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Numerical investigation of turbulent cavitating flow in an axial flow pump using a new transport-based model

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Abstract

With the aim to enhance the capability of predicting cavitating flows for conventional cavitation models, a developed alternative numerical model was proposed based on an alternative truncated Rayleigh-Plesset equation and the homogeneous flow assumption. Particularly, the effect of vortex on mass transfer was accounted in the formulation of the proposed model. Turbulent cavitating flows under various flow rates in an axial flow pump with a specific speed ns = 692 were computed and compared by the proposed and the Schnerr-Sauer models, for which the experimental results were also presented for guidance. The results show that the cavitation performance predicted by the proposed model agrees better with the experiments than that by the Schnerr-Sauer model. The effect of vortex on mass transfer results in different patterns of the tip leakage vortex (TLV) cavitation near the tip leakage. Further, the solution of the proposed model reveals the corner vortex cavitation, shear layer cavitation and TLV cavita-tion could be integrated into a cloud vapor at critical cavitation number, and the cloud cavity sheds and collapses periodically near trailing edge of blade.

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Abbreviations

ρ m :

Mass density of the mixture

μ m :

Molecular viscosity

μT:

Turbulent viscosity

Re :

Reynolds number

ρ l :

Density of liquid

ρv:

Density of vapor

α v :

Volume fraction of vapour

μ l :

Liquid dynamic viscosity

μ v :

Vapor dynamic viscosity

Se:

Source term for evaporation

S c :

Source term for condensation

R0 :

Initial bubble radius

R b :

Bubble radius

Γ :

Circulation of vortex

L ∞ :

Characteristic length

U ∞ :

Free stream velocity

S :

Shear strain rate

s :

Surface tension coefficient

λ :

Filter size

p out :

Pressure at the outlet boundary

p sat :

Saturation pressure

U :

Circular velocity of impeller

n 0 :

Bubble number density

N :

Number of cells

σ :

Cavitation number

Ω:

Vorticity magnitude

i, j, k :

Component

l :

Liquid

v :

Vapor

g :

Gas

m :

Mixture

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (No. 2019CFB193), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51809121) and the Opening Foundation of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hydroelectric Machinery Design & Maintenance (No. 2018KJX06, 2018KJX04, and 2019KJX05).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanical & Power Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Hong Feng & Yu Wan

  2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Hydroelectric Machinery Design & Maintenance, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Hong Feng & Yu Wan

  3. National Research Center of Pumps, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Zhang Fan

Authors
  1. Hong Feng
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  2. Yu Wan
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  3. Zhang Fan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hong Feng.

Additional information

Recommended by Editor Yang Na

Hong Feng is a staff of the College of Mechanical & Power Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China. He received his Ph.D. in Fluid Machinery Engineering and Technology from Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China. His research interests include cavitation modelling by advanced methods.

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Feng, H., Wan, Y. & Fan, Z. Numerical investigation of turbulent cavitating flow in an axial flow pump using a new transport-based model. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 745–756 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0121-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0121-8

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