Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of centrifugal pumps

Abstract

Centrifugal pumps are mostly used in different fields like industries, agriculture and domestic applications. Objective of this paper is to give a critical review of CFD analysis of centrifugal pump along with future scope for further improvement of flow efficiency. Computational Fluid Dynamics is the most used tool for simulation and analysis. 3-D numerical CFD tool is used for simulation of the flow field characteristics inside the pump machinery. CFD for centrifugal pump is used to solve numerical simulation problems working as a tool for getting performance prediction of modelled design at different conditions, and can derive information and study of pump performance on the system, Study of pressure contours, velocity contours, flow streamlines, cavitation analysis, analysis of interaction effects in different components, prediction of axial thrust etc., is also be studied by CFD techniques. Simulation makes it possible to visualize the flow condition inside a centrifugal pump. The present paper describes the head, power, efficiency and to evaluate the pump performance using the ANSYS CFX-14, a computational fluid dynamics simulation tool.