Parametric study and performance improvement of regenerative flow pump considering the modification in blade and casing geometry

Abstract

Purpose

Regenerative flow pump (RFP) is a rotodynamic turbomachine capable of developing high pressure rise at low flow rates. This paper aims to numerically investigate the performance of a regenerative pump considering the modification in blade and casing geometry.

Design/methodology/approach

The radial blade shape was changed to the bucket form and a core is added to flow path. A parametric study was performed to improve the performance of the pump. Thus, the effect of change in blade angle, chord, height, pitch to chord ratio and also inlet port on the performance of RFP was investigated.

Findings

Results showed that the modified blade angle to achieve the maximum efficiency is about 41 degree. Also, the most efficient point occurs close to pitch/chord = 0.4 and by reducing the axial chord, efficiency of the pump increases. It was found that better efficiency will be achieved by increasing the “Arc of admission”, but there are limitations of manufacturing. It was observed that the performance curves shifted towards lower flow coefficients by reducing height of blades.

Originality/value

To improve the characteristics of regenerative pump, the blade shape changed to the bucket form (airfoil blades with identical inlet and outlet angle) and a core is added to flow path. A parametric study has been accomplished to see the influence of some important parameters on the performance of the pump.

Citation

Nejad, J., Riasi, A. and Nourbakhsh, A. (2017), "Parametric study and performance improvement of regenerative flow pump considering the modification in blade and casing geometry", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 27 No. 8, pp. 1887-1906. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-03-2016-0088