowed the interaction between the impeller and the volute to develop naturally as a result of the solution. The results for the complete pump model showed that there are circumferential asymmetries in the velocity field, even at the design flow rate. Differences in the relative velocity components were as large as 0.12 m/sec for the radial component and 0.38 m/sec for the tangential component, at the impeller exit. The magnitude of these variations was roughly 25% of the magnitude of the average radial and tangential velocities at the impeller exit. These asymmetries were even more pronounced at off design flow rates. The velocity field was also used to determine the location of the tongue stagnation point and to calculate the slip within the impeller. The stagnation point moved from the discharge side of the tongue to the impeller side of the tongue, as the flow rate increased from below design flow to above design flow. At design flow, values of slip ranged from 0.96 to 0.71, from impeller inlet to impeller exit. For all three types of data (velocity profiles, stagnation point location, and slip factor) comparison was made to laser velocimeter data, taken for the same pump. At the design flow, the computational and experimental results agreed to within 17% for the velocity magnitude, and 2° for the flow angle. The stagnation point locations coincided for the computational and experimental results, and the values for slip agreed to within 10%.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Houlin Liu ◽  
Ruichao Xia ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Yucheng Jing ◽  
Xianghui He

Experimental measurements to analyze the pressure fluctuation performance of a centrifugal pump with a vaned-diffuser, which its specific speed is 190. Results indicate that the main cause of pressure fluctuation is the rotor-stator interference at the impeller outlet. The head of the pump with vaned-diffuser at the design flow rate is 15.03 m, and the efficiency of the pump with a vaned-diffuser at the design flow rate reaches 71.47%. Pressure fluctuation decreases gradually with increasing distance from the impeller outlet. Along with the increase of the flow rate, amplitude of pressure fluctuation decreases. The amplitude of pressure fluctuation at the measuring points near the diffusion section of the pump body is larger than other measuring points. The variation tendency of pressure fluctuation at P1–P10 is the same, while there are wide frequency bands with different frequencies. The dominant frequency of pressure fluctuation is the blade passing frequency. The rotor-stator interference between the impeller and the vaned-diffuser gives rise to the main signal source of pressure fluctuation.


1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald D. Flack ◽  
Steven M. Miner ◽  
Ronald J. Beaudoin

Turbulence profiles were measured in a centrifugal pump with an impeller with backswept blades using a two directional laser velocimeter. Data presented includes radial, tangential, and cross product Reynolds stresses. Blade to blade profiles were measured at four circumferential positions and four radii within and one radius outside the four bladed impeller. The pump was tested in two configurations; with the impeller running centered within the volute, and with the impeller orbiting with a synchronous motion (ε/r2 = 0.016). Flow rates ranged from 40% to 106% of the design flow rate. Variation in profiles among the individual passages in the orbiting impeller were found. For several regions the turbulence was isotropic so that the cross product Reynolds stress was low. At low flow rates the highest cross product Reynolds stress was near the exit. At near design conditions the lowest cross product stress was near the exit, where uniform flow was also observed. Also, near the exit of the impeller the highest turbulence levels were seen near the tongue. For the design flow rate, inlet turbulence intensities were typically 9% and exit turbulence intensities were 6%. For 40% flow capacity the values increased to 18% and 19%, respectively. Large local turbulence intensities correlated with separated regions. The synchronous orbit did not increase the random turbulence, but did affect the turbulence in the individual channels in a systematic pattern.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 168781401982590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Wang ◽  
Yu-cheng Jing ◽  
Xiang-hui He ◽  
Hou-lin Liu

In order to enhance the efficiency of centrifugal pump, the structure of a centrifugal pump with vaned diffuser, whose specific speed is 190, was numerically improved by trimming back-blades of impeller and smoothing sharp corner in annular chamber. The energy performance, the internal flow field, the axial force, the radial force, and the pressure pulsation of the pump were analyzed. Results show that efficiency of the improving scheme 1 under the design flow rate is 77.47%, which can balance 69.82% of the axial force, while efficiency of the improving scheme 2 under the design flow rate is the maximum, which could still balance 62.74% of the axial force. The pressure pulsations of the improving scheme 2 at the typical monitoring points are less than that of the improving scheme 1 and the original scheme. The difference of the radial force peak between the improving scheme 1 and the improving scheme 2 is very small. The vector distributions of the radial force of the improving scheme 1 and the improving scheme 2 are more uniform than that of the original scheme. Considering the efficiency, pressure pulsation, and axial force, experiment measurements on the improving scheme 2 were carried out to verify the effectiveness of the improvement result. Results of energy performance experiment show that efficiency of the improving scheme 2 under the design flow rate is 76.48%, which is 5.26 percentage points higher than that of the original scheme.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 350-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Flack ◽  
S. M. Miner ◽  
R. J. Beaudoin

Turbulence profiles were measured in a centrifugal pump with an impeller with backswept blades using a two-directional laser velocimeter. Data presented include radial, tangential, and cross product Reynolds stresses. Blade-to-blade profiles were measured at four circumferential positions and four radii within and one radius outside the four-bladed impeller. The pump was tested in two configurations: with the impeller running centered within the volute, and with the impeller orbiting with a synchronous motion (ε/r2 = 0.016). Flow rates ranged from 40 to 106 percent of the design flow rate. Variation in profiles among the individual passages in the oribiting impeller were found. For several regions the turbulence was isotropic so that the cross product Reynolds stress was low. At low flow rates the highest cross product Reynolds stress was near the exit. At near-design conditions the lowest cross product stress was near the exit, where uniform flow was also observed. Also, near the exit of the impeller the highest turbulence levels were seen near the tongue. For the design flow rate, inlet turbulence intensities were typically 9 percent and exit turbulence intensities were 6 percent. For 40 percent flow capacity the values increased to 18 and 19 percent, respectively. Large local turbulence intensities correlated with separated regions. The synchronous orbit did not increase the random turbulence, but did affect the turbulence in the individual channels in a systematic pattern.


Author(s):  
R. W. Westra ◽  
L. Broersma ◽  
K. van Andel ◽  
N. P. Kruyt

Two-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry measurements and three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses have been performed of the flow field inside the impeller of a low specific-speed centrifugal pump operating with a vaneless diffuser. Flow rates ranging from 80% to 120% of the design flow rate are considered in detail. It is observed from the velocity measurements that secondary flows occur. These flows result in the formation of regions of low velocity near the intersection of blade suction side and shroud. The extent of this jet-wake structure decreases with increasing flow rate. Velocity profiles have also been computed from Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, using a commercial CFD-code. For the considered flow rates the qualitative agreement between measured and computed velocity profiles is very good. Overall, the average relative difference between these velocity profiles is around 7%. Additional CFD computations have been performed to assess the influence of Reynolds number and shape of the inlet velocity profile on the computed velocity profiles. It is found that the influence of Reynolds number is mild. The shape of the inlet profile only has a weak effect at the shroud.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeon-Seok Shim ◽  
Kwang-Yong Kim ◽  
Young-Seok Choi

This work presents a three-objective design optimization of a centrifugal pump impeller to reduce flow recirculation and cavitation using three-dimensional (3D) Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. A cavitation model was used to simulate the multiphase cavitating flow inside the centrifugal pump. The numerical results were validated by comparing them with experimental data for the total head coefficient and critical cavitation number. To achieve the optimization goals, blockage at 50% of the design flow rate, hydraulic efficiency at the design flow rate, and critical cavitation number for a head-drop of 3% at 125% of the design flow rate were selected as the objective functions. Based on the results of the elementary effect (EE) method, the design variables selected were the axial length of the blade, the control point for the meridional profile of the shroud, the inlet radius of the blade hub, and the incidence angle of tip of the blade. Kriging models were constructed to approximate the objective functions in the design space using the objective function values calculated at the design points selected by Latin hypercube sampling (LHS). Pareto-optimal solutions were obtained using a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA). Six representative Pareto-optimal designs (POD) were analyzed to evaluate the optimization results. The PODs showed large improvements in the objective functions compared to the baseline design. Thus, both the hydraulic performance and the reliability of the centrifugal pump were improved by the optimization.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Miner ◽  
R. D. Flack ◽  
P. E. Allaire

Two-dimensional potential flow was used to determine the velocity field within a laboratory centrifugal pump. In particular, the finite element technique was used to model the impeller and volute simultaneously. The rotation of the impeller within the volute was simulated by using steady-state solutions with the impeller in ten different angular orientations. This allowed the interaction between the impeller and the volute to develop naturally as a result of the solution. The results for the complete pump model showed that there are circumferential asymmetries in the velocity field, even at the design flow rate. Differences in the relative velocity components were as large as 0.12 m/s for the radial component and 0.38 m/s for the tangential component, at the impeller exit. The magnitude of these variations was roughly 25 percent of the magnitude of the average radial and tangential velocities at the impeller exit. These asymmetries were even more pronounced at off-design flow rates. The velocity field was also used to determine the location of the tongue stagnation point and to calculate the slip within the impeller. The stagnation point moved from the discharge side of the tongue to the impeller side of the tongue, as the flow rate increased from below design flow to above design flow. At design flow, values of slip ranged from 0.96 to 0.71, from impeller inlet to impeller exit. For all three types of data (velocity profiles, stagnation point location, and slip factor) comparison was made to laser velocimeter data, taken for the same pump. At the design flow, the computational and experimental results agreed to within 17 percent for the velocity magnitude, and 2 deg for the flow angle. The stagnation point locations coincided for the computational and experimental results, and the values for slip agreed to within 10 percent.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
WANSHI QU ◽  
lei tan ◽  
Shuliang CAO ◽  
YUCHUAN WANG ◽  
YUN XU

Purpose The paper aims to investigate the clocking effect on a centrifugal pump with inlet guide vanes (IGVs). Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a computation fluid dynamics (CFD) framework to solve the unsteady flows in a centrifugal pump with inlet guide vanes. The relative position between the stationary vanes and the stationary volute tongue is defined as the clocking position when IGVs inside the suction pipe rotate along the circumferential direction. Findings The results show that clocking positions have little effect on the pump head and efficiency, however their influences are obvious for the pressure fluctuation and flow field in the centrifugal pump. The maximum difference of pressure amplitude at dominant frequency reach up to 28% on the monitoring point V8 at different clocking positions under design flow rate. For the large flow rate, the clocking effect on flow field and pressure fluctuation in centrifugal pump is similar to that of design flow rate. However, the clocking effect is nearly negligible at partial flow rate, because there are reverse flows around the tongue tip and obvious vortexes forming and developing in the impeller. Those complex phenomena interacting in the centrifugal pump make the clocking effect less evident. Originality/value The numerical investigation reveals the clocking effect on a centrifugal pump with inlet guide vanes, which also valuable for the stable operation and optimal design of centrifugal pumps.


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