A STUDY ON THE UNSTEADY PRESSURE CHARACTERISTICS IN A DOUBLE SUCTION CENTRIFUGAL PUMP WITH STAGGERED BLADE ARRANGEMENT

Year 2018, Volume: 5 Issue: 8, 135 - 146, 01.06.2018

Hıdır Yankı Kılıçgedik , Mustafa Turhan Çoban Ahmet Özden Ertöz

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

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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