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NUMERICAL FLOW SIMULATION IN A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP WITH IMPELLER - VOLUTE INTERACTION
Matthew Stickland, Thomas Scanlon, Eduardo Blanco, Joaquín Fernández Francos, José González, Carlos Santolaria-Morros
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Abstract
This paper shows a numerical simulation of the tree-dimensional fluid flow inside a centrifugal pump. The pump is a commercial centrifugal water pump with a 190 mm outlet impeller diameter, backward curved blades, nominal flow of 0.013 m3/s and 11 m of head. This simulation has been made with an unsteady calculation and using the sliding mesh technique to take into account the impeller-volute interaction. With them, it is possible to simulate correctly the blade passage in front of the tongue and the flow and pressure fluctuations induced. The numerical results are compared with the experimental characteristic curve and pressure fluctuations measured in the volute. The data obtained allow the analysis of the main phenomena existent in these pumps, such as: the pressure changes in the volute for different flow rates; the incidence at the leading edge of the blade with different flow conditions; and the secondary flow generated in the volute due to the width change between the impeller and the volute.
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