Numerical study of the dimensionless characteristics and modeling experiment of a molten salt pump that transports viscous fluids
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 4 September 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the dimensionless characteristics of a molten salt pump and propose an approach to carry out the modeling experiment by using water instead of molten salts.
Design/methodology/approach
External characteristics of the pump were estimated by using the steady flow model and compared with the experimental results. By taking water as the working fluid, the pathlines in the volute of the model pump were validated by the results obtained of high-speed photography. According to the derived dimensionless characteristics of the molten salt pump, the modeling experimental schemes were proposed. Adopting the validated numerical simulation model, the performance of the molten salt pump was studied in detail.
Findings
The modeling experimental schemes designed according to the dimensionless characteristics are theoretically feasible. However, to carry out the experiment successfully, factors such as rotational speed, geometric size, flow rate and head should be taken into account. The flow in the pumps is similar under the similar operating condition and the external characteristics of the similar pump can be converted to each other. Compared with transporting water, the decline of the head and efficiency is within 5 per cent when the viscosity is lower than 0.01453 Pa · s. The pump is not suitable for running under the critical Reynolds number of 1.0 × 107.
Originality/value
The current work revealed the relationships among the dimensionless performances of a molten salt pump and proposed a critical Reynolds number ReQcr for the pump running.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51306087), the Natural Science Fund of Jiangsu Province of China (Grant No. BK2012430), the Natural Science Foundation of Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province (17KJA480003) and Talents Cultivation Project of NJTECH (Grant No. 44202120).
Citation
Shao, C. and Zhao, Y. (2017), "Numerical study of the dimensionless characteristics and modeling experiment of a molten salt pump that transports viscous fluids", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 27 No. 9, pp. 2131-2153. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-07-2016-0267
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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