Abstract
The three-dimensional unsteady turbulent flow in axial-flow pumps was simulated based on Navier-Stoke solver embedded with k-ε RNG turbulence model and SIMPLEC algorithm. Numerical results show that the unsteady prediction results are more accurate than the steady results, and the maximal error of unsteady prediction is only 4.54%. The time-domain spectrums show that the static pressure fluctuation curves at the inlet and outlet of the rotor and the outlet of the stator are periodic, and all have four peaks and four valleys. The pressure fluctuation amplitude increases from the hub to the tip at the inlet and outlet of the rotor, but decreases at the outlet of the stator. The pressure fluctuation amplitude is the greatest at the inlet of the rotor, and the average amplitude decreases sharply from the inlet to the outlet. The frequency spectrums obtained by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) show that the dominant frequency is approximately equal to the blade passing frequency. The static pressure on the pressure side of hydrofoil on different stream surfaces remains almost consistent, and increases gradually from the blade inlet to the exit on the suction side at different time steps. The axial velocity distribution is periodic and is affected by the stator blade number at the rotor exit. The experimental results show that the flow is almost axial and the pre-rotation is very small at the rotor inlet under the conditions of 0.8 Q N–1.2 Q N. Due to the clearance leakage, the pressure, circulation and meridional velocity at the rotor outlet all decrease near the hub leakage and tip clearance regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ALPAN K., PENG W. W. Suction reverse flow in an axial-flow pump[J]. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 1991, 113(1): 90–97.
ZIERKE W. C., FARRELL K. J. and STRAKA W. A. Measurements of the tip clearance flow for a high-Reynolds-number axial-flows pump rotor[J]. Journal of Tubomachinery, 1995, 117(4): 522–532.
ZIERKE W. C., STRAKA W.A. and TAYLOR P. D. An experimental investigation of the flow through an axial-flow pump[J]. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 1995, 117(3): 485–490.
DUPONT P., CAIGNAERT G. and BOIS G. et al. Rotor-stator interactions in a vaned diffuser radial flow pump[C]. Proceedings of ASME Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. Houston, TX, USA, 2005, 1087–1094.
LI Yao-jun, WANG Fu-jun. Numerical investigation of performance of an axial-flow pump with inducer[J]. Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser. B, 2007, 19(6): 705–711.
WANG Fu-jun, LI Yao-jun and CONG Guo-hui. CFD simulation of 3D flow in large-bore axial-flow pump with half-elbow suction sump[J]. Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser. B, 2006, 18(2): 243–247.
WANG Fu-jun, ZHANG Lin and ZHANG Zhi-min. Analysis on pressure fluctuation of unsteady flow in axial-flow pump[J]. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 2007, 38(8): 1003–1008(in Chinese).
ZIERKE W. C., STRAKA W. A. and TAYLOR P. D. Experimental investigation of the flow through an axial-flow pump[J]. Journal of Fluids Engineering, Transactions of the ASME, 1995, 117(3): 485–490.
SHIGMITSU T., FURUKAWA A. and WATANABE S. et al. Internal flow measurement with LDV at design point of contra-rotating axial flow pump Nihon Kikai Gakkai Ronbunshu[J]. Transactions of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Part B, 2008, 74(5): 1091–1097(in Japanese).
WATANABE A., YAMASHITA S. and TSUNENARI Y. et al. Flow measurement with LDV around rear rotor of contra-rotating axial flow pump at partial flow rate[J]. Transactions of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Part B, 2008, 74(4): 850–855(in Japanese).
GAO H., LIN W. L. and DU Z. H. An investigation of the flow and overall performance in a water-jet axial flow pump based on computational fluid dynamics and inverse design method[J]. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 2008, 222(5): 517–527.
CHEN Hong-xun, ZHU Bin. Analysis of numerical calculation on an axial-flow pump model with 0° installation angle[J]. Chinese Journal of Hydrodynamics, 2009, 24(4): 480–484(in Chinese).
FAN Hui-min, HONG Fang-wen and ZHOU Lian-di et al. Design of implantable axial-flow blood pump and numerical studies on its performace[J]. Journal of Hydrodynamics, 2009, 21(4): 445–452.
HUANG Huan-ming, GAO Hong and DU Zhao-hui. Numerical simulation and experimental study on flow field in an axial flow pump[J]. Journal of Shanghai Jiaotong University, 2009, 43(1): 124–128(in Chinese).
WANG Fu-jun. Computational fluid dynamic anal-ysis-CFD principle and application[M]. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2004, 114–116(in Chinese).
SITARAM N., LAKSHMINARAYANA B. and RAVINDRANATH A. Conventional probes for the Relative flow measurement in a turbomachinery rotor blade passage[J]. ASME Journal of Engineering for Power, 1981, 103: 406–41.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Project supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, Grant No. 2007AA05Z207), the Graduate Student Innovation Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. CX08B_064Z) and the National Science and Technology Support Program (Grant No. 2008BAF34B15).
Biography: ZHANG De-sheng (1982-), Male, Ph. D.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, Ds., Shi, Wd., Chen, B. et al. Unsteady Flow Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Axial-Flow Pump. J Hydrodyn 22, 35–43 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(09)60025-1
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(09)60025-1