Two-Dimensional Flow Analysis of a Laboratory Centrifugal Pump

Two-dimensional potential flow was used to determine the velocity field within a laboratory centrifugal pump. In particular, the finite element techniquie was used to model the impeller and volute simultaneously. The rotatiion of the impeller within the volute was simulated by using steady-state solutions with the impeller in ten different angular orientations. This allowed the interaction between the impeller and the volute to develop naturally as a result of the solution. The results for the complete pump model showed that there are circumferential asymmetries in the velocity field, even at the design flow rate