Investigations of three dimensional flow characteristics in a three bladed rocket pump inducer

Abstract

Because of the long and narrow passages between the blades of a rocket pump inducer, major effects from turbulence and viscosity make the flow through such a device truly three-dimensional and therefore difficult to measure or predict. To investigate the flow characteristics, conventional and three-dimensional hot-wire probe measurements were conducted in a model inducer 3 ft in diameter. Blade-to-blade variation of the three components of velocity at the exit and the corresponding turbulence intensities were obtained by means of hotwire probes aligned in the three coordinate directions. Analysis of the three-dimensional inviscid flow field led to qualitative prediction of the flow characteristics. Extensive measurements and theoretical analyses of the flow field showed that blade blockage, viscosity, and blade boundary layer interactions are the dominant influences on flow in this type of turbomachinery