Abstract
Double-suction centrifugal pumps have been applied extensively in many areas, and the significance of pressure fluctuations inside these pumps with large power is becoming increasingly important. In this study, a double-suction centrifugal pump with a high-demand for vibration and noise was redesigned by increasing the flow uniformity at the impeller discharge, implemented by combinations of more than two parameters. First, increasing the number of the impeller blades was intended to enhance the bounding effect that the blades imposed on the fluid. Subsequently, increasing the radial gap between the impeller and volute was applied to reduce the rotor-stator interaction. Finally, the staggered arrangement was optimized to weaken the efficacy of the interference superposition. Based on numerical simulation, the steady and unsteady characteristics of the pump models were calculated. From the fluctuation analysis in the frequency domain, the dimensionless pressure fluctuation amplitude at the blade passing frequency and its harmonics, located on the monitoring points in the redesigned pumps (both with larger radial gap), are reduced a lot. Further, in the volute of the model with new impellers staggered at 12°, the average value for the dimensionless pressure fluctuation amplitude decreases to 6% of that in prototype pump. The dimensionless root-mean-square pressure contour on the mid-span of the impeller tends to be more uniform in the redesigned models (both with larger radial gap); similarly, the pressure contour on the mid-section of the volute presents good uniformity in these models, which in turn demonstrating a reduction in the pressure fluctuation intensity. The results reveal the mechanism of pressure fluctuation reduction in a double-suction centrifugal pump, and the results of this study could provide a reference for pressure fluctuation reduction and vibration performance reinforcement of double-suction centrifugal pumps and other pumps.
Highlights
1 Introduction Double-suction centrifugal pumps have been employed in a variety of applications, such as oil pipeline, drainage, irrigation and other hydraulic transportation projects
Yao et al [17] investigated an adaptive optimal-kernel time-frequency representation based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) and revealed the trends of pressure fluctuations in a double-suction centrifugal pump
The original pump was denoted as model #1, and the best pressure fluctuation performance was found in model #4
Summary
Double-suction centrifugal pumps have been employed in a variety of applications, such as oil pipeline, drainage, irrigation and other hydraulic transportation projects In these situations, their relatively high flow capacity and more balanced axial force have been utilized. Yang et al [11, 12] performed experimental, numeral, and theoretical research on impeller diameter influencing centrifugal pump-as-turbine, and studied the effect of different numbers of blades on the fluid-dynamic pulsations in pumps, concluding that the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations reduced with the increasing blade number. Pavesi et al [14] highlighted that fluid-dynamical unsteadiness produced asymmetrical rotating pressure at the impeller outlet in an experimental research on flow field instability of a centrifugal pump. Yao et al [17] investigated an adaptive optimal-kernel time-frequency representation based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) and revealed the trends of pressure fluctuations in a double-suction centrifugal pump
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