Cavitation and NPSH Requirements of Various Liquids

1959 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Salemann

Test results on the net positive suction head, NPSH, requirements for centrifugal pumps handling water up to 420 F, some hydrocarbons, and Freon-11 are presented. Satisfactory pump performance was observed with net positive suction heads less than those required by the pump on cold water. A direct measurement of NPSH was attempted and is reported. The cavitation process is discussed and a correlation and method of prediction for all liquids is proposed.

1965 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Spraker

An analytical model of the cavitation process in a pump is developed assuming that the flow is adiabatic, frictionless, steady, and irrotational. A relationship is developed relating the volume percentage of the fluid vaporized during the cavitation process to the “thermal cavitation parameter.” Two assumptions are then introduced concerning the cavitation process in a pump pumping fluids of different cavitation characteristics. Using these assumptions, a relationship is derived indicating that the difference in net positive suction head (NPSH) of a given pump handling two fluids is a function of the difference of the reciprocals of the thermal cavitation parameter for the two fluids and of the volume percentage of the fluid vaporized. This relationship is compared with data describing the cavitation characteristics of six pumps handling four pure fluids. The change in NPSH for all of the pumps and fluids, using the cold-water NPSH as a reference, is found to correlate as a function of the reciprocal of the thermal cavitation parameter with an accuracy of ±1 ft in NPSH. Experimental and analytical methods for determining the cavitation characteristics of pumps handling petroleum-based hydrocarbon mixtures are then described. Cavitation data for two pumps handling gasoline, fuel oil, and crude oil are presented. The data correlation for pure fluids is extended to include cavitation data for petroleum-based hydrocarbon mixtures. It is found that mixtures exhibit an additional decrement in NPSH over that for pure fluids having the same value of the thermal cavitation parameter. This additional decrement is found to be temperature dependent.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasushi Tatebayashi ◽  
Kazuhiro Tanaka ◽  
Toshio Kobayashi

The authors have been investigating the various characteristics of screw-type centrifugal pumps, such as pressure fluctuations in impellers, flow patterns in volute casings, and pump performance in air-water two-phase flow conditions. During these investigations, numerical results of our investigations made it clear that three back flow regions existed in this type of pump. Among these, the back flow from the volute casing toward the impeller outlet was the most influential on the pump performance. Thus the most important factor to achieve higher pump performance was to reduce the influence of this back flow. One simple method was proposed to obtain the restraint of back flow and so as to improve the pump performance. This method was to set up a ringlike wall at the suction cover casing between the impeller outlet and the volute casing. Its effects on the flow pattern and the pump performance have been discussed and clarified to compare the calculated results with experimental results done under two conditions, namely, one with and one without this ring-type wall. The influence of wall’s height on the pump head was investigated by numerical simulations. In addition, the difference due to the wall’s effect was clarified to compare its effects on two kinds of volute casing. From the results obtained it can be said that restraining the back flow of such pumps was very important to achieve higher pump performance. Furthermore, another method was suggested to restrain back flow effectively. This method was to attach a wall at the trailing edge of impeller. This method was very useful for avoiding the congestion of solids because this wall was smaller than that used in the first method. The influence of these factors on the pump performance was also discussed by comparing simulated calculations with actual experiments.


Author(s):  
K A Kazim ◽  
B Maiti ◽  
P Chand

Centrifugal pumps are being used increasingly for transportation of slurries through pipelines. To design a slurry handling system it is essential to have a knowledge of the effects of suspended solids on the pump performance. A new correlation to predict the head reduction factor for centrifugal pumps handling solids has been developed. This correlation takes into account the individual effect of particle size, particle size distribution, specific gravity and concentration of solids on the centrifugal pump performance characteristics. The range of validity of the correlation has been verified by experiment and by using experimental data available from the literature. The present correlation shows better agreement with the experimental data than existing correlations.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. K. Gahlot ◽  
V. Seshadri ◽  
R. C. Malhotra

Experimental data on the performance of the centrifugal pumps pumping mixtures of solids and water have been presented. The solids used were coal of density 1480 kg/m3 and zinc tailings of density 2850 kg/m3. Maximum size of particles was approximately 3 mm. Tests have been conducted with a rubber lined impeller pump and a metal impeller pump. Effects of solid properties (viz: density, size, and size distribution as well as concentration of solids) on the performance of the pumps have been studied. The measured performance of pumps is compared with the predictions based on the correlations available in literature and a modified empirical relationship has been proposed for the prediction of the pump performance with slurries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Noor Setyo HD ◽  
Sri Widodo

This study aims to determine the Hardness and Toughness of cast iron after undergoing a Tempering process with independent variables heating time and dependent Hardness, microstructure and toughness Impack. Quenching was carried out at temperatures of 7750C, 8000C and 8250C in cold water media, while Tempering was carried out at temperatures of 2000C, 3000C and 4000C with a holding time of 15 minutes. Vickers Hardness test results using "Micro Hardness Tester" after Quenching have increased by an average of 95.6% at Quenching 7750C, 99.8% at Quenching 8000C and 107.1% at Quenching temperature 8250C from Hardness value of row material of 256.6 BHN or 260.8 VHN0,040. The maximum hardness value is obtained 531.4 BHN or 553.6 VHN 0,040 at Quenching temperature 8250C and the lowest Hardness of 501.8 BHN or 541,8 VHN0,040 at Quenching 7750C temperature, has Cementite phase as a matrix with little Martensite, is due to treatment The partial tempering of Martensite is replaced by the ferrite phase between Cementites. The results of the study concluded that at Tempering temperatures of 2000C, 3000C and 4000C, the toughness of FC 30 experienced an increase of 106.5%, 121.9% and 130.5% from the initial energy of 5.21 Joule / mm2, whereas violence decreased by 88, 6%, 80.8% and 40.4% of the original Hardness of 260.8 VHN 0,040


Author(s):  
Yasushi Tatebayashi ◽  
Kazuhiro Tanaka ◽  
Toshio Kobayashi

The authors have been investigating the various characteristics of screw-type centrifugal pumps, such as pressure fluctuations in impellers, flow patterns in volute casings, and pump performance in air-water two-phase flow conditions. During these investigations, numerical results of our investigations made it clear that three back flow regions existed in this type of pump. Among these, the back flow from the volute casing toward the impeller outlet was the most influential on the pump performance. Thus the most important factor to achieve higher pump performance was to reduce the influence of this back flow. One simple method was proposed to obtain the restraint of back flow and so as to improve the pump performance. This method was to set up a Ring-like wall at the suction cover casing between the impeller outlet and the volute casing. Its effects on the flow pattern and the pump performance have been discussed and clarified to compare the calculated results with experimental results done under two conditions — namely, one with and one without this Ring-type wall. The influence of wall’s height on the pump head was investigated by numerical simulations. In addition, the difference due to the wall’s effect was clarified to compare its effects on two kinds of volute casing. From the results obtained it can be said that restraining the back flow of such pumps was very important to achieve higher pump performance. Furthermore, another method was suggested to restrain back-flow effectively. This method was to attach a wall at the trailing edge of impeller. This method was very useful for avoiding the congestion of solids because this wall was smaller than that used in the first method. The influence of these factors on the pump performance was also discussed by comparing simulated calculations with actual experiments.


Author(s):  
Andrew Eaton ◽  
Wael Ahmed ◽  
Marwan A. Hassan

Abstract Centrifugal pumps are used in a variety of engineering applications, such as power production, heating, cooling, and water distribution systems. Although centrifugal pumps are considered to be highly reliable hydraulic machines, they are susceptible to a wide range of damage due to several degradation mechanisms, which make them operate away from their best efficiency range. Therefore, evaluating the energy efficiency and performance degradation of pumps is an important consideration to the operation of these systems. In the present study, the hydraulic performance along with the vibration response of an industrial scale centrifugal pump (7.5KW) subjected to different levels of impeller unbalance were experimentally investigated. Extensive testing of pump performance along with vibration measurements were carried. Both time and frequency domain techniques coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) were used in this evaluation. The effect of unbalance on the pump performance was found to be mainly on the shaft power, while no change in the flow rate and the pump head were observed. As the level of unbalance increased, the power required to operate the pump at the designated speed increased by as much as 12%. The PCA found to be a useful tool in comparing the pump vibrations in the field in order to determine the presence of unbalance as well as the degree of damage. The results of this work can be used to evaluate and monitor pump performance under prescribed degradation in order to enhance preventative maintenance programs.


Author(s):  
Shouqi Yuan ◽  
Jinfeng Zhang ◽  
Yue Tang ◽  
Jianping Yuan ◽  
Yuedeng Fu

The research on a centrifugal pump of low specific speed with splitter blades was carried out in recent years by our group, is systematically introduced in this paper. The design method is summarized also. At the beginning, based on the former L9(34) orthogonal test, Particle Imagine Velocity (PIV) tests and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were carried out for several designs with different splitter blade length. Results show that for an impeller with splitter blades the “jet-wake” flow at the impeller outlet is improved, and the velocity distribution inside the impeller is more uniform. This explains that the impeller with splitter blades shows higher performance (especially in head and efficiency). Meanwhile, the numerical simulation results were compared with the test results, which confirm that, CFD technology can be used to observe inner flow distribution and forecast pump performance tendency. Later, a further L9(34) orthogonal test, which adopt the blade number as a new variable, was designed to explore the relationship between geometry parameters of splitter blade and pump performance, and corresponding CFD simulations for the flow field with volute were also done. From the test results the influence of the main design parameters on the hydraulic performance of a centrifugal pump and its reasonable value range are determined. The simulations forecasted pump performance show good consistency with that from tests at the rated point, and the simulated error at other flow rates were analyzed. Thirdly, in order to save research cost, numerical simulations were done for the full flow field including the cavity inside the volute and impeller. By analyzing the distribution law of blade torque and turbulent kinetic energy in the impeller, the value fetching principle for the splitter blade inlet diameter is presented as “the splitter blades torque should be positive”, and by analyzing the distribution of blades loading, the flow distribution rules and pump performance influenced by different splitter blades off-setting angles and inlet diameters were discovered. The disk friction loss, which consuming much energy in centrifugal pumps, was also forecasted at various operating conditions. The results were compared with that from empirical formulas, which show great accordance at the rated point, and the forecasted results at off-design points were analyzed also. Finally, the research results and the design method for the centrifugal pump with splitter blades, such as how to select splitter blade number, the off-setting angle, the inlet diameter and the deflection angle, were summarized.


2018 ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiaorui Si ◽  
Qianglei Cui ◽  
Keyu Zhang ◽  
Jianping Yuan ◽  
Gérard Bois

In order to study the flow characteristics of centrifugal pumps when transporting the gas-liquid mixture, water and air were chosen as the working medium. Both numerical simulation and experimental tests were conducted on a centrifugal pump under different conditions of inlet air volume fraction (IAVF). The calculation used URANS k-epsilon turbulence model combined with the Euler-Euler inhomogeneous two-phase model. The air distribution and velocity streamline inside the impeller were obtained to discuss the flow characteristics of the pump. The results show that air concentration is high at the inlet pressure side of the blade, where the vortex will exist, indicating that the gas concentration have a great relationship with the vortex aggregation in the impeller passages. In the experimental works, pump performances were measured at different IAVF and compared with numerical results. Contributions to the centrifugal pump performance degradations were analyzed under different air-water inlet flow condition such as IAVF, bubble size, inlet pressure. Results show that pump performance degradation is more pronounced for low flow rates compared to high flow rates. Finally, pressure pulsation and vibration experiments of the pump model under different IAVF were also conducted. Inlet and outlet transient pressure signals under four IAVF were investigated and pressure pulsation frequency of the monitors is near the blade passing frequency at different IAVF, and when IAVF increased, the lower frequency signal is more and more obvious. Vibration signals at five measuring points were also obtained under different IAVF for various flow rates.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyridon D. Kyparissis ◽  
Dionissios P. Margaris

Passive flow control techniques are used to improve the flow field and efficiency of centrifugal pumps and turbomachines, in general. An important phenomenon that mechanical engineers have to take into account is cavitation. It leads to the decrease of the pump performance and total head. In the present experimental study, a centrifugal pump is investigated in cavitating conditions. A passive flow control is realized using three different blade leading edge angles in order to reduce the cavitation development and enhance the pump performance. The experiments are carried out in a pump test rig specially designed and constructed, along with the impellers. The head drop and total efficiency curves are presented in order to examine the effect of the blade leading edge angle on the cavitation and pump performance. Finally, the vapour distribution along with the blades is illustrated for the tested blade leading edge angles.


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