Influence of wall roughness on pressure distribution and performance of centrifugal dredge pumps

Abstract

Wall roughness is an important factor that affects pump head and efficiency. Based on the open source program OpenFOAM, the wall function method and the equivalent sand roughness model were used to study the influence of wall roughness on the performance of centrifugal dredge pumps. Then, the steady state of the dredge pump under 10 different types of wall roughness was calculated using the k-omega SST turbulence model. The pressure distribution under different flow rates and rotation speeds was also analyzed. The results reveal that the relationship between the increase of wall roughness and the performance of the dredge pump can be roughly divided into three stages, which may be related to the link between roughness and the viscous layer. In particular, the pump performance decreases significantly, and the shaft power increases linearly when it is in the third stage (complete rough region). Finally, different degrees of roughness have minimal effects on the pressure distribution of the impeller.