Internal Flow Investigation of a Centrifugal Pump at the Design Point

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Akhras, A.-R. | El Hajem, M. | Morel, R. | Champagne, J.-Y.

Affiliations: Laboratoire de Mécanique des Fluides, INSA-Lyon Bât 302, 20 av. A. Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne, France.

Abstract: The unsteadiness of the flow at the leading edge of a vaned diffuser represents a source of low efficiency and instability in a centrifugal pump. Furthermore, the internal flow of the impeller can be affected by asymmetric downstream conditions, which results in extra flow unsteadiness and instabilities. The improvement of machine performances can only be achieved if there is a progress in the comprehension of the nature of the complex flow that develops at the gap between the rotor and the stator. This paper presents the results of LDA investigation of the internal flow of a centrifugal pump equipped with a backswept impeller and a vaned diffuser. The data taken in phase with the impeller rotation are presented as animated frames reconstituting a temporal evolution of the flow in radial planes at the diffuser inlet.

Keywords: centrifugal pump, rotor stator interaction, internal flow, LDA

Journal: Journal of Visualization, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 91-98, 2001