Numerical Analysis of Cavitation in a Centrifugal Pump Considering the Impact of Inducer and Fluid Viscosity

Centrifugal pumps are a primary mean to increase the pressure of fluids. These pumps are vastly used in chemical, petrochemical, water treatment, sewage, air conditioning, refrigeration. numerical methods can be a powerful tool in order to analyze the and predict the fluid behavior inside the pump. One of the most important phenomena in centrifugal pumps that cause deterioration of the pump is cavitation. Cavitation causes noise, failure and decreased performance of the pump. In this study, the aim is to numerically analyze a centrifugal pump (PUMPIRAN ۱۵۰-۴۰۰) utilizing inducer as pumping a viscose fluid. The pump is studied with viscose fluid and water as pumped media. It is predicted that Viscose fluid to cause the head and efficiency of the pump to drop compared to water. The results confirm this prediction to be true. This study can be a good reference for designs where viscose fluid are pumped and cavitation is predicted to be an issue.

Keywords:

Centrifugal Pump , Cavitation , Inducer , Head