Investigation of the wear characteristics of the internal walls of centrifugal pumps using a particle mass-modified model

Centrifugal pumps are prone to wear failure when transporting solid-liquid mixtures. Accurate wear prediction enhances operational reliability. Due to the diversity of solid phase parameters, a reasonable wear model can effectively improve simulation accuracy. This study introduces the influence of particle mass into the E/CRC wear model. Using a CFD-DEM coupled method, internal flow and wear calculations were performed for centrifugal pumps under different particle size conditions. The accuracy of the numerical method and the modified wear model was validated through experimental comparisons, and the influence of particle size on wall wear characteristics was analyzed. The results indicated that increases in the particle size significantly enlarge the wear region of the blade working surface and the volute. The wear on the blade working surface was primarily concentrated in the lower portion of the back half of the working surface. Variations in the relative slip velocities between the particles and the fluid were the primary reasons for the differences between the wear characteristics of the head and tail of the blade working surface. The severe wear on the volute wall was concentrated in Sections 6–7 and 7–8, and it primarily occurred in the form of slip wear.