Transport of solid-liquid slurries in pipeline transport over short and medium distances is very important in many industries, including mining related processes. The particle image velocimetry technique was successfully utilized to investigate the velocities and kinetic energy fluctuations of slurry particles at the tongue region of an optically-clear centrifugal pump. The experiments were conducted using 500 micron glass beads at volumetric concentrations of 2.5% and 5% and at pump speeds of 725 rpm and 1000 rpm. The fluctuation kinetic energy increased approximately 200% to 500% as the pump speed was increased from 725 rpm to 1000 rpm. The directional impingement mechanism is more significant at the pressure side of the blade, tongue and the casing. This mechanism becomes more important as the speed increases. This suggests that the impeller, tongue and the casing of the slurry pump can wear out quickly, especially with an increase in speed. In this paper the emphasis is on the tongue region. The random impingement mechanism caused by the fluctuation kinetic energy of the solids can play an important role on the erosion of the tongue area.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
slurries, pumps, laser velocimetry, two-phase flow, flow visualisation, velocity measurement, channel flow, pipe flow
Topics:
Blades, Particulate matter, Pumps, Slurries, Flow (Dynamics), Impellers, Kinetic energy, Channel flow
1.
Miner, S. M., 1988, “Potential Flow Analysis of a Centrifugal Flow: Comparison of Finite Element Calculation and Laser Velocimetry Measurement,” University of Virginia. University of Virginia Report No-UVA/643092/MAE88/369, Charlottesville, VA.
2.
Liu, C. H., Nouri, J. M., Vafidis, C., and Whitelaw, J. H., 1990, “Experimental Study of Flow in a Centrifugal Pump,” 5th Intl. Symp. Application of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal. pp. 114–129.
3.
Liu
,
C. H.
,
Vafidis
,
C.
, and
Whitelaw
,
J. H.
,
1994
, “
Two-Phase Velocity Distributions and Overall Performance of a Centrifugal Slurry Pump
,”
ASME J. Fluids Eng.
,
116
(
2
), pp.
303
–
309
.
4.
Dong
,
R.
,
Chu
,
S.
, and
Katz
,
J.
,
1992
, “
Quantitative Visualization of the Flow Within the Volute of a Centrifugal Pump. Part A: Technique
,”
ASME J. Fluids Eng.
,
114
(
3
), pp.
390
–
395
.
5.
Dong
,
R.
,
Chu
,
S.
, and
Katz
,
J.
,
1992
, “
Quantitative Visualization of the Flow Within the Volute of a Centrifugal Pump. Part B: Results and Analysis
,”
ASME J. Fluids Eng.
,
114
(
3
), pp.
396
–
403
.
6.
Paone, N., Riethmuller, M. L., and Van den Braembussche, R. A., 1988, “Application of Particle Image Displacement Velocimetry to a Centrifugal Pump,” Proc. 4th Intl. Symp. Applications of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal.
7.
Oldenburg, M., and Pap, E., 1996, “Velocity Measurement in the Impeller and in the Volute of a Centrifugal Pump by Particle Image Velocimetry,” Proc. 8th Int. Symp. Applications of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal, pp. 8.2.1–8.2.5.
8.
Roco, M. C., 1993, “Particulate Two-Phase Flow,” Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, Chapter 10: Instrumentation.
9.
Altobelli
,
S. A.
,
Givler
,
R. C.
, and
Fukushima
,
E.
,
1991
, “
Velocity and Concentration Measurements of Suspensions by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging
,”
J. Rheol.
,
35
(
5
), pp.
721
–
772
.
10.
Roco, M. C., and Addie, G. R., 1983, “Analytical Model and Experimental Studies on Slurry Flow and Erosion in Pump Casings,” Proc. 8th Intl. Technical Conf. on Slurry Tech., Slurry Transport Association, Washington, DC, p. 263.
11.
Roco, M. C., Addie, G. R., Danis, J., and Nair, P. 1984, “Modeling Erosion Wear in Centrifugal Pumps,” Proc. 9th Intl. Conf. Hydraulic Transport of Solids in Pipes, pp. 291–316.
12.
Roco
,
M. C.
,
Addie
,
G. R.
, and
Visintainer
,
R.
,
1985
, “
Study on Casing Performances in Centrifugal Slurry Pumps
,”
Part. Sci. Technol.
,
3
, pp.
65
–
88
.
13.
Roco, M. C., Addie, G. R., Visintainer, R., and Ray, L., 1986, “Optimum Wearing High Efficiency Design of Phosphate Slurry Pumps,” Proc. 11th Intl. Conf. Slurry Technology, Hemisphere, Washington, DC, pp. 65–88.
14.
Roco
,
M. C.
,
Marsh
,
M.
,
Addie
,
G. R.
, and
Maffett
,
J. R.
,
1986
, “
Dredge Pump Performance Prediction
,”
J. Pipelines
,
5
(
3
), pp.
171
–
190
.
15.
Wilson
,
K. C.
,
1986
, “
Effect of Solid Concentration on Deposit Velocity
,”
J. Pipelines
,
5
(
4
), pp.
251
–
257
.
16.
Wilson, K. C., Addie, G. R., and Clift, R., 1992, Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps, Elsevier, New York.
17.
Wilson, K. C., Addie, G. R., Sellgren, A., and Clift, R., 1997, Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps, 2 ed, Blackie Academic and Professional, London, UK.
18.
Shook, C., and Roco, M., 1991, Slurry flow: Principles and Practice, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston. Chapter 8: Wear in Slurry Equipment.
19.
Addie, G. R., 1996, “Slurry Pipeline Design for Operation with Centrifugal Pumps,” Proc. 13th Intl. Pump Users Symposium, College Station, TX, pp. 193–211.
20.
Cader, T., Masbernet, O., and Roco, M. C., 1994, “Two-Phase Velocity Distributions and Overall Performance of a Centrifugal Slurry Pump,” ASME J. Fluids Engineering Conf., Washington, DC, June 20–24. 116(2), pp. 176–186.
21.
Charoennegam, P., 2001, “Particle Image Velocimetry Investigations of a Slurry Flow in a Centrifugal Pump,” M.S. Thesis, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Copyright © 2004
 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.