Influence of non-uniform inflow on unsteady internal flow characteristics of waterjet pump

Waterjet propulsion has many advantages when operating at high-speed conditions. As a special way of navigation, it is mostly used in high-speed ships and shallow draft ships. In this paper, a mixed-flow waterjet pump was taken as the research object. For the two cases of non-uniform inflow and uniform inflow, a modified RANS/LES method was adopted for unsteady calculation of the whole channel, aiming at investigating the influence mechanism of the non-uniform inflow on the energy performance and pressure pulsation characteristics of the waterjet pump. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the waterjet pump were comprehensively analyzed such as head, efficiency, axial-force, internal flow and pressure pulsation. It is found that the non-uniform inflow will reduce the external characteristics of the waterjet pump and lead to the huge fluctuation of energy performance with time. Low-speed swirls occur locally in the intake duct for non-uniform inflow, in which condition the vorticity is much higher than that for uniform inflow. In terms of the low-speed area, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the values under non-uniform inflow condition are generally larger than those under uniform flow condition when in the impeller and guide vane zone. The dominant frequencies of pressure pulsation are, respectively, [Formula: see text], 7[Formula: see text] and 4[Formula: see text] in the intake duct, impeller and diffuser, which are almost consitent for the two cases. However, the frequency features are more diverse, and the amplitudes corresponding to the same frequencies are more intense for non-uniform inflow.

Verification and Validation of Large Eddy Simulation for Tip Clearance Vortex Cavitating Flow in a Waterjet Pump

In this paper, large eddy simulation (LES) was adopted to simulate the cavitating flow in a waterjet pump with emphasis on the tip clearance flow. The numerical results agree well with the experimental observations, which indicates that the LES method can make good predictions of the unsteady cavitating flows around a rotor blade. The LES verification and validation (LES V&V) analysis was used to reveal the influence of cavitation on the flow structures. It can be found that the LES errors in cavitating region are larger than those in the non-cavitating area, which is mainly caused by more complicated cavitating and tip clearance flow structures. Further analysis of the interaction between the cavitating and vortex flow by the relative vorticity transport equation shows that the stretching, dilatation and baroclinic torque terms have major effects on the generation and transport of vortex structure. Meanwhile the Coriolis force term and viscosity term also exacerbate the vorticity transport in the cavitating region. In addition, the flow loss characteristics of this pump are also revealed by the entropy production theory. It is indicated that the tip clearance flow and trailing edge wake flow cause the viscous dissipation and turbulent dissipation, and the cavitation can further enhance the instability of the flow field in the tip clearance.

Prediction and Evaluation of Waterjet Pump Performance under Nonuniform Inflow Using Parallel Compressor Theory

Parallel compressor theory (PCT) is commonly used to estimate effects of inlet distortion on compressor performance. As well as compressor, the actual inflow to pump is also nonuniform and unfavorable for performances. Nowadays, insufficient understanding of nonuniform inflow effects on pump performance restricts its development. Therefore, this paper applies PCT to predict external characteristics and evaluate internal flow instability of waterjet pump under nonuniform inflow. According to features of nonuniform inflow, the traditional PCT is modified and makes waterjet pump sub-divided into two circumferential tubes owning same performances but with different inlet velocity (representing nonuniform inflow). Above all, numerical simulation has been conducted to validated the applicability and accuracy of PCT in head prediction of waterjet pump under nonuniform inflow, since area-weighted sum of each tube head (i.e., theoretical pump head) is highly consistent with simulated result. Moreover, based on identifications of when and which tube occurs stall, PCT evaluates four stall behaviors of waterjet pump: partial deep stall, partial stall, pre-stall and full stall. Furthermore, different stall behavior generates different interactions between head variation of each tube, resulting in a multi-segment head curve under nonuniform inflow. The modified PCT with associated physical interpretations are expected to provide a sufficient understanding of nonuniform inflow effects on pump performances.

Experimental Investigations of Cavitation Performance Breakdown in an Axial Waterjet Pump

This experimental study examines the mechanisms causing cavitation breakdown in an axial waterjet pump. The database includes performance curves, images of cavitation, measured changes to endwall pressure as the blade passes, as well as velocity and pressure distributions inside the blade passage, the latter estimated using Bernoulli's Equation in the rotor reference frame. They show that cavitation breakdown is associated with a rapid expansion of the attached cavitation on the blade suction side (SS) into the blade overlap region, blocking part of the entrance to this passage, increasing the velocity and reducing the pressure along the pressure side (PS) of the blade. Initially, expansion of the SS cavitation compensates for the reduced PS pressure, resulting in a slight increase in performance. Further reduction of the inlet pressure causes a rapid decrease in performance as the SS pressure remains at the vapor pressure, while the PS pressure keeps on decreasing. In addition, during the breakdown, entrainment of the cloud cavitation by the tip leakage vortex generates the previously observed perpendicular cavitating vortices (PCVs) that extend across the passage and reduce the through-flow area in the tip region. Tests have been repeated after installing circumferential casing grooves aimed at manipulating the tip leakage flow and reduce the formation of PCVs. These grooves indeed reduce the tip region blockage during early phases. However, they have a small effect on the performance degradation by cavitation breakdown, presumably owing to their limited effect on the attached SS cavitation and tip region cloud cavitation.