scholarly journals Pressure Fluctuation Reduction of a Centrifugal Pump by Blade Trailing Edge Modification

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Huang ◽  
Guitao Zeng ◽  
Bo Qian ◽  
Peng Wu ◽  
Peili Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Pressure Side ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Impeller Blade ◽  
Blade Passing Frequency ◽  
Impeller Outlet ◽  
Edge Profile ◽  
Edge Trimming

The pressure fluctuation inside centrifugal pumps is one of the main causes of hydro-induced vibration, especially at the blade-passing frequency and its harmonics. This paper investigates the feature of blade-passing frequency excitation in a low-specific-speed centrifugal pump in the perspective of local Euler head distribution based on CFD analysis. Meanwhile, the relation between local Euler head distribution and pressure fluctuation amplitude is observed and used to explain the mechanism of intensive pressure fluctuation. The impeller blade with ordinary trailing edge profile, which is the prototype impeller in this study, usually induces wake shedding near the impeller outlet, making the energy distribution less uniform. Because of this, the method of reducing pressure fluctuation by means of improving Euler head distribution uniformity by modifying the impeller blade trailing edge profile is proposed. The impeller blade trailing edges are trimmed in different scales, which are marked as model A, B, and C. As a result of trailing edge trimming, the impeller outlet angles at the pressure side of the prototype of model A, B, and C are 21, 18, 15, and 12 degrees, respectively. The differences in Euler head distribution and pressure fluctuation between the model impellers at nominal flow rate are investigated and analyzed. Experimental verification is also conducted to validate the CFD results. The results show that the blade trailing edge profiling on the pressure side can help reduce pressure fluctuation. The uniformity of Euler head circumferential distribution, which is directly related to the intensity of pressure fluctuation, is improved because the impeller blade outlet angle on the pressure side decreases and thus the velocity components are adjusted when the blade trailing edge profile is modified. The results of the investigation demonstrate that blade trailing edge profiling can be used in the vibration reduction of low specific impellers and in the engineering design of centrifugal pumps.

Experimental Investigation of Pressure Fluctuations on Inner Wall of a Centrifugal Pump

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Qi Jia ◽  
Bao-Ling Cui ◽  
Zu-Chao Zhu ◽  
Yu-Liang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
High Flow ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Pressure Distributions ◽  
Blade Passing Frequency

Abstract Affected by rotor–stator interaction and unstable inner flow, asymmetric pressure distributions and pressure fluctuations cannot be avoided in centrifugal pumps. To study the pressure distributions on volute and front casing walls, dynamic pressure tests are carried out on a centrifugal pump. Frequency spectrum analysis of pressure fluctuation is presented based on Fast Fourier transform and steady pressure distribution is obtained based on time-average method. The results show that amplitudes of pressure fluctuation and blade-passing frequency are sensitive to the flow rate. At low flow rates, high-pressure region and large pressure gradients near the volute tongue are observed, and the main factors contributing to the pressure fluctuation are fluctuations in blade-passing frequency and high-frequency fluctuations. By contrast, at high flow rates, fluctuations of rotating-frequency and low frequencies are the main contributors to pressure fluctuation. Moreover, at low flow rates, pressure near volute tongue increases rapidly at first and thereafter increases slowly, whereas at high flow rates, pressure decreases sharply. Asymmetries are observed in the pressure distributions on both volute and front casing walls. With increasing of flow rate, both asymmetries in the pressure distributions and magnitude of the pressure decrease.

Theoretical Investigation on Flow Rate at the Maximum Efficiency Point in the Design of Impeller Blade in Centrifugal Pump

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takaharu Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Theoretical Investigation ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Tangential Velocity ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Impeller Blade ◽  
Peripheral Velocity ◽  
Impeller Outlet ◽  
Fluid Particles

This paper presents a theoretical investigation of the flow rate at the maximum efficiency point in the design of impeller blade in centrifugal pump. An energy balance was performed at the trailing edge of impeller outlet in the rotating flow passage of centrifugal pump. The evaluation shows that, when the fluid particles straight forward tangential velocity is one third of the impeller blade’s peripheral velocity and the fluid particles circular forward tangential velocity is two third of the impeller blade’s peripheral velocity at the trailing edge of the impeller outlet, the maximum hydraulic energy output, that is, the maximum efficiency point is obtained.

scholarly journals Numerical Study of Pressure Fluctuation and Unsteady Flow in a Centrifugal Pump

Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Bai ◽  
Ling Zhou ◽  
Chen Han ◽  
Yong Zhu ◽  
Weidong Shi
Keyword(s):  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Lower Number ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Impeller Blade

A pump is one of the most important machines in the processes and flow systems. The operation of multistage centrifugal pumps could generate pressure fluctuations and instabilities that may be detrimental to the performance and integrity of the pump. In this paper, a numerical study of the influence of pressure fluctuations and unsteady flow patterns was undertaken in the pump flow channel of three configurations with different diffuser vane numbers. It was found that the amplitude of pressure fluctuation in the diffuser was increased gradually with the increase in number of diffuser vanes. The lower number of diffuser vanes was beneficial to obtain a weaker pressure fluctuation intensity. With the static pressure gradually increasing, the effects of impeller blade passing frequency attenuated gradually, and the effect of diffuser vanes was increased gradually.

scholarly journals Numerical Investigation of the Characteristics of Erosion in a Centrifugal Pump for Transporting Dilute Particle-Laden Flows

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 961
Author(s):  
Rui-Jie Zhao ◽  
You-Long Zhao ◽  
De-Sheng Zhang ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Lin-Lin Geng
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Particle Volume Fraction ◽  
Finite Size ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Pressure Side ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Particle Volume ◽  
Impeller Blade ◽  
The Impact

Erosion in centrifugal pumps for transporting flows with dilute particles is a main pump failure problem in many engineering processes. A numerical model combining the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) is applied to simulate erosion in a centrifugal pump. Different models of the liquid-solid inter-phase forces are implemented, and the particle-turbulence interaction is also defined. The inertial particles considered in this work are monodisperse and have finite size. The numerical results are validated by comparing the results with a series of experimental data. Then, the effects of particle volume fraction, size, and shape on the pump erosion are estimated in the simulations. The results demonstrate that severe erosive areas are located near the inlet and outlet of the pressure side of the impeller blade, the middle region of the blade, the corners of the shroud and hub of the impeller adjoining to the pressure side of the blade, and the volute near the pump tongue. Among these locations, the maximum erosion occurs near the inlet of the pressure side of the blade. Erosion mitigation occurs under the situation where more particles accumulate in the near-wall region of the eroded surface, forming a buffering layer. The relationship between the particle size and the erosion is nonlinear, and the 1 mm particle causes the maximum pump erosion. The sharp particles cause more severe erosion in the pump because both the frequency of particle-wall collisions and the impact angle increase with the increasing sharpness of the particle.

Influencing the Part Load Recirculation of a Centrifugal Pump and Avoiding an Instability of the Performance Curve Thereby

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tino Mengdehl ◽  
Evgenii Palamarchuk ◽  
Angela Garlach ◽  
Christian Brix Jacobsen ◽  
Paul Uwe Thamsen
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Recirculation Zone ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Suction Side ◽  
Pressure Side ◽  
Performance Curve ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Part Load ◽  
Impeller Outlet

Centrifugal pumps of low specific speed display an inherent tendency to generate an unstable pump performance curve [1]. These curves are characterized by a head dropping at low flow rates that limits the operational range. Hence, for example centrifugal pumps with such performance curves are not suitable for a usage in firefighting applications or parallel operation. However, there are a few actions that influence positively the stability of the performance curve [1, 2]. One is adding slots at the rear shroud, e.g. on the pressure side or the suction side of the blade. Slots at the pressure side of the blade stabilize the characteristic curve by increasing the head, while suction-side slots stabilize the characteristic curve by dropping it down [2]. The part load flow pattern of a centrifugal pump includes two recirculation zones. The first is located at the inlet of the impeller and caused by the blade suction geometry. The second recirculation zone forms at the outlet of the impeller. It is known that the recirculation zone at the pressure side of a radial impeller has various positions, sizes and structures depending on initial conditions [3]. This paper deals with the assumption that influencing the pressure side recirculation zone leads to a stable pump performance curve. Therefore the structure of the recirculation zone at the impeller outlet is being investigated and analyzed whereas geometrical changes on a centrifugal pump impeller are performed. The tests contain an experimental setup and compare the results to numerical simulations. Subject of the experimental investigations is a centrifugal pump with a specific speed of 33 min−1, a flow rate of 650 m3/h and head of 47 m for the Nominal Point. Measurements are performed for analyzing the time resolved pressure fluctuations and visualizing the flow structures in the volute casing by using pressure transducers and particle image velocimetry (PIV). These data show the changing pressure and velocity field and enable an analyzing of the part load recirculation. Furthermore, the measured operational points and the time resolved pressure data are compared to numerical simulations that are carried out by Computational Fluid Dynamics (hereafter: CFD). The flow pattern gained by CFD allows analyzing the phenomena of the pressure side recirculation in detail, also in areas where the access with measuring instruments is limited. Within the present study different geometrical parameters are subsequently changed on the original impeller design. This concerns, for example, the earlier named slots in the rear shroud both on suction and pressure side of the blade. Results show an influence of these subsequent design methods on the performance curve as well as on the efficiency of the centrifugal pump. Additionally, the time resolved pressure data are used for a validation of the CFD simulations and both results show a significant influence of the flow structure at the impeller outlet on the performance curve. Therefore, it can be shown that the recirculation zone of the impeller is affected by these actions.

scholarly journals Experimental Investigation of Flow Instabilities and Rotating Stall in a High-Energy Centrifugal Pump Stage

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Berten ◽  
Philippe Dupont ◽  
Laurent Fabre ◽  
Maher Kayal ◽  
Francois Avellan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Rotational Speed ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Impeller Blade ◽  
Pump Stage

In centrifugal pumps, the interaction between the rotating impeller and the stationary diffuser generates specific pressure fluctuation patterns. When the pump is operated at off design conditions, these pressure fluctuations increase. The resulting rise of mechanical vibration levels may negatively affect the operational performance and the life span of mechanical components. This paper presents detailed pressure fluctuation measurements performed in a high speed centrifugal pump stage at full scale at various operating conditions. The impeller and stationary part (diffuser, exit chamber) of the pump stage have been equipped with piezoresistive miniature pressure sensors. The measured data in the impeller have been acquired using a newly developed onboard data acquisition system, designed for rotational speeds up to 6000 rpm. The measurements have been performed synchronously in the rotating and stationary domains. The analysis of pressure fluctuations at the impeller blade trailing edge, which had significantly larger amplitudes as the pressure fluctuations in the stationary domain, allowed the detection and exploration of stalled channels in the vaned diffuser. This stall may be stationary or rotating with different rotational speeds and number of stalled channels, depending on the relative flow rate and the rotational speed of the pump. The stall yields pressure fluctuations at frequencies which are multiples of the rotational speed of the impeller and generates additional sources of mechanical excitation.

Study on the Reduction of Pressure Fluctuation for a Double-Suction Centrifugal Pump With Staggered Blades

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian-qian Li ◽  
Da-zhuan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Stokes Equations ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Centrifugal Impeller ◽  
Fluctuation Analysis ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Vibration Performance

Due to the distinctive characteristic of massive flow rates, double-suction centrifugal pump has been extensively applied in lots of perspectives, such as drainage, irrigation, transportation projects and other hydraulic engineering realms. Nevertheless, the significance of the pressure fluctuation inside the double-suction centrifugal pump, which is getting more and more prominent under the soaring demands for low noise and comfortable living environment, could not be underestimated. Consequently, how to reduce the pressure fluctuation as far as possible and enhance the running stability of the pump is always the research hotspot. In this study, the double-suction centrifugal impeller with abominable vibration performance is redesigned to improve the internal flow and reduce the flow-induced noise. What’s addition, the two redesigned impellers wearing splitter blades were compared in staggered arrangement with different angles for the purpose of ulteriorly decreasing the pressure fluctuation. On the basis of Realizable k-ε model and SIMPLEC algorithm, the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (URANS) were resolved by means of CFD simulation and the flow performance and the vibration performance were validated with the experiments. The results illustrate that the redesigned impeller with multi-blade could raise the hydraulic performance and reduce the pressure fluctuation inside the pump. When the impeller of each side was laid with the staggered angle of 12 degrees, the pressure distribution tended to be more uniform and the pressure fluctuation was well ameliorated. Through the pressure fluctuation analysis in time domain and frequency domain, the pressure change inside the pumps could be evaluated quantitatively and accurately, hence different pumps could be contrasted in detail. The consequences of this paper could provide reference for pressure fluctuation reduction and vibration performance reinforcement of double-suction centrifugal pumps as well as other vane pumps.

scholarly journals Experimental Analysis on Pressure Fluctuation Characteristics of a Centrifugal Pump with Vaned-Diffuser

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Houlin Liu ◽  
Ruichao Xia ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Yucheng Jing ◽  
Xianghui He
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Dominant Frequency ◽  
Design Flow ◽  
Signal Source ◽  
Vaned Diffuser ◽  
Impeller Outlet ◽  
Variation Tendency ◽  
Design Flow Rate

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.

Influence of wall roughness on the static performance and pressure fluctuation characteristics of a double-suction centrifugal pump

2018 ◽  
Vol 232 (7) ◽  
pp. 826-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifeng Yao ◽  
Min Yang ◽  
Ruofu Xiao ◽  
Fujun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Design Flow ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Wall Roughness ◽  
Detached Eddy Simulation ◽  
Centrifugal Pumps ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Static Performance

The unsteady flow field and pressure fluctuations in double-suction centrifugal pumps are greatly affected by the wall roughness of internal surfaces. To determine the wall roughness effect, numerical and experimental investigations were carried out. Three impeller schemes for different wall roughness were solved using detached eddy simulation, and the performance and pressure fluctuations resolved by detached eddy simulation were compared with the experimental data. The results show that the effects of wall roughness on the static performance of a pump are remarkable. The head and efficiency of the tested double-suction centrifugal pump are raised by 2.53% and 6.60% respectively as the wall roughness is reduced by means of sand blasting and coating treatments. The detached eddy simulation method has been proven to be accurate for the prediction of the head and efficiency of the double-suction centrifugal pump with roughness effects. The influence of the roughness on pressure fluctuation is greatly dependent on the location relative to the volute tongue region. For locations close to the volute tongue, the peak-to-peak value of the pressure fluctuations of a wall roughness of Ra = 0.10 mm may be 23.27% larger than the case where Ra = 0.02 mm at design flow rate.

scholarly journals Pressure fluctuation–vortex interaction in an ultra-low specific-speed centrifugal pump

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Wang ◽  
Yongxue Zhang ◽  
Zhiwei Li ◽  
Ao Xu ◽  
Chang Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Pressure Fluctuation ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Vortex Interaction ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Pressure Surface ◽  
Baroclinic Torque ◽  
Low Specific Speed ◽  
Specific Speed

To provide a comprehensive understanding of the pressure fluctuation–vortex interaction in non-cavitation and cavitation flow, in this article, the unsteady flow in an ultra-low specific-speed centrifugal pump was investigated by numerical simulation. The uncertainty of the numerical framework with three sets of successively refined mesh was verified and validated by a level of 1% of the experimental results. Then, the unsteady results indicate that the features of the internal flow and the pressure fluctuation were accurately captured in accordance with the closed-loop experimental results. The detailed pressure fluctuation at 16 monitoring points and the monitoring of the vorticity suggest that some inconsistent transient phenomena in frequency spectrums show strong correlation with the evolution of vortex, such as abnormal increasing amplitudes at the monitoring points near to the leading edge on the suction surface and the trailing edge on the pressure surface in the case of lower pressurization capacity of impeller after cavitation. Further analysis applies the relative vortex transport equation to intuitionally illustrate the pressure fluctuation–vortex interaction by the contribution of baroclinic torque, viscous diffusion and vortex convection terms. It reveals that the effect of viscous diffusion is weak when the Reynolds number is much greater than 1. Pressure fluctuation amplitude enlarges on the suction side of blade near to the leading edge due to the baroclinic torque in cavitation regions, whereas the abnormal increase of pressure fluctuation after cavitation on the pressure surface of blade approaching the trailing edge results from the vortex convection during vortices moving downstream with the decrease of available net positive suction head at the same instance.

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