LES study on the influence of the diffuser inlet angle of a centrifugal pump on pressure fluctuations

Large-Eddy Simulations are conducted on a centrifugal pump at design and reduced flow-rates for three diffuser geometries, to investigate the effect of changing the diffuser inlet angle on the overall performance and the pressure fields. In particular, pressure fluctuations are investigated, which affect the unsteady loads acting on the pump, as well as vibrations, noise and cavitation phenomena. The considered modification of the diffuser geometry is targeted at decreasing the incidence angle at the off-design flow-rate by rotating the stationary blades of the pump around their leading edge. Results are compared against those of an earlier study, where the same modification of the diffuser inlet angle was achieved by increasing also the radial gap between impeller and diffuser, whose blades were rotated relative to their mid camber location. The comparisons across cases demonstrate that the radial gap between the trailing edge of the impeller blades and the leading edge of the diffuser blades has a more profound influence on pressure fluctuations, compared to the angle of incidence on the diffuser blades of the flow coming from the impeller.     

LES investigation on the dependence of the flow through a centrifugal pump on the diffuser geometry

Large-Eddy Simulation is utilized to investigate the rotor–stator interaction within a centrifugal pump. Comparisons are presented across diffuser geometries for two values of the flow-rate. Decreasing the incidence angle on the diffuser blades at off-design is found the main source of higher pressure rise and lower overall values of turbulent kinetic energy within the pump, resulting in efficiency improvement. The impact on the second-order statistics of the flow is especially significant. However, the values of the pressure fluctuations acting on the diffuser blades, defining fatigue loads on them and cavitation phenomena, are found especially affected by the rotor–stator clearance. Results show that at reduced flow-rates the rotation of the diffuser blades around their mid camber is a better option than rotating them around their leading edge. They also suggest that at larger flow-rates the increased incidence on the diffuser blades causes pressure side separation and large shear layers populating the diffuser channels, not affecting substantially the region of interface between impeller and diffuser, but having detrimental effects on the performance of the latter. The rotation of the diffuser blades around their leading edge should be preferred when the pump operates at flow-rates larger than the design one, avoiding decreasing the rotor–stator gap, thus resulting in smoother rotor–stator interaction and lower pressure fluctuations.     

Experimental investigation of the flow in the vaneless diffuser of a centrifugal pump by particle image displacement velocimetry

This work presents the application of particle image displacement velocimetry to the measurement of fluid velocities in a centrifugal pump diffuser. Measurements are taken at different operating points and allow to define the variation of radial and tangential velocity components along a pitch. They are further processed to determine the relative velocity and vorticity fields. Results are also compared with laser Doppler measurements taken in the same facility.     

Turbulence measurements in the inlet plane of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser

Detailed flow measurements at the inlet of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser are presented. The mean 3-d velocities and six Reynolds stress components tensor are used to determine the turbulence production terms which lead to total pressure loss. High levels of turbulence kinetic energy were observed in both the blade and passage wakes, but these were only associated with high Reynolds stresses in the blade wakes. For this reason the blade wakes mixed out rapidly, whereas the passage wake maintained its size, but was redistributed across the full length of the shroud wall. Peak levels of Reynolds stress occurred in regions of high velocity shear and streamline curvature which would tend to destabilize the shear gradient. Four regions in the flow are identified as potential sources of loss - the blade wake, the shear layers between passage wake and jet, the thickened hub boundary layer and the interaction region between the secondary flow within the blade wake and the passage vortex. The blade wakes generate most turbulence, with smaller contributions from the hub boundary layer and secondary flows, but no significant contribution is apparent from the passage wake shear layers.     

Effects of modifying the blade trailing edge profile on unsteady pressure pulsations and flow structures in a centrifugal pump

In the present work, the effects of modifying the blade pressure side (EPS profile) on unsteady pressure pulsations and flow structures in a low specific speed centrifugal pump are carried out by experimental and numerical methods. Results are compared to the original trailing edge (OTE profile). Unsteady pressure signals are captured at twenty measuring points at flow rate of 0–1.6Q_d. It is observed that the pump head of the EPS profile is improved for all the concerned working conditions. Pressure amplitudes at the blade passing frequency are compared and discussed in detail. It is found that the EPS profile contributes to pressure pulsation reduction obviously. For all the measured flow rates, pressure amplitudes are attenuated evidently at major measuring positions, especially at high flow rates. As for the mean pressure amplitude of twenty measuring points, pressure amplitude is reduced more than 20% at the nominal flow rate using the EPS profile. From relative velocity distribution, it is found that the uniformity of flow field at the blade outlet region would be improved significantly by the EPS profile. Besides, the corresponding vorticity magnitude at the blade outlet would be reduced compared to the OTE profile. The combined effects contribute to the reduction of pressure amplitude using the EPS profile.     

Modeling pressure fluctuations on a flow boundary

The similarity principles of the probability characteristics of the stationary process of pressure pulsation at the boundary of an open liquid flow have been tested experimentally. The investigations were conducted in the laboratory on an ideal hydraulic jump in the range of characteristic Reynolds numbers from 4. 7 × 10⁴ to 3. 7 × 10⁵ and at the same Froude number (33) in the initial section of the jump. The scale of the flow was changed by factors of two and four. Measurements were taken at different points along the length of the jump. Pulsations whose spectrum was in the range from 0 to 50 cps were recorded. The records were processed on an electronic digital computer, It has been established that the probability characteristics of low-frequency pressure pulsations in an open flow are scaled in accordance with rules based on the laws of gravitational similarity of the phenomena. The problem of the form of the one-dimensional distribution law is briefly examined.The authors thank E. M. Romanov and E. I. Khakhilev for building the probes and adjusting the measuring apparatus and A. V. Dani-, kov, who participated in processing the experimental data.     

Simulation of operation modes of a centrifugal conductive magnetohydrodynamic pump

A mathematical model of a centrifugal conductive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pump that calculates the distributions of velocity, current density, and pressure along the channel is developed. The viscous forces in the original system of MHD equations are taken into account on the basis of the known square law of the drag for a turbulent flow in a pipe, generalized for the case of plane flows in a channel. Dependences of the drag coefficient on the main governing parameters (metal flow rate, current intensity, and intensity of magnetic induction), which provide the agreement of the calculated and experimental data on the pressure at the pump outlet for different operation modes, are obtained. It is shown that these dependences have a universal character and the proposed model can be used to design pumps of this type and to manage their operation in production industry.     

变螺旋角方法离心风机蜗壳型线数值优化

基于变螺旋角蜗壳型线设计方法,通过大涡模拟(LES)计算风机内部的非定常流场,利用二次回归正交试验设计法,对某离心风机的蜗壳型线进行数值优化以降低风机的A声级。优化时以蜗壳型线起始和终了位置的螺旋角为设计变量,以非定常流场计算得出的时均效率和A声级为目标函数,通过优化得到使风机气动噪声最低的最佳螺旋角分布,进而得到最佳蜗壳型线。利用数值模拟对优化结果进行了验证,验证结果表明:优化之后,时均效率降低了0.07%,A声级降低了4.04dB,时均效率和A声级相对于原风机分别降低了0.09%和4.51%;本次二次回归正交试验优化具有较高的预测精度,与CFD数值验证得出的时均效率和A声级的相对误差分别为0.01%和0.53%。     

大气压力对织物热湿特性影响的数值研究

为了模拟多孔织物内复杂的热湿传递过程，为不同大气压力条件下服装的热湿舒适性设计提供理论基础，从织物内热湿传输机理角度出发，建立了考虑大气压力影响的织物热湿传输耦合模型，比较了常压下的理论预测和实验结果，通过数值算例考察了大气压力对织物热湿特性的影响。     

基于OPS和拓扑交换的离心泵网格质量提高算法

针对OPS算法本身固有的无法提高"全边界单元"质量的缺陷,提出了一种结合OPS和拓扑优化的网格质量提高算法。该方法通过判别"全边界单元"中边(或面)受到相邻单元共享的形式,采用不同的拓扑交换策略,且在拓扑交换过程中仅考虑网格的拓扑相关性,并不考虑网格的质量,保证将"全边界单元"转化为OPS算法提高其质量的其他类型边界单元。算例分析表明,本文算法相比Freitag的组合算法在消除极端二面角方面更具优势,相比OPS算法对提高离心泵边界网格及整体网格质量也具有较好的优势。     

Effect of humidity on the flow characteristics of a two-phase medium in a diffuser

The effect of the initial humidity of a two-phase flow on the aerodynamic characteristics of a diffuser is considered. A series of calculations is carried out which permit the pressure distribution in the diffuser to be investigated in the case of change of the initial flow velocity, coefficient of slip of the phases, and the initial humidity of the flow. It is shown that, with increase of the initial humidity in the diffuser, there appears a sharply expressed region which has a negative pressure gradient, where the steam velocity can reach the critical value. The numerical solution is compared with the experimental results.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 44–49, November–December, 1973.     

Structural inclination angle of near-field scalar fluctuations in a turbulent boundary layer

Two-point concentration measurements are obtained in a meandering passive-scalar plume released at five different heights within the fully-turbulent region of a high-Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer (TBL). Mean statistics of two-point concentration measurements are found to agree very well with the single-point measurements previously reported in Talluru et al. (2017a). The two-point correlation results of concentration indicate strong coherence in the scalar field similar to the large-scale coherence observed in the streamwise velocity fluctuations in a TBL (Marusic and Heuer, 2007). Particularly, the isocontours in the two-dimensional correlation map of concentration fluctuations illustrate that the scalar structures are inclined at 30^∘ to the direction of the flow; such a trend is consistently observed for all the elevated plumes below z/δ ≤ 0.33. This observation of steeper inclination angle of scalar structures relative to the inclination angle of large-scale velocity fluctuations in a TBL is explained using the physical model put forth by Talluru et al. (2018). Most importantly, these results provide insights on the differences in the structural organisation of a passive scalar plume in the near- and the far-field regions.     

Gas-solid flow in a diffuser:Effect of inter-particle and particle-wall collisions

This article investigates the role of the specularity coefficient(φ,the extent of the energy dissipation due to particle-wall collisions),inter-particle restitu...     

Influence of temperature transients and centrifugal force on fast-response pressure transducers

This contribution focuses on the use of fast-response semi-conductor pressure transducers to measure accurately the mean and fluctuating total pressure or static pressure in a wind tunnel environment. The problem of angular sensitivity is briefly addressed when measuring total pressure. Then, the influence of temperature is described when testing under steady or transient temperature conditions. The influence of the rotational speed is analyzed when measuring with rotating transducers. The transfer function of a sensor-cavity system is also considered. Correction methods are proposed for both the effects of the temperature and the rotational speed. Several applications are presented covering turbulence measurement with a quasi-steady probe, static and total pressure measurements in the absolute frame and the relative frame.     

Flow analysis for a double suction centrifugal machine in the pump and turbine operation modes

A double suction centrifugal machine has been studied, both experimentally and numerically, operating as a pump and as a turbine. Experimentally, the static performance of the machine working as a pump was obtained. These measurements were compared with equivalent numerical results from a URANS calculation. As a second step, the numerical results have been exploited to get detailed information about the flow in both operating modes (pump and turbine). The main goals of the study are, first, the validation of the numerical procedure proposed and second, the possible turbine operation of the impeller, which could point out a wider working range for the machine. The first aspect is handled by detailed analysis in the pump mode, according to previous experience of the research group. The second objective is obtained by using the numerical model to explore the flow fields obtained, when working in an inverse mode. Therefore, the presented results join the use of a numerical methodology and the turbine mode of operation for a centrifugal impeller, providing insight into the flow characteristics. When working as a pump, the flow at the suction side is characterized by the existence of an inlet tongue, which tends to enforce a uniform flow for the nominal conditions. For the turbine mode, flow patterns in the impeller, volute and suction regions are carefully investigated. The influence of the specific geometrical arrangement is also considered for this operation mode. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of pressure fluctuations on double velocity correlations

The conventional split of the pressure terms in the transport equation for Reynolds stress is obtained as the singlepoint limit of an axiomatically established two-point formalism.     

Unsteadiness control of laminar junction flows on pressure fluctuations

Smoke-wire flow visualization is conducted carefully in a laminar junction to explore the physical behavior of laminar junction flows. The two-dimensional(2 D)velocity fields in the 30?plane of a laminar junction flow are acquired by a time-resolved particle image velocimetry(PIV) system at a frame rate of 1 kHz, based on which the unsteady fluctuating pressure fields can be calculated by the multi-path integration method proposed in the literature(GAND, F., DECK, S., BRUNET,V., and SAGAUT, P. Flow dynamics past a simplified wing body junction. Physics of Fluids, 22(11), 115111(2010)).A novel control strategy is utilized to attenuate the unsteadiness of the horseshoe vortices of the laminar junction flow, and the consequent effect on pressure fields is analyzed.