Research on the Internal Flow Difference between Peak and Valley Conditions of Water Jet Propulsion Pump during Working at Hump Region

Abstract

When we tested the water jet propulsion pump, we found that there were significant vibrations in the pump, especially at small flow points that deviated from the design conditions. The water jet propulsion pump is a mixed-flow pump with guide vane, which is commonly employed for water jet propulsion. However, the guide vane mixed-flow pump is susceptible to a phenomenon known as “hump”, which can cause flow disturbances, increased vibration, and noise when the pump operates within the hump region. According to the vibration phenomenon found in our experiment, the mechanism of vibration needs to be revealed. This study focuses on vorticity and turbulence distributions of a mixed flow water jet propulsion pump under the valley and peak operating conditions of the hump region. The research is conducted using experimental and numerical simulation methods. The SST k-ω turbulence model is employed for turbulence calculations. The experiments are conducted on a closed test rig for axial (mixed) flow pumps. A comparison of experimental and numerical simulation results of hydraulic performance curves are conducted to validate the accuracy of the numerical simulation. Cavitation flow structures of the critical cavitation stage under valley conditions and under peak conditions are compared. A comparative analysis is conducted to examine the differences in internal vortex core distribution and turbulence kinetic energy distribution between the valley and peak operating conditions when working within the hump region. The pressure and velocity vectors of the pump impeller blades and the velocity streamline distribution between the impeller and the guide vane blades are compared. To further analyze the flow state in different flow channels under valley and peak conditions, the streamline distribution at Span = 0.5 in the impeller and diffuser basin is extracted. This study provides theoretical foundations and technical support for the design of high-performance, low-vibration water jet propulsion pumps.