Numerical prediction of cavitation flow in centrifugal pump

In order to study the cavitation flow in a centrifugal pump,numerical simulation of steady cavitating turbulent flow in a specific speed 95 centrifugal pump was carried out by using a full cavitation model and a mixing two-phase flow model.The distribution of static pressure on the blade surfaces and the pump′s available NPSH performance curve were obtained,and the region and the degree of cavitation in the flow passage are respectively predicted.The results show that with increasing cavitation area,the head of centrifugal pump declines.By theoretical analysis,small cavitation bubbles will not affect the operating characteristics of pumps,but a large number of cavitation bubbles will block the flow,and destroy the flow continuity and the performance.It is found that the simulation error is less than 5% compared with the experiment results.