• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.258-263
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• 2001

A fuel pump for a turbopump system has been designed under an international co-work program. The liquid methane fuel pump has an inducer, in front of centrifugal impeller blades, to improve cavitation performance. The three dimensional viscous flow in the fuel pump was investigated through numerical computation. An arrangement of the inducer and impeller has yielded a strong interaction between inducer and impeller blades. The performance of the pump was evaluated from the calculated results. A parametric study was performed for various design variables, and it could oner a database for design parameters to design a fuel pump. A modified design of a fuel pump was proposed by KIMM to improve pump performance.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2002.08a
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• pp.569-572
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• 2002

In the present study, flow simulations of a solution pump fer an absorption chiller are performed. The results are compared to the experimental data. Since the cavitation is more likely to occur in a solution pump due to Its operation under vacuum condition, and the cavitation was not considered in the present computations, the computed and experimental results show large discrepancies. For more accurate performance prediction of a solution pump, a cavitation model is required in the flow simulation. Flows through an inducer are also studied to see the effect of design parameters on performance characteristics. It is shown from the results that, if not properly designed, recirculation legion may exist near the hub region of the Inducer, and the suction surface may experience higher pressure than the pressure surface of the inducer, which may deteriorate the performance.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.11 no.1 s.32
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• pp.16-20
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• 2006

The present study focuses on the flow analysis of a turbo pump inducer by performing both numerical and experimental methods. The head rise, efficiency and detailed flow fields such as outlet flow angles, pressure and velocity vectors are measured and compared with the computational data. Generally a good agreement is obtained between numerical and experimental results. However, some discrepancies are observed due to complex flow structures inside the inducer. Future calculations with an advanced turbulence model and a dense computational grid needs to be performed to obtain accurate numerical solution for the detailed flow fields.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.7 no.4 s.25
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• pp.16-23
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• 2004

Hydraulic performance and cavitation characteristics of fuel pump in turbopump were studied experimentally. This fuel pump has a centrifugal impeller with a separate inducer. In this paper, static pressure distribution of inducer was examined in non-cavitation and cavitation conditions. As cavitation came, the rising curve of static pressure in front of inducer was lightened because blade lodging did. In result, this offered the mechanism that recirculation zone could be small in case that recirculation was generated in low flow rate.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.37-43
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• 2008

An inducer is employed in a modern rocket feed system because it allows a turbopump system to operate at a high speed with low inlet pressures so as to minimize the weight and the size of the system. Cavitation performance can be improved by installing an inducer to the pump, enabling to increase the operational speed of the pump. The main purpose of an inducer is to increase the static pressure prior to an impeller to enable the impeller to operate satisfactorily under cavitation environments. In the present study the effects of axial distance between the inducer and the impeller on the performance of the pump were studied using both experimental and computational methods. Two inducers with different axial length were used for the experiments and the pump performances were measured. The experimental results show that the suction performance decreases as the axial gap between the inducer and impeller is increased.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.8 no.1 s.28
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• pp.23-29
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• 2005

Steady and unsteady cavitation characteristics of turbopump inducer were investigated in this paper. To investigate the effect of blade angle on the inducer performance, three inducers with inlet tip blade angle of $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ},\;6.1^{\circ}$, respectively, were tested. For $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers in the non-cavitating condition, head decreased linearly with flow rate, but head-flow rate curve had a dip at the flow coefficient ${\psi}=0.065$ for $6.1^{\circ}$ inducer. Attached cavitation and cavitation surge were found in the $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers in the cavitation tests. During the attached cavitation one cell rotated at the same rotational speed as that of the inducer. The cavitation surge did not rotate and the oscillating frequency was $7{\sim}20\;Hz$. From the curve of the critical cavitation number versus flow rate, it was found that the steady cavitation performance of $6.1^{\circ}$ inducer was much lower than that of $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11b
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• pp.2434-2439
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• 2008

This paper was studied on the cavitation instability of a Solution Pump Inducer in an absorption chiller-heater. Inlet pressure of LiBr and rotational speed at nominal mode are 2,800 Pa and 3,500 rpm respectively. Due to the marginal operation of available NPSH, the cavitation performance of the inducer is critical for the stable operation without the deterioration of head performance. In the study, cavitation performance and its mode of instability was investigated experimentally. Water was used as the working fluid and the test inducer was scaled up as 1.75 times for detail measurements and flow visualization. Inlet pressure was controlled by a vacuum pump. This research focused on types of cavitation instability and phenomena to investigate the possibility of harmful damage due to cavitation instability. Casing wall pressure and instantaneous inlet pressure was measured to observe the unsteady flow characteristics. Through the visualization and spectrum analysis of pressure, the occurrence region and intensity of asymmetric cavitation and cavitation surge are analyzed in the test inducer.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.12a
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• pp.333-339
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• 2003

Steady and unsteady cavitation characteristics of turbopump inducer were investigated in this paper. To see the effect of blade angle on the inducer performance, three inducers with inlet tip blade angle of $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ},\;6.1^{\circ}$, respectively, were tested. For $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers in the non-cavitating condition, head decreased linearly with flow rate, but head-flow rate curve had a dip at the flow coefficient ${\Phi}=0.065\;for\;6.1^{\circ}$ inducer. Rotating cavitation and cavitation surge were found in the $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers in the cavitation tests. During the rotating cavitation one cell rotated at the same rotational speed as that of the inducer. The cavitation surge did not rotate and the oscillating frequency was $7{\sim}20\;Hz$. From the curve of the critical cavitation number versus flow rate, it was found that the steady cavitation performance of $6.1^{\circ}$ inducer was much lower than that of $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.06e
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• pp.619-624
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• 2001

A performance test facility for turbopump inducer cavitation was developed and the inducer cavitation performance tests were performed. Major components of the performance test facility are driving unit, test section, piping, water tank, and data acquisition and control system. The maximum of testing capability of this facility are as follows: flow rate - 30kg/s; pressure - 13 bar; rotational speed 10,000rpm. This cavitation test facility is characterized by the booster pump installed at the outlet of the pump that extends the flow rate range, and by the pressure control system that makes the line pressure down to vapor pressure. The vacuum pump is used for removing the dissolved air in the water as well as the line pressure. Performance tests were carried out and preliminary data of test model inducer were obtained. The cavitation performance test and cavitation bubble flow visualization were also made. This facility is originally designed for turbopump inducer performance test and cavitation test. However it can be applied to the pump impeller performance test in the future with little modification.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.37-44
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• 2017

In this study, in order to prevent cavitation in a variable swash-plate type hydraulic pump, a basic model impeller has been applied to a new pump, and the impeller shape has been optimized through flow analysis. Based on the analysis results, we could propose an impeller shape with high efficiency and low possibility of cavitation in comparison with the basic model. The simplification of the basic shape of the impeller of the hydraulic pump was performed in three parts in the order of hub shape, wing, and curvature, and eight design parameters were defined to satisfy the design requirement. Compared with the initial model of the impeller, when the differential pressure of the optimum model increased, the efficiency was improved. It achieved the goal of design improvement because cavitation did not occur under the rated operating conditions.