Visualizing test on the pass-through and collision characteristics of coarse particles in a double blade pump

Abstract

As the key equipment in deep ocean mining, the slurry pump suffers from wear and blocking problems. In this paper, high-speed photography technique is applied to track the movement rule of single particle of the coarse particle solid–liquid two-phase flow in a double blade slurry pump. The influences of particle diameter and particle density on the pass-through and collision characteristics of particles are analyzed as well. The results show that the average of the passing pump time first decreases and then increases when the particle diameter increases. The average of the passing pump time decreases by 22.7%, when the particle density increases from 1.09 g/cm3 to 1.75 g/cm3. Besides, the particle density has great influence on the location where the particle hits the tongue. Most particles of 1.09 g/cm3 hit the tongue on the left side, while collision location of particles of 1.75 g/cm3 is mainly on the top and at the right side of the tongue. The research can provide a basis for the optimization design of slurry pump in deep ocean mining system.