Comparative analysis of internal flow characteristics and particle trajectories of centrifugal pumps with different impeller structures under solid-liquid two-phase flow conditions

Abstract

Abstract The disc pump is a non-conventional centrifugal pump that utilizes centrifugal force and boundary layer effects to transport fluids. This pump is widely used in industries such as petrochemicals. However, due to the presence of particles in the solid-liquid two-phase flow, it causes wear and performance degradation of the pump’s flow components. However, due to the presence of particles in the solid-liquid two-phase flow, it can cause wear and performance degradation of the pump components. To study the internal flow characteristics of solid-liquid flow and the particle trajectory in a bladed disc pump, numerical simulation method was adopted to perform steady-state numerical simulation of spherical particles with different diameters (0.1 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.4 mm) in the bladed disc pump. The results indicate that compared to conventional centrifugal pumps, the performance of the bladed disc pump is lower. The variation in particle diameter has a minor influence on the intensity of the internal flow field in the bladed disc pump. The particle trajectories inside the impeller of the bladed disc pump are more chaotic, with larger diameter particles exhibiting a wider range of trajectory variations, while smaller diameter particles maintain relatively stable motion trajectories.