Influence of the centrifugal pump impeller vanes parameters on its energy performance at operating with high-viscosity liquid

BACKGROUND: The currently existing methods for recalculating the operation of centrifugal pumps for viscous fluids cover a sufficiently small range of viscosities. In addition, the considered papers cover the recalculation only, not the search for the optimal geometry of the centrifugal pump for high-viscosity liquids. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics tools were used to test the ability of centrifugal impellers to pump liquids with a viscosity of up to 20,000 sSt, as well as to search for the optimal geometry of the flow path.

AIM: Determination the dependence pattern of the geometric parameters, including vanes, of the optimal geometry of the centrifugal pump flow path at various values of flow rate and viscosity.

METHODS: A numerical modeling method based on the solving of discrete analogs of the basic equations of hydrodynamics is used in this paper.

RESULTS: It was proved that, with the considered viscosities, an impeller with a profiled vane, but with a smaller wrap angle and height, is capable of more efficient operation than a disk impeller. The dependences of the parameters of the optimal flow paths on the characteristics for which their optimization was carried out are given.

CONCLUSION: Based on the study results, it can be stated that it is advisable to use centrifugal impellers in case of high viscosity of the liquid, taking into account the choice of non-classical values of the geometric parameters of the flow path, including the height and angle of its vanes.