A study of rotating stall in a vaneless diffuser of radial flow pump

Rotating stall in a vaneless diffuser of radial flow pump is studied. The measurements consist of: (i) unsteady pressure measurements delivered by two microphones; and (ii) nine steady pressure taps mounted in one radial line to measure the pressure recovery in the vaneless diffuser. Spectrum analysis was used to identify and characterize rotating stall. An assumption was made to estimate the losses in the vaneless diffuser to evaluate the effect of the instability development on its performance. The result has shown that the arising of rotating stall has a positive effect on the diffuser performance. Two possible reasons are proposed: (1) a blockage in the diffuser due to the unstable cells which shortens the streamlines and decreased the friction losses along the vaneless diffuser; (2) the topology of rotating stall cells results in the convection of fluid coming from outside part of the pump model to the vaneless diffuser.CSC Scolarshi

FEDSM2013-16598 NUMERICAL OPTIMAL DESIGN OF IMPELLER BACK PUMP-OUT VANES ON AXIAL THRUST IN CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

ABSTRACT Axial thrust in centrifugal pu mps attracts extensive attention in order to improve the operating reliability of pu mps. High axial thrust can cause rapid thrust bearing wear and subsequent pump failure o r frequent overhauls. A centrifugal pump (XA65/20) was selected in this study, based on L 16 (4 3 ) orthogonal array and CFD methods. The time -averaged Navier-Stokes equation was calcu lated for a 3D steady flow in the model pump in ANSYS CFX with the standard k-ω turbulence model and standard wall function applied. The structured meshes with different numbers were used for comparison in order to confirm that the computational results were not influenced by the mesh. Meanwhile, the effects of impeller back pump -out vane geometrical parameters, including its thickness S k , its outlet diameter D e and axial clearance δ, on the axial thrust and performances of the model centrifugal pu mp were analy zed. The different orthogonal schemes were obtained on the different values of S k , D e , and δ. Finally, when the parameters of the impeller S k , D e , and δ are 5mm, 100mm, 1.5mm, respectively. The Best Efficiency Point (BEF) of 69.9% was achieved with 60.12m for the designed head and -952.133N for the minimu m total axial force. The corresponding impeller with minimu m total axial fo rce was considered as the optimal scheme and manufactured for experimental test. The external characteristics by CFD have a good agreement with their experimental data, wh ich also better verified the accuracy of the numerical method of axial thrust applied in this research. Back pump-out vane thickness Back pump-out vane outlet diameter Z Back pump-out vane number N (r/min) Rotating speed ρ (kg/m3) Density g (m/s2) Gravity acceleration H (m) Pressure head ω (rad/s) Angular speed p (Pa) Pressure INTRODUCTION One of the most challenging aspects in horizontal pumps design is represented by the accurate evaluation of the axial thrust acting on the rotating shaft. In order to balance axial thrust of centrifugal pu mps, many devices such as balancing disk, balancing dru m, balancing hole and sealing system are used In this paper, the model pu mp of XA65/20 was designed to study its axial thrust and external characteristics with S k , δ an

A Review of Design Considerations of Centrifugal Pump Capability for Handling Inlet Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flows

Most of the pumps working under two phase flows conditions are used in petroleum industry applications, like electrical submersible pumps (ESP) for hydrocarbon fluids, in chemistry, nuclear industries and in agriculture for irrigation purposes as well. Two-phase flows always deteriorate overall pump performances compared with single flow conditions. Several papers have been published aiming to understand flow physics and to model all the main mechanisms that govern gas pocket formation and surging phenomena. These mechanisms depend on the pump type, the impeller geometry, the rotational speed, design and off-design liquid flow rate conditions, the volumetric gas fraction, the fluid properties and the inlet pressure. In the present paper, a review on two phase performances from various centrifugal pumps designs is presented, mainly based on experimental results. The main focus is devoted to detect the significant geometrical parameters that: (1) Modify the pump head degradation level under bubbly flow regime assumption; (2) Allow single stage centrifugal pumps keep working under two-phase flow conditions with high inlet void fraction values before pump shut down, whatever the pump performance degradations and liquid production rates should be. Because most of the published experimental studies are performed on dedicated laboratory centrifugal pump models, most of the present review is based on air-water mixtures as the working fluid with inlet pressures close to atmospheric conditions. The following review supposes that gas phase is considered as a non-condensable perfect gas, while the liquid phase is incompressible. Both phases are isolated from external conditions: neither mass nor heat transfer take place between the phases

Controlled Decoding from Language Models

We propose controlled decoding (CD), a novel off-policy reinforcement learning method to control the autoregressive generation from language models towards high reward outcomes. CD solves an off-policy reinforcement learning problem through a value function for the reward, which we call a prefix scorer. The prefix scorer is used at inference time to steer the generation towards higher reward outcomes. We show that the prefix scorer may be trained on (possibly) off-policy data to predict the expected reward when decoding is continued from a partially decoded response. We empirically demonstrate that CD is effective as a control mechanism on Reddit conversations corpus. We also show that the modularity of the design of CD makes it possible to control for multiple rewards, effectively solving a multi-objective reinforcement learning problem with no additional complexity. Finally, we show that CD can be applied in a novel blockwise fashion at inference-time, again without the need for any training-time changes, essentially bridging the gap between the popular best-of-$K$ strategy and token-level reinforcement learning. This makes CD a promising approach for alignment of language models

Décrochage tournant dans un diffuseur lisse radial : Étude de stabilité et effet sur la performance.

Abstract:The behavior of work-absorbing turbomachines (pumps, compressors) operating at off design conditions, and especially at partial flow rates, is subject to instability phenomena that could affect their performance and can be dramatic for the machines or their environment. This study is focused on the rotating stall in the vaneless diffuser, the objective is to propose a theoretical model to fast predict the characteristics of such an instability. An experimental study is performed first to obtain those characteristics of rotating stall in a transparent vaneless diffuser of a radial impeller. The effect of rotating stall on the diffuser performance is discussed based on the static pressure measurements. The result shows rotating stall improved the diffuser pressure recovery, and the reasons are proposed. Based on the experimental setup, a linear stability analysis which is constructed by the continuity equation, momentum equation and vorticity equations, is proposed. The experimental characteristics of rotating stall: number and propagation velocity of stall cells, are theoretical calculated. The growth rate in the linear model, is proposed to determine the critical stall condition, and the dominant stall mode when different stall modes exist intermittently. The theoretical velocity and pressure fluctuations are also plotted to show the diffuser flow at stall condition. The abilities and limits of the linear stability analysis are concluded through the comparisons between theoretical and experimental results. Based on the linear model, a nonlinear stability analysis is extended to consider the nonlinear combinations which are neglected in the linear model, the aim is to give corrections (from nonlinear terms) to the linear results of rotating stall, the conclusions and discussions are made at the end.Résumé: Le comportement des turbomachines (pompes, compresseurs) fonctionnant à des conditions hors conception, et particulièrement aux débits partiels, est sujet à des phénomènes d'instabilité qui pourraient affecter leur performance et peuvent être dramatiques pour les machines ou leur environnement. Cette étude se concentre sur la décrochage tournant dans un diffuseur lisse radial. L'objectif est proposer un modèle théorique pour prédire rapidement les caractéristiques de décrochage tournant. Une étude expérimentale est effectuée en premier pour obtenir les caractéristiques de décrochage tournant dans un transparent diffuseur lisse d’une roué radiale. L'effet de décrochage tournant sur la performance du diffuseur est discuté basé sur les mesures de pression statique. Le résultat montre que décrochage tournant amélioré la récupération de la diffuseur pression, et les raisons sont proposes. Basé sur la configuration expérimentale, une analyse de stabilité linéaire qui est construit par l'équation de continuité, l'équation de la quantité de mouvement et les équations de vorticité, est propose. Les caractéristiques expérimentales de décrochage tournant: le nombre et la vitesse de propagation des cellules de décrochage tournant, sont calculés théoriquement. Le taux de croissance dans le modèle linéaire, est proposé pour déterminer la critique condition de décrochage tournant, et le dominant mode de décrochage tournant lorsque différents modes existent par intermittence. La théorique vitesse et pression fluctuations sont tracées pour décrire le débit du diffuseur à l'état de décrochage. Les capacités et les limites de la linéaire stabilité analyse sont conclues par la comparaison entre les résultats théoriques et expérimentaux. Ensuit, une non linéaire stabilité analyse est étendue pour considérer les non linéaires combinaisons qui sont négligées dans le modèle linéaire. L'objectif est donner des corrections (par termes non linéaires) aux résultats linéaires, les conclusions et les discussions sont faites à la fin

Rotating instability in a radial vaneless diffusers : stability analysis and effect on the performance

Résumé: Le comportement des turbomachines (pompes, compresseurs) fonctionnant à des conditions hors conception, et particulièrement aux débits partiels, est sujet à des phénomènes d'instabilité qui pourraient affecter leur performance et peuvent être dramatiques pour les machines ou leur environnement. Cette étude se concentre sur la décrochage tournant dans un diffuseur lisse radial. L'objectif est proposer un modèle théorique pour prédire rapidement les caractéristiques de décrochage tournant. Une étude expérimentale est effectuée en premier pour obtenir les caractéristiques de décrochage tournant dans un transparent diffuseur lisse d’une roué radiale. L'effet de décrochage tournant sur la performance du diffuseur est discuté basé sur les mesures de pression statique. Le résultat montre que décrochage tournant amélioré la récupération de la diffuseur pression, et les raisons sont proposes. Basé sur la configuration expérimentale, une analyse de stabilité linéaire qui est construit par l'équation de continuité, l'équation de la quantité de mouvement et les équations de vorticité, est propose. Les caractéristiques expérimentales de décrochage tournant: le nombre et la vitesse de propagation des cellules de décrochage tournant, sont calculés théoriquement. Le taux de croissance dans le modèle linéaire, est proposé pour déterminer la critique condition de décrochage tournant, et le dominant mode de décrochage tournant lorsque différents modes existent par intermittence. La théorique vitesse et pression fluctuations sont tracées pour décrire le débit du diffuseur à l'état de décrochage. Les capacités et les limites de la linéaire stabilité analyse sont conclues par la comparaison entre les résultats théoriques et expérimentaux. Ensuit, une non linéaire stabilité analyse est étendue pour considérer les non linéaires combinaisons qui sont négligées dans le modèle linéaire. L'objectif est donner des corrections (par termes non linéaires) aux résultats linéaires, les conclusions et les discussions sont faites à la fin.Abstract:The behavior of work-absorbing turbomachines (pumps, compressors) operating at off design conditions, and especially at partial flow rates, is subject to instability phenomena that could affect their performance and can be dramatic for the machines or their environment. This study is focused on the rotating stall in the vaneless diffuser, the objective is to propose a theoretical model to fast predict the characteristics of such an instability. An experimental study is performed first to obtain those characteristics of rotating stall in a transparent vaneless diffuser of a radial impeller. The effect of rotating stall on the diffuser performance is discussed based on the static pressure measurements. The result shows rotating stall improved the diffuser pressure recovery, and the reasons are proposed. Based on the experimental setup, a linear stability analysis which is constructed by the continuity equation, momentum equation and vorticity equations, is proposed. The experimental characteristics of rotating stall: number and propagation velocity of stall cells, are theoretical calculated. The growth rate in the linear model, is proposed to determine the critical stall condition, and the dominant stall mode when different stall modes exist intermittently. The theoretical velocity and pressure fluctuations are also plotted to show the diffuser flow at stall condition. The abilities and limits of the linear stability analysis are concluded through the comparisons between theoretical and experimental results. Based on the linear model, a nonlinear stability analysis is extended to consider the nonlinear combinations which are neglected in the linear model, the aim is to give corrections (from nonlinear terms) to the linear results of rotating stall, the conclusions and discussions are made at the end

Blade Number Effects in Radial Disc Pump Impellers: Overall Performances with Cavitation Sensitivity Analysis

Straight radial impeller disc pumps are widely used in several industrial applications for hard-to-pump working flow media, such as two-phase inlet conditions, either including non-miscible bubbles or solid particles with a high concentration within the main working flow. Compared with conventional pump designs, these pumps have not been widely studied, because of their particular simple design and low efficiency values that can however reach a maximum value of 0.5 with a good pressure increase in single-phase conditions. Regarding this, no basic analysis has been performed to build one-dimensional design rules considering the relative effects of design parameters proper to these unusual designs like the blade number, blade height and disc spacing. This step is an important one for two-phase flow performance evaluations which are usually derived from single-phase ones as for conventional pumps. Two different disc pump designs with, respectively, 8 and 10 radial blades, are numerically and experimentally investigated. Experimental investigations are performed in an open loop tap water test facility, under various working conditions, combining flow rate and rotational speed variations. The overall pump performances are compared and analyzed, including cavitation onset phenomena that have been found to influence the experimental performances of both pumps. The overall performance modification between both impeller designs is analyzed. Comparisons between CFD and experimental results give reliable results and can be considered to cover a sufficiently wide range of design parameters allowing us to build future adapted design rules for such specific designs

Stall Mode Transformation in the Wide Vaneless Diffuser of Centrifugal Compressors

A review on the rotating stall in the vaneless diffuser of centrifugal compressors is presented showing that different stall modes characterized by different numbers of cells can be detected within the diffuser even if the operating condition remains unchanged. The interaction between the inlet perturbation and the stall cells near the diffuser outlet is supposed to be the trigger of the stall mode transformation. In order to determine if the inlet perturbation will interact with the downstream stall cells, a characteristic time analysis is proposed to estimate the characteristic time of the perturbation in radial and tangential directions. An additional theoretical model which focused on the development of the vaneless diffuser rotating stall is presented to determine the propagation velocity of the cells. The comparison between the characteristic time in two directions shows that one stall mode is able to evolve into another stall mode if a critical condition is met, and the stall mode transformation is more likely to start from a mode with a higher number of cells and is more likely to occur in the diffuser with a large radius ratio. Experimental results are also employed to validate the proposed critical condition, and good agreements are obtained

Investigation on Stall Characteristics of Centrifugal Pump with Guide Vanes

Stall usually occurs in the hump area of the head curve, which will block the channel and aggravate the pump vibration. For centrifugal pumps with guide vanes usually have a clocking effect, the stall characteristic at different clocking positions should be focused. In this paper, the flow field of the centrifugal pump under stall conditions is numerically simulated, and the rotor–stator interaction effects of the centrifugal pump under stall conditions are studied. The double-hump characteristic is found in the head curve by using SAS (Scale Adaptive Simulation) model. The hump area close to the optimal working condition is caused by hydraulic loss, while the hump area far away from the optimal working condition point is caused by the combined action of Euler’s head and hydraulic loss. The SAS model can accurately calculate the wall friction loss, thus predicting the double-hump phenomenon. The pressure fluctuation and head characteristics at different clocking positions under stall conditions are obtained. It is found that when the guide vanes outlet in line with the volute tongue, the corresponding head is the highest, and the pressure fluctuation is the lowest. The mechanism of the clocking effect in the centrifugal pump with guide vanes is obtained by simplifying the hydrofoil. It is found that when the downstream hydrofoil leading edge is always interfered with by the upstream hydrofoil wake, the wake with low energy mixes the boundary layer with low energy, which causes small-pressure pulsation. The results could be used for the operation of centrifugal pumps with guide vanes

An Analysis on Hydraulic Loss in a Co-Rotating Bladed Disc Pump

Disc pumps rely on the shear force generated by a co-rotating disc to transport the fluid, the interaction between the fluid and impeller is weak, providing such pumps advantages when handling multi-phase flow. In the present study, a loss analysis is presented on a different kind of disc pump that combines both shear and pressure forces using a co-rotating disc pump and radial blades and that is often applied in marine petroleum engineering for mud-lifting. Experimental measurements on the overall pump performance were performed, and the subsequent hydraulic efficiency analysis shows that similarity laws can be applied for this pump. A particular analysis was specifically performed on the impeller and shows that the resulting loss analysis indicates that the increase in the static pressure is small and that the total pressure increase is mainly contributed to by the dynamic pressure change from the inlet to the outlet impeller sections. In addition, an evaluation of the individual loss levels is proposed in the impeller that is based on one-dimensional assumptions. This type of evaluation has never been proposed for present specific TBD pump designs in the available literature. The obtained results showed that the most important loss levels are roughly equally distributed between the incidence effects, inter-blade leakage, and bolts losses in the impeller, and that all together, they can reach 80% of the total impeller losses, while the blade-loading and friction losses are relatively small. The losses downstream of the impeller are significant; thus, a specific volute design that has been adapted for a disc impeller outlet flow pattern must be considered in order to achieve better performance. The present loss analysis was able to predict the corresponding disc pump performance well, achieving a maximum error rate of ±5% for a rather wide flow coefficient range. The proposed method can be considered to be a useful approach for research or for industrial teams who are working on the same kind of geometry by adopting the same data reduction analysis, allowing them to compare their own results with the present ones