Through numerical simulation and experiments analysis, it is indicated that the hydraulic and anticavitation performance of a centrifugal pump with twisted gap drainage blades based on flow control theory can be significantly improved under certain operating conditions. In order to introduce the technology of gap drainage to practical applications, we put forward the parameter formulas of the twisted gap drainage blade to design three-dimensional new type blade, which are also proved to be effective for enhancing the dynamic characteristics of the centrifugal pump. Furthermore, a practical centrifugal pump is redesigned to be a twisted gap drainage impeller with the same structure size as the original impeller, and the nonlinear hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS)/large eddy simulation (LES) method is employed to simulate the hydraulic dynamic characteristics. Numerical simulation results show that the hydraulic performance and dynamic characteristics of the redesigned impeller centrifugal pump are significantly enhanced. In experiments, the twisted gap drainage blades structure not only remarkably improves the hydraulic performance and the pressure pulsation characteristics of the centrifugal pump but also reduces the vibration intensity.

Issue Section:
Flows in Complex Systems
Keywords:
twisted gap drainage blades, nonlinear hybrid RANS/LES method, pressure pulsation, time frequency analysis, vibration characteristics
Topics:
Blades, Centrifugal pumps, Flow (Dynamics), Impellers, Pressure, Drainage, Vibration, Design, Pumps, Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations

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