Improvement of Discharge Flow Structure by Bluff-Body Insert and Size Reduction of a Mixed-Flow Irrigation Pump
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
This paper concerns efficiency improvement of an 8-in. mixed-flow irrigation pump by modification of discharge flow channel. First, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was validated with the experimental results using an available pump. Next, an investigation on the hydrodynamics structure was carried out by CFD. The investigation revealed large recirculation around the inner annulus area next to the impeller exit plane and jet flow around the pipe wall. This leads to formation of a strong shear layer between jet and recirculation flow. Improvements were realized by reducing the impeller size by 10% to increase the flow cross-sectional area between the impeller exit plane and the tube wall to slow down the jet flow. Bluff body was introduced at the inner annulus adjacent to the discharge flow channel to alleviate a recirculation wake region. The operating speed of the scaled-down impeller was increased from 900 to 1,100 rpm to compensate for the scaling effect, and the blade angle was modified to cope with the change of inlet relative flow angle. Experimental study suggested that more than 10% improvement could be achieved through these modifications. The maximum efficiency of the proposed model was 42%, compared with the maximum efficiency of 37% for the conventional model.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request (drawing of the pumps components, drawing and specific detail of the test rig and equipment, and all colored pictures of simulation contour).
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for financial support from Thailand research fund PHD56I0078 and National Science and Technology Development Agency P1851268.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • March 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 26, 2021
Accepted: Nov 10, 2021
Published online: Dec 28, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2022
Discussion open until: May 28, 2022
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