Design, Numerical Analysis and Manufacture of Radial Pump Impellers with Various Blade Geometries

Impeller blade geometry plays a dominant role on the velocity profile of the fluid flowing through the pump. Although blades’ design is based on fluid dynamics considerations, it is sometimes limited by the available manufacturing methods, due to the required complexity in the geometry. In the present paper, the evolution of the velocity field in the blade passages of two anew designed radial pump impellers with different curvature and outlet blade angle is examined in order to verify their optimum design and characteristics. The numerical solution of the discrete three-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations over a structured grid is accomplished with a commercial CFD finite-volume code. For each impeller, pressure and relative velocity distributions are presented and analyzed. The flow patterns in the blade passages are monitored and the mechanisms that dominate the flow field in the different regions of the impeller geometry are discussed. Furthermore, the new impellers that were tested numerically are manufactured in a CNC Milling Centre under the operation of sculptured surfaces; thus the feasibility of manufacturing the improved geometries is exhibited.