Effects of the Cross-Sectional Area of a Volute on Suction Recirculation and Cavitation in a Centrifugal Pump

Abstract The effects of the cross-sectional area of a volute on suction recirculation and cavitation in a centrifugal pump were investigated. The pump performance and fluid flow were analyzed using both steady and unsteady three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes analyses. The shear stress transport (SST) model was adopted as a turbulence closure model, and a simplified Rayleigh–Plesset cavitation model and a homogeneous two-phase mixture model were used to simulate the cavitating flow inside the pump. A constant to determine the designed circumferential velocity of the volute was selected as the geometric parameter for a parametric study. The hydraulic efficiency, head coefficient, blockage in front of the impeller, and critical cavitation number for a head-drop of 3% were selected as the performance parameters to evaluate the hydraulic performance. The results show that unlike the blockage, the hydraulic and suction performances were affected significantly by the volute shape. Both steady and unsteady flow analyses showed that the onset and development of suction recirculation were relatively unaffected by the volute geometry and the best efficiency point of the pump.