A STUDY ON THE UNSTEADY PRESSURE CHARACTERISTICS IN A DOUBLE SUCTION CENTRIFUGAL PUMP WITH STAGGERED BLADE ARRANGEMENT
Abstract
The
operating life of a centrifugal pump is effected by the magnitude of the radial
forces. Fundamentally, these forces are due to pressure variations around the
impeller periphery which is a result of the complex interaction of two main
components; impeller and volute. There are several approaches in the literature
for load reduction. Double volute pumps have been successfully used for years.
However, this method involves serious manufacturing problems and efficiency
losses. This paper aims at using the effectiveness of a new approach called
staggered blade arrangement for the reduction of radial forces in a double
suction pump. A comparative analysis is performed by judging several key
parameters such as pressure, velocity and reaction forces. The accuracy of the
developed Computational Fluid Dynamics model was also verified with the pump
performance tests. The outcomes of the study revealed that staggered blade
arrangement can be used as an effective tool for reducing the radial forces in
a centrifugal pump without needing to double volute design.
Keywords
Centrifugal pump,staggered blade,computational fluid dynamics,radial force
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