Fan Type Inducer for a Centrifugal Pump by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing and Machining

Abstract

The wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is one of the metal additive manufacturing technologies. WAAM can be additive manufactured to existing parts, and when combined with machining, has a high affinity for the fabrication of blades, which are important parts of turbomachinery. However, almost all related research has been limited to the fabrication of parts such as turbine blade or propeller while investigations have not been conducted by incorporating the fabricated parts into turbomachinery. In this study, a fan type inducer made of stainless steel was developed using WAAM and machining. The developed inducer was installed to a centrifugal pump, and pump performance tests were conducted to investigate the advantage of this fabrication process to turbomachinery.