Numerical Study of the Performance of a Two-Stage Centrifugal Pump
Rafael Dunaiski1; Henrique Stel de Azevedo1; Thiago Sirino1; Rigoberto Eleazar Melgarejo Morales1; Edgar Minoru Ofuchi2
1 Federal University of Technology - Paraná; 2 Federal University of Technology
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-0688
Resumo
Centrifugal pumps are vastly used in many industrial applications. Knowledge of how these components behave in several circumstances is crucial for the development of more efficient and, therefore, less expensive pumping installations. The combination of multiple impellers, vaned diffusers and a volute might introduce several complex flow characteristics that largely deviate from regular inviscid pump flow theory. Computational Fluid Dynamics can be very helpful for that purpose, and is used in this work to perform a numerical study of the performance of a two-stage centrifugal pump with a vaned diffuser and a volute. A wide range of operating conditions is assumed, including several flow rates and impeller rotating speeds. The flow inside the pump is modeled numerically using a multi-block, transient rotor-stator technique, with structured grids for all pump parts. Comparisons between experimental and numerical head curves show a good agreement, pointing to a valid numerical model. Global parameters such as head and efficiency are evaluated for each pump component. Results might help to understand how the pressure gain is distributed through the pump, and to address efforts in the search for a more efficient and affordable pumping system.
Palavras-chave: numerical; centrifugal pump; CFD; volute; performance