Effect of space diffuser on flow characteristics of a centrifugal pump by computational fluid dynamic analysis

• Published in: PloS one 2020-02, Vol.15 (2), p.e0228051-e0228051
• Main Authors: Liu, Ying-Yuan, Yang, Gang, Xu, Ying, Peng, Fan, Wang, Le-Qin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Centrifugal pumps; Computational Chemistry; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer applications; Computer Simulation; Configurations; Design optimization; Diffusers; Electrical engineering; Engineering and Technology; Equipment Design; Flow (Dynamics); Flow characteristics; Fluid dynamics; Head (fluid mechanics); Humans; Hydraulics; Hydrodynamics; Impellers; Investigations; Nuclear energy; Nuclear power plants; Performance evaluation; Physical Phenomena; Physical Sciences; Pressure; Pressure recovery; Research and Analysis Methods; Ultracentrifugation; Velocity; Viscosity
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228051

Achieving an optimal configuration of the diffuser is indispensable for high pump performances. In this work, a numerical study on diffuser configuration is conducted for a high pump performance using a computational fluid dynamics code, and the effects of the wrap angle and the relative position of the diffuser vane to the impeller on pump performances are included. The results indicate that the modified diffuser with a suitable wrap angle may improve the pump hydraulic efficiency and the head by approximately 4% and 8%, respectively, while a suitable position of the diffuser vane can enhance the pump head by more than 4%. Meanwhile, the pressure recovery coefficient and the local Euler head of the diffuser are adopted to evaluate the diffuser performance. For a high pump performance, the local Euler head of the diffuser has a peak value at the leading edge with the change rate of zero along the meridian streamline, meaning that no blade loading at the leading edge of the diffuser guarantees a better match between the impeller and the diffuser.