Numerical and Experimental Investigations in a Vaned Diffuser of SHF Impeller: Fluid Leakage Effect

The paper presents the analysis of the performance and the internal flow behaviour in the vaned diffuser of a radial flow pump using PIV technique, pressure probe traverses and numerical simulations. PIV measurements have been performed at different heights inside one diffuser channel passage for a given speed of rotation and various flow rates. For each operating condition, PIV measurements have been made for different angular positions of the impeller. For each angular position, instantaneous velocities charts have been obtained on two simultaneous views, which allows, firstly, to cover the space between the leading edge of the impeller and the diffuser throat and secondly, to get a rather good evaluation of phase averaged velocity charts and “fluctuating rates". Probe traverses have also been performed using a 3 holes pressure probe from hub to shroud diffuser width at different radial locations in between the two diffuser geometrical throats. The numerical simulations were realized with the two commercial codes: i-Star CCM+ 7.02.011 (at LML), ii-CFX 10.0 (at University of Padova). Fully unsteady calculations of the whole pump were performed. Comparisons between numerical and experimental results are presented and discussed for two flow rates. In this respect, the effects of fluid leakage due to the gap between the rotating and fixed part of the pump model are analysed and discussed.