• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.409-415
• /
• 2016

In this study, we test the effects of the surface roughness on the hydro efficiency of double-suction centrifugal pumps ($Q=70.7m^3/min$, H = 87 m). The original surface of the impeller and inner casing were coated, resulting in surface-roughness reductions ranging from $100{\sim}110{\mu}m$ to $0{\sim}0.08{\mu}m$. We conducted experimental studies to measure the efficiency of the pumps and operating-pump electro energy variations with different surface roughness values. The experimental results showed that the efficiency of the pumps increased by about 0.8~1.79% and the electric energy of the operating pump was reduced by around 4.38 ~ 6.08%. These results indicate that the performance of the pumps depend largely on the surface roughness of the impeller and inner casing, and by reducing the surface roughness, we can improve the efficiency of the pump and reduce costs by reducing the electric energy consumption.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.110-120
• /
• 2009

Generally the fluid flows within the centrifugal impeller passage as a decelerating flow with an adverse pressure gradient along the stream wise path. This flow tends to be in a state of instability with flow separation zones on the suction surface and on the front shroud. Hence several experimental attempts were earlier made to assess the efficacy of using boundary layer fences to trip the flow in the regions of separation and to make the flow align itself into stream wise direction so that the losses could be minimized and overall efficiency of the diffusion process in the fan could be increased. With the development of CFD, an extensive numerical whole field analysis of the effect of boundary layer fences in discrete regions of suspected separation points is possible. But it is found from the literature that there have been no significant attempts to use this tool to explore numerically the utility of the fences on the flow field. This paper attempts to explore the effect of boundary layer fences corresponding to various geometrical configurations on the impeller as well as on the diffuser. It is shown from the analysis that the fences located on the impellers near the trailing edge on pressure side and suction side improves the static pressure recovery across the fan. Fences provided at the radial mid-span on the pressure side of the diffuser vane and near the leading edge and trailing edge of the suction side of diffuser vanes also improve the static pressure recovery across the fan.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.130-137
• /
• 2019

In this study, a centrifugal seawater cooling pump was analyzed to investigate its cavitation behavior over different operating flow rates. 3D two-phase simulations were carried out with ANSYS-CFX commercial code. The $k-{\varepsilon}$ turbulence and Rayleigh-Plesset cavitation models were employed in the simulations. A head drop characteristics curves for three discharge rates was built based on numerical predictions. At higher flow rates, the impeller was more vulnerable to bubble cavitation. The 3 % head drop points of the pump working at 0.7Q, Q, and 1.3Q (Q: design flow rate) corresponded with NPSHa 1.21 m, 1.83 m, and 3.45 m, respectively. The volume of vapor bubbles was estimated and cavitation locations were anticipated to visualize the development of the cavity within the impeller. Moreover, the distribution of pressure coefficient and a blade loading chart are specifically presented, bringing out the harmful impacts of cavitation on the pump operation.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.35-40
• /
• 2015

Centrifugal pumps consume considerable amounts of energy in various industrial applications. Therefore, improving the efficiency of pumps machine is a crucial challenge in industrial world. This paper presents numerical investigation of flow characteristics in volutes of centrifugal pumps in order to compare the energy consumption. A wide range of volumetric flow rate has been investigated for each case. The standard k-${\varepsilon}$ is adopted as the turbulence model. The impeller rotation is simulated employing the Multi Reference Frames(MRF) method. First, two different conventional design methods, i.e., the constant angular momentum(CAM) and the constant mean velocity (CMV) are studied and compared to a baseline volute model. The CAM volute profile is a logarithmic spiral. The CMV volute profile shape is an Archimedes spiral curve. The modified volute models show lower head value than baseline volute model, but in case of efficiency graph, CAM curve has higher values than others. Finally for this part, CAM curve is selected to be used in the simulation of different cross-section shape. Two different types of cross-section are generated. One is a simple rectangular shape, and the other one is fan shape. In terms of different cross-section shape, simple rectangular geometry generated higher head and efficiency. Overall, simulation results showed that the volute designed using constant angular momentum(CAM) method has higher characteristic performances than one by CMV volute.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 2010

The performance of the crossover system of a centrifugal compressor stage consisting of static components of $180^{\circ}$ U-bend, return channel vanes and exit ducting with a $90^{\circ}$ bend is investigated. This study is confined to the assessment of performance of the crossover system by varying the shape of the return channel vanes. For this purpose two different types of Return Channel Vanes (RCV1 and RCV2) were experimentally investigated. The performance of the crossover system is discussed in terms of total pressure loss coefficient, static pressure recovery coefficient and vane surface pressure distribution. The experimentation was carried out on a test setup in which static swirl vanes were used to simulate the flow at the exit of an actual centrifugal compressor impeller with a design flow coefficient of 0.053. The swirl vanes are connected to a mechanism with which the flow angle at the inlet of U-bend could be altered. The measurements were taken at five different operating conditions varying from 70% to 120% of design flow rate. On an overall assessment RCV1 is found to give better performance in comparison to RCV2 for different U-bend inlet flow angles. The performance of RCV2 was verified using numerical studies with the help of a CFD Code. Three dimensional sector models were used for simulating the flow through the crossover system. The turbulence was predicted with standard k-$\varepsilon$, 2-equation model. The iso-Mach contour plots on different planes and development of secondary flows were visualized through this study.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.268-272
• /
• 2023

This study explores the characteristics of tilting pad journal bearings used in the high-speed rotating shaft systems of centrifugal compressors. A centrifugal compressor is a high-speed rotating machine that is widely used to compress gases or vapors employed in various industrial applications. It transfers the centrifugal force of a fast-spinning impeller to the fluid and compresses it under high pressure. Many high-speed rotating shaft systems, which require high stability, use tilting pad journal bearings. The characteristics of these bearings can vary depending on several properties, and identifying the appropriate characteristics is essential to optimize the design on a case-to-case basis. In this study, the authors perform a time-dependent analysis of the properties of tilting pad journal bearings and the rotordynamics of the rotating shaft system using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Specifically, the authors analyze the characteristics of the tilting pad journal bearings by performing a parametric sweep using parameters such as pad clearance, maximum tilting angle, preload, number of pads, and pad pivot offset. The authors then use the results of the bearing-characteristics analysis to evaluate the vibration of the rotating shaft and verify its operation within a desirable range. The understanding gained from this study will allow us to determine the optimal properties of these bearings and the limiting operational speed using COMSOL Multiphysics software.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.80-91
• /
• 2009

In this study, a prediction theory for specific noise that is the overall characteristic of the fan has been proposed. This theory is based on total pressure prediction and broadband noise prediction. The specific noises of two forward curved fans with different number of blades were predicted. The flow around the impeller having 120 blades (MF120) was more biased at a certain positions than the impeller with 40 blades (MF40). An effective domain of the energy conversion of MF40 has extended overall than MF120. The total pressure was affected by the slip factor and pressure loss caused by the vortex flow. The suppression of a major pressure drop by the vortex flow and expansion of the effective domain for energy conversion contributed to an increase in the total pressure of MF40 at the design point. The position of maximum relative velocity was different for each fan. The relative velocity of MF120 was less than that of MF40 due to the deviation angle. The specific noise of MF120 was 2.7 dB less than that of MF40 due to the difference in internal flow. It has been quantitatively estimated that the deceleration in the relative velocity contributed to the improvement in the overall performance.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.13-20
• /
• 2014

It is necessary to design a compressor with high pressure ratio that satisfies the IMO(international maritime organization) NOx emission regulation for the marine diesel engine. Impeller was designed using the modified slip factor with the flow coefficient. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of the compressor performance by the vaned diffuser geometries. The first vaned diffuser type was based on a NACA airfoil, the second was channel diffuser, and the third was conformally transformated configuration of a NACA65(4A10)06 airfoil. The sensitivity of the performance was calculated using a commercial CFD program for three different diffuser geometries. The channel diffuser showed the wide range of operation and higher pressure characteristics, comparing with the others. This is attributed to the flow stability at diffuser. Combined with this results with impeller design, the optimized compressor was designed and verified by the test results.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2003.04a
• /
• pp.2076-2082
• /
• 2003

A cross-flow fan is widely used on many industrial fields: mining industry, automobile and home appliances, etc. The design point of the cross-flow fan is generally based on the region within low static pressure and high flow rate. It relatively makes high dynamic pressure at low speed because a working fluid passes through an impeller blade twice. However, it has low static pressure efficiency between 30% and 40% because of relative high impact loss. Recently, in the air-conditioning systems, the operating behaviors at the off-design points are highly regarded to broaden the application area for various air-cooling loads. Especially, at the lower flow rate, there exists a rapid pressure head reduction, a noise increase and an irregular flow field against a rearguider as a scroll of centrifugal fan. Numerical analyses are carried out for investigating the flow characteristics in a cross-flow fan including the impeller, the rearguider and the stabilizer. Especially, various types of rearguiders are estimated by numerical and experimental methods to insure the stable operation in the region of lower flow rate. Numerical domains are discretized by hexahedral cells. Three-dimensional, unsteady governing equations are solved using FVM, PISO algorithm, sliding grid system and standard ${\kappa}-{\varepsilon}$ turbulence model. ASHRAE standard fan tester is also used to estimate the performance of the modeled crossflow fan.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.42-47
• /
• 2002

Sirocco fans are widely used in HVAC and air conditioning systems, and the noise generated by these machines causes one of the most serious problems. In general, the sirocco fan noise is often dominated by tones at BPF(blade passage frequency) and broadband noise. However, only a few researches have been carried out on predicting the aeroacoustic noise because of the difficulty in obtaining detailed information about the flow field and casing effects on noise radiation. The objective of this study is to develop a prediction method for the unsteady flow field and the acoustic pressure field of a sirocco fan. We assume that the impeller rotates with a constant angular velocity and the flow field around the impeller is incompressible and inviscid. So, a discrete vortex method (DVM) is used to model the centrifugal fan and to calculate the flow field. The force of each element on the blade is calculated by the unsteady Bernoulli equation. Lowson\`s method is used to predict the acoustic source. Reasonable results are obtained not only fur the tonal noise but also far the amplitudes of the broadband noise. Acoustic pressure is proportional to (Ω)2.3, which is the similar value with the measured data.