Abstract
An inducer is forward-attached to an impeller to improve the suction performance. This paper described the experimental and numerical investigations on the concept of NPSH similarity about the inducer scale. As Reynolds number decreased for the same scale inducer, the hydraulic performance is slightly reduced because of the viscosity. The suction performance similarity is in good agreement. For different scale inducers, the NPSH similarity did not follow the conventional rule which is proportional to the square of the inducer diameter. A cavity of two times scale inducer grows faster under cavitation inception, and the head is more drop as the fluid passes blades. Because of the simplified cavitation model and vapor pressure, the NPSH similarity dose not have an accuracy. This study suggested an empirical formula for the NPSH similarity.
