An investigation of the flow and overall performance in a water-jet axial flow pump based on computational fluid dynamics and inverse design method

Abstract

A new inverse design method based on non-constant distribution of circulation and axial velocity along the radial direction is used to design a pump impeller and a stator. The radial distribution of axial velocity at the design flowrate is calculated when an empirical radial distribution of circulation is given. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of the overall performance and the detailed flow field is performed using TASCflow software. A standard k—ɛ turbulence model combined with standard wall functions is used. A frozen rotor approach is employed to simulate the rotor—stator coupling flow field. The overall performances of the water-jet pump and the radial distribution of velocity components at the exit of the impeller are also measured. Good agreement of the overall performance, such as the pressure rise, the power, and the efficiency, between CFD and experiment is obtained. The detailed velocity fields from inviscid analysis, CFD, and experiment are compared and investigated.