Hydraulic characteristics of liquid–gas ejector pump with a coherent liquid jet

Abstract

The gas suction rate of a conventional liquid–gas ejector pump was measured on a modular pilot plant unit utilizing convergent nozzles and a water–air system. Hydraulic characteristics were measured for various water flow rates, suction and discharge pressures, and ejector geometries, covering a wide range of configurations and operating conditions. The device configurations, providing the most stable and reproducible results, were identified. The air flow rates measured with these configurations were correlated by a simple, three-parameter correlation with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 11%. The performance and behavior of the ejector in less stable configurations are discussed and the recommendations for the design of optimally operating units are provided. Finally, the correlation is tested against available literature data. The ejectors with comparable geometry agree well with the proposed correlation (within 20% RSD). The reasonable agreement with the discussed differences is found for other literature data. This comparison results in the validation of the proposed correlation to provide a safe prediction of minimal gas entrainment in units of various geometries, orientation and operating conditions.