Abstract
The vortex in a pump sump is a negative problem for the pump unit, which can lead to the decline of pump performance. Focusing on the internal pressure characteristics of the floor-attached vortex (FAV) and its influence on the pump unit, the FAV was analyzed adopting the previously verified numerical simulation method and experiment. The results show that the pressure in the vortex core gradually decreases with time, drops to a negative pressure at the development stage, and then reaches the lowest pressure during the continuance stage. When the negative pressure of the vortex tube is around the vaporization pressure of the continuance stage, it can cause a local cavitation at the impeller inlet. The evolution of the FAV is accompanied by a change of pressure gradient in the vortex core which is discussed in detail. This research provides theoretical guidance for a better understanding of the vortex characteristics and the optimal design for the pump.
Highlights
The pump sump is the key component of a pump station, but many different vortices exist in the pump sump due to an unreasonable design, which seriously affects the safe operation of the pump unit [1,2]
In the early development stage (t1 = 1.33 s), the two low-pressure areas gradually merged and intersected, which means that the two vortices had merged and the low-pressure areas continued to expand, further verifying that the floor-attached vortex (FAV) was a double vortex in the early stage
In the later development stage (1.63 s), the double low-pressure areas in the vortex area merged into a single low-pressure area
Summary
The pump sump is the key component of a pump station, but many different vortices exist in the pump sump due to an unreasonable design, which seriously affects the safe operation of the pump unit [1,2]. A vortex is a special form of fluid motion, which has unsteady and nonlinear characteristics [4]. The universality and complexity of vortex motion make it an enduring research frontier in the theoretical and applied research of hydrodynamics [5]. The vortex formed at the inlet of a pump station is generally divided into a free surface vortex and submerged vortex. The free surface vortex has a great impact on the project, which will reduce the effective water flow section at the inlet of the pump station and reduce the flow capacity. Various theoretical and analytical models have been proposed for the vortices from the Navier–Stokes equations [6]
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