1724 Observation of Prewirl Flow into the Backflow at the Inducer

Abstract

The inducer inlet flow of rocket engine turbopump was observed by two-dimensional PIV method. It was found that the inlet flow was complicated by the backflow and prewirl flow. The prewirl flow which occurred at close the blade tip showed the strong steady vorticity, and the strong Reynolds stress does not found at the tip leakage vortex area. However, the strong unsteadiness was found in the prewirl flow caused by the backflow vortex.