Experimental and numerical studies are presented on the steady and unsteady radial forces produced in a single volute vaneless centrifugal pump. Experimentally, the unsteady pressure distributions were obtained using fast response pressure transducers. These measurements were compared with equivalent numerical results from a URANS calculation, using the commercial code FLUENT. Two impellers with different outlet diameters were tested for the same volute, with radial gaps between the blade and tongue of 10.0% and 15.8% of the impeller radius, for the bigger and smaller impeller diameters, respectively. Very often, pump manufacturers apply the similarity laws to this situation, but the measured specific speeds in this case were found to be slightly different. The steady radial forces for the two impellers were calculated from both the measured average pressure field and the model over a wide range of flow rates in order to fully characterize the pump behavior. Again, a deviation from the expected values applying the similarity laws was found. The data from the pressure fluctuation measurements were processed to obtain the dynamic forces at the blade passing frequency, also over a wide range of flow rates. Afterwards, these results were used to check the predictions from the numerical simulations. For some flow rates, the bigger diameter produced higher radial forces, but this was not to be a general rule for all the operating points. This paper describes the work carried out and summarizes the experimental and the numerical results, for both radial gaps. The steady and unsteady forces at the blade passing frequency were calculated by radial integration of the pressure distributions on the shroud side of the pump volute. For the unsteady forces, the numerical model allowed a separate analysis of the terms due to the pressure pulsations and terms related to the momentum exchange in the impeller. In this way, the whole operating range of the pump was studied and analyzed to account for the static and dynamic flow effects. The unsteady forces are very important when designing the pump shaft as they can produce a fatigue collapse if they are not kept under a proper working value.
Skip Nav Destination
e-mail: aviados@uniovi.es
Article navigation
Technical Papers
Steady and Unsteady Radial Forces for a Centrifugal Pump With Impeller to Tongue Gap Variation
José González,
e-mail: aviados@uniovi.es
José González
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Jorge Parrondo,
Jorge Parrondo
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Carlos Santolaria,
Carlos Santolaria
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Eduardo Blanco
Eduardo Blanco
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
José González
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spaine-mail: aviados@uniovi.es
Jorge Parrondo
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Carlos Santolaria
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), Spain
Eduardo Blanco
Universidad de Oviedo
, Área de Mecánica de Fluidos, Campus de Viesques, 33271 Gijón (Asturias), SpainJ. Fluids Eng. May 2006, 128(3): 454-462 (9 pages)
Published Online: September 29, 2005
Article history
Received:
May 18, 2004
Revised:
September 29, 2005
Citation
González, J., Parrondo, J., Santolaria, C., and Blanco, E. (September 29, 2005). "Steady and Unsteady Radial Forces for a Centrifugal Pump With Impeller to Tongue Gap Variation." ASME. J. Fluids Eng. May 2006; 128(3): 454–462. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2173294
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Entrance Lengths for Fully Developed Laminar Flow in Eccentric Annulus
J. Fluids Eng (May 2025)
Switching Events of Wakes Shed From Two Short Flapping Side-by-Side Cylinders
J. Fluids Eng (May 2025)
Related Articles
Unsteady Flow Structure and Global Variables in a Centrifugal Pump
J. Fluids Eng (September,2006)
Decomposition of Deterministic Unsteadiness in a Centrifugal Turbomachine: Nonlinear Interactions Between the Impeller Flow and Volute for a Double Suction Pump
J. Fluids Eng (January,2011)
Exploring the Effect of V-Shaped Cut at Blade Exit of a Double Volute Centrifugal Pump
J. Pressure Vessel Technol (April,2012)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Introduction
Mixed-flow Pumps: Modeling, Simulation, and Measurements
Dynamic Behavior of Pumping Systems
Pipeline Pumping and Compression Systems: A Practical Approach
Introduction
Design of Mechanical Bearings in Cardiac Assist Devices