Studies on the Vortex Pump : 2nd Report, Pump Performance

Abstract

The internal flow conditions were investigated experimentally and theoretically in the first report. In this report the internal flow conditions were measured over a wide range of impeller shapes and the pump performance was analyzed using the flow pattern which was clarified in the first report. The following results were obtained from this investigation. The theoretical no-slip pump head slightly decreased with an increase in discharge owing to a decrease in mean impeller outlet radius of the through-flow. Hydraulic loss increased as the discharge increased, but power loss from the circulating flow remained constant. Due to this power loss, the efficiency of the vortex pump was lower than that of a standard centrifugal pump. Variations of theoretical pump head, losses and other items affected by impeller shape were discussed and reasons for the differences in performance due to impeller shape were made clear.