• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2010

The attachment of inducer in front of main impeller is a powerful method to improve cavitation performance. Cavitation surge oscillation, however, often occurs at partial flow rate and extremely low suction pressure. As the cavitation surge oscillation with low frequency of about 10 Hz occurs in a close relation between the inlet backflow cavitation and the growth of blade cavity into the throat section of blade passage, one method of installing an axi-asymmetrical plate upstream of inducer has been proposed to suppress the oscillation. The inlet flow distortion due to the axi-asymmetrical plate makes different elongations of cavities on all blades, which prevent the flow from becoming simultaneously unstable at all throat sections. In the present study, changes of the suppression effects with the axial distance between the inducer inlet and the plate and the changes with the blockage ratios of plate area to the cross-sectional area of inducer inlet are investigated for helical inducers with tip blade angles of $8^{\circ}$ and $14^{\circ}$. Then a conceivable application will be proposed to suppress the cavitation surge oscillation by installing axi-asymmetrical inlet plate.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.122-128
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• 2010

The attachment of inducer in front of main impeller is a powerful method to improve cavitation performance; however, cavitation surge oscillation with low frequency occurs with blade cavity growing to each throat section of blade passage simultaneously. Then, one conceptual method of installing suction axi-asymmetrical plate has been proposed so as to keep every throat passage away from being unstable at once, and the effect on suppression of the oscillation were investigated. In the present study, cavitation behaviors in the inducer is observed with distributing multi-cameras circumferentially, recording simultaneously and reconstructing multi-photos on one plane field as moving a linear cascade. Observed results are utilized for discussion with other measuring results as casing wall pressure distribution. Then the suppression mechanism of oscillation by installing axi-asymmetrical inlet plate will be clarified in more details.