Theory and application of two-dimension viscous hydraulic design of the ultra-low specific-speed centrifugal pump

Abstract

Low efficiency and bad cavitation performance restrict the development of the ultra-low specific-speed centrifugal pump (ULSSCP). In this research, combined turbulent boundary layer theory with two-dimension design and two-dimension viscous hydraulic design method has been proposed to redesign a ULSSCP. Through the solution of the displacement thickness in the boundary layer, a less curved blade profile with a larger outlet angle was obtained. Then the hydraulic and cavitation performance of the reference pump and the designed pump were numerically studied. The comparison of performance of the reference pump calculated by the numerical and experimental results revealed a better agreement. Research shows that the average hydraulic efficiency and head of the designed pump improve by 2.9% and 3.3%, respectively. Besides, the designed pump has a better cavitation performance. Finally, through the internal flow analysis with entropy production diagnostic model, a 24.8% drop in head loss occurred in the designed pump.