Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation

After long-term operation, the material loss due to slurry erosion often leads to significant changes in the impeller geometry. This change can, in turn, affect the flow characteristics and the erosion mechanism in a centrifugal pump. To investigate this matter, we consider two geometric models base...

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Main Authors: Yexiang Xiao, Bao Guo, Soo-Hwang Ahn, Yongyao Luo, Zhengwei Wang, Guangtai Shi, Yanhao Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
CFD
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/8/1523
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spelling doaj-07a7259c80094f6a9cb09e168bfa27c62020-11-25T00:14:41ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732019-04-01128152310.3390/en12081523en12081523Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term OperationYexiang Xiao0Bao Guo1Soo-Hwang Ahn2Yongyao Luo3Zhengwei Wang4Guangtai Shi5Yanhao Li6State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering &amp; Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering &amp; Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering &amp; Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering &amp; Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering &amp; Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fluid and Power Machinery (Xihua University), Ministry of Education, Sichuan 610039, ChinaChina Three Gorges Corporation, Beijing 100038, ChinaAfter long-term operation, the material loss due to slurry erosion often leads to significant changes in the impeller geometry. This change can, in turn, affect the flow characteristics and the erosion mechanism in a centrifugal pump. To investigate this matter, we consider two geometric models based on a prototype stainless steel impeller, which failed due to huge erosion problems from the pulp slurry. These two models are different in the degree of wear, with one model at the pre-erosion stage and the other with worn blades. For both models, the flow characteristics have been obtained in the Eulerian reference frame by means of the SST <i>k-&#969;</i> model. Then, in order to determine the erosion patterns, the particles have been tracked in the Lagrangian reference frame. In this way, the influence of the flow characteristics on the erosion patterns has been analyzed. Results show that the geometric variations greatly affect the flow characteristics, and consequently the erosion patterns. Particularly, it has been found that the clearance flow plays a significant role in defining erosion characteristics, such as erosion distribution, areas, and rates. Interestingly, the simulation results for current study show that the erosion rates after long-term operation greatly decrease near both the outlet edge and the blade bottom. It follows also that for accurate erosion predictions, these geometric variations have to be considered in the numerical model. This paper provides a better understanding of the complex erosion mechanism in centrifugal pumps, which can help to reduce the wear in future designs.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/8/1523centrifugal pumpLagrangian particle trackingsolid-liquid flowerosionCFD
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Yexiang Xiao
Bao Guo
Soo-Hwang Ahn
Yongyao Luo
Zhengwei Wang
Guangtai Shi
Yanhao Li
spellingShingle Yexiang Xiao
Bao Guo
Soo-Hwang Ahn
Yongyao Luo
Zhengwei Wang
Guangtai Shi
Yanhao Li
Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation
Energies
centrifugal pump
Lagrangian particle tracking
solid-liquid flow
erosion
CFD
author_facet Yexiang Xiao
Bao Guo
Soo-Hwang Ahn
Yongyao Luo
Zhengwei Wang
Guangtai Shi
Yanhao Li
author_sort Yexiang Xiao
title Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation
title_short Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation
title_full Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation
title_fullStr Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation
title_full_unstemmed Slurry Flow and Erosion Prediction in a Centrifugal Pump after Long-Term Operation
title_sort slurry flow and erosion prediction in a centrifugal pump after long-term operation
publisher MDPI AG
series Energies
issn 1996-1073
publishDate 2019-04-01
description After long-term operation, the material loss due to slurry erosion often leads to significant changes in the impeller geometry. This change can, in turn, affect the flow characteristics and the erosion mechanism in a centrifugal pump. To investigate this matter, we consider two geometric models based on a prototype stainless steel impeller, which failed due to huge erosion problems from the pulp slurry. These two models are different in the degree of wear, with one model at the pre-erosion stage and the other with worn blades. For both models, the flow characteristics have been obtained in the Eulerian reference frame by means of the SST <i>k-&#969;</i> model. Then, in order to determine the erosion patterns, the particles have been tracked in the Lagrangian reference frame. In this way, the influence of the flow characteristics on the erosion patterns has been analyzed. Results show that the geometric variations greatly affect the flow characteristics, and consequently the erosion patterns. Particularly, it has been found that the clearance flow plays a significant role in defining erosion characteristics, such as erosion distribution, areas, and rates. Interestingly, the simulation results for current study show that the erosion rates after long-term operation greatly decrease near both the outlet edge and the blade bottom. It follows also that for accurate erosion predictions, these geometric variations have to be considered in the numerical model. This paper provides a better understanding of the complex erosion mechanism in centrifugal pumps, which can help to reduce the wear in future designs.
topic centrifugal pump
Lagrangian particle tracking
solid-liquid flow
erosion
CFD
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/8/1523
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AT yongyaoluo slurryflowanderosionpredictioninacentrifugalpumpafterlongtermoperation
AT zhengweiwang slurryflowanderosionpredictioninacentrifugalpumpafterlongtermoperation
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