Optimization study of a centrifugal pump in cavitation

Cavitation if often encountered in the functioning of centrifugal pumps and usually is manifesting itself via rattling or a knocking sound along with vibrations leading in the end to the pump rotor failure, internal damage, and leakage from the seal and casing, bearing failure, etc. The centrifugal pumps cavitation is implying a dynamic process of formation of the bubbles inside the liquid domain, their growth and collapse as the liquid flows through the considered pump. The purpose of this paperwork is to investigate the cavitation phenomenon inside a centrifugal pump with ANSYS 19 and to determine the influence of main process factors upon the pump cavitation using the Response Surface technology and optimization. This study is meant to underline a practical procedure to investigate the cavitation inside the centrifugal pumps and the way to have precise values of the process variables in order to get out the pump from the cavitation functioning zone. The results retrieved in this study are in line with all known theoretical and experimental ones therefore it is a credible procedure. The increasing of the outlet and NPSH pressures and the decrease of the rotor velocity is the solution to have any centrifugal pump out of the cavitation.