Analysis of flow through centrifugal pump impellers by finite element method

Abstract

A finite element approach for three-dimensional analysis of potential flow through centrifugal pump impellers is presented. Laplace equation is solved with proper boundary conditions. A technique to satisfy Kutta condition at the blade trailing edge is also described. The method is applied to a centrifugal pump impeller whose geometrical dimensions are available in the literature. For another impeller of centrifugal pump, static pressure distribution over the blades and within blade passage is measured experimentally at different pump speeds and flow rates. The results from FEM analysis and experimental data are compared to gain an insight into the effect of various idealisations made in the analysis. The comparison shows a good agreement over the range of flow rates and pump speeds investigated.