Three-Dimensional Simulation of Air Entrainment in a Sump Pump
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
The three-dimensional unsteady vortex flow in a sump pump is investigated by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method with the shear-stress transport (SST) model and the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model. The helicity density, involving both velocity and vortex, is especially used to discuss the mechanism of the process for air entrainment. The calculated results are qualitatively validated compared with the vortex observed in a previous experiment. The results investigated show that the helicity density takes a very important role in forming the process of the air entrainment. When the dimple appears, the helicity density near the intake pipe is larger than that close to the surface. When the air begins to flow into the pipe, the helicity density tube close to the surface reaches a certain level to connect the helicity density tube from the intake pipe. Moreover, the air entrainment can be suppressed if the helicity density tube is broken by placing a circular plate in a certain position.
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Acknowledgments
This research is supported by National Foundation of Natural Science of China (Grant Nos. 51422906 and 51609177).
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 8, 2016
Accepted: Jan 23, 2017
Published online: Apr 20, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Sep 20, 2017
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