Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions
Like any other turbomachinery, it is essential that the hydraulic behavior and performance of mixed-flow pumps are evaluated way in advance prior to manufacturing. Pump performance relies heavily on the proper design of the intake structure. Intake structures should be accurately designed in order t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/5082 |
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| author | Virgel M. Arocena Binoe E. Abuan Joseph Gerard T. Reyes Paul L. Rodgers Louis Angelo M. Danao |
| author_facet | Virgel M. Arocena Binoe E. Abuan Joseph Gerard T. Reyes Paul L. Rodgers Louis Angelo M. Danao |
| author_sort | Virgel M. Arocena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Like any other turbomachinery, it is essential that the hydraulic behavior and performance of mixed-flow pumps are evaluated way in advance prior to manufacturing. Pump performance relies heavily on the proper design of the intake structure. Intake structures should be accurately designed in order to minimize and avoid unnecessary swirl and vortex formations. Ensuring the optimum performance condition as well as predicting how a particular intake structure affects the efficiency of the pump often requires either physical model studies or theoretical evaluations. Unfortunately, physical models are costly, time-consuming, and site-specific. Conversely, design and performance predictions using a theoretical approach merely gives performance values or parameters, which are usually unable to determine the root cause of poor pump performance. This study evaluates the viability of using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as an alternative tool for pump designers and engineers in evaluating pump performance. A procedure for conducting CFD simulations to verify pump characteristics such as head, efficiency, and flow as an aid for preliminary pump design is presented. Afterwards, a multiphase simulation using the VOF approach is applied to compare the fluid dynamics between four different pump intake structures. A full-sized CFD model of the pump sump complete with the pump’s active components was used for the intake structure analysis in order to avoid scaling issues encountered during the reduced-scale physical model test. The results provided a clear illustration of the hydraulic phenomena and characteristic curves of the pump. A performance drop in terms of reduction in TDH was predicted across the various intake structure designs. The CFD simulation of intake structure provided a clear insight on the varying degree of swirl, flow circulation, and effect on pump efficiency between all four cases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:50:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a8d363b88c604bc0b33d7925266ed021 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:50:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-a8d363b88c604bc0b33d7925266ed0212023-11-22T07:31:44ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-08-011416508210.3390/en14165082Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating ConditionsVirgel M. Arocena0Binoe E. Abuan1Joseph Gerard T. Reyes2Paul L. Rodgers3Louis Angelo M. Danao4Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, PhilippinesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, PhilippinesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, PhilippinesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, PhilippinesDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, PhilippinesLike any other turbomachinery, it is essential that the hydraulic behavior and performance of mixed-flow pumps are evaluated way in advance prior to manufacturing. Pump performance relies heavily on the proper design of the intake structure. Intake structures should be accurately designed in order to minimize and avoid unnecessary swirl and vortex formations. Ensuring the optimum performance condition as well as predicting how a particular intake structure affects the efficiency of the pump often requires either physical model studies or theoretical evaluations. Unfortunately, physical models are costly, time-consuming, and site-specific. Conversely, design and performance predictions using a theoretical approach merely gives performance values or parameters, which are usually unable to determine the root cause of poor pump performance. This study evaluates the viability of using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as an alternative tool for pump designers and engineers in evaluating pump performance. A procedure for conducting CFD simulations to verify pump characteristics such as head, efficiency, and flow as an aid for preliminary pump design is presented. Afterwards, a multiphase simulation using the VOF approach is applied to compare the fluid dynamics between four different pump intake structures. A full-sized CFD model of the pump sump complete with the pump’s active components was used for the intake structure analysis in order to avoid scaling issues encountered during the reduced-scale physical model test. The results provided a clear illustration of the hydraulic phenomena and characteristic curves of the pump. A performance drop in terms of reduction in TDH was predicted across the various intake structure designs. The CFD simulation of intake structure provided a clear insight on the varying degree of swirl, flow circulation, and effect on pump efficiency between all four cases.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/5082mixed-flow pumpsCFDperformanceQ-Hintake structuresumps |
| spellingShingle | Virgel M. Arocena Binoe E. Abuan Joseph Gerard T. Reyes Paul L. Rodgers Louis Angelo M. Danao Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions Energies mixed-flow pumps CFD performance Q-H intake structure sumps |
| title | Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions |
| title_full | Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions |
| title_short | Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Submersible Pump: Prediction of Recirculation, Vortex Formation, and Swirl Resulting from Off-Design Operating Conditions |
| title_sort | numerical investigation of the performance of a submersible pump prediction of recirculation vortex formation and swirl resulting from off design operating conditions |
| topic | mixed-flow pumps CFD performance Q-H intake structure sumps |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/5082 |
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