Numerical Simulation of Cavitation Inception on Radial Flow Pump

Pump cavitation is the formation and subsequent collapse or implosion of vapor bubbles in a pump. It occurs when the absolute pressure on the liquid falls below the liquid’s vapor pressure. This paper describes the validation of cavitation inception on a radial flow pump which develops 21m of head at 26lps of discharge at its best efficiency point (BEP) of discharge while operating at a speed of 1500rpm. Design, operation and refurbishment of centrifugal pumps are strongly related to cavitation flow phenomena, which may occur in either the rotating runner-impeller or the stationary parts of the centrifugal pumps. The numerical simulation (ANSYS CFX software Release 13) is used to study the cavitation inception in centrifugal pump by varying water level in the cavitation well at constant speed condition. The computational grid was generated by CFXTurbo grid with H-Grid through the blade and flow passage. The flow simulation is executed in the rotation frame of reference. Standard (k-ε) model is used for the turbulence. Turbulent wall treatment; the volume of fluid model is selected for cavitation model. Upwind difference is used for solution scheme. Numerical results will be compared with experimental data in terms of head and NPSH.