Numerical simulation of gas-liquid flows in a centrifugal rotor

Abstract

Two-phase flows generally represent an adverse condition for centrifugal pumps. Research about this topic tends to be focused on performance evaluation through experimental approaches, while numerical works are quite scarce. In this paper, the numerical investigation of the gas-liquid flow in a centrifugal rotor is carried out. An Euler-Euler, polydispersed approach is adopted, together with several gas-liquid equations to model the relevant interphase interactions. The rotor geometry is a flat radial rotor, for which previously obtained experimental data to be used as input and for validation is available. Numerical results agree well with experimental ones for a range of operating conditions. They are further explored to investigate the effect of different interphase interactions on the results. Outcomes from this work can help with the understanding of the complex mechanisms associated with gas-liquid flows in centrifugal rotors, and contribute with the progress of numerical models for its solution.