Theoretical Study of Pressure Fluctuations Downstream of a Diffuser Pump Impeller—Part 2: Effects of Volute, Flow Rate and Radial Gap

Abstract

The fundamental analysis in the first report was extended to calculate the unsteady flow induced by the interaction between impeller blades and diffuser vanes/volute casing in a diffuser pump. The unsteady flow in the diffuser vane passage, as well as the volute casing, is assumed to be induced by the five kinds of singularities—the bound vortices distributed on the impeller blades, diffuser vanes and volute casing wall, the sources at volute outlet, and the free vortices shed from the trailing edge of diffuser vanes. Calculated unsteady pressures agree with the corresponding experimental data. And the calculated results showed the effects of the flow rate, volute casing and the radial gaps between impeller blade trailing edge and diffuser vane leading edge on the magnitude of unsteady pressure downstream of impeller.