Study on the erosion characteristics of mixed-flow pumps under forced action of solid particles

• Published in: Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering Vol. 46; no. 10
• Main Authors: Pu, Wei, Ji, Leilei, Li, Wei, Zhang, Xing, Yang, Qiaoyue, He, Xinrui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Conical flow; Conical inlets; Engineering; Guide vanes; High speed; Impellers; Incidence angle; Low speed; Mechanical Engineering; Pipes; Solid phases; Technical Paper; Finnie wear model; Different solid phase concentrations; Mixed-flow pump; Flow field
• ISSN: 1678-5878; 1806-3691
• DOI: 10.1007/s40430-024-05196-z

To study the erosion characteristics induced by particles in the mixed-flow pump, the numerical calculation of the fluid domain of the mixed-flow pump under three different solid phase concentrations (1%, 2% and 4%) is carried out on the Euler–Lagrange framework. Based on discrete phase model (Euler–Lagrange framework), the influence of the solid particles on the flow field of the impeller and guide vane is studied. The wear characteristics of the impeller, the guide vane and the pipe wall are predicted by Finnie wear model. It is found that the addition of the solid particles will reduce the high-speed region of the impeller rim, increase the range of low-speed region and affect the distribution of the high-speed region near the guide vane outlet. In general, with the increase of the solid particles concentration, the wear phenomenon in the mixed-flow pump gradually intensifies. In the mixed-flow pump, the degree of the solid wear from large to small is the impeller, guide vane, pipe wall. The wear in the impeller mainly occurs at the inlet of the impeller, and the average wear amount exceeds 3 × 10 −4 kg/m 2 , which is related to the incidence angle of the particles with the fluid. The wear in the guide vane decreases gradually from the guide vane inlet to the guide vane outlet, and the wear mainly occurs near the guide vane inlet rim. The conical joint in front of the impeller is the most serious area of the pipe wall wear, which is related to the shape of the pipe. The another area where the pipe wall is seriously worn is the outlet of the impeller flow passage and the inlet of the guide vane flow passage, which is related to the trajectory of the particles and the shape of the flow passage. The research results provide the design basis for further improving the anti-wear characteristics of the mixed-flow pump.