Description
CFD analysis for pump design and performance evaluation
Designing highly efficient pumps requires transitioning from traditional trial-and-error methods to advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approaches and tools. Impeller Pumps: Design and Performance Evaluation using Computational Fluid Dynamics provides researchers and engineers with detailed methodologies for applying CFD to centrifugal, axial flow, mixed flow, vortex, and multistage pumps. Written by authors with extensive experience in CFD and pump technology, this reference delivers actionable simulation techniques.
The book progresses from velocity triangle calculations and energy conversion theories through advanced three-dimensional modeling techniques. Each pump type receives dedicated coverage of geometry modeling, grid generation, boundary conditions, flow solver setup for steady and transient simulations, and post-processing of data. Topics such as cavitation, flow-induced vibration, and partial-load performance optimization are addressed.
Readers will also find:
- Hydraulic calculation formulas for main flow components including impellers, guide vanes, and volute casings across multiple pump configurations
- Similarity laws and design methods for blade pumps with focus on achieving optimal hydraulic efficiency across varying operating conditions
- Detailed numerical simulation workflows for predicting pump performance, identifying optimization opportunities, and troubleshooting design challenges systematically
- Coverage of emerging trends in pump design including energy efficiency optimization for sustainable industrial practices
- Discussion of real-world applications of various types of pumps in water management systems and critical chemical and petroleum industry processes
Prepared for researchers in pump analysis and design, engineers working with hydraulic machinery across industries, and graduate students specializing in fluid dynamics of pumps, this reference provides the computational tools and simulation methodologies needed to design, analyze, optimize, and troubleshoot impeller pumps for enhanced performance and efficiency.
Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Definition and Importance of Pumps 1
1.1.1 Definition of Pumps 1
1.1.2 The Importance of Pumps 1
1.2 Classification and Structural Forms of Pumps 2
1.2.1 Pump Classification 2
1.2.2 Impeller Pump Overflow Components and Structural Forms 3
1.2.2.1 Overflow Components of Impeller Pump 3
1.2.2.2 Structural Forms of Blade Pumps 4
1.3 Application of Pump 11
References 15
2 Basic Principles and Physical Concepts of Pumps 16
2.1 Calculation of Velocity Triangles 16
2.1.1 Motion Analysis 16
2.1.2 Velocity Triangle 17
2.1.3 Velocity Triangle at Blade Inlet and Outlet 19
2.1.3.1 Blade Inlet Velocity Triangle 19
2.1.3.2 The Velocity Triangle at the Blade Outlet 20
2.2 The Theory of Energy Conversion in Pumps 21
2.2.1 Mechanical Loss and Mechanical Efficiency 21
2.2.2 Volume Loss and Volume Efficiency 22
2.2.3 Hydraulic Loss and Hydraulic Efficiency 22
2.3 Similarity Laws 23
2.3.1 Basic Concepts of Similarity Laws 23
2.3.1.1 Geometric Similarity 24
2.3.1.2 Kinematic Similarity 24
2.3.1.3 Dynamic Similarity 24
2.3.1.4 Similarity Criterion for Pipe Flow—Reynolds Criterion 24
2.3.1.5 Similarity Criterion for Free Surface Flow—Froude Criterion 25
2.3.1.6 Similarity Criterion for Flow in Pump Impellers—Euler Criterion 25
2.3.2 Law of Pump Similarity 25
2.3.2.1 First Similarity Law—Flow Rate Similarity 26
2.3.2.2 Second Similarity Law—Head Similarity 26
2.3.2.3 Third Similarity Law—Shaft Power Similarity 27
2.3.3 Specific Speed 27
2.3.3.1 Derivation of the Specific Speed Formula 27
2.3.3.2 Explanation of Specific Speed 28
References 29
3 Design Methods for Vane Pumps 30
3.1 Hydraulic Design of the Centrifugal and Mixed Flow Pump 30
3.1.1 Determination of Design Parameters and Their Hydraulic Structural Solutions 30
3.1.1.1 Provide Parameters and Requirements for the Design 30
3.1.1.2 Pump Shaft Power P and Rated Power P′g of the Prime Mover 36
3.1.1.3 Determination of Pump Inlet and Outlet Diameters 36
3.1.2 Hydraulic Design of the Impeller 37
3.1.2.1 Pump Shaft Diameter and Impeller Hub Diameter 37
3.1.2.2 Similarity Conversion Method 39
3.1.2.3 Calculation of Key Impeller Dimensions Using the Velocity Coefficient Method 43
3.1.2.4 Blade Drawing 60
3.1.3 Hydraulic Design of the Suction Chamber 74
3.1.3.1 Conical Suction Chamber 74
3.1.3.2 Annular Suction Chamber 75
3.1.3.3 Semi-Spiral Suction Chamber 76
3.2 Hydraulic Design of the Vortex Pump 79
3.2.1 Introduction to Axial-Flow Pumps 79
3.2.2 Structure Parameters and Design Theory 79
3.2.2.1 Cylindrical Layer Independence Hypothesis 80
3.2.2.2 Structural Parameters 81
3.2.2.3 Design Theory 83
3.2.3 Design the Axial-Flow Pump Impeller Using the Airfoil Lift Method 83
3.2.3.1 Airfoil and Its Characteristics 83
3.2.3.2 Fundamental Governing Equation for Axial-Flow Pump Blade Design Using the Airfoil
Lift Method 85
3.2.4 Axial-Flow Pump Impeller Design Using Streamline Theory 87
3.2.4.1 Governing Differential Equation for Flow at Impeller Discharge 87
3.2.4.2 Free Vortex and Forced Vortex 87
3.2.4.3 Circulation Correction and Streamline-Based Design Methodology 88
3.2.4.4 Blade Inlet Incidence Angle 89
3.2.4.5 Evolution of Profile Radius and Airfoil Thickness Distribution 90
3.2.4.6 Blade Contouring Procedure 91
3.2.5 Axial-Flow Pump Guide Vane Design 95
3.2.5.1 Guide Vane Structural Parameter Selection 95
3.2.5.2 Streamline Method for Axial-Flow Pump Guide Vane Design 96
3.3 Hydraulic Design of the Volute Casing 98
3.3.1 Hydraulic Design Principles of the Volute Casing 99
3.3.2 Hydraulic Design of the Volute Chamber 100
3.3.3 Hydraulic Design of Double Volute Chambers 106
3.3.4 Design of the Annular Discharge Chamber 106
3.3.5 Design of Radial and Guide Vanes 108
3.3.6 Design of Spatial Guide Vanes 115
3.4 Hydraulic Design of the Vortex Pump 120
3.4.1 Characteristics of the Vortex Pump 120
3.4.2 Hydraulic Design of Vortex Pump 122
3.5 Hydraulic Design of Multistage Pumps 128
3.5.1 Determine the Inlet and Outlet Diameters of Multistage Pumps 129
3.5.2 Hydraulic Design of Impeller 129
3.5.3 Design of the Main Parameters of the Guide Vane 135
3.5.3.1 Positive Guide Vane Design 135
3.5.3.2 Anti-Guide Vane Design 136
References 137
4 Theoretical Basis of CFD for Vane Pumps 139
4.1 The Fundamental Theory of CFD 139
4.2 Numerical Methods 140
4.2.1 Geometry Modeling 141
4.2.2 Mesh Generation 141
4.2.3 Governing Equations of Fluid Dynamics 142
4.2.4 Simulation of Turbulent Flows 142
4.2.4.1 Standard k−ε Model 147
4.2.4.2 Shear Stress Transport (SST) k−ω Model 148
4.2.4.3 Spalart-Allmaras (SA) Model 151
4.2.4.4 Wray-Agarwal (WA) Model 151
4.2.4.5 Detached Eddy Simulation Model 153
4.2.4.6 Large Eddy Simulation (LES) Model 154
4.2.5 Wall Function 155
4.2.6 Discretization Method 156
4.2.7 Interpolation Scheme and Algorithm 157
References 158
5 3D Modeling of Vane Pumps 160
5.1 Centrifugal Pump 160
5.1.1 Impeller Modeling of the Centrifugal Pump 160
5.1.1.1 Creating a PRT File 160
5.1.1.2 Meridional Profile Import 162
5.1.1.3 Creating Surfaces Using Revolved Method 162
5.1.1.4 Creating the Cover Plate 162
5.1.1.5 Blade Array 163
5.2 Axial Flow Pump 164
5.2.1 Modeling of the Impeller and Inlet Conical Tube 164
5.2.1.1 Modeling Approach 164
5.2.2 Modeling of the Guide Vanes and Outlet Conical Tube 171
5.2.2.1 Modeling Approach 171
5.2.3 Modeling of the Outlet Bend Tube 172
5.2.4 Model Assembly 172
5.3 Mixed-Flow Pump 174
5.3.1 Impeller Modeling 174
5.3.1.1 Thought Analysis 174
5.3.2 Guide Vane Modeling 185
5.3.2.1 Thought Process Analysis 185
5.4 Vortex Pump 196
5.4.1 Impeller Modeling 196
5.4.2 Pump Casing and Pump Cover Modeling 199
5.5 Multistage Pump 202
5.5.1 First-Stage Impeller Modeling 204
5.5.2 Radial Guide Vane Drawing 211
References 214
6 Numerical Calculation and Simulation Analysis of Centrifugal Pump 215
6.1 Water Body Modeling 215
6.1.1 Volute Hub Line Lead-in 215
6.1.2 Section Closure 215
6.1.3 Sectional Lofting 216
6.1.4 Tongue Molding 217
6.2 Structure Grid Division 218
6.2.1 Centrifugal Pump Impeller Structure Grid Division 219
6.2.1.1 Model Import 219
6.2.1.2 Geometric Topology 220
6.2.1.3 Creation Aspect 221
6.2.1.4 Create Parts 223
6.2.1.5 Global Grid Size Settings 226
6.2.1.6 Create Blocks and Establish Mappings 226
6.2.1.7 Y-Block 227
6.2.1.8 Periodic Setting 229
6.2.1.9 Generated Grid 231
6.2.1.10 Checking Grid Quality 232
6.2.2 Volute Meshing 233
6.2.2.1 Model Import and Simple Processing 233
6.2.2.2 Establish Mapping Relationship 233
6.2.2.3 Creation of a Lock Derivative Block 233
6.2.2.4 Global Grid Size Settings 235
6.2.2.5 Meshing 236
6.2.2.6 Grid Quality Check 237
6.2.3 Inlet and Outlet Flow Channel Grid Division 237
6.3 Steady Computation Settings 241
6.3.1 Computing Domain Setting 241
6.3.1.1 Create a CASE and Import the Grid 241
6.3.1.2 Fluid Domain Setting 241
6.3.1.3 Turbulence Modeling 244
6.3.2 Boundary Condition Setting 246
6.3.2.1 Wall Boundary Condition Setting 246
6.3.2.2 Inlet and Outlet Boundary Conditions Set 247
6.3.3 Interface Setting 248
6.3.3.1 Dynamic–Static Interface Settings 248
6.3.3.2 Static–Static Interface Settings 250
6.3.4 Solution Setting 250
6.3.5 Calculation Setting 251
6.4 Unsteady Computation 252
6.4.1 Transient Setting 252
6.4.2 Interface Model Modification 253
6.4.3 Calculation Setting 253
6.5 Common Postprocessing 254
References 260
7 Numerical Calculation and Simulation Analysis of Axial Flow Pump 261
7.1 Computational Domain Modeling 261
7.1.1 Pump Volute Domain 261
7.1.2 Inlet and Outlet Extension Domains 261
7.2 Structured Mesh Generation 261
7.2.1 Mesh Generation for the Impeller Flow Domain 263
7.2.2 Guide Vane Domain Meshing 276
7.2.3 Meshing of Inlet/Outlet Extension Domains 276
7.3 Steady-State Calculation 276
7.3.1 Domain Configuration 278
7.3.2 Boundary Condition Settings 282
7.3.3 Solver Settings 287
7.3.4 Calculation Setup 287
7.4 Transient Calculation 290
7.5 Common Postprocessing 292
7.5.1 Section Plane Creation 293
7.5.2 Contour Plot Creation 293
7.5.3 Creation of Streamlines 294
7.5.4 Creation of Vector Plot 294
References 298
8 Numerical Calculation and Simulation Analysis of Mixed-Flow Pumps 299
8.1 Modeling 299
8.1.1 ImpellerWater Body Modeling 299
8.1.2 Modeling of Guided BladeWater Body Domains 300
8.2 Structural Meshing 301
8.2.1 Impeller Structure Meshing 301
8.2.2 Guide Vane Structure Meshing 305
8.2.3 Volute Structure Mesh Generation 306
8.3 Steady-State Calculation Setup 308
8.3.1 Computational Domain Setup 308
8.3.2 Boundary Conditions Setup 309
8.3.3 Interface Settings 309
8.3.4 Solution Settings 310
8.3.5 Calculation Settings 310
8.4 Unsteady-State Calculation Setup 311
8.5 Common Postprocessing 312
References 314
9 Numerical Calculation and Simulation Analysis of Vortex Pump 315
9.1 Computational Domain Modeling 315
9.2 Structured Mesh Generation 315
9.2.1 Mesh Generation for Impeller Flow Domain 315
9.2.2 Mesh Generation for Volute and Inlet/Outlet Flow Domains 324
9.3 Steady-State Calculation Setup 328
9.3.1 Computational Domain Setup 328
9.3.2 Boundary Condition Settings 330
9.3.3 Solution Settings 335
9.3.4 Calculation Settings 335
9.4 Unsteady Calculation Setup 336
9.4.1 Transient Setup 336
9.4.2 Interface Model Modification 336
9.4.3 Solving Settings 337
9.4.4 Calculation Setup 338
9.5 Calculation Results and Postprocessing 339
References 343
10 Numerical Calculation and Simulation Analysis of Multistage Pumps 345
10.1 Modeling 345
10.2 Structured Grid Division 345
10.2.1 Impeller Grid Division 345
10.2.1.1 New ICEM File 345
10.2.1.2 Boundaries Definition 345
10.2.1.3 Establishment of the Topology 347
10.2.2 Guide Vane Mesh Division 353
10.3 Constant Calculation Setup 355
10.3.1 Importing Mesh Files 355
10.3.2 Calculation Field Setup 355
10.3.3 Boundary Condition Settings 358
10.4 Unsteady Calculations 359
10.5 Solution Setup 360
10.6 Calculations 362
10.7 Common Postprocessing 362
10.7.1 Extraction of External Characterization Results 362
10.7.2 Streamline and Particle Dynamic Tracking 364
10.7.3 Contour Diagram Generation 367
References 367
11 Conclusion and Future Prospects 368
11.1 Challenges and Opportunities of Current Pump Technology 368
11.1.1 Current Challenges of Pump Technology 369
11.1.1.1 Technical Challenges 369
11.1.1.2 Environmental Challenges 370
11.1.2 Opportunities for Current Pump Technology 370
11.1.2.1 Intelligence and Digital Transformation 370
11.1.2.2 Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development 371
11.1.2.3 Demand in Emerging Markets 371
11.2 Prediction of Future Development Trends in Pump Technology 371
11.2.1 Current State of the Pump Market 372
11.2.1.1 Market Size and Growth 372
11.2.1.2 Geographical Distribution 373
11.2.1.3 Product Types 373
11.2.2 Future Trends in Pump Technology 373
11.2.2.1 Technological Intelligence and Automation 373
11.2.2.2 Energy Conservation, Environmental Protection, and Green Manufacturing 374
11.2.2.3 Industry Segmentation and Customized Services 374
11.2.2.4 Miniaturization and Integrated Design 374
11.2.2.5 International Cooperation and Competition 375
References 375
Index 377
