Numerical Investigation on Hydrodynamic Characteristics of a Centrifugal Pump with a Double Volute at Off-Design Conditions

Abstract

Severe radial thrust under off-design operating conditions can be a harmful factor for centrifugal pumps. In the present work, effects of geometry of a double volute casing on the hydrodynamic performance of a centrifugal pump have been investigated focusing on off-design conditions. Three-dimensional steady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes analysis was carried out by using shear stress transport turbulence model. Numerical results for the hydrodynamic performance of the centrifugal pump were validated compared with experimental data. The hydraulic efficiency and radial thrust coefficient were used as performance parameters to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics of the centrifugal pump. The cross-sectional area ratio of the volute casing, the expansion coefficient of the rib structure, the distance between the rib starting point and volute entrance, and radius and width of the volute entrance, and length of the rib structure, were selected as geometric parameters. Results of the parametric study show that the performance parameters are significantly affected by the geometric variables and operating conditions. Optimal configurations of the double volute casing based on the design of experiments technique show outstanding performance in terms of the efficiency and radial thrust coefficient.