Transient flow analysis in axial-flow pump system during stoppage

Abstract

Axial-flow pumps with siphon outlet are widely used in South-to-North Water Transfer Project of China for the excellent characteristics and good performance in stopping period. The reverse rotational speed and the head of impeller are the key parameters for the system’s safety in stoppage. In this article, the computational fluid dynamics method was used for three-dimensional unsteady numerical simulations. The method based on volume of fluid model was executed on geometrical model of the whole flow system to get the variation laws of internal and external characteristic parameters. Through numerical calculation, the variation laws of the parameters were got in the pump operating condition, braking condition, and turbine condition, and the maximum reverse speed of the impeller was 203.0 r/min (−0.947 times the rated speed). Compared with the designed mode, when the air valve was opened in advance, the pump system would go through the weir flow state first, and a higher head of impeller would be got as a result. When the air valve refused to open, the pump system would get into runaway state. Comparisons of the calculated and measured results indicate the proposed computational fluid dynamics method is reliable in the simulation of the transient flow in axial-flow pump system.