Abstract
In recent years, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes have been utilized actively in the early part of the product development cycle. Numerical analysis models have also been developed rapidly and have added cavitation flow analysis functions peculiar to hydraulic machines, in which the flow analysis has been developed remarkably with high-precision and high-reliability. On the other hand, it is well known that three kinds of cavitation, such as vortex cavitation, reverse flow cavitation and cloud cavitation appear in a double-suction volute pump. We have much interest in a relationship among the cavitating flows, pump oscillation and noise. In this study, full 3D numerical simulations have been performed using a commercial code inside the pump from the inlet of suction duct to the outlet of delivery duct. The numerical model is based on a combination of multiphase flow equations with the truncated version of the Rayleigh-Plesset model predicting the complicated growth and collapse process of cavity bubbles. This study highlights especially the mechanism of vortex cavitation occurrence from the end of the suction duct in the pump and pump oscillation which causes cavitation noise from the pump. The experimental investigations have also been performed on the cavitating flow with flow visualization to evaluate the numerical results.
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