Analysis of phase interaction and gas holdup in a multistage multiphase rotodynamic pump based on a modified Euler two-fluid model

Abstract

Due to the effect of unit stages, the gas-liquid flow and the interphase forces in the multistage multiphase pump are more disordered, which will affect the energy conversion efficiency. However, the characteristics of phase interaction and gas holdup in such a pump are not clear. In this study, based on a modified Euler two-fluid model, simulations of a multiphase rotodynamic pump with two stages were carried out with medium combinations of air-water and air-crude. The characteristics of phase interaction and gas holdup were analyzed at different inlet gas void fractions (IGVFs), and inlet bubble diameters. The results show that the overall changing trend of interphase forces is the same between the first and second stages at different IGVFs, but the magnitudes of interphase forces in the second stage are slightly smaller, especially for the medium combination of air-water. Moreover, the drag is more sensitive to the IGVF, while the lift and added mass force are more sensitive to the medium viscosity. As the increase of the inlet bubble diameter, the difference of the gas holdup effect in the pump increases gradually at IGVF = 9.0%, and the maximum almost occurs in the first stage guide vane (S1). When the bubble diameter increases to 0.7 mm, the degree of gas accumulation and gas-liquid velocity difference increase significantly, resulting in a significant increase of the disordered degree of lift and added mass force.