Open Access

ARTICLE

Influence of the Area of the Reflux Hole on the Performance of a Self-Priming Pump

by Jiegang Mou, Fengye Zhang, Haoshuai Wang, Denghao Wu

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China.

* Corresponding Author: Fengye Zhang. Email: .

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2019, 15(3), 187-205. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2019.04657

Abstract

The self-priming process of a pump involves a complex gas-liquid two-phase flow. Studying the distribution of gas and water and the evolution of their flow in the pump is of great importance to optimize this process and shorten the pump self-priming time. In the present study, a standard k-ε turbulence model and a multiphase flow model have been used to simulate the self-priming pump process considering four different reflux hole areas. A comparison of the distribution of air and water distribution on the axial surface and inside the volume have been carried out for the different considered cases. The pattern formed by the streamlines at different times during the whole self-priming process has also been investigated. The results show that the velocity at the trailing edge of the impeller outlet is the largest. The flow in the pump cavity is complicated by the formation of vortices. The number, shape and location of the vortices change depending on the considered configuration.

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Keywords

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