3-D CFD simulation of transients in multiple pump system with some pumps being stopped

• Published in: Journal of hydrodynamics. Series B 2021-06, Vol.33 (3), p.583-592
• Main Authors: Liu, Yue-fei, Zhou, Jian-xu, Guo, Qiang, Shen, Ai-li, Zhang, Jian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Engineering; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Hydrology/Water Resources; Numerical and Computational Physics; Simulation
• ISSN: 1001-6058; 1878-0342
• DOI: 10.1007/s42241-021-0042-8

The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach can be used to obtain both internal and external characteristics of centrifugal pumps, and the variations of the hydrodynamic force, the pressure and the torque on the blades acquired by the CFD are highly associated with the safety of the pumping system. Based on the CFD simulations, this paper investigates the stopping characteristics of multiple pumps with some pumps being stopped. The 3-D geometric model is built, including all 6 pumps, the valves, the pipes, the tanks and other components, and using the Realizable k-ε turbulence model. The CFD results for the operating points agree well with the results from the theoretical analysis. With some pumps being stopped, the key parameters of the operating pumps would not be stable, with a larger fluctuation; the direction of the hydrodynamic force might be opposite with more than 3 stopped pumps. For the stopped pumps, the maximum reverse values of the discharge and the rotational speed would be larger when fewer pumps are stopped, and could be more than 120% of the rated values, which is dangerous for the pumping system. The CFD results could help understanding the stopping process of multiple pump systems with some pumps being stopped.