CFD-Rotordynamics Sequential Coupling Simulation Approach for the Flow-Induced Vibration of Rotor System in Centrifugal Pump

Vibration of the rotor system is closely related with the operation stability of centrifugal pump, and it is inevitably induced by the unsteady inner flow. An unsteady computational fluid dynamics model coupling with a rotordynamics model was presented, and the corresponding numerical calculation program, including a self-designed rotordynamics code, was developed on the commercial package ANSYS Workbench. The validity of the numerical calculation model was verified by a hydraulic performance and vibration test based on an industrial centrifugal pump. The hydraulic radial forces on impeller, pressure pulsation, deformation, and vibration of the main shaft under nine different flow rates were systematically investigated and explained preliminarily from the view of inner unstable flow. Results show that the blade passing frequency is the dominant frequency in the fluctuation of the above dynamical behaviors, which is closely related to the rotor–stator interaction between the impeller and volute casing. This study built the connection between internal fluid flow in the centrifugal pump and the vibration of its external rotor structure, and may provide theoretical references for the design of vibration-reducing and safety monitoring strategies design of centrifugal pumps.