The Influence of Pre-Lift Gate Opening on the Internal and External Flow Characteristics During the Startup Process of an Axial Flow Pump

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This paper focuses on a vertical axial flow pump and employs a 1D-3D coupling method to investigate the effects of different gate pre-opening angles on the internal and external flow characteristics of the axial flow pump during startup. Through comparative analysis, the following conclusions are drawn: In the study, a fully open gate is defined as 1, while a fully closed gate is defined as 0. When starting the axial flow pump with different valve pre-opening degrees, backflow occurs within the first 20 s of startup, and the backflow rate inside the pump gradually increases with the increase in the valve pre-opening degree. At a valve pre-opening degree of 0.6, the maximum backflow rate inside the pump reaches 5.89% of the rated flow rate. When starting the pump with the valve fully open, the maximum backflow rate reaches 10.98% of the rated flow rate, and the efficiency is affected by the backflow rate. The valve pre-opening degree has little impact on the axial force acting on the impeller during startup. When starting with a valve pre-opening degree of 0.6, the internal pressure difference in the pump is minimized. Within the first 20 s of startup, the internal pressure difference in the impeller is 28.96% higher and the flow velocity is 14.62% higher with valve pre-opening degrees of 0.8 and 1.0 compared to a 0.6 degree opening. During the initial stage of pump startup, with valve pre-opening degrees of 0.8 and 1.0, the pressure fluctuation amplitude inside the pump is minimal, with maximum relative amplitudes of only 0.621 and 0.525, which are 41.00% and 28.51% lower than the maximum amplitudes at 0 and 0.2 degrees, respectively. In summary, the peak pressure inside the pump is minimized when the valve pre-opening degree is around 0.8, while the pressure difference and flow velocity are relatively lower at a pre-opening degree of 0.6. It is recommended to start the pump with a valve pre-opening degree of around 0.6 to 0.8.