Abstract
The performance of multiphase pumps has a remarkable influence on the related industrial application. In order to understand the flow field and gas-liquid phase interaction characteristics of a multiphase rotodynamic pump, detailed numerical analysis of the pump with a medium of air-water combination was carried out for the whole flow passage by means of a structured mesh using ICEM_CFD and TurboGrid. The results for 21% inlet gas void fraction (IGVF = 21%) condition showed that the magnitude ratio of non-drag forces to drag in impeller and guide vane passages was generally less than 1, whereas it was always less than 0.2 for the magnitude ratio of turbulent dispersion force to drag. When the IGVF was increased, the variation range of interphase forces in the impeller was greater than that in the guide vane. In addition, the gas in the impeller mainly accumulated near the suction surface in the outlet region. Further, with increased IGVF, the degree of aggregation increased as well as the gas inhomogeneity, and consequently the interphase forces in the impeller increased. Due to the divergent structure of the guide vane, obvious vortexes emerged at the hub and gradually moved toward the blade pressure surface along the streamwise direction.
Highlights
The extensive use of multiphase pumps for handling gas-liquid two-phase flow is not restricted to petroleum, and occurs in other industrial applications including chemical engineering, food, urban water supply, and nuclear industries [1,2,3]
The objective of the present study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the gas-liquid phase interaction characteristics and analyze the cause of gas-liquid flow separation in multiphase rotodynamic pumps, which will help in the design optimization for such pumps
The objective of the present study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the gas-liquid phase interaction characteristics and analyze the cause of gas-liquid flow separation in multiphase phase interaction characteristics and analyze the cause of gas-liquid flow separation in multiphase rotodynamic pumps
Summary
The extensive use of multiphase pumps for handling gas-liquid two-phase flow is not restricted to petroleum, and occurs in other industrial applications including chemical engineering, food, urban water supply, and nuclear industries [1,2,3]. Multiphase pumps are generally grouped into positive displacement and rotodynamic pumps. Compared to the positive displacement pump, the rotodynamic pump has many advantages, such as smaller volume, larger discharge, lower requirement for manufacture precision, lower sensitivity to solid particles in the flow field, easier use and repair, and so on [4,5]. Murakami and Minemura [7,8] observed the flow regime in a centrifugal pump and grouped the flow patterns into isolated bubbles flow, bubbly flow, gas pocket flow, and segregated gas flow. Verde et al [9] classified the flow pattern in a centrifugal pump into bubble flow, agglomerated bubble flow, gas pocket flow, and segregated flow, and observed that the gas pocket
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