Investigation on the Handling Ability of Centrifugal Pumps under Air–Water Two-Phase Inflow: Model and Experimental Validation

Qiaorui Si, Gérard Bois, Qifeng Jiang, Wenting He, Asad Ali and Shouqi Yuan
Additional contact information
Qiaorui Si: National Research Center of Pumps, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Gérard Bois: LMFL, FRE CNRS 3723, ENSAM, 8 boulevard Louis XIV, 59046 Lille CEDEX, France
Qifeng Jiang: Key Laboratory of Fluid and Power Machinery, Xi Hua University, Chengdu 610039, China
Wenting He: National Research Center of Pumps, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Asad Ali: National Research Center of Pumps, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Shouqi Yuan: National Research Center of Pumps, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: The paper presents experimental and numerical investigations performed on a single stage, single-suction, horizontal-orientated centrifugal pump in air–water two-phase non-condensable flow conditions. Experimental measurements are performed in a centrifugal pump using pressure sensor devices in order to measure the wall static pressures at the inlet and outlet pump sections for different flow rates and rotational speeds combined with several air void fraction ( a ) values. Two different approaches are used in order to predict the pump performance degradations and perform comparisons with experiments for two-phase flow conditions: a one-dimensional two-phase bubbly flow model, and a full “Three-Dimensional Unsteady Reynolds Average Navier–Stokes” (3D-URANS) simulation using a modified k-epsilon turbulence model combined with the Euler–Euler inhomogeneous two-phase flow description. The overall and local flow features are presented and analyzed. Limitations concerning both approaches are pointed out according to some flow physical assumptions and measurement accuracies. Some additional suggestions are proposed in order to improve two-phase flow pump suction capabilities.

Keywords: two-phase flow; pump performance; computational fluid dynamics; centrifugal pump; flow behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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