Analysis of the Flow Pattern and Flow Rectification Measures of the Side-Intake Forebay in a Multi-Unit Pumping Station

To improve the problem of turbulence in the forebay of the lateral inlet pumping station, a typical lateral inlet pumping station project in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China was taken as the research object. The forebay of the pumping station is a building connecting the river channel and the pumping station into the water tank. Based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) law and the k-ε turbulence model, the computational fluid dynamics method (CFD) technology compares and analyzes the numerical simulation with or without rectification measures for the forebay of the lateral intake pumping station when multiple units are operating. The three-dimensional model was created by SolidWorks modeling software and the numerical simulation simulated by CFX-ANSYS. To alter the flow pattern in the forebay of the pumping station, various rectification measures were chosen. Internal rectification flow patterns in the forebay under multiple plans, uniformity of flow velocity distribution in the measuring section, and vortex area reduction rates are investigated and compared. Based on the analysis and comparison of numerical simulation results, when the parabolic wall and some rectification piers are set significantly it improves the flow pattern of the forebay of the lateral inlet pumping station. It also makes the flow pattern of the inlet pool better and increases the uniformity of the flow velocity distribution by 8%. Further, it reduced the vortex area by 70%, effectively improving the operating efficiency of the pump. The research results of this paper provide a technical reference for the improvement of the flow pattern in the forebay of the lateral inlet pumping station.