Abstract
In the energy conversion device and fluid transport equipment, the solid–liquid two-phase centrifugal pump occupies a large proportion, but the transport mechanism of dense fine particles has not been studied in detail. In this work, the solid–liquid two-phase flow in a centrifugal pump was numerically simulated by the mixture model. Two-phase performance tests with different particle concentrations and particle sizes at a low flow rate (0.6Qd) were conducted, and dimensionless analysis on the effect of particle concentrations and particle sizes on head and efficiency was conducted. The results show that the increase in particle size and particle concentration can increase the influence coefficient of head and efficiency and the influence of the two parameters on efficiency is greater than that on the head on the whole. The increase in particle size and concentration will lead to more uneven distribution of the solid volume fraction in the pump. The transport of dense fine particles absorbs a large amount of energy, which leads to the relative decrease in the kinetic energy of the liquid phase and inhibits the generation of the vortex in the impeller passage.
Highlights
In the dredging industry, a large number of solid–liquid twophase centrifugal pumps have been used to meet the requirements of transporting solid–liquid two-phase fluid
Li et al.1 studied the wear of large particles on a centrifugal pump by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-discrete element method (DEM) method; their results showed that the instantaneous wear rate of the pump presented periodic changes and the wear rate increased with the increase in particle concentration
When the volume concentration of particles is less than 15%, the change in particle concentration has less effect on efficiency than that of head, while when the volume concentration is greater than 15%, the opposite is true
Summary
A large number of solid–liquid twophase centrifugal pumps have been used to meet the requirements of transporting solid–liquid two-phase fluid. Shen et al. calculated the solid–liquid twophase flow in a spiral centrifugal pump, and the results showed that the wear of the impeller was mainly concentrated on the working face, the wear of small particles on the wall was more uniform, the movement trajectory was longer, and the wear of large particles on the wall was more concentrated. Wang et al. analyzed the solid–liquid flow in the slurry pump; the results showed that with the increase in particle diameter and particle concentration, the intensity and size of the vortex in the guide vane increase obviously, the velocity changes more dramatically, the working capacity of the impeller decreased, and the shaft power increased. For the solid–liquid two-phase flow with dense fine particles transported by the centrifugal pump, a large number of experiments and numerical simulation studies are needed. The flow mechanism of dense fine particles transported by the centrifugal pump under a low-flow rate condition is revealed, which provides a theoretical basis for loss reduction and optimal design of centrifugal pumps
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