TY - JOUR
T1 - Study of Pressure Fluctuations and Induced Vibration at Blade-Passing Frequencies of a Double Volute Pump
AU - Khalifa, Atia E.
AU - Al-Qutub, Amro M.
AU - Ben-Mansour, Rached
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Strong impeller-volute interaction is a major source of high-pressure pulsations and vibration in high-powered pumps. The present study aims at establishing the foundation for correlating the pressure field with the vibration of the pump and identifying effective solutions to reduce flow-induced vibration in double volute pumps. Experiments were carried out on a model boiler feed pump stage to investigate the distribution of the pressure fluctuations inside the pump and pump vibration under different operating conditions. Critical zones of high-pressure fluctuations have been identified near the volute tongues, indicating strong impeller-volute interaction due to improper radial gap design. Vibrations closely follow the behavior of the pressure fluctuations under different operating conditions. High speeds combined with off-design flow rates result in higher pressure fluctuations inside the pump, which in turn excite vibrations of pump components. Measurements at discharge and suction pipes cannot represent the true behavior or the magnitudes of pressure fluctuations inside the pump, and hence cannot be correlated to pump vibration with fidelity. The clearance between impeller and volute tongues needs to be optimized by experimentation to minimize flow-induced pump vibration.
AB - Strong impeller-volute interaction is a major source of high-pressure pulsations and vibration in high-powered pumps. The present study aims at establishing the foundation for correlating the pressure field with the vibration of the pump and identifying effective solutions to reduce flow-induced vibration in double volute pumps. Experiments were carried out on a model boiler feed pump stage to investigate the distribution of the pressure fluctuations inside the pump and pump vibration under different operating conditions. Critical zones of high-pressure fluctuations have been identified near the volute tongues, indicating strong impeller-volute interaction due to improper radial gap design. Vibrations closely follow the behavior of the pressure fluctuations under different operating conditions. High speeds combined with off-design flow rates result in higher pressure fluctuations inside the pump, which in turn excite vibrations of pump components. Measurements at discharge and suction pipes cannot represent the true behavior or the magnitudes of pressure fluctuations inside the pump, and hence cannot be correlated to pump vibration with fidelity. The clearance between impeller and volute tongues needs to be optimized by experimentation to minimize flow-induced pump vibration.
KW - Blade-passing frequency
KW - Double volute design
KW - Flow rate
KW - Pressure fluctuations
KW - Pump vibration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=81255168486&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13369-011-0119-8
DO - 10.1007/s13369-011-0119-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:81255168486
SN - 2193-567X
VL - 36
SP - 1333
EP - 1345
JO - Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
JF - Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering
IS - 7
ER -