Experimental study on the influence of inlet distortion on the performance of single suction centrifugal pump

Abstract

As a renewable energy source, water energy is indispensable in hydropower generation, and centrifugal pump is widely used in hydroelectric generation. But the centrifugal pump usually uses elbow pipe inflow due to the limitation of installation space, and the inflow distortion will lead to the decrease of pump performance and the increase of vibration. In this paper, the influence rule of inflow distortion on external characteristics and pressure pulsation of centrifugal pump was analyzed. The research results show that the inflow of elbow pipe will lead to the decrease of the head and efficiency of the centrifugal pump, which will decrease by 0.68m and 1.5% at the maximum under the design condition. The increase of bend angle will increase the pressure pulsation at the inlet of the centrifugal pump, which has an influence on the pressure pulsation around the volute at different positions, especially the pressure pulsation intensity at the tongue position significantly increases. The research in this paper can provide reference for the design and safe operation of inlet pipeline in practical engineering.