Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance

The inducer is often used to prevent cavitation in a centrifugal pump. However, it may lead to deterioration of the cavitation performance of the pump when poorly matched with the impeller. Numerical simulations are employed to study the effects of the matching, specifically, the axial space and the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daocheng Wang, Bingwen Gao, Yunzhang Chen, Yufan Pan, Jinping Luo, Lei Liu, Qingxi Wei, Lijun Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:Machines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/2/142
_version_ 1797619800461017088
author Daocheng Wang
Bingwen Gao
Yunzhang Chen
Yufan Pan
Jinping Luo
Lei Liu
Qingxi Wei
Lijun Liu
author_facet Daocheng Wang
Bingwen Gao
Yunzhang Chen
Yufan Pan
Jinping Luo
Lei Liu
Qingxi Wei
Lijun Liu
author_sort Daocheng Wang
collection DOAJ
description The inducer is often used to prevent cavitation in a centrifugal pump. However, it may lead to deterioration of the cavitation performance of the pump when poorly matched with the impeller. Numerical simulations are employed to study the effects of the matching, specifically, the axial space and the circumferential deflection between the inducer and the impeller, on the cavitation performance. The results show that the inducer destroys the rotational symmetry of the velocity distribution at the inlet of the impeller, resulting in the influence of cavitation on the part of the channels in advance, which explains why the inducer cannot improve the cavitation performance even though it improves the inlet energy of the impeller. On the basis of not changing the geometric shape of the inducer and the impeller, the suction-specific speed is increased by nearly 300 by only adjusting the axial space and by nearly 100 by only adjusting the circumferential deflection. The cavitation performance is better with a larger axial space. There is an optimal value of the circumferential deflection at which the pump works at the best cavitation performance. The effect of the axial space on the overall cavitation performance is more significant than that of the circumferential deflection. The results provide a useful reference for the design and installation of a centrifugal pump inducer.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T08:32:01Z
format Article
id doaj.art-efc9698c48b841ca867c5954146e8f87
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2075-1702
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T08:32:01Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Machines
spelling doaj.art-efc9698c48b841ca867c5954146e8f872023-11-16T21:44:28ZengMDPI AGMachines2075-17022023-01-0111214210.3390/machines11020142Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation PerformanceDaocheng Wang0Bingwen Gao1Yunzhang Chen2Yufan Pan3Jinping Luo4Lei Liu5Qingxi Wei6Lijun Liu7School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaXi’an Pump and Valve Plant Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710025, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaXi’an Pump and Valve Plant Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710025, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaThe inducer is often used to prevent cavitation in a centrifugal pump. However, it may lead to deterioration of the cavitation performance of the pump when poorly matched with the impeller. Numerical simulations are employed to study the effects of the matching, specifically, the axial space and the circumferential deflection between the inducer and the impeller, on the cavitation performance. The results show that the inducer destroys the rotational symmetry of the velocity distribution at the inlet of the impeller, resulting in the influence of cavitation on the part of the channels in advance, which explains why the inducer cannot improve the cavitation performance even though it improves the inlet energy of the impeller. On the basis of not changing the geometric shape of the inducer and the impeller, the suction-specific speed is increased by nearly 300 by only adjusting the axial space and by nearly 100 by only adjusting the circumferential deflection. The cavitation performance is better with a larger axial space. There is an optimal value of the circumferential deflection at which the pump works at the best cavitation performance. The effect of the axial space on the overall cavitation performance is more significant than that of the circumferential deflection. The results provide a useful reference for the design and installation of a centrifugal pump inducer.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/2/142centrifugal pumpinducermatchingcavitation performancenumerical analysis
spellingShingle Daocheng Wang
Bingwen Gao
Yunzhang Chen
Yufan Pan
Jinping Luo
Lei Liu
Qingxi Wei
Lijun Liu
Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance
Machines
centrifugal pump
inducer
matching
cavitation performance
numerical analysis
title Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance
title_full Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance
title_fullStr Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance
title_short Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance
title_sort effects of matching between the inducer and the impeller of a centrifugal pump on its cavitation performance
topic centrifugal pump
inducer
matching
cavitation performance
numerical analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/2/142
work_keys_str_mv AT daochengwang effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT bingwengao effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT yunzhangchen effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT yufanpan effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT jinpingluo effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT leiliu effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT qingxiwei effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance
AT lijunliu effectsofmatchingbetweentheinducerandtheimpellerofacentrifugalpumponitscavitationperformance