Centrifugal pump studied

Using a combination of GAMBIT for both geometry and unstructured mesh generation plus FLUENT for CFD analysis, researchers in the Department of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Oviedo in Spain, have completed an extensive array of benchmark tests for a standard commercial centrifugal water pump. They recognized that flow in pumps is a complex 3D phenomenon that includes turbulence, secondary flows, and unsteadiness. Therefore, they used a hybrid mesh, the sliding mesh technique, and high order discretization in FLUENT on a parallel cluster of eight computers.

Simulations with flow rates of 60 percent, 100 percent, 120 percent, and 160 percent of the best efficiency flow rate for the pump were carried out and excellent agreement with experimental measurements was achieved. The study also accurately picked up the characteristic pressure fluctuation signal associated with the frequency of blade passage in front of the measurement position. This and other valuable detailed flow data related to the evolution of pressure distribution throughout the pump were obtained, including the differences between the suction and pressure sides of the blades, and the asymmetry induced by the volute tongue on the pressure distribution along both the volute and impeller.

Flow pathlines through the pump colored by local total pressure

This study clearly highlights the advantages to be gained in centrifugal pump design for the chemical, petrochemical, and water industries using a combination of GAMBIT and FLUENT

Reference:

1. Blanco-Marigorta, E. "Numerical Simulation in a Centrifugal Pump with Impeller-Volute Interaction", Proceedings of ASME FEDSM'00, Boston, Massachusetts, June 11-15, 2000.

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