A Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Flow in a Centrifugal Pump Available to Purchase

This paper describes the use of a rotating all mirror image derotator system in collaboration with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to visualise and quantitatively examine the flow patterns between the blades of a centrifugal impeller. The authors have been able to obtain the relative velocities in a centrifugal impeller at rotational speeds between 300 and 600 revs per minute with water flow rates between 450 and 900 litres per hour. Velocity contours and vector maps of the relative flow field within a blade passage are presented for an impeller speed of 350 rpm and a flow rate of 510 l/h. The data are compared with the results of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model.