The Impact of the Axial Gap between Impeller and Stator on the Internal Flow Characteristics of an Axial-flow Pumps

The axial-flow pump with axial gaps of 10,20,30,40 mm between the impeller exit and the stator inlet are simulated by CFD software,based on the standard k-e turbulence model,using the adaptive grid in the ANSYS workbench.The influence of different axial gaps on the performance of the axial-flow pump is researched into,and distribution of axial velocity on the exit of the impeller is discussed under different axial gaps.The numerical results of head and efficiency are close to the experiment results.The results show that changes of the axial gap have a significant impact on pump performance.Increasing the axial gap properly can improve the performance of pumps at lower flow rates.