Pump Impeller Research Articles

Design and analysis of pump casing and impeller using reverse engineering technique

Abstract Advances in three-dimensional (3D) laser measurement technology have resulted in progress in the field of Reverse Engineering. This study introduces a Reverse Engineering technique utilized to restore the initial design of a Pump Casing and its Impeller. This study provides a detailed understanding of the creation of the casing and its impeller 3D model by using the scanned model and its detailed steps, and a 3D deviation report is plotted in order to get a complete deviation idea between the scan data and the design extracted. The Casing and Impeller both have a range of upper and lower is +/− 0.75 mm for the deviation measurement. The Casing is that all points are within its limit, and it’s 100% for most points within its limit and the impeller is 90.9% for most points is in its limit.

Analysis of fluid forces impacting on the impeller of a mixed flow blood pump with computational fluid dynamics.

This study presents four different impeller designs to compare hydrodynamic forces. Numerical simulation studies are performed via computational fluid dynamics to specify and investigate the hydraulic forces impacting the impeller of the mixed-flow blood pump with a volute. The design point of this pump is that the flow rate is 5 L/min, the rotational speed is 8000 rpm, and the manometric head is 100 mmHg. The designed impellers are placed in the same volute and simulation studies are performed with the same mesh size (17.3 million cells) of the pumps. The simulation studies have been conducted in setting 1050 kg/m3 blood density, 35 cP fluid viscosity, and SST-kω turbulence model. Additionally, this study examines the changes in hydraulic forces and hydraulic efficiency with fluid viscosity. As a result of experimental simulation studies, the highest hydraulic efficiencies of 40.87% and 39.5% are achieved in the case of the shaftless-grooveless and shafted-grooveless impeller, respectively. The maximum axial forces are obtained from the pump with the shaftless-grooveless impeller. Whereas radial forces, maximum values are calculated in the pump with the shaftless-outer groove impeller for all flow rates. Finally, the wall shear stresses, which are important for blood pump designs, are evaluated and the maximum value of 227 Pa is observed in the pump impeller with a shaftless-grooved.

Hydraulic Design and CFD-Based Parametric Study for Optimizing Centrifugal Pump Impeller Performance

Centrifugal pumps are extensively utilized across various industries, including water supply, agriculture, and energy, where they consume significant amounts of electricity. As demands for energy efficiency and reduced operating costs increase, enhancing pump efficiency has become crucial. This study focuses on optimizing the pump impeller geometry, which plays a vital role in minimizing energy losses. A hydraulic and hydrodynamic model was developed, alongside a parametric study based on numerical simulations (CFD), to analyze the influence of geometric parameters—specifically the angles and shapes of the blade’s inlet and outlet edges—on energy losses and hydraulic efficiency. The study utilized experimental data provided by the manufacturer for model verification. The results revealed that Ivanovsky’s method displayed deviations in the blade width at the leading edge and trailing edge of 25% and 43%, respectively, while Spiridonov’s method indicated deviations of 13% in the outer diameter D2 and 27.5% in the blade width at the trailing edge. In contrast, the combined method proposed by the authors achieved high accuracy, with deviations under 9%. Additionally, parametric analysis identified two key parameters affecting the pump efficiency: the angle of the trailing edge and its shape. These findings underscore the necessity of optimizing the blade geometry to enhance the performance and energy efficiency of centrifugal pumps.

Experimental study on the unsteady evolution mechanism of centrifugal pump impeller wake under solid–liquid two-phase conditions: Impact of particle concentration

To study the spatiotemporal evolution process of particle wakes behind the impeller in the centrifugal pump, this paper utilized high-speed photography to capture the particle motion characteristics under different solid-phase particle concentrations (1%, 1.5%, and 2%). First, this paper studies the changes in hydraulic performance of the centrifugal pump under solid–liquid two-phase flow conditions. It then introduces the evolution process of the impeller particle wake, comparing the differences in particle wake evolution under varying solid-phase concentrations. Finally, the impact of the solid-phase concentration on the wear of the volute's partitions is investigated. This study found that as the solid-phase particle concentration increases, the hydraulic performance of the pump gradually declines. Under the design conditions, when the solid-phase concentration increases by 0.5%, the efficiency of the centrifugal pump decreases by 0.56% and 0.35%. There is mutual transport of particles between adjacent wakes, and the movement of particle wakes within the volute passage is not equidistant over time. As the solid-phase particle concentration increases, wake cutting occurs at the volute partitions, and there is a significant solid–liquid separation between the particle wakes. The spatial evolution of the particle wakes is significantly influenced by the solid-phase concentration. Wear at the volute partitions intensifies with increasing solid-phase concentration and is also affected by changes in the particle wakes. The research results provide a basis for further exploration of the solid–liquid two-phase flow dynamics within centrifugal pumps.

Enhanced Impeller Gas-Liquid Flow Using Ribs for High Performance of Centrifugal Pump

Transporting two-phase fluids presents a challenge due to their negative effects on centrifugal pump performance. The accumulation of gas bubbles in the pump impeller forms large gas pockets, reducing efficiency. This work aims to improve the performance of a two-phase flow centrifugal pump by modifying the pump impeller through the addition of ribs. These ribs are positioned near gas bubble accumulation. The modified impeller helps to disperse this accumulation, thereby enhancing pump performance. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of ribs on the pump efficiency. The results showed a negative effect in low (GVF) and single-phase flows. However, at high GVF, the ribs significantly improved head up to 9%. Moreover, rib characteristics, such as diameter and radial position, were key parameters affecting the pump's efficiency. The ribs with a diameter of 1 mm and a radial position of 33 mm showed the best performance.

Numerical Simulation and Model Test on Pressure Fluctuation and Structural Characteristics of Lightweight Axial Flow Pump

In order to explore the relationship between the hydraulic performance, pressure pulsation, and structural characteristics of lightweight axial flow pumps, this paper takes the axial flow pump as the research object and analyzes pressure pulsation and structural characteristics by changing the blade length and thickness to realize the lightweight design of the axial flow pump impeller. Compared with the initial scheme (Scheme 1), the mass of the impeller is reduced by 17.2% (Scheme 2) and 29.9% (Scheme 3), respectively. The lightweight axial flow pump (Scheme 2 and Scheme 3) has a lower pressure pulsation amplitude at the impeller outlet monitoring point under large flow conditions. After the lightweight design of the axial flow pump impeller, the blade becomes shorter, the mass becomes lighter, and the cavitation performance will become worse. The maximum equivalent stress of Scheme 2 and Scheme 3 is increased by 2.8% and 31.9%, respectively, compared to Scheme 1. The maximum deformation of Scheme 3 increased by 27% compared to Scheme 1. This research can provide guidance for the lightweight optimization design of the axial flow pump.

Research and application of intelligent diagnosis method for impeller fault based on centrifugal pump digital twin flow field cloud map

With the development of industrial technology, the demand for health diagnosis and maintenance of centrifugal pumps is becoming increasingly urgent. Combining digital twin and machine vision technology, this paper proposes an intelligent diagnosis method for centrifugal pump impeller machinery fault based on digital twin flow field cloud map. Firstly, the centrifugal pump digital twin model is used to simulate the evolution of random fracture fault of impeller blades, and the impeller flow field pressure and velocity cloud maps with different fault characteristics are generated; secondly, based on the learning and training of Yolov5 algorithm, two types of machine vision models of pressure and velocity cloud maps are obtained, and the preliminary diagnosis of impeller faults is realized by combining statistical analysis; then, considering the complementary advantages of the two types of detection models, the two are integrated based on the idea of stacking integration to improve the accuracy of impeller fault diagnosis. Experimental verification shows that for random fracture faults of impeller blades, the centrifugal spring intelligent fault diagnosis method proposed in this paper can achieve a diagnostic accuracy of more than 0.99, and the developed intelligent diagnosis system for centrifugal pump impeller machinery faults enables the method in this paper to be put into practice.

Transient flow and noise characteristics of vortex-turbulence-noise interaction in centrifugal pump

Centrifugal pump operation noise is an avoidable common phenomenon in engineering practices, and its characteristics are closely influenced by the flow characteristics of the fluid. In this paper, a numerical simulation of centrifugal pump operation with different flow rates is carried out using the detached eddy simulation turbulence model and compared with the experimental results. Then the noise source and far-field radiated noise characteristics of the centrifugal pump are investigated using Lighthill’s analogy. The results show that the noise of centrifugal pump is closely related to the flow characteristics of impeller, especially the generation and development of vortex. The relationship between turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and vortex is complex, involving the generation, development and shedding of vortex. The influence of flow rate variation on vortex structure in impeller is studied by vortex transport equation. It is found that the relative vortex stretching (RVS) term is the main driving force of vortex distribution. The distribution of the Coriolis force (CORF) term is mainly concentrated in the inlet and outlet areas of the flow channel, which is related to the rotational motion of the impeller and the dynamic characteristic of the fluid. The power spectral density inside the impeller is mainly concentrated in the low frequency region, indicating that the low frequency noise component is dominant in energy. The directivity curve of far-field noise pressure level is influenced by hydrodynamic effect, impeller rotation direction and pump design structure, and will have a certain deviation. The spectral curve analysis of velocity, vorticity, pressure and sound pressure level shows that these physical quantities have strong correlation on the spectrum, in which the low frequency component is large, and the high frequency component is complex and volatile.

Improving the Efficiency of Submersible Multistage Pumps Based on the Hydrophobization of the Flow Part Surfaces

The paper presents an experimental study of an assembly of five stages of an electric centrifugal pump (ECP) installation, the flow part of which is modified according to the principles of biomimetics, namely using the “lotus leaf effect”. The object of the study was a 5A-35 ECP. The surfaces of the blade systems of impellers and guide devices of stages 5 A-35 were hydrophobized using the method of applying surfactant layers. The degree of impellers hydrophobicity was estimated by the wetting angle average value measured by three drops at three different points on the impeller surface. The impellers surface roughness under study was determined by the arithmetic mean profile deviation Ra and the profile height irregularities Rz. The issues related to the surfactant coating modification effect salt deposition and corrosion were studied. For this purpose, the surfaces of the original and modified impellers were subjected to intensive forced salt deposition as a result of prolonged exposure to saline solution. The conclusion about the samples corrosion resistance degree was made by changing their mass, which was due to the salt deposits formation during 15 hours of stay in solution, as well as using the drop method. Both methods have shown that the surfactant coating can serve as a salt deposition inhibitor, and the pump impeller modified by it has increased corrosion resistance. Thus, during comparative tests, a smaller mass of salt was deposited on the modified impeller sample during 15 hours of exposure in saturated saline solution than on the original sample. This indicates that the surfactant layer prevents the salt deposits fixation on the working surfaces of the pump stage. On the modified sample examined by the drop method, the indicator color changed in 20 minutes, and on the original one – in 2 minutes. Experimental studies have been carried out, during which the operation energy parameters of a five stages 5A-35 pumping package with initial and modified surfactant-coated impellers have been determined. The studies have shown a 2 % increase in efficiency in the pum-ping package of stages with modified impellers. The results of the study can be useful in the oil production, chemical industry, as well as in the housing and communal services sector.

EI-ISOA-VMD: Adaptive denoising and detrending method for nuclear circulating water pump impeller

As a key component of the nuclear circulating water pump, it is difficult to extract effective information from low-quality impeller signal because of the interference noise and non-stationary trend, such as water flow impact, vibrations from unrelated components, and sensor noise. Traditional signal denoising methods, particularly those utilizing variational mode decomposition, often require manual parameter tuning, resulting in unsatisfactory outcome. To address these issues, this paper proposes a signal denoising and detrending method based on the evaluation index driven the improved seagull algorithm optimized for variational mode decomposition (EI-ISOA-VMD). During the optimization process, sinusoidal chaotic mapping is utilized for initializing the seagull population, while a tanh function is employed to design nonlinearly decreasing inertia weights. Furthermore, the Levy flight mechanism enhances the randomness of position updates and optimizes seagull individuals beyond the boundary range in order to form the improved seagull optimization algorithm. The denoising, detrending process, and evaluation index proposed in this paper are utilized as the fitness function for the improved seagull optimization algorithm to optimize key parameters of variational mode decomposition. During the denoising and detrending process, the trend component is initially selected using the mean ratio method. The useful, low noise and high noise intrinsic mode functions are screened by correlation coefficient and weighted permutation entropy. Subsequently, the low noise components are denoised by wavelet thresholding method, and the high noise components are discarded to finally reconstruct the signal. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively eliminates noise and trend components in low-quality signal while preserving more valuable information.

Centrifugal pump impeller wheel inspired acoustic metamaterial for low frequency sound absorption

Addressing low-frequency noise is a significant concern within the realm of acoustics and noise management. Labyrinthine channel based acoustic metamaterials have been proved to control low frequency noise using local resonance effect and thermoviscous dissipations. Drawing inspiration from centrifugal pump impeller wheel, an acoustic metamaterial absorber has been devised. The design incorporates impeller vanes to create a channel with variable widths and a micro-perforate panel through which sound wave propagates to the channels. Numerical simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics and experimental analysis are conducted employing Two microphone impedance tube method. Acoustic pressure and acoustic particle velocity distribution plots from numerical simulation study are used to comprehend the sound absorption mechanism. Sound absorption coefficient results reveal that this design offers a tunable sound absorption peak in low frequency regime. Furthermore, this paper discusses the influence of various geometric parameters such as, number of vanes, panel thickness and micro-hole diameter. The subwavelength dimensions of the design contribute to noise control in machineries with space constraints.

Study on the characteristics of fluid exciting force on impeller of high-speed centrifugal pump under the condition of poiseuille inflow

Abstract The paper adopted the turbulence model of Wall-Model Large Eddy Simulation with improved algebraic form (WMLES S-Omega) to carry out the study on the fluid exciting force on impeller of high-speed centrifugal pump under the conditions of Poiseuille inflow and uniform inflow. The external characteristics and the vibration displacement of the shaft of high-speed centrifugal pump are tested. The results indicated that it is the high matching that the test and numerical external data of high-speed centrifugal pump under the condition of Poiseuille inflow. The test results of vibration displacement of shaft match the fluid exciting force better in terms of waveform and phase difference under the condition of Poiseuille inflow. The contribution degree of force and torque from the shroud inner surface in the X and Y direction is 76.3%, 80.7%, 79.5% and 85% of the resultant force and torque, and its force from the inner and outer surfaces of shroud and hub in the Z direction is 94.3%, and its torque from blades’ surfaces in the Z direction is 98.3%. The study results can provide some theoretical support for the research of fluid exciting force and hydraulic optimization design of centrifugal pump.

Study on corrosion behavior of impeller of oil pump with CO2 crude oil

Abstract CO2 was one of the key factors that caused serious corrosion of petroleum equipment and facilities. Aiming to address the problem of serious pitting corrosion in the impeller of an oil pump in a CO2 flooding field, immersion, and electrochemistry experiments were comprehensively analyzed in this paper. The results showed that the corrosion rate of FV520B steel increased exponentially with the increase of pipeline transport pressure and flow rate (R2>0.9), and the potential shifted negatively. With the increase of pipe pressure, the corrosion directivity of the specimen surface gradually disappeared, showing a distinct pitting area and a comprehensive corrosion area. This was due to cavitation under high pipe pressure conditions.

Influence of Maximum Airfoil Camber Position on Hydrofoil Cavitation Performance

Abstract This study’s primary goal is to investigate how various airfoils’ maximum camber positions affect hydrofoil cavitation performance. Through numerical simulation, the cavitation low properties of hydrofoils with various maximum camber positions are compared. The accuracy of the modi ied turbulence viscosity and SST k-ω turbulence model on the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of cavitation near the hydrofoil is evaluated by combining it with the model test. Analysis is done on the cavitation low ield of four airfoils at two distinct design angles of attack (+4° and +6°) with varying maximum camber locations (fmax = 35%C, 40%C, 50%C, and 60%C). The indings indicate that at 35%C, the hydrofoil’s maximum camber position has improved cavitation performance. The hydrofoil’s cloud cavitation evolution time is shorter than that of the original hydrofoil, and during the same time period, more cavitation is generated. The lift-to-drag ratio and lift coef icient of the cavitation low ield are signi icantly improved at both angles of attack. At the same time, the vorticity distribution and entropy generation distribution can be effectively reduced under the design angle of attack and high angle of attack cavitation, and the hydraulic loss in the cavitation low ield can be reduced. This research can serve as a guide for optimizing the hydrofoil’s cavitation performance and designing the impeller of the axial low pump that follows.

Study on pressure fluctuation characteristics of the mixed-flow pump with the tandem misaligned blade structure

Abstract As supporting equipment for deep-sea oil and gas resource exploitation, how to improve the transmission performance and stability of the impeller of the mixed-flow pump (MFP) has become a key technical problem. This paper focuses on studying the impeller blade of the MFP. Based on the blade optimization technology, four different tandem misaligned blade (TMB) angle schemes of α=0°,15°,45°,75° are proposed. The SST k-ω turbulence model is used to simulate the different blade angles under the pure liquid condition. The pressure pulsation of the MFP and the blade load distribution are studied. This result show that the TMB structure increases the pressure fluctuation inside the MFP. The pressure coefficient inside the impeller exhibits a more consistent pattern at an angle of α=45° compared to other angles, and the internal flow field of the MFP exhibits most stable. From this analysis of blade load distribution, TMBs have a greater effect on the pressure surface of the front blade of the MFP. When α=15°, the best pressurization performance of the MFP. This study may serve as a benchmark for subsequent iterations of optimizing the MFP’s model and hydraulic design.

Research on the Internal Flow Characteristics of an Electric Coolant Pump

Abstract To investigate the internal flow characteristics of an automotive electronic coolant pump, numerical simulations were performed utilizing the ANSYS CFX commercial software suite. The study delved into the velocity distribution, pressure pulsation intensity characteristics, and entropy generation of the electronic coolant pump under varying operational conditions. The findings revealed that with an increase in the flow rate, the coolant flow velocity within the pump also escalated. Concurrently, the separation flow at the trailing edge of the blade diminished, while the flow velocity at the trailing edge of the pressure surface escalated. Notably, the impeller and volute emerged as the primary sites generating pressure pulsations, with pressure pulsation intensity within the pump surpassing that of the design condition in off-design scenarios. Furthermore, entropy generation predominantly manifested at the impeller, volute, and front pump chamber locations, with the impeller exhibiting minimal total entropy generation under design conditions. These insights serve as crucial reference points for optimizing the design of automotive electronic coolant pumps.

Pressure pulsation and radial force characteristics of dual-side impellers for the turbine energy recovery integrated machine

Abstract The inherent instabilities within the structure of the turbine-type energy recovery integrated machine (TT-ERIM) have the potential to compromise its smoothness and longevity, which could result in malfunctions. The dynamics of the dual-side impeller of TT-ERIM have been investigated through the use of computational fluid dynamics software (CFX) and the manipulation of the inlet flow rate. Pressure pulsation and radial force on each side under different flow conditions, and their impact on the hydraulic performance of the impeller and volute, are compared and evaluated through unsteady numerical calculations. The results show that the pressure fluctuation pattern of a centrifugal pump impeller is suboptimal at low flow rates, with fluctuations increasing as the flow rate falls below the rated value. Conversely, the pressure fluctuations of the turbine impeller remain consistent and are slightly reduced with excessively high flow rates. The generation of a negative pressure zone in the turbine impeller is indicative of an uneven overall pressure distribution. This research provides a theoretical framework for enhancing the TT-ERIM operational stability.

Numerical study of rotating cavitation and pressure pulsations in a centrifugal pump impeller

To investigate the variations in the flow field of centrifugal pumps with different cavitation numbers, this study utilized the shear stress transport k–ω turbulence model and Zwart–Gerber–Belamri cavitation model to examine the correlation between stall vortices and cavitation flow. The findings indicate that cavitation consistently coincides with the formation of stall vortices, and the distribution of cavitation mirrors the pattern of stall vortex structure. Cavitation tends to develop and aggregate around stall vortices, obstructing a significant portion of inlet areas within the flow channel. As the cavitation number decreases, both the area and intensity of stall vortices increase. For cavitations margins σ = 0.41, 0.23, and 0.15, we observed propagation frequencies of stall vortices at fs = 2.7, 1.8, and 0.9 Hz respectively, as these frequencies decrease relative to impeller movement until reaching near-stationary states. The pressure pulsations in various flow channels exhibit distinct phase differences; smaller cavity numbers result in larger phase disparities along with a gradual reduction in pressure pulsation amplitude. These discoveries present effective strategies for controlling and reducing both cavity formation and pressure fluctuations within centrifugal pumps, thereby enhancing overall stability.

Research on the Balance Axial Force of the Back Blade of Centrifugal Pump Impeller based on CFD

Abstract One popular way to decrease the pump’s axial force is by utilizing the back blade. In this paper, by changing the number and width of back blades and using CFD 3D simulation technology, the influence law of back blades on pump performance, pump chamber liquid pressure characteristics and axial force characteristics is obtained. By changing the number of the back blade and width of the back blade, this paper adopt CFD 3D simulation technology to study, get pump performance, pump cavity liquid pressure characteristic and the influence law of axial force characteristics. The results show that the pump head and power increase with the increase of the width and number of back blades. However, the efficiency of the pump gradually decreases with the increase of the width and number of back blades. The impeller mounted back blade can change the pressure distribution of liquid of the pump chamber, and affect the axial force of the pump. The size and direction of the axial force change with the number and width of the back blades.

An Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer(IGWO) algorithm for optimization of centrifugal pump with guide vane

Abstract To improve the hydraulic performance of a centrifugal pump with guide vane, an improved grey wolf optimizer (IGWO) algorithm is proposed. First, the IGWO algorithm enhances the diversity and global exploration of the initial population with optimal Latin hypercube sampling. Then, the convergence factor is improved by combining the Tanh function to meet the needs of complex non-linear optimization problems. Finally, a search mechanism that enhances population communication is constructed and combined with a mutation-driven search scheme to improve the ability to avoids the local optima traps. The results show that IGWO algorithm has obvious advantages in convergence speed and robustness when dealing with complex non-linear optimization problems. Additionally, satisfactory results are achieved in the application of centrifugal pump optimization. The efficiency of optimized pump reaches 87.8%, which is 1.2% higher than that of the original pump. The anti-cavitation performance of the centrifugal pump is enhanced by improving the distribution of blade inlet attack angles. The vortex area inside the optimized pump impeller is reduced over a large area, and the operating stability of the pump, the matching between the impeller and the guide vane, and the flow characteristics in the guide vane domain are all improved.