CFD study on flow characteristics of pump sump and performance analysis of the mixed flow pump

Abstract

Head-capacity curves provided by the pump manufacturer are obtained on the condition of no vortices flowing into the pump intake. The efficiency and performance of pumping stations depend not only on the performance of the selected pumps but also on the proper design of the intake sumps. A faulty design of pump sump can lead to the occurrence of swirl and vortices, which reduce the pump performance. Therefore, sump model test is necessary in order to check the flow condition around intake structure. Numerical simulation is a good facility for reducing the time and cost involved throughout the design process. In this study, the commercial software ANSYS CFX-13.0 has been used for the CFD analysis of the pump sump. The effect of an anti-vortex device (AVD) for the submerged vortex has been examined. Hydraulic performances for the head rise, shaft power, pump efficiencies versus flow rate are studied by the performance curves. In addition, numerical simulation of cavitation phenomenon in a mixed flow pump has been performed by calculating the full cavitation model with k-ε turbulence model. According to the result, the efficacy of the AVD to ensure the uniform flow conditions around the pump intake is confirmed. From the numerical analysis, the inception of cavitation is observed on the suction surface where the leading edges meet the tip, and then the cavitation zone expands.