Study on Turbulent Taylor-Couette Flow with High Reynolds Number and Large Radius Ratio in High-Speed Canned Motor Pump Internals

Abstract

Abstract The Taylor-Couette flow, a prevalent flow pattern in fluid machinery. This study investigates turbulent Taylor-Couette flow within the internal flow of a shield pump through numerical simulations. The study encompasses a range of radius ratios (0.934 to 0.977) and inner cylinder frequencies (50 to 383 Hz). Our findings reveal a significant positive correlation between torque magnitude and radius ratio within the studied parameter range. Additionally, an exponential relationship between non-dimensional torque and Taylor number was identified through fitting. Moreover, the study elucidates that larger radius ratios lead to an earlier transition to the final turbulent region with increasing Taylor numbers. Furthermore, detailed analysis of the flow field vortex structure demonstrates the profound influence of radius ratio on the number of Taylor vortices.